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As a professional painter I have the luxury of seeing a plethora of colors in each house I”m working in. That makes it so much easier for me to pick and choose colors for my own rooms. I get to spend several days with the new color of someone else’s walls and even though colors look very different in different settings I can get a ‘feel’ for the color I’m working with. I was working in a friend’s house and she chose a lovely shade for her den and kitchen- Benjamin Moore’s Texas Leather (also a featured color in the Pottery Barn catalog). I never would have picked this particular color for my own house, but the more I was around that color, the more I fell in love with it. So, my dining room is now that color! My apologies for the barren walls…I still don’t have my dining room properly put together yet:

In my house the color has more of a green hue. In my friend’s house it had more of a brown hue. I love the white trim and my antique white cupboard against the lush walls.

I also fell in love with another Pottery Barn color (Pine Cone Brown) and decided to paint my bedroom walls. My bedroom has had white walls for 12 years! It was a big change for me but I am so glad I did it. I’m in love with this color. It makes the room so restful and cozy.

I painted the dresser I purchased at an estate sale (for $18!!) white

And one more big change…a kitchen remodel. It’s only a partial kitchen remodel. I have a mishmash of different cupboards in my kitchen – the old built in ones that go from floor to ceiling (which I love) and the newer not-so-great ones that I will have to live with until I win the lottery. I’m adding another set of base cabinets and shelving on one end of the kitchen, getting new countetops, a new sink, and a new stove. I’ll be posting before and after pictures of the progress. It’s going slowly but it will be well worth it when it’s done!

And with crazy boys like these…

who like to sleep with me and roll around in the bed, it’s a great deal easier to wash a duvet than it is a bulky comforter.

Some of my favorite places to shop for duvets:

Garnet Hill

Pottery Barn (I love you PB, but sometimes you are just too expensive and I can only shop your sales!)

Ikea

Target

I tend to buy most of my duvets on sale ($35-$50), that way I don’t feel too guilty when I amass a half dozen of them. I do, however, splurge once in a while when I find one I just can’t live without. Duvets are, indeed, a fun and inexpensive way for a quick change!

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When changing a room over I like to grab several paint swatches, tape them to the wall and ‘live’ with the colors for a bit before I make my decision. Well, my daughter had her own ideas and immediately fell in love with a lovely shade of blue from one of the swatches, so we went with it.

BEFORE – the PINK room

The pink gingham roman shades were removed from the windows, as well as the shutters to make way for new window treatments.

DURING – PINK to BLUE room

AFTER – the BLUE room

While shopping for paint I happened to pass by the fabric clearance rack and spotted this funky fabric that I knew my daughter would love…so I stitched up some panels. The blue fabric combined with the brown polka dots = oh, la, la! I had to persuade her into allowing me to use the brown polka dotted fabric. She insisted that it was ‘babyish’.

We scoured the stores for a bedding ensemble that would match the walls. It didn’t take long for my daughter to spot this set…and it looks perfect:

So, for approximately $80 (the majority of the money was spent on the bedding) I completely changed a room – in one weekend.

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One of my favorite organizing tricks is to make use of the assorted glassware I’ve collected over the years. Most of these pieces were found at thrift stores, flea markets and estate sales. I’ve made a rule for myself to never pay more than $4 or $5 for a particular piece – most of them were actually found for under $2.

I use these pieces throughout my house for organizing; here are just a few tips/suggestions on how to use your collections to your advantage:

- Use small containers to organize bathroom supplies such as cotton balls, Q-tips, makeup brushes

- Use on your dresser top to organize earrings, jewelry, miscellaneous items

- Use on your desk to organize office supplies such as pens, scissors, paper clips

Put your collections to good use, get yourself organized and have fun!

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I have a large collection of transferware which includes several plates and platters. I keep plate hangers on all of these pieces so I can just grab one and switch it out as often as I like.

Ironstone and milk glass pieces are great additions to your collections. White goes with everything and makes for a calming, eye pleasing display.

Experiment with different combinations – use pieces from several collections, or focus on a single color or pattern. For vignettes on tables or shelving try mixing cut glass vases, candy dishes, and bowls. Or try arranging several kitchen items of a similar color for an interesting wall display. The possibilities are endless!

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The least expensive and quickest way to change any decor is PAINT. I am constantly changing my mind about how I want a particular room to look and the first step I always take is to grab a bunch of swatches (hey, they’re free!) at my local paint store (True Value, Lowes or Home Depot).

Next, before actually making the big change, I ‘live’ with the color for a few days. I take the swatches and place them next to the molding (if you can cram a swatch in between a bit of the molding that’s great, otherwise you can use just a bit of tape to adhere it to the wall).

Once I’ve decided on a color its’ off to the paint store. You want to make sure you get the correct finish for your project. My rule of thumb is as follows:

Flat finish: ceilings and hallways with little traffic (this finish is harder to clean than those with more of a sheen – I prefer to use it only on ceilings).

Eggshell: ceilings, walls in living rooms and dining rooms.

Satin: walls; particularly in kids rooms, bedrooms (this finish is suited to light scrubbing and washing).

Semi Gloss: doors, trim, cabinets, walls in high traffic areas: kitchen and bathroom (this finish withstands water and frequent cleaning).

Glossy: trim and accent furniture (because this has such a shiny finish and magnifies surface imperfections I actually prefer not to use this finish).

Once your paint color is mixed make sure that the salesperson makes a test swatch for you to ensure the color is correct. Always purchase enough paint for your project. Each time a color is mixed it will come out differently so it is important to have enough of one color mixed at once. It’s always better to have too much paint than not enough (you can always find another use for the leftover paint). I underestimated the amount of red paint I’d need for my dining room and when I went back and had a second gallon mixed, to my surprise, when I put it on my walls the color didn’t even come close to the red I had purchased the day before! I ended up running back to the store, having two more gallons of red mixed and having to repaint the entire dining room for a third time. Ugh!

Many stores are now offering paint in small sample sizes so you can test out the color on your walls before you make a final decision.

Some of my favorite paints:

Martha Stewart Valspar

Benjamin Moore

Behr

Don’t forget to purchase high quality brushes in a variety of sizes…and have fun!!