Treading in Color

The trend of board and batten walls seems to be an update to traditional wainscoting and I'm loving the look of it! It is fairly common to either go shoulder height with it on a wall or fill the entire wall. After seeing some pictures, I like both! I think it is a great way to add some interest to a space.  I think a full wall is easier to incorporate with wood trim because you can paint the full wall any color and part wall installation seems to look best white. I also like the idea of using it as a broken down catch all for coats in an entry way if you don't have room for the full locker system that is wildly popular in newer homes right now. VS .   I think I have the perfect spot in my house for this! (Josh Cichy HINT HINT) It would replace a storage bench we currently have but it's full of shoes (and sand) the kids never wear! I would love to maybe just use a basket for shoes and hooks for coats/backpacks/snow pants galore!  I'll keep you updated on ho

It seems as though gallery walls are here to stay.  Whether they are to bring in some color and texture to a space or highlight photos you love, mine actually does both. In my master bedroom I have added a panel to mimic a brick wall and created a space for my photos. It just happens to be pictures from my husband and I's journey together from the start. There is a picture from our first international trip together, a picture from our honeymoon and even a picture from when we were on the plane headed to Vegas for his 40th.  The map at the top is from etsy and is of Fort Collins, CO where we met and fell in love. I love that this wall is the last thing I see when going to bed and the first thing I see when waking up. It's amazing to me that a gallery wall can be as organized or chaotic as you like. Meaning it can be a very structured rectangle of 9 of the same frames or a mishmash of all different frames and decor!   As I was searching 'gallery wall' images

Front Door Message Board ...not to be confused with "chalk" paint. The kind where you can write on it! I used black with my project but Benjamin Moore's chalk paint is now available in any BM color, the options are endless! But before we get into that let's think outside of the box a little. Maybe you went through a kitchen remodel and your stove was stainless steel but your dishwasher was black and your stove was white. Stay with me here, in the new kitchen your fridge is moving to the other side of the room and will be flanked with white cabinets for more storage. Your hubby is on board with a new stainless steel dishwasher to match your stove but not a new fridge. What do I do? Paint it with chalkboard paint and live with it until it dies and I can get my pretty stainless steel one to match all my other appliances. It was a step outside of my design box but it's only paint, right? white fridge "before"                  3 yrs later and

If you know me at all, you know I have always been a white (out of the can) ceiling girl. I think it helps to give the color you choose for your walls contrast and the undertone won't fight with future colors.  That being said, I do have a couple of different ceiling colors in my house. One of my favorite colors is turquoise and when we remodeled our kitchen I had to incorporate that color somehow! So I painted the ceiling in our VERY small back entry. I have a Moroccan Star light there and it helps draw interest to the space we use everyday. I also have recently had my husband help me paint my 1/2 bath on the main floor. I went darker, quite a bit darker and painted the ceiling the same dark color. Sounds crazy right? It is currently my favorite room in the house! The room doesn't get much natural light but it does have wainscoting painted white about elbow height on all 4 walls to help off-set the darker color. I have a very colorful piece of artwork in the space and I

My PPG rep Cullen Wolff was visiting our store location today from Sioux Falls and he seemed to notice I mention a lot of his competitors product, Benjamin Moore in past posts. So I told him I would mention his product too just to be fair. C2 is a smaller paint company that distributes their paint through Pittsburgh Paints (PPG). I've been selling Benjamin Moore paint for 8 years now and I've learned a few things along the way. They have several paint lines to choose from (ie:Classic, Preview, Affinity, Color Stories, etc) giving us thousands of colors to choose from, BM users are very loyal, and you get what you pay for when it comes to paint.  We've tried some other brands in the past (Ralph Lauren, Manor Hall) but nothing has excited me like C2. They are a company about COLOR! C2 was started by chemists who understand pigments and their properties and their collection only contains 496 colors. All of their offered colors mirror colors found in the natural world wh

It's quite simple, but it's not easy. In short, a color consultant specializes in the complex effects of color and creates color solutions for a client's goals. A color consultant combines color psychology, current trends, demographic statistics, and color design theories to come up with a successful informed solution. Add to that  mix  the science of visual and physiological effects. On a recent trip to Houzz.com I came across this comment:        " A typical color consultation client is someone who has already taken 10 trips to the paint store, has stacks of paint swatches, has samples painted on the walls and can’t make up their minds what to do,” says Mary Nolte of  Kaleidoscope Color Consulting .  “They think they have no idea of what they want or like, but this isn’t true  — they just lack confidence and vision.”  This is so true! Believe it or not, I would say 25% of the time I am simply reassuring clients on decisions they've already made

So I am VERY opinionated about front door colors, paint them! Why not? Yes they made fade over time but I think it is a great way to personalize your home and make it a little more welcoming. When considering a paint line to use just make sure it is an exterior paint and remember that it is ok to only paint the front of the door that the outside world sees! When searching for a color, it is important to think of the color of your house, accessories you might use and different holiday decor. For example, what will your door look like with your Christmas decorations or your Easter wreath??? My front door has been yellow (BM 2152-50 Golden Straw) for several years now and I think I'm ready for a change! Ok, so my pictures aren't the best but I painted my door brown right after we moved in and the decided to go yellow about a year later-10 years later and it is still yellow. The picture on the right is my entry way, which is painted BM 2128-30 Evening Dove with my yellow fron

So I joke a lot that if you wait long enough on incorporating a trend into your life they will revolve to not needing to update at all, hence coming full circle. Case in point, Benjamin Moore's color of the year 2018 is Af-290 Caliente' which is a red. Up here in north country most people are still busy covering up there red accent walls. I also have seen that colorful accent walls are decreasing as focal points and either transitioning into full accent rooms or being covered with wallpaper. Yes, I said it, wallpaper. I have to admit I have even applied this current trend in my own home. I used removable wallpaper to line the back of my bookshelves. I love that it easily added color and texture to my space and didn't break the bank. I have not however, found a location to apply wallpaper as an accent wall but in my work life the designers do it all the time. A way they have even thought outside of the box was to add texture rather than print with a grass cloth as

<deep breath> No, that's not white it's blue. This one is green and here I see yellow... Welcome to my world! In my Benjamin Moore color studio I have hundreds of whites! And let me tell you a little secret, the lighter the color, the more you can see the undertone. So unless it is white out of the can, no tint added, it is not white. Although I must also remember that everyone sees color differently. Another thought, anything but white on your ceiling and everytime you change the color on your wall, you'll be painting your ceiling! <YUCK> So choose wisely. I do have some favorites though: OC-117 Simply White and white out of the can white. Simply White was Benjamin Moores color of the year 2016. It is a bit softer but that's because compared to white out of the can it has (the least amount you can add) yellow. The yellow is barely there which is why I like it, but its there! So again, just like any color, take a sample home and look at it

Cottage Paint 101- So we've all heard of chalk paint right? Cottage Paint is similar but is actually clay based. Instead of coming from overseas it's actually a Minneapolis MN company based out of Canada. This means it's less expensive and in my opinion a little easier to use. To distress or antique with this paint all you need is a wet rag. The glorious thing about this paint is that it doesn't have to be distressed it can also be used for solid color if that's what you prefer. This paint is intended for existing surfaces without SANDING or PRIMING!! You heard that right, all that is needed is a good cleaning with TSP or dawn dish soap just to remove those pesky fingerprint oils that are invisible to the eye. TSP is an inexpensive powder cleaner that is mixed with water and can usually be found at your local craft or hardware store. This paint is clay based so what that means for you is that water is it's friend! Adding water to the paint 1 tbsp. at

Ever gallop through pinterest or houzz and just feel overwhelmed? Maybe you're not even sure what ideas your after or what you could incorporate into your everyday life. So I have handpicked some ideas for you that I think anyone can do! We also talked about it on KNOX 1310am this morning for our Sterlingcarpet1.com segment. 1. Gallery Walls- can be used to add some much needed color or visual interest to an other wise blank space. The neat thing is you have all the control. It can be as many or as few pictures as you like, the frames don't have to match in color or size and they can include family and friends, be abstract or a little of both. 2. Pop of Color- it can be any color! 2018 is suggesting Green but I say not to limit yourself to one specific color. If you prefer blue or purple, get yourself a nice plum accent chair. Green seems to be a part of a bigger trend though. Think calming, warm neutral used in the 70's era. Which means that this is great news fo