Creating a Happy House with Light and Color

Unless you’re holed up in a dark room to write a novel, most people like light and airy spaces. They like the feeling of open windows, tall ceilings, and good energy flow. Even if you don’t have a large space, you can achieve that good feeling with a few tricks.
1.  Let the sun in. Open the curtains [...]

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Stone and Blond Brick House Trim Colors

When you’re dealing with natural materials, I like to stay in the earth tones for trim color. And there’s nothing more striking than a dark wood door on a stone facade. For me, it just conjures up images of castles and old English cottages. Choosing colors that come out of the natural variation in the [...]

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Keeping Up with the Joneses’ House Colors

Businesses need to attract attention and this day spa does so in a good way with a very pleaseing cornflower blue color scheme.  Some over-55 communities also have similar colorful palettes for their house colors. The builder chooses the colors, of course, but they all go together nicely. One community in New England I saw advertised [...]

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Choosing House Colors that “Fit In”

Lots of homeowners out there are wrestling with what color to paint their house and trim. It is a huge decision because it’s expensive to change your mind half-way through the painting process and even more painful if you don’t like it when the painters are done.
A lot of people paint their houses without any [...]

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Best TV Design Shows are from Canada

As a decorator, I subscribe to virtually every home publication, from Interior Design to Architectural Digest to This Old House. And I have my favorite TV designers as well, my gurus.  I watch their shows religiously and critique their work. Candice Olson is one of my favorites (Divine Design) for her creative use of color [...]

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Stage Your Own Home

If you are selling your home, or even if you’re not, there is lots of advice out there for how to prepare your house. Television shows like Designed to Sell (HGTV) give you a crash course in updating, but for many home sellers, the thought of redoing kitchens and baths and floors without the benefit [...]

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Choosing the Perfect Green for your House Color

Green is nature’s most prominent color, at least in the spring and summer, and it makes a wonderful color for your house. The challenge is to find the right green, something that appears in nature, does not conjure up images of either toothpaste or lime koolaid, and does not stick out like a sore green [...]

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Brick House Trim Colors

Creamy white trim with black shutters (and door) give a brick house a classic traditional look that is timeless.  But for a more contemporary look, use the brick itself for your trim color inspiration. Choose a color that you see in the brick or the grout– tan or taupe or another earthen color. If you select [...]

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Should Gutters Match House, Roof, or Trim Paint Color?

Gutters are the functional part of your house and you don’t want to accent them in any way. Match the gutters to whatever color is behind them. If the gutters run along the trim, match the gutters to the trim color so the gutters disappear. If a gutter runs along the house, then match the gutter [...]

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