Treading in Color

#1 Removable Wallpaper This surface material is easy to apply and therefore easy to change when you feel you need to. Accent wall seem like to much? Consider lining the back of a bookshelf instead. #2 Live Plants Live plants can help bring life and happiness to a space, and good for your health to boot! #3 Window Treatments These should be hung a couple of inches ABOVE window including trim. If you are able to, extend the hanging rod past the window on both sides. This creates the illusion of a bigger window and allows more natural light into the room. #4 Adding Texture and/or Color There are a few ways to do this. One could be bright pops of color in your accent pillows or with a plush throw blanket. Another way may be to add woven baskets to your plants or add storage for your magazines. #5 Lighting Don't forget to include all three layers of lighting to your room.      A Ambient (general/overhead)      B Task     ...

A trend we keep seeing in the interior design industry is two-toned cabinets. I feel I can add value to this trend as I am a strong believer in this trend but not necessarily by choice. My husband and I did a kitchen remodel a few years ago only by the idea of a fellow co-worker and now good friend. Although I work with a lot of talented designers, this one in particular was extremely talented with kitchens. She was able to see past my small, outdated kitchen to the beauty it is today and believe it or not she  chose two-toned cabinets for me. I left the design (mostly) in her hands. I had white painted cabinets previously-both uppers and lowers and had mentioned my complaint of my lowers never staying clean! At the time we had a large dog and two small children so the white seemed to always look dirty! Her solution-a darker cabinet base and I've never looked back! With appliances moved around and a wall removed (some sweat and tears) I LOVE my new open kitchen!! Cabinets, ...

Okay friends, I have this talk daily while at work...DAILY. In case you didn't know, I live in North Dakota and in ND it feels like winter 9 months out of the year! Maybe that's an exaggeration But truthfully when it does snow, it doesn't melt. It is cold enough here for the snow to stick around for awhile. Ok ok moving on...the trend that's still hitting hard up here is gray. Grays are hard no matter what because of how they change with lighting but can be difficult especially when you want gray to feel warm. So here's my spiel, if I said it once I'll say it again- builder beige from 10 years ago→ 'Greige' BM Stone Hearth →traditional "cooler" gray            GOLD                                                                                    ...

2019 is just around the corner and trends for the new year are starting to rise to the top! Benjamin Moore went a lot more neutral for 2019 with AF-690 Metropolitan. The thing I like about this "neutral" is that it still has color! In case no one told you, color can be neutral!! I love that color is popular on every surface not just your walls but in draperies, islands and even woodwork! I think if color is a little out of your comfort zone then start with a smaller space like a bedroom where you can close the door and not see it at all times of the day. I personally like a darker color for a bedroom. I think it's easier to bring color into the space when you have pillows, bedspreads and rugs as examples to play off of. When in doubt it's just paint, so go ahead, step outside of that comfort zone and go darker than you normally would!

I'll start with a before picture so that you can better understand the WHY? My kids brush their teeth in this bathroom and it is always a mess! Don't ask how toothpaste can get on the wall? The shelf was pretty difficult to clean time and time again and have you ever tried cleaning up globs of dried toothpaste? It's the worst! So my hubby came to the rescue yet again with a pinterest idea he saw online- removed floating shelf AFTER The answer was individual mason jars to hold toothbrushes and toothpaste.  So far, so good. Less mess!

Looking to update but wondering where to start? Feeling overwhelmed? Let me help with a few tried and true tips- one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to update a space is with color! 1. Choose a color story : keep it going through all of your main living areas to help create a natural flow to the space. I've talked about it before and monochromatic color schemes are what's still trending today. Another thing that can help with where to start is choosing an inspirational piece whether it's a piece of art or a favorite pillow, let those pieces guide you. 2. Tone-on-tone coloring : layering color with one color but different tones is a great decorating technique that has been popular for some time now.The saturation or depth of a color can dramatically transform a space without interrupting the flow. Choose a warm neutral you love and go 2 shades darker/lighter for an accent wall. 3. Comparison :  Don't forget to fall in love with a color in your...

Did you know we install glass showers @ Sterling Carpet One!? You may have noticed that shower doors are looking more minimal than ever these days. This is because designers are now embracing the sleek, less-is-more look of frameless shower doors. These stylish new door types leave excessive metal hardware and framing out of the equation, letting showers blend in more seamlessly with the rest of their surroundings. (Domino magazine) The other FANTASTIC part of the equation is that our designers can help with it ALL! Our designers can help choose the tile, grout color, to heat/not to heat floor and even accent tile for a little bling or more storage options! Clean Crisp whites are what's trending now- Adding Glass doors and a walk in shower is a way to update a forever bathroom by eliminating the bathtub. I also think they allow for a lighter brighter space which can be good for smaller spaces.  Moral of the story: Looking to update? Remodel? Stop in to Sterling Carpe...

Even though us midwesterners tend to be 5 or more years behind the most up and coming home decor trends from the coasts, I'm going to talk about 5 decor mistakes to avoid in order to catch up a little. 1. Neon colors- I feel like this one is a little obvious, if you crave a dramatic color I might suggest a Candy Apple Red instead?! When in doubt, always go for a warm neutral and accent with color in your accessories. 2. Anything Chevron- This trend is a little harder to quit and might take some time                but consider replacing the chevron trend with a new pattern like stripes or polka-dots. 3. Plastic storage drawers- These stackable drawers were awesome for when we were in            college, but let's give the grown up version a try and switch to wood or even a storage ottoman. 4. Ruffle Curtains- Feel free to still use these in your little girls' room but when...

I'm cheating a little this month because Benjamin Moore just released it's color of 2019 last week and I'm a little taken back. This color was a drastic change from 2018's Caliente Red and for those of you that thought the "gray trend" was almost over, think again! Introducing Af-690 Metropolitan, this is a color from their Affinity Collection and to me it is a cooler gray.    With this decision they wanted to choose a quiter color compared to years past and I think they hit the nail on the head. What do you think of it? Maybe  you should see the color in person before making that decision! Metropolitan has a bluer undertone and for us up North who like a little warmer color I actually prefer Af- 685 Thunder, but I'll let you be the judge of that for yourself.   

I hate to paint yet choose the MOST. TEDIOUS. PAINTING. JOBS. EVER!! This is my front tile entry that I decided to cottage paint a while back with a stencil and then top coat it with several layers of polyurethane and pray it holds up. Took me a whole weekend to finish!! So I decided this time I"ll paint my interior french door that's white, black. All of my trim is white and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon   ever! My thought was that my boys were going hunting for the weekend which meant spare time for me and I wanted to bring attention to the detail of my french door. BEFORE DURING AFTER I do have to say I LOVE the change but I still HATE to paint. Before I started I spent an hour taping the glass on one side but because I had to do 2 coats I couldn't remove the tape after one coat while the paint was still wet, which is ideal. All said and done, I will never use tape again, it hurt me more than help me! I did not tape the back side ...

Every color has an undertone, we all know that. That being said we often don't associate the right undertone with the right color. For example a red undertone makes a gray feel warm and slightly greige but the lighter you go with these colors they will appear pink or purple. So try and decide before choosing a color what color you ABSOLUTELY don't want to see or even a tone you are okay with seeing. (blue/green) Another important factor is of course lighting!!! Take prospective colors home and look at them in your own lighting. This is important because in my showroom for example, when I suggest a color, it can show greener because of all of our artificial lighting or fluorescent lighting.     Direct Sunlight                                         In direct Sunlight                          ...

wall mounted lights accent pillow Silhoutte by Hunter Douglas       I distinctly remember years and years ago I watched an Oprah episode where she mentioned that the one room often left for last in a remodel is one of the most important, your master bedroom. Through all the years this piece of advice has stuck with me. In my current home I have recently recovered the headboard and my husband has stabilized the bed. Meaning we vetoed the bed frame and screwed the headboard to the wall. We've had the room painted the same greige for years and I still love it so no change there. My husband has also added faux beams to the room which helps tie the rest of the home in and add some warmth to the space. The window treatments were an investment almost right away when we bought the house because we replaced all the windows and we were able to take two windows and replace them with one large window instead. The window treatments are from Hunter Douglas and are definit...