Skip to main content
CartClose Cart
Category

Advice for Homeowners

How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Kitchen Mistakes

05/11/2017
51 Comments

Tricia Firmaniuk, my fabulous Virtual Design Assistant, wrote this great post about kitchens. Let me know what you think! ______________________________________________________________ How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Kitchen Mistakes Here’s a kitchen I found listed on Zillow that has clearly been recently renovated. And while the outcome is not terrible, I don’t think you will…

Continue Reading

Ask Maria: How Can I Update my Green 90s Sofa?

04/21/2017
30 Comments

I recently received a collection of photos from a reader who said “I am not certain if I will retire here or move so I don’t want to do too many drastic investments, yet I would like to update my living room” First, before we proceed, notice that her room is pristine and the photo has…

Continue Reading

The Best Exterior Colours for Apartment Buildings

04/18/2017
17 Comments

Years ago when colour still mystified me and I was constantly talking to other colour experts at colour conferences and at other colour courses looking for mastery, I’ll never forget one conversation I had with a colour designer who specialized in exterior colour. He said, “The problem with using neutrals on exterior (especially the CURRENT…

Continue Reading

How to Style a Vignette in 5 Easy Steps

04/14/2017
58 Comments

Have you ever wished for a step-by-step guide to styling a vignette or creating a tablescape? Here are 5 easy steps for how to style a vignette and create the tablescape you long for. This is where the beginning of a “look and a feel” begins in your house! BHG Tablescapes for Dummies – The…

Continue Reading

Trend Alert: All White and All Black Exteriors

04/02/2017
33 Comments

As you know, I’m travelling for a couple weeks, just finished my Austin Specify Colour with Confidence workshop last week and I’m off to Toronto next where my next course starts on Tuesday. It’s really wonderful to meet people who have been following my blog for as long as I’ve been writing it (8 1/2…

Continue Reading

Contrasting Kitchen Island: Get YOUR Colour Right

03/17/2017
54 Comments

Recently I was consulting with a couple on their new build. They told me they were definitely installing a white kitchen but they wanted a different colour on the island. This is the inspiration picture they showed me: Robert Elliot Homes When I asked what colours they were decorating with in their adjoining great room, they showed me a photo of their…

Continue Reading

Ask Maria: Can I Combine Faux Hardwood Tile with my Oak Floors?

03/01/2017
29 Comments

via pinterest “Maria, I have oak tongue-in-groove hardwood floors which connect to white tile in my white kitchen. With my upcoming kitchen renovation (in which the kitchen will stay white), I want to replace the white tiles, but I am not comfortable extending hardwood into the kitchen. I really do prefer tiles in a kitchen! What do you think about…

Continue Reading