Five of my Favorite Myths or Secrets about Decorating your Home with Paint

Photo courtesy of Country Living 

1. Dark paint colors make a room look smaller - wrong! Dark paint colors give a small space the oomph it needs to look important. There is a warm and enveloping feeling that you can't always get from a pale shade of paint. 
2. Trim has to be either stained or painted white. Please give this one myth up ASAP! In our own home we used a medium shade of gray on our formerly lackluster white interior doors. 
3. Gray paint is not a warm color. Wrong again! Yes, some grays are cooler grays, but there's a warm gray for everybody. We used Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Gray on our hallways and Foyer. It's a beigy/soft/greige that changes throughout the day. It's perfect if you want to be 'engaged' but not commit to gray. 
4. Everyone in the house has to love the color I choose. Trust me, not everyone has the faintest idea of what paint can do for a house. For instance, if your toddler craves purple, would you respect her choice and paint your home purple? If you're unsure on what color to select, look into hiring an interior designer to help make the best choice of color. 
5. All paints are the same, so buy less expensive paint. After twenty years in the business of interior design, I can speak as an expert. Do buy good paint, it will look and last better than cheaper paints. 

Lastly, (as much as I love my painters) let them do their work but save the color selection to you or your designer. Not every color looks the same in every house. I've seen paint colors in my clients homes that I would have loved in my home. But, we have different light, floor color, furnishings and all that can change how a color looks. 

Mary Alice Smith of M. A. Smith Interior Design - an interior designer serving New Jersey, Ocean and Monmouth County, the Jersey Shore and metropolitan New York, CT 

To schedule an appointment call: 732 690-2030

M. A. Smith Interior Design 

masmith@masmithinteriordesign.com

Allied Member ASID

Member of Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce

Member of Kiwanis Daybreak of Toms River

http://masmithinteriordesign.com

Blog: HouseZenGarden and Best Design Coach

5 Tips to the Best Decorated Room in Town

Benjamin Moore colors with an accent color for the chairs 

How To Have The Home You Love

If you're like me, you are often (or always) thinking about updating your home.
Whether planning on a change in a room or an entire home, follow these important concepts, so your end result looks like your home and is reflective of your lifestyle:

1. Have a clear idea of how the space will be used.

For instance, if you plan on entertaining more than before in a dining room, decide on the total number of dining chairs and table length you need. 

2. Create a budget for the new furnishings.

Dining tables can be anywhere from 'free' (used) to thousands of dollars. What your budget allows will be the starting point for where to source your new table.

3. Understand the elements of great design.

When you see beautiful rooms in Pinterest or Houzz, they were created with the concepts of balance, proportion and scale. They were most likely created through a well-trained eye and/or a professional interior designer. 

4. Know what decorating style suits your lifestyle best. 

Are you a traditionalist, a minimalist or a lover of mid-century design. There is much to choose from today in the furniture world. In the 'before' it was expected that if you were into a more traditional look, you would avoid contemporary furnishings. However, today it's acceptable to have a mix of traditional with contemporary furnishings.

5. Plan a color scheme for your home. 

Try the idea of connecting rooms with one color that is repeated in the other rooms of your home. For instance, one room could have a blue-green color on the walls and the adjacent room could have a blue-green rug with soft white walls. 

For professional help, for a nudge to get started, for the best year ever,

 call Mary Alice at:

                            732 690-2030

M. A. Smith Interior Design

1288 Beauchamps Place, Toms River, NJ 08753

E-mail: masmith@masmithinteriordesign.com

Allied Member ASID

Member of Kiwanis of Greater Toms River 

BIO

http://masmithinteriordesign.com

Blog: Coastal Confidante Blog 

Blog: BestDesignCoach.com

Problem Solved: A Great Window Treatment For A Bathroom

Photo courtesy of Hunter Douglas

One thing I love about design for the home is that there is always a challenge (some people call them 'problems') to solve.

One of my clients is looking for a solution for their bathroom window. The window faces a boardwalk, so the window treatment needs to provide for privacy.

But, since the window doesn't need to be closed to views from outside all the time, it needs to have a quick and easy way to adjust light coming into the room.

Lastly,  because the bathroom has various degrees of humidity during the seasons, it should be a window treatment that can hold up to the wettest of conditions.

Problem solved: Since I recently attended a seminar featuring Hunter Douglas products I recalled that their Palm Beach Shutters might answer all the challenges on our list.

With a guarantee to "never warp, crackle, fade, chip, peel or discolor" I think we may have an answer that not only works well, but looks great for years to come!