Claire Jefford

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BIG Reveal: Colourful Living Room

WWWOW !

What We’re Working on Wednesday

While a ‘Big Reveal’ is one of the best parts of what we do in our interior design business, it’s also ‘Big Work’!

In this blog post with video, join me and Kathryn as we take you behind the scenes of an exciting installation. These brilliant Burlington clients trusted us to custom furnish their entire main floor, with a family room that I’m willing to bet has the most colourful drapery fabric you’ve ever seen.

It was a busy afternoon, but the big reveal and all the hard work we do behind the scenes to get to this point, was well worth it when you see the final results.

The painting that inspired it all.

If you saw this WWWOW post, the piece of artwork above will look familiar to you.

We used this single piece of art that belonged to my client’s mother to pull together a striking colour palette and be our inspiration for the entire main floor design.

Having a fabulous jumping-off point like this piece of artwork is one of the best ways to create a colour palette.

Watch our video to see just what an install day involves and how we brought our vision for these spaces to life for our wonderful Burlington clients.

From the Design Presentation

First, let’s take a look at the sitting area that is adjacent to the dining room. The image below is from our interior design presentation and shows the furnishings for the updated room.

This image was taken while we were still waiting for some final pieces, but you can see how it is coming together and how amazing it’s going to look when completed.

The Ripplefold draperies are up! Ripplefold refers to the header style and it is easily my favourite look. Plus, they glide so easily on the rod, which is also why we use this style in most of our designs.

The two beautiful custom chairs with a soft blue fabric that is as soft as butter to the touch, are also in place.

And how about that ottoman? What a statement piece!

Designed so that the fly and the ladybug would be visible on the top.

When covering furniture in a fabric such as this fun, colourful, large-scale pattern that we used on the ottoman, be sure to have discussions with the upholsterer if there is a specific part of the pattern you want to be featured or centered.

There are a lot more details that go into designing a carefully curated space than you might think, which is why our clients love to work with us.

We custom designed this round ottoman with a dark leg stain to match the dining room table, and gold castors to tie in with the other gold accents in this room – like the dining room light fixture you can just see in the background of this photo in the top left. This also makes it easier to move the ottoman about as needed.

Fabrics & Finishes

We include a ‘mood board’ or what is also referred to as a ‘concept board’ to show all the fabric samples, finishes and paint colours together.

If you are a designer or simply want to learn more about why we use mood boards in our interior design projects, and how the benefits of using them, this is a good post to read.

Here is a picture from our professional photo shoot after the big reveal

Here is a rendering of the ‘coffee barista’ area we designed where we had some fun with the colour of the floating shelves. We colour-matched and repeated the dark teal colour from the fabric in the ottoman, using Newburg Green by Benjamin Moore.

Here are the professional photos, including one with an open drawer so you can see how great the storage is for all the boxes of yummy coffee.

Moving into the living room, take a look at what it looked like when we first met with our clients.

As a side note, I can’t stand these type of window coverings you see in the before shot. We call them Califonia Shutters and unless you live in an extremely hot climate all year round, I highly recommend you never use this style of window treatment.

They are bulky, difficult to open fully and block out a massive amount of natural light. For the price, you are much better to invest in full functioning drapery.

Our client’s living room before we got our talented design hands on it.

Another before shot of the wall where the funky wallpaper and t.v. are going.

A rendering of the final look.

The BIG Reveal!

This is my favourite part of the living room design. I absolutely adore this colourful, fun fabric!

Drapery still wrapped up in its packaging.

We chose to use a ceiling-mounted rod in a black finish with end caps. Look how fabulous the Ripplefold header style is for this treatment.

Repeating the black and white speckled pattern from the wallpaper in the drapes was ideal. And the custom-made pillows with the brilliant coloured birds tie in so beautifully!

Such a bright and cheerful space.

Although there is a lot of colour used as accents in these rooms, the walls are all painted a soft neutral, Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore.

It’s possible to add brilliant colour to a neutral space and this project is a great example of that. See the entire project here in our portfolio.

What a day it was! I’m glad you could join us and experience a little of what it’s like on install day. Here’s the review our wonderful clients wrote for us:

Helpful Design Resources For Your Next Project

If you are planning a kitchen update or home renovation of any kind and want expert guidance at any stage of your project, I can help.

‘Here & Now’ Design & Colour Consultations

I now offer 1-hour online design and colour consultations for anyone outside of my local area. With over 13 years experience of running my award-winning interior design firm and working on hundreds of projects, I can provide professional guidance for any area of your home.

Learn more about this exciting new service and book your online appointment here. I can’t wait to e-meet you and help you with your project!

Local In-Person Design & Colour Consultations

If you are local to me either in Burlington, Ontario or around the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), I can come to you for a 2-hour in-home consultation.

Click here to connect with me via my contact page.

Perfect Colour Palettes

Are you losing sleep and overthinking when it comes to choosing the perfect paint colours for your home? Don’t sweat it! I’m a Certified True Colour Expert and have instant advice to make it easier for you.

We have more than 50 Whole-Home Colour Palettes readily available for you to instantly download. All of the paint colours in each palette have been carefully selected by me personally. Plus, there’s you get tip sheets on lighting, paint sheens, how to create a gallery wall, a paint planning template, and more.

You can view the entire gallery of paint colours here.

Or, click below on your preferred brand to see the most popular paints to choose from.

Find Colour Claire-ity Here

Do you know my 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time?

Click here to sign up for the free download

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The Big Reveal; colourful living room

Featured

Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue

Woodlawn Blue HC-147 by Benjamin Moore

I just can’t get enough of blue! What about you?

Today’s review is of Benjamin Moore’s Woodlawn Blue. It is a lovely subtle shade of blue-green from their Historical Collection.

This beautiful tone would add a wonderful bit of colour to a mostly neutral home or look super in a luxurious spa-like bathroom.

In this colour review video of Woodlawn Blue by Benjamin Moore, I share:

The undertone
Colour comparisons to easily see the different undertones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

After you watch the video if you would like all this information conveniently laid out for you in one place with even more paint colour combinations to use, take a look at my Woodlawn Blue Perfect Colour Palette.

A must-have digital download for any colour enthusiast or design professional.

As a Certified True Colour Expert and an award-winning interior design professional, I’ve worked with many homeowners on various residential design projects.

I want to give you the confidence to make educated decisions about your own paint choices.

Let’s do this!

Undertone: blue/green

Woodlawn Blue may lean more towards blue or green in colour depending on the lighting and what other decorative elements you pair with it in your interior decorating project.

Looking at the colour comparisons below will help give you a better idea of where Woodlawn Blue fits between two similar shades, one that is more green and the other that is bluer.

Colour Comparisons

Smoky Green CC-700 & Gossamer Blue 2123-40

I always love to compare a paint colour so you can clearly see the true tones. It’s often not until you have a colour side by side with similar shades that the tones become obvious. Don’t miss this step when selecting your paint colours.

During a colour consultation, I always make sure to show my large paint boards against different elements such as flooring, tile, and fabrics.

I swap them out to show my client just how different similar colours can look next to their existing finishes.

Best Whites To Pair With Woodlawn Blue

Chantilly Lace OC-65 By Benjamin Moore

Simply White OC-117 By Benjamin Moore

White Dove OC-17 By Benjamin Moore

If you want to learn more about one of the most popular whites, check out my review of White Dove by Benjamin Moore.

I tend to have around 10 white paint colours that are my best whites for trim and ceilings. You don’t need to look at the thousands of whites available to find the right one and you definitely don’t need to mix two different whites or use only a certain percentage of paint colour to get the right one for you.

I can assure you that the best colour for your project already exists, you just need to know the 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time.

We used Woodlawn Blue for a custom vanity in a client’s powder room we redesigned. It was the perfect colour to pair with the calming blue-green tones in the bold and beautiful wallpaper we selected.

We took the photo ourselves, so while it’s not a professional photograph, hopefully, you can still see how lovely it all came together for this interior design project. (And how fabulous is that back-lit mirror?!)

Fabulous Colour Combinations

In my video, I paired Woodlawn Blue with a few different colours, all from Benjamin Moore and all included in my Perfect Colour Palette for Woodlawn Blue.

It’s such a versatile blue. It goes well with neutrals, colours with similar tones, and those that offer amazing contrast.

Woodlawn Blue with Polo, Boothbay Gray & Natural Cream

Polo 2062-10 by Benjamin Moore

Boothbay Gray HC-165 By Benjamin Moore

If you want to see more of Boothbay Gray, check out this Secret Xbox room we designed in a client’s basement!

Natural Cream OC-14 by Benjamin Moore

I am always curious to hear what you think of the colours I review. I have not yet had the opportunity to use Woodlawn Blue in a project, have you? Please comment below.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

All of the colour combinations shown above are included in my Perfect Colour Palette for Woodlawn Blue.

Woodlawn Blue is now part of my Benjamin Moore Grays and Blue-Green Collection showcasing all 10 of my gray and blue-green Benjamin Moore Perfect Colour Palettes.

My Perfect Colour Palette library is expanding and I now have over 50 palettes to select from. Click here to see all of them.

I’ve printed all of mine and they have proved to be a very helpful resource for consultations and client projects.

If you want to get all my Benjamin Moore colour guides in one place, look no further than my Benjamin Moore Ultimate Collection. All 20 of my Benjamin Moore palettes in one handy collection.

Room images by Benjamin Moore Colour Viewer

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Featured

6 Bedroom Design Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make

Although it’s often the final room to be decorated, the bedroom is an essential space in a home as it provides a private and comfortable area for rest and relaxation.

It is where we spend a significant amount of our time sleeping, which is crucial for our physical and mental well-being.

Additionally, a well-designed bedroom can enhance the overall ambiance and aesthetic appeal of a home.

You CANNOT afford to mess up this type of decorating project!

For this reason, I want to share with you my ‘6 Bedroom Design Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make’.

1. Placement of your bed.

Your bed should be the focal point, a real feature since it’s the largest piece of furniture in the room. Design the space so that the bed fits nicely on a main wall with side tables.

The placement of your bed can have an impact on your overall well-being.

It’s generally recommended to place your bed in a position where you can see the door, but not be directly in line with it, which was the case in our Burlington client’s bedroom when we first met with them to discuss this specific project.

Before: Placement of bed under the windows

Additionally, it’s important to avoid placing your bed under a window or in a location with a lot of clutter or chaos. Overall, the goal is to create a peaceful and comfortable sleeping environment.

Here is my own bedroom where the bed is placed opposite the closet

If you place your bed on a wall with windows, be sure the window treatments aren’t covered up by the bed or covering a heat vent.

Sometimes you’ll want to consider roman blinds as opposed to drapery, which is exactly what we did here in our Burlington client’s principal bedroom.

3D rendering showing roman blinds and possible purple ceiling

2. Inappropriate scale

Scale and proportion are crucial elements in furnishing a space.

Scale refers to the size of individual pieces of furniture, while proportion refers to how those pieces relate to each other and the overall space.

Properly scaled furnishings create a balanced and harmonious environment, while mismatched proportions can make a room feel awkward and uncomfortable.

It’s important to consider the scale and proportion of each piece when selecting and arranging furniture to ensure a cohesive and pleasing aesthetic. This is a common oversight that many people make when decorating.

The image below is a perfect example. The upholstered bed frame is quite grand, but the lamp on the side table next to it is too small in proportion.

This acrylic lamp is too small in scale for the upholstered bed

When planning the decor of our clients’ principal bedroom, we specified a beautiful, king-sized upholstered headboard. We took careful consideration in selecting other furnishings that were similar not only in style but also in scale.

From the installation day of our client’s bedroom, not professionally photographed yet!

The antique mirrored nightstands are a good size at 24″ x 24″.

The sconces are hung at nearly the same height as the top of the headboard and fit nicely between the wall and the bed. Look at all those BIG pillows, plus the large custom storage ottoman!

To achieve good design, always consider how furnishings will relate to one another in both style, as well as scale.

3. Overlooking Storage

Smart storage solutions are important because they can help maximize space utilization and increase efficiency.

By utilizing innovative storage options, we can better organize our resources, reduce clutter, and increase access to important items.

Yes, we love ‘pretty’ but practicality is important too. In this client’s bedroom, we designed the niche area to include a new, beautiful custom dresser built-in.

Before image showing a stand-alone pine dresser

Not only does it look AMAZING, but it also provides a ton of practical storage, including organized jewelry drawers with felt inserts. And functionally, the location of the TV is now opposite the new placement of the king bed.

Our clients absolutely love their new built-in cabinet with the stunning hardware

The design of the unit also has open shelving, which allows for items like perfume to be on display and easy to hand as needed.

Now that the room is complete, it’s like it was always meant to be there!

We designed this stunning custom piece to be finished in Collingwood by Benjamin Moore and the walls are painted Portland Gray. These gray paint colours both have a Violet undertone.

If undertones confuse you, you are not alone, but I can help. Go grab my ‘Fifteen Shades of Gray’ download for free here, to see where I’ve identified various undertones of other Gray paints by Benjamin Moore.

4. The importance of lighting

Lighting is important for a variety of reasons. It can affect our mood, productivity, and overall well-being.

Proper lighting can make a space feel more inviting and comfortable, while poor lighting can cause eye strain and headaches.

In this client’s bedroom, we added four pot lights, two sconces, and a ceiling fan light.

Another key to good lighting design is not to overlook how fabulous dimmers can be. We ALWAYS specify dimmer switches!

Consider layering your lighting to create the perfect, versatile ambiance in your space.

This same lighting strategy can also be implemented using table lamps or pendants over your bedside tables as we did in these other bedroom decorating projects for clients.

Bedroom with a lamp on the side table, designed by Claire Jefford Inc.

Design by Claire Jefford. Photo by Stephani Buchman. See the project here.

As an FYI, the wall colour in the bedroom with the dark gray headboard is Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

5. Looking at items in isolation

This is a huge mistake homeowners often make, and it’s such a costly one too! Buying one item at a time and not looking at the big picture.

How many times have you seen something in a store, purchased it thinking ‘it will go perfectly in my home’ and then it actually doesn’t look so hot?

To achieve great design, we pull all samples of potential fabrics, finishes, wallpaper, and paint colours so that we can view them all together.

Here you can easily see how well all of our fabrics go together

We do the same with furnishings, placing images of items on a mood board, and laying them out to ensure everything looks fabulous and works perfectly.

Finishes shown here from our original client presentation

Mixing different textures and patterns is a goal of ours when designing for clients and ensuring undertones don’t fight with one another but rather complement each other.

6. Overthinking

Do not overthink simple solutions. Instead of fussing around too much with our clients’ bedroom closet, we simply updated the doors.

They had an IKEA Pax closet insert with doors that opened outwards.

With the new room design, we needed sliders and the white shaker-style IKEA Pax doors were perfect!

We also used the IKEA Pax wardrobe system when we redesigned our own bedroom for the first time about 10 years ago. They still work wonderfully to this day.

PAX IKEA Wardrobe

When looking at your overall budget, consider where you may be able to mix high and low, without compromising look or function.

Tell me, are you making of these design mistakes in your bedroom? Comment below to share with us. It’s okay, we won’t judge. 🙂

Follow me for more helpful design and colour tips, I’m just getting warmed up.

If you are planning a bedroom renovation and happen to be near our local area of Burlington, Ontario, reach out to us here, and let’s discuss your project.

You deserve to Live Beautifully in your home. Until next time, Cheers!

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Don’t miss this series!

Click here to see my Kitchen Design Mistakes Series

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7 Ways to Increase Client Conversion

Today I’m sharing 7 ways to increase client conversion to set you up for success with more projects.

Getting your foot in the door for a consultation meeting is one thing, but what strategies can you implement to convert more of those consultations into interior design projects?

Let’s get right to it!

1. Staying ‘Top Of Mind’

Email is not dead.

Stay in touch with regular updates to leads and past clients, so that you are the one who comes to mind as the expert to turn to when it’s time for their next home project.

We have three separate touchpoints for this:

*On the intake form of our contact page
*During the discovery call
*In our questionnaire sent after a paid initial consultation is booked

We like to stay in touch with past clients and leads who have previously inquired with us (but may have never hired us) at least once a month.

These emails are not ‘salesy’, nor should they be.

For example, share helpful tips and advice about recent projects you’ve worked on or industry events you have attended – like KBIS, the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show or Highpoint Market.

This content needs to provide value, something of interest to a homeowner.

Laundry room design by Claire Jefford Inc. All professional photos by Stephani Buchman.

When you share project images, whether it’s behind-the-scenes or a final reveal of a new project in your portfolio, explain a bit of the backstory. Touch on why the client hired you and how your interior design services benefited their renovation or decorating project.

In my Interior Design BOSS Academy which opens for enrolment just a few times a year, we include three examples of these types of emails as one of the many resources in the Bonus Marketing BOSS Bundle: Booked Solid with a Waitlist.

Those invaluable templates and marketing ideas are available in week 7 of my BOSS Academy. This is after the initial 6-week modules where I help you to build a solid foundation for your interior design business.

Learn more and either sign up or get on the waitlist here.

2. Discovery Call Follow-Up

After a discovery call with a potential interior design client, make sure you have a streamlined process for how you follow up with these leads. Don’t just hang up the phone and leave it at that.

We have a standard email template that we tweak slightly to personalize for each potential new client.

In addition, we often send a comprehensive, pretty, and easy-to-read PDF document that lists further details of our services, and the benefits of working with our award-winning Burlington Interior Design firm.

These Canva templates are also included in my Bonus Marketing BOSS Bundle: Booked Solid with a Waitlist, inside my Interior Design BOSS Academy.

3. Preparation is Key

As part of our process and lead up to our paid Interior Design Consultation, we ask clients for photos of their home, and if applicable, sometimes we will set up a shared board on Pinterest.

This not only shows we like to be prepared and that we care, but it also helps us to better understand what we are walking into.

With more than 12 years of experience in running my own successful interior design business, now I’m confident and quick off the cuff with design ideas so I’m fine if I walk into a new client’s home without having seen it ahead of time.

But this wasn’t always the case, especially when I was first starting out. Asking for this information has always been part of my process and it still works for us, even today.

Being prepared for a new client consultation takes more than dressing up and putting on some perfume. 😉

For a recent consultation, clients sent me rough drawings with a layout of their proposed new design plans.

It was very insightful to see what they had come up with on their own. Although, as I’m sure you can appreciate as a fellow professional in this field, I could see the potential for a much more functional and well-thought-out design.

My own kitchen design with plenty of personality and a ton of function

Being armed with this information ahead of time, presented me with the opportunity to come super prepared and show my expertise.

At the consultation meeting, I tactfully educated the lovely couple on some crucial flaws in the design and professional recommendations on how I would redesign the space to make it way more aesthetically pleasing and far more functional.

The jury is still out as to whether or not they will reach back out for further design services, but at least I was fully prepared and they could see the validity of what I suggested.

4. Don’t Hold Back

Although this can be dependent on your interior design business model, I like to give as much value as I can at this first paid consultation meeting.

Some designers don’t do consultation-only appointments and that’s totally fine. For me, I love them!

At a recent colour consultation for another lovely couple, I shared a lot of helpful advice for updating their main bedroom and ensuite.

I also provided ideas of how they could easily update their other full bathroom without doing a full reno, just like we did in a client’s basement bathroom shown here.

Updated vanity, new hardware, artwork & custom roman blind for this bathroom refresh by CJI

They asked about window treatment ideas and appropriate sizing for a chandelier in their dining room. I showed up as the expert, easily proving that I knew my stuff and wasn’t holding back.

A recent story was shared by one of my Interior Design BOSS Academy members. She told me that she joined the Academy because she sees how much I share online for free and thought, ‘Wow, if she gives all of this advice for free, how incredible will her paid course with more access to her be?’

Former BOSS Academy members are very happy with their investment.

Some designers worry that if they give too much away, the clients won’t hire them for further services, but I believe the opposite is true.

There are always going to be people who see the value in what we do and are willing to invest in our services.

Conversely, there will always be those who feel it’s too expensive to hire an interior design professional for full custom design and project management services, but may be happy to invest in a paid consultation-only appointment for ideas and guidance to lead them on the right path.

Either way, my goal is to help homeowners in any way that I can, and ‘holding back’ is not in my nature.

5. Bring Visuals

Never underestimate how exciting it is for a homeowner looking to renovate or decorate, to see examples of what’s involved in the design process.

A tablet is great for showing past projects you’ve worked on – before images, 3D renderings, and the final results. Discuss any challenges you faced and how you came up with fantastic solutions for the project.

We may also bring an example of our Project Site Binder. This includes our Materials and Selections sheet, showing details of all paint colours used in a project, as well as any tiles or hardwood selections and more.

We also have an end-of-client-project folder that includes actual fabrics, wallpaper and paint colours of physical samples that we give to clients so that they have everything together in one place.

There is so much that happens in the backend of what we do that clients don’t see, so sharing this sort of detailed information helps them to better understand what you bring to a project and how you help to keep everything organized for them.

A template of our Materials and Selections document is provided in Module 6 of my Interior Design BOSS Academy.

6. Create a Proposal

If you feel it’s worthwhile, and depending on your business model, take time to draw up a design proposal for their consideration.

I shared an example of mine in the second episode of my Behind the Curtain series and I had quite a few designers tell me afterward that they loved how professional and comprehensive my client proposal looked.

And yes, you guessed it, I also share a proposal template with you in my BOSS Academy course. Don’t start all this stuff from scratch! Learn my proven strategies and business setup with all of these helpful resources already done-for-you!

Samples shown here of items used in my own kitchen renovation

7. Frequently Share on Social

If you ever get stuck wondering what to share on social media, be sure to frequently post to different platforms to show people what you do.

In a story or an Instagram Reel, talk about the process of how you work. Tell a story about how you helped a client and the different ways you benefitted an interior design project.

A client who we initially thought was hiring us for an interior design consultation-only appointment, ended up telling me at this first meeting that she changed her mind after seeing my Instagram feed and stories.

She decided she wanted to hire us for full services and wanted to be ‘hands-off’ to leave everything to the professionals.

You never know when you are going to strike a nerve or hit on that ‘sweet’ spot with someone watching you on social media.

For more helpful resources to push your business to the next level, see my shop page here. Get organized and gain more confidence!

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Kitchen and Bath Trends 2023 from KBIS in Las Vegas

What a week it was at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas!

With the highest number of attendees in many years, the show was definitely buzzing.

Seeing the vast, stunning displays in two different buildings at the Las Vegas convention centre and receiving an invitation to tour the $13 million dollar ‘All New American Home’ in the hills overlooking the Strip in the far distance, was just what I needed to refuel my inspiration for upcoming interior design projects.

In case you missed my live webinar event where I shared some of the latest trends in Kitchen & Bath design from the show, in this post I’m sharing the replay for you.

Here you’ll see me sharing my insights on some of the new products in kitchen and bath design, as well as colourful displays from the show. Plus, stick around to the end of the video where I show you some of THE MOST RIDICULOUS DESIGN IDEAS that I saw.

Remember, new and different doesn’t always mean better!

Highlights from the show

Bathroom vanities with off-centred, uniquely shaped sinks
Ann Saks bathroom featured in the Kohler booth
Kohler colourful toilets – a blast from the past!
Laundry room solutions including a doggy shower
A new way to freshen up stinky shoes, by LG
Bold appliance and cabinetry colours from Cafe
Wallpaper in kitchens is on trend, just like in my kitchen 🙂
Monogram-marvel showcasing stunning designs by Richard Anuszkiewicz
Smeg makes you smile with Snoopy and fun hues for refrigeration
The exquisite ensuite in the All New American Home

Disappointing Designs

The faucet hanging from the ceiling -WTH?
White Brizo faucets that look plastic and cheap
Cambria’s display, striking but not at all functional

What specifically stood out for you from what I shared in my videos?

Do you have a most / least favourite design idea? Share your thoughts below.

Last year I also shared a blog post with the 2022 Kitchen & Bath Trends where you will see more photos in the actual blog post – in case you haven’t got time to watch the video.

Speaking of hot topics…have you taken my colour quiz yet?

Take my Quiz and find your perfect colour palette with décor inspiration for your next interior design or decorating project.

Perfect Colour Palettes

Convenience at your fingertips

I have created Paint Colour Palettes for some of the most popular colours from three of the leading paint companies, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and Farrow & Ball.

Our Perfect Colour Palettes help you confidently select the best colour for your home, and see which trim, ceiling, and accent colours pair well with your selected colour.

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9 Kitchen Design Mistakes

Kitchens are the place where everyone often gathers in your home and where you make the most memories.

While kitchens may be the most expensive area in your home to renovate, they are also where you will generally see the biggest return on your investment.

You CANNOT afford to mess up these costly renovations.

For this reason, I want to share with you my ‘9 Kitchen Design Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make’.

This was a series of short videos that I shared on Instagram as Reels with lots of engagement. This series was also hugely popular on my TikTok account.

1. Looking to Big Box Stores for Inspo

Yup, I’m talking about those hideous kitchen displays at the Big Box Stores and what a huge mistake it is to make them your ‘go-to’ for design inspiration.

I don’t know who designs them or how these design train-wrecks get approved, as the majority I have seen over the years are beyond terrible.

They are usually a mix of various patterns and cabinetry styles, perhaps with the intention of showing you what is available for finishes. But when you know good design, it really leaves one scratching their head.

Look at this first one below, for example.

The busy quartz counter with the tiny square mosaic backsplash in various green tones is way too busy. Not to mention, those mosaics are so dated. We actually ripped out a similar backsplash from when we first renovated our kitchen in 2006.

In the big box kitchen display below there is a similar busy backsplash pattern paired with a quartz countertop that has quite a bit of movement to it as well.

But my biggest question was – what the heck is the point of the half cabinet on this peninsula with massive legs? It looks incredibly awkward, is in no way functional, and is just an eyesore in general.

So, please do not look at these big box store kitchen displays for design inspiration.

2. Doors vs Drawers

When redesigning your kitchen, skip doing mainly doors on the base cabinets and design your new kitchen with plenty of drawers instead.

It’s way easier to access everything as opposed to crouching down in a cupboard with fixed shelving and it’s much better for your back too. Hey, I don’t know about you, but I ain’t getting any younger over here!

We house our main dishes, cooking utensils, and pots & pans in 36″ wide x 12″ deep drawers.

Deep and wide kitchen drawers, photo by Stephani Buchman Photography

And for a deep pantry, opt for pullout drawers like these if you are designing a custom kitchen. It’s so much easier to see and access everything.

These are key design principles that start with optimizing function, plus, they look super sleek too.

3. Overlooking Smart Storage Solutions

I had the pleasure of working with Häfele Canada which has the most AMAZING kitchen storage solutions to make the most of every inch of precious space.

In the awkward corner area on the base cabinets, we installed the Flex Corner Unit. It has 2 pull-outs each with 2 levels of shelving.

Corner kitchen cabinets can be awkward, get as much storage there as you can

In our kitchen we have two sets of 36″ drawers. In the top drawer of our island we store our main cutlery. And the other bank of drawers, the top one next to the oven, holds our larger cooking utensils.

For both of these, we used Häfeles Fineline Cutlery Trays in Walnut. How they keep everything organized is exquisite!

Utensil organizers in walnut by Häfele

In our 27″ wide spice drawer next to the oven, we installed 3 Häfele Stepped Spice Inserts that make it easy to see and organize all our spices. (Sorry, no professional photo to share with you of the inside of that drawer).

Don’t forget about storing your oils. We had 7″ remaining on our main kitchen wall which we utilized for a pull-out cupboard with double oil baskets from Häfele.

Out of all of these mentioned, which of these solutions would be a ‘must’ for you? Comment below and tell us why.

Kitchen oil pull out cabinet

If you have a spare minute or two, read my blog with all the incredible smart storage solutions. I promise you’ll find plenty of kitchen storage inspiration ideas there.

4. Make smart lighting choices

There are so many fabulous options for lighting. In kitchens especially, it’s imperative to have various light sources, depending on what tasks you are doing.

You’ll need to watch my video to see the 4 different types of lighting we used in my kitchen, as we didn’t get photos of each of them. The last one is really unexpected and I think you’ll love it!

Potlights
Pendants over the island
Under cabinetry lighting
Strip lighting on top of my floating walnut shelf

Pot lights in the ceiling, as well as pendants over the kitchen island

And for more colourful fun, I added in these pretty pendants that hang in our stairwell leading down to the basement which is open to our main floor hallway as well.

When doing a kitchen design, electrical needs to be discussed at the very early stages. Think about where you will need light sources and where best to place electrical switches and outlets.

5. Ignoring Architectural Features

I was only really excited about my kitchen design when I decided to swap the location of my kitchen for my living room. The possibilities were so much more thrilling and less limiting due to the bigger space.

Fisher & Paykel 36″ Gas Oven

Plus, the angled ceiling where the main cabinetry was to reside on the back wall of my new kitchen design, meant that we would be highlighting this very cool architectural detail which was going to be quite the focal point. It did not disappoint! My cabinet maker is very talented and his attention to detail is impeccable.

6. Don’t Follow the Trends!

What I love about my kitchen is that you can’t pinpoint a date as to when it was renovated. It could have been designed last month or anytime in the past few decades.

Am I right?! Kitchens are an investment that is meant to last 15 years or more. When you follow the trends, you run the risk of not loving your renovation for years to come.

I selected a purple hue for my custom cabinets. Kensington Blue by Benjamin Moore is a Purpley-blue that we used for the perimeter cabinetry in my kitchen.

Below you can see Kensington Blue in my large painted board on the far left and again on the far right in the paint chips next to my fun wallpaper.

But for my initial design ideas I was considering the now very popular black for the cabinetry colour, just like my bathroom cabinet design. I’m so glad I decided not to do black as Kensington Blue makes me smile every time I enter the room, plus it’s timeless!

Feel free to argue with me on this, but I just saw this same colour tone in Mad Men which is a TV show set in the 60’s. They had the exact same kitchen cabinet colour, but accented with red tones, which was cool, but not my vibe.

7. Going With Basic Appliances

Kitchen appliances have come a very long way over the years, so if it’s been a while since you last renovated, make sure you do your research to find the best ones for the way you live – or for how you want to live in your new kitchen.

We worked with Best Brand Appliance in Oakville and chose Fisher & Paykel for our range and double drawer dishwasher. The 84″ tall x 36″ wide paneled fridge is from Dacor, it’s next to the pantry which is on the end in the far left of this photo.

Our microwave is a Sharp microwave drawer that I designed to be housed within our kitchen island. This is a great option if you are either short like me and have a hard time reaching a microwave above an oven. Or if you have a bad back or problems bending, this is also a great solution.

Although it is about 4-5 times the cost of a normal microwave, for me the convenience and ease on my body of using it makes it worthwhile, especially since we use the microwave daily.

Yes, these appliances were a splurge and I don’t regret one penny of the investment. We love them all! And remember, you don’t need to splurge on every appliance if it’s not in the budget. Pick one or two that are most important to you.

The Microwave Sharp drawer is 24″ wide

Shown open and with the control panel popped down

8. Not Creating Flow

Creating flow is all part of good design. You achieve this through color, finishes, texture, and patterns, for example.

In the short video, I explain how we did this in my new kitchen design with my Thompson Traders sink and walnut accents, as well as with colorful decor and accessories such as my wallpaper and decorative wall plates.

Even my Smeg toaster matches the leaves in my wallpaper and the island colour

The copper tone is repeated in the hardware and our custom walnut floating shelf

The colourful hues in my wall plates can be found all throughout the main floor of my home

To achieve this in your own home, if you used a colour for your island or on your stools for example, repeat that color in a window treatment, placemats, or a small rug. These are just some ideas for you to incorporate similar colours into the design of your kitchen to create flow.

9. Not Protecting Your Investment

Last, but certainly not least, please protect your investment.

For instance, to protect the bottom of our custom drawers we used non-slip mats from Häfele Canada. We cut them to size to fit perfectly in each drawer.

These mats stop items from moving around when you open and close your drawers too – plus they look super sharp!

The bottom of this cupboard doesn’t mark when sliding cutting boards in and out

In our previous kitchen, we had some leaks under the sink which made the inside of our cabinet finish peel away and in some areas even turned green. Ew!

In our new kitchen, we protect the sink cabinet by using the Under-Sink Mat from Häfele. This mat has unique dimples that can collect up to 1 gallon of water per 6 square feet, should you have a minor leak.

Be sure to consider smart products like these from Häfele to protect your investment, your kitchen is worth it!!

Remodeling your kitchen can be a very daunting task, and there are so many moving parts to think about.

If you are planning a kitchen renovation and happen to be near our local area of Burlington, Ontario, reach out to us here, and let’s discuss your project.

You deserve to Live Beautifully. Until next time, Cheers!

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Sherwin Williams – Accessible Beige

Accessible Beige SW 7036 by Sherwin Williams

Super popular and super versatile, Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams may surprise you with just how good it looks in so many spaces.

If you’re new here, welcome! Below you will see what I cover in every colour review post.

In this colour review of Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams, I share:

The undertone of my featured colour
Colour comparisons in order to easily see the different colour tones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

Sherwin Williams’ Accessible Beige SW 7036

After you read this blog if you would like all the information I discuss in one convenient place look no further than my new Perfect Colour Palette for Accessible Beige.

My Perfect Colour Palette also includes 10 colours that go beautifully with Accessible Beige, plus a 2-page step by step How-To for choosing a cohesive colour palette in your own home.

A must-have for any colour enthusiast or interior design professional!

Available for immediate download here

Undertone: green/gray

No way is Accessible Beige a boring beige. With its slightly green/gray undertone, we’d call it more of a greige. It’s a fantastic neutral to combine with so many different colours.

Colour Comparisons

As you can see below, it’s when we start to look at comparisons to other colours, that things become very interesting.

Silverpointe SW 7653 and Worldly Gray SW 7043

Colour Comparisons with similar colours from Sherwin Williams

Looking at the colour comparison above, it’s easier to see the true colour of Accessible Beige. Silverpointe, another great neutral is more of a gray with blue and green undertones and Worldly Gray although similar has a violet undertone.

When I do Colour Consultations in a client’s home, I am always comparing colours so they too can easily see the differences between the paint colours.

When I hold my large paint boards up to a decorative element such as fabrics, wallpaper or subway tile and then swap out one board with another board, it becomes clear as to which colour will work best.

Best Whites To Pair With Accessible Beige

Pure White SW 7005 by Sherwin Williams

Creamy SW 7012 by Sherwin Williams

Pearly White SW 7009 by Sherwin Williams

Now look at all three whites together and you get a better idea of the different looks each would give when used for trim or ceilings with Accessible Beige.

I can assure you that the best colour for your project already exists, you just need to know the 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time.

Fabulous Colour Combinations

Accessible Beige with Different Gold, Moroccan Spice & Georgian Bay

I pulled this gorgeous palette together from my Perfect Colour Palette for Accessible Beige.

Different Gold SW 6396 by Sherwin Williams

Moroccan Spice SW 6060 by Sherwin Williams

Georgian Bay SW 6509 by Sherwin Williams

Creating a Beautiful Colour Palette for Accessible Beige

A fabulous fabric used to create this beautiful palette for Accessible Beige.

Remember when using my Perfect Colour Palette that we have put together 10 colours that look amazing with Accessible Beige although it’s not suggesting you use all 10 as paints when designing your interior space.

The palette is a guide on how to create a space using a combination of the 10 colours in paint, flooring, fabrics, artwork, and other decorative elements.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

All of the colour combinations shown above plus more options for you to choose from are included in my Perfect Colour Palette for Accessible Beige.

Accessible Beige is also included in my newest Collection that showcases 10 beautiful neutrals from Sherwin Wiliams.

10 of the most popular Sherwin Williams’ Neutrals in one collection

If you are a fan of the beautiful rich paints by Farrow & Ball I’ve also created a collection of 10 classic colours from this popular British paint company. Check them out here.

Farrow & Ball’s Collection of 10 Classic paint colours

My Perfect Colour Palette library is expanding and I now have over 50 paint colours to select from! Click here to see all of them.

Take my Colour Quiz to find out what your Perfect Colour Palette is.

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Bungalow Renovation- From Outdated to Upscale

Who doesn’t want to make their current home their forever home and never have to think about moving again?

Years ago my sister and brother-in-law were thinking about moving. With the design layout as it was, the functionality of their 1950’s Burlington bungalow did not meet their needs.

As an Interior Design Professional with over 11 years of experience helping homeowners live beautifully, I could definitely see the potential.

They loved the Burlington area where we all live and I knew that they could have what they desired if only they were aware of the fabulous possibilities.

Karen and Jason hired us for our interior design services and together with our team here at Claire Jefford Inc., we created an inspiring design with a completely new layout.

3D design of their new kitchen pantry wall with a built-in tea station

Follow along with this post to see the BIG reveal for this 1950s bungalow that we took from outdated to upscale!

Let’s look at the details of this incredible main floor transformation. This includes the before images, 3D drawings and our professionally photographed ‘after’ shots.

Project Location:

This was an older home in a beautiful mature neighbourhood known as Mountainside in my home town of Burlington, Ontario.

Client Wishlist

My sister Karen and her husband Jason were looking to update their bungalow so that the design would work for them to indeed become their forever home.

As they both love to cook, on their wishlist was a more functional and open kitchen layout, as well as a more spacious bathroom.

Below was their kitchen before and this space actually turned into their new bathroom. Keep up with me now!

Here is their old kitchen where the large bathroom is now

My sister is obsessed with fashion and on her wishlist was a stunning dressing room with ample storage for all of her clothes and smart organization solutions for shoes, jewellery and make up.

We gutted the entire main floor, turning this 3 bedroom bungalow into a 2 bedroom home. By eliminating one of the bedrooms and the living room, we were able to design the home in a way that made it way more spacious and with plenty of storage.

The living room below was mainly an unused space and the first room you see as you entered the home in the previous layout. We decided to remove the wall from the entry that you see below which enabled us to create a much larger and more functional kitchen.

Now this beautiful big window is a bright part of the new kitchen

Taking out a living room from the main floor bungalow may sound crazy, but because I knew my clients so well and completely understood their lifestyle, this design made perfect sense.

They have no children and don’t really have guests stay over, so having a third bedroom was not needed.

This rendering really helped them to see the potential of their space

The main focus was to design a large, open kitchen that incorporated all of our client’s needs, especially taking into consideration that they are both avid cooks.

Now in their new kitchen, the natural light really lights up this beautiful open space. And the custom drapery is lovely too, eh?!

Hale Navy island and banquette which also houses some secret storage in the bench seating!

You can never have enough storage

The new kitchen includes a large island with a corner banquette at their eat-in kitchen table, as well as two additional counter-height stools at the far end near the window.

We had many discussions with both the clients and our custom cabinet maker regarding the various custom cabinetry designs throughout the home.

From the kitchen to the bathroom, including the large walk-in closet known as the ‘Girly Room’, no detail was overlooked.

The main double doors here house small appliances like a crock pot, blender, etc.

We customized a narrow side cabinet to make room for taller items such as brooms and mops

Custom kitchen cabinets and pantry – Simply White Benjamin Moore

The nice thing about investing in custom millwork is that you can get exactly what you want.

‘The Girly Room’

The fully customized dressing room for my sister was a lot of fun to design, although not without it’s challenges, to make sure we got everything perfectly perfect.

We wanted the look to be soft and feminine which is why we selected pink wallpaper, white and blush drapery fabric, and a bright white for the custom cabinetry.

This rendering shows a sneak peek of the big reveal for this beautiful dressing room

All professional photos by Stephani Buchman Photography

We designed this ‘Girly Room’ to include plenty of open hanging storage for dresses, dress shirts and formal suit jackets. Good size drawers house undergarments and open shelving allowed us to display stylish accessories such as handbags, some jewellery and perfumes.

The custom-designed spinning shoe rack in the corner is definitely a show-stopper and conversation piece. This beauty houses over 70 pairs of my sisters’ shoes!

The crystal chandelier and soft, pink glass swirly hardware on the drawers add additional hits of ‘bling’ to the room.

What girl doesn’t want or need a shoe rack like this?!

This custom full-length wall mirror doubles as a home for all my sisters’ jewellery and was designed in a way where she can easily see every necklace and each set of earrings to allow her to easily and carefully select the best pieces to coordinate with her outfits.

A jewellery case that doubles as a full-length mirror-yes please!

This new and improved ‘Girly Room’ was more than just a step up from what the room my sister was using previously for all her fashion needs. Check out the before image below.

It definitely needed to be upgraded and is now more aesthetically pleasing and super organized!

Wowzas! It’s incredible when you consider the possibilities of thoughtful, interior design.

In my opinion, the creative process is one of the best parts of being an interior design professional, and making dreams come true too, of course. 🙂

A Bigger Bathroom

This tiny bathroom was previously shared by my sister and brother-in-law

In the new design, we moved the new bathroom to where the old kitchen was. If you scroll back up to the first ‘before’ photo in this blog, the one of their kitchen, you will see the same window that is now shown here on the right and in the reflection of the mirror.

Brand new spacious bathroom with double sinks and custom vanity

The bathroom walls are painted Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore and the vanity is Kendall Charcoal. This moody dark grey is one of the 8 paints in my best bold paint colours for cabinetry.

This renovated bathroom is quite a change from what my sister and brother-in-law were used to. Double sinks, a larger window, loads of counter space and great storage with all those drawers!

White-tiled shower with black plumbing fixtures

My sister and her husband love the clean look of this new bathroom design. A tub wasn’t required, so a nice big shower with a built-in bench worked very well.

Glass shower design with bench seat and wall niche

The large wall tiles make for easy cleaning and the small penny tile is so charming on the shower floor which we repeated in the niche on the wall.

Adding a glass shelf to the shower niche allows for extra storage to house shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and razors…except for in the professional photo where we styled it with scented sticks. 🙂

Designer Secret

Want to know one way that you can make a room more stunning? Paint the ceiling a dramatic colour!

My sister and brother-in-law were very open to this idea, and they loved the result. Painted ceilings are a nice, unexpected touch to an area that is often overlooked for its possibilities and usually done in white.

We wanted to create a bedroom space with a feeling that was moody yet serene, with some playful accents. The hits of teal and raspberry tones work beautifully to achieve the desired look.

We used Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter on the walls with Wrought Iron on the ceiling

I really enjoyed working with my sister and brother-in-law, they were very open to all of my ideas and were great to work with.

Now we all look forward to their next renovation coming this fall which will see a complete gut and new design in their basement! Stay tuned for that project.

Our job is most meaningful when clients trust us to create stunning and functioning spaces for gathering and making memories.

Moving is a daunting task, not to mention expensive. Plus, it’s rare that you will find a house that you don’t need to decorate or renovate in any way. Don’t limit the possibilities of what you might be able to do in your current home versus moving houses.

We actually started documenting the renovation when it started 2 years ago, you can see part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here.

If you are local to the Burlington area, we can help. Contact us here, I’d love to speak with you to discuss the dreams you have for your home.

See their full project in our professional portfolio here.

Client Testimonial:

What design element did you like best?

Have a favourite part of this Bungalow Makeover? Comment below to tell me what it is!

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Colour Claire-ity

Do you know my 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time?

Convenience At Your Finger tips

Check out my super helpful Perfect Colour Palettes. Find great colour combinations to inspire you for your next room design palette.

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Get Organized!

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being organized.

I mean, super organized.

Like, everything has a place.

Being a professional in the industry and having offered interior design services since 2011, I know what a fabulous feeling it is when a home looks great, but the function is just as important.

Since renovating, I’ve never felt so comfortable and happy in my own home. It’s not just because of the beautiful colour palette that perfectly suits our style and not only down to the sensible floor plan layout that works flawlessly for the way we live.

It’s because everything now has a place.

Our new living room, which used to be our kitchen. All professional photos of my home by Stephani Buchman.

In my previous blog post you saw the unbeatable storage solutions from Häfele that we integrated into our new kitchen design.

In addition to the smart organization for kitchens, Häfele also has a fabulous and stylish solution for organizing other areas of your home. Let me introduce you to their Symphony Wall Organizer and give thanks to Häfele for sponsoring this post.

Just one configuration for the Häfele Symphony Wall Organizer

Designed to add greater flexibility and elegance to open storage, the Symphony Organizer features a sleek, low-profile frame which makes it an ideal solution for blank walls, tight spaces or other areas where shelving and drawers just can’t go.

For even more versatility, there are a few different types of hooks styles to choose from, depending on what you wish to hang. And they can easily slide along the horizontal rail if you want to move them, then be clipped firmly back into place once you’ve selected the ideal positioning for your needs.

These are the triple hooks for keys.

Here is the style you can use for coats, hats and purses.

Shoes can also be hung here and kept off the floor. Perfect for small entries like mine!

This sure beats our old pine wall shelf with 5 pegs that used to hang on the wall in our previous front foyer! Take a look at where we have this ingenious organizational art-like piece housed in our new living room by the front door of our home.

For the photo, we staged this area. It’s not always this pretty, but it’s always functional!

We have a full closet at the opposite end of this room which is where we keep the majority of our coats, boots and shoes.

This main closet is 4’5″ by 8’5″ with a full-length mirror one side

Custom walnut closet doors in the living room of our newly renovated Burlington bungalow.

Now you have a better idea of how the room is set up and the situation with our closet space. The items we hang on the Symphony Organizer are what we use most regularly, like a couple of hats, a few scarves, a purse or two and coats we wear daily.

Looking at the quick photo below that I snapped just a few days ago, I can confess that it’s mostly all of my stuff. 🙂

This is real life. LOL

Available in a variety of sizes, configurations and colour combinations, Symphony is one of the most stylish and customizable open storage options available for the closet, entryway, home office, craft room, vanity and more.

You can learn more here at Häfele Canada’s website.

And don’t limit your thinking to believing that this gem can only be used by the front door. Due to its flexibility with many design options, the possibilities are plentiful!

Here it can be seen for hanging belts and ties on the end of a closet.

Here’s how it first started to come together.

Organize Your Precious Jewels

If your necklaces and bracelets get tangled like mine do because of a small cluttered (useless) box like this one, you may want to consider the Symphony for all your sparkling jewels.

Confession time: Currently, my jewellery storage is a mess! No judging.

I’ve got my jewellery scattered between this traditional, cherry stained jewellery box, while some other necklaces of mine are in our guest room on the side table. Then I have some other pieces that rarely make it out of my travelling case because I have no decent place for them to live.

But, that’s about to change because the smaller version of the Symphony Organizer is on my wishlist for my bedroom.

Häfele’s Symphony Organizer can also be used for jewellery, crafts and more!

It’s not uncommon for me to give up on wearing a specific necklace or pair of earrings that I actually want to wear with an outfit because it takes me too long to find it. And if I do find the one I want, I may need to spend another 15 minutes untangling it from other chains.

Does this happen to you too, where you find yourself wearing the same jewellery because it’s easier?

It all comes down to being well organized. When everything has its place, you know exactly where to find what you need.

I hope you’ve found this refreshing, functioning wall art from Häfele inspiring ideas for your next home organization project. Think outside the box and remember that function doesn’t have to mean fugly. We’ve come a long way baby!

Häfele is the leading international manufacturer and supplier of furniture fittings and architectural hardware. To see all of their products and learn more, check out the Häfele Canada website here.

Colour Claire-ity

Do you know my 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time?

Convenience At Your Finger tips

Check out my super helpful Perfect Colour Palettes. Find great colour combinations to inspire you for your next room design palette.

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Kitchen Redesign with Smart Organization

The renovation of my main floor, especially my kitchen, has been a long time coming and I can tell you, it was well worth the wait.

Finally, I can reveal to you my newly renovated and completely redesigned kitchen!

I’m just gonna put it out there and say, it’s unlikely that you have seen such a bold, colourful kitchen that has been designed with so much smart organization and thoughtful storage ideas.

There, I said it. I’m tooting my own horn. 🙂

I am so proud of what we have accomplished here with my exceptional team of trades and by partnering with wonderful sponsors like the fabulous people at Häfele Canada. At the end of this post, I will be sharing codes and links to all these fabulous products, so you too can enjoy them in your kitchen too.

My new kitchen revealed! All professional photos by Stephani Buchman

Because I’m a sucker for acronyms and I adore structure, let me give you CLAIRE-ITY as I walk you through the details of my kitchen design project.

CLAIRE-ITY

Clients

My husband and I are nearly empty-nesters. I can’t believe it myself, where has the time gone?

Our son Adley is in his first year of university and will be spending holidays and summers here at home.

Elise is our 16-year-old daughter who is very active in musical theatre and has a busy social life.

My Beautiful family.

Chris and I work full time, often entertaining friends here at the house and this year I’ve been playing more golf, which I quite enjoy!

Location

We live in Burlington, Ontario which is between Toronto and Niagara Falls. Our 1967 three-bedroom bungalow has been our home for over 18 years since we moved from the UK where I met Chris, who is originally from England – as is my Mom and her entire side of the family.

My old tired kitchen which we first renovated in 2005

When we first moved to this home, it was nearly 7 years before I started my interior design business in Burlington. I was pregnant with Elise and was a stay-at-home mom, so our budget was very limited.

Dark espresso cabinets were trending – this was in 2005. We installed IKEA cabinets and linoleum flooring which was pretty much the extent of our renovation upgrade at that time. It was time for a much-needed update. My interior design team and I were up for the challenge!

Assignment

We have no intentions of moving any time soon. This is our forever home, at least that is the plan at this point in time.

Previous to the renovation, with the original design being a galley-styled kitchen, it was super tight in terms of space. The lack of storage and inadequate counter space were issues we had to deal with on a daily basis.

In addition, the layout was lousy for entertaining and the kitchen was dark.

The space needed to be opened up, as the divide between the kitchen and the living room was really affecting any possibility of creating a functioning design plan.

It wasn’t until I came up with the idea to swap my kitchen and my living room around that I really started to get excited about my main floor renovation project! This is something we’ve done for other clients before, like in this project here. It opens up so many more possibilities for layout and interesting design concepts.

This is now where my kitchen is.

Inspiration

As soon as I decided to make this change, my kitchen design started to come to life beautifully. I could have all the storage space I dreamed of, a large kitchen island and play with the architectural feature of an angled ceiling!

Having done so many grey and white kitchen designs over the past 10 years, I knew that I yearned for something different.

Oh yes, there was going to be lots of COLOUR!

Bold colour choices were initially inspired by a set of six antique Spode Wall Plates that my mother-in-law from England gave to us nearly 20 years ago. I adored all the bright, fun colours and embraced them all.

From there I found this fabulous wallpaper (see below) and used my large colour boards to select the colours for my kitchen cabinets, kitchen island and wall colour.

Here’s how it first started to come together.

The perimeter cabinetry is Kensington Blue which leans towards purple (my favourite colour) and the kitchen island is Stratton Blue, a green blue. Both colours are from Benjamin Moore.

Despite the image above that shows Pale Oak for my walls, I actually went with Collingwood by Benjamin Moore which we used for this client project a couple of years ago.

The renderings are so powerful for visualizing a space before starting a renovation.

Recommendations

The kitchen design layout was further inspired by my partnership with Häfele Canada.

Häfele is the leading international manufacturer and supplier of furniture fittings and architectural hardware. Their kitchen organization solutions are second to none.

Häfele gray mat liners keep items from shifting within the drawer.

Smart storage is always on trend and is especially needed for accomplishing a functional kitchen design.

When the opportunity came to work with Häfele, I was super excited. It’s not easy to keep a kitchen tidy and to always find everything in its place, but with their Fineline large cutlery trays, that’s exactly what happens now!

Häfele Fineline walnut cutlery drawer insert.

These fabulously functioning inserts come in different configurations for main cutlery, as well as for larger utensils used regularly when cooking. We house our Fineline trays in 36” wide drawers and even the kids know exactly where things go now. Yay!

I especially loved having the option of using a walnut finish because I designed the kitchen with other walnut accents, such as our custom floating shelf by the sink and our custom hood over the oven.

This stunning copper sink is from Thompson Traders.

The Häfele walnut inserts were a wonderful way to complement those elements and assist with the overall flow of the design.

Häfele products are perfect for custom kitchens and for people who value investing in smart organization. It really does make all the difference in making your day-to-day experiences more pleasurable.

My cabinet maker also commented on how easy it was to install items such as the Häfele Flex Corner Unit, which we absolutely love.

Häfele flex corner kitchen unit organizer makes the most out of your corner storage.

Häfele flex corner kitchen unit organizer.

Start with a thoughtful design for your room layout. I carefully considered every inch of my new kitchen space, just as I do for clients. Think about where it will make the most sense to place everyday items based on how you and your family use your kitchen.

The more organized your home is, with items easy to see and easy to reach, the happier you will feel. I also keep my kitchen much tidier than I ever did before because it makes me so much happier now knowing everything has a place.

Exposed!

The nice thing about investing in custom millwork is that you can get exactly what you want. This can challenge a custom cabinet maker, but the professionals (like mine!) who care deeply about their craft and have incredible attention to detail, push through to make the magic happen and get results.

Our slanted ceiling was a challenge for sure, mainly because floors are rarely truly level.

Also, having such a contrast in terms of colour selection between the white-painted ceiling and dark, bold cabinetry, meant that there was no room for error. It had to be perfectly precise!

These drawings had to be very precise to fit on the angle.

The other design element that is often a challenge is that when using standard kitchen cabinets, you are limited to the sizes of doors/drawers, as well as utilizing every inch of available space.

We were able to include the design of the Häfele oil pull-out with the 7″ we had remaining next to my 36″ large pot drawers.

Häfele oil pull out conveniently located near the oven makes for easy access when cooking.

At one end of my island, we added a cupboard underneath the drawer which cleverly houses baking trays and cutting boards.

We used two of Häfeles baking rack dividers to add some separation and help organize these items thoughtfully.

Häfele kitchen storage organization baking racks in chrome.

Between the sink and the corner cabinet, we had the perfect amount of space for the 24″ Häfele waste / recycling pull-out unit. Placing your garbage and compost receptacle near the sink is perfect when clearing up after meals.

Häfele kitchen garbage recycling pull-out unit

Investment

Kitchens are definitely an investment. For our new kitchen design, and unlike the first kitchen renovation we did in 2005, we held nothing back this time.

The cost for the cabinetry, countertops, appliances, sink, faucet and smart organization inserts came to around $120,000, plus taxes.

This does not include items such as hardwood, lighting, window treatments, wallpaper, nor the cost to take down the wall that previously divided the 2 rooms.

My first kitchen makeover was less than $10k, so even though that was over 15 years ago, you can see the difference it makes when your wish list includes all the bells and whistles.

See the full project in my portfolio.

Top Takeaways

First, do what you love and what makes you happy.

Every morning I wake up and smile as I walk into my new kitchen. The design, the multitude of colours, the smart organization solutions – I am thrilled with how it all came together.

Don’t get caught up in the trends and what you see everyone else doing. I happen to think my kitchen design is timeless, especially after watching Mad Men which is set in the 1960’s where they used so many fun and bold colour combinations.

Secondly, everyone knows that kitchens are easily the most frequently used space in a home. It’s where everyone inevitably ends up spending the most time together when gathering with friends and family. The memories made in this busy hub of our homes, are precious.

The kitchen is also the most costly of all renovations and when done right, you will see the biggest return on investment, should you ever go to sell your home.

For these reasons, it’s worth working with a designer.

I know what you’re thinking – of course I’m going to say that being an interior design professional myself. But it’s the truth!

There are so many decisions to be made and so many moving parts to this type of renovation project. One mistake can easily compromise the entire design, whether it comes to the layout or making selections.

If you can’t afford a designer to work with you throughout the entirety of the project, at least consider investing in an initial consultation.

At Claire Jefford Inc. we often have homeowners reaching out to us in order to gain thoughtful advice based on years of experience, regarding what they need to think about before starting on this design journey.

We even offer a Designer For a Day service to assist in choosing selections such as hardwood, countertops, backsplash, cabinetry colours, best paint options for walls, hardware and more.

It can become very overwhelming once your contractor needs you to start making design decisions. There are so many details involved that you likely haven’t even considered at all, but you don’t have to do it alone.

If you are in our local area, see here for the different design services we offer to help you Live Beautifully in your home.

Your Say

Over to you! What do you think about my new kitchen?

Are you loving all the smart organization solutions we incorporated into the design?

Are my colour choices too bold for your taste?

Comment below with your feedback, I love hearing from you.

More to come on my main floor renovation. I’ve only just touched the surface here and have so many other insider design secrets and tips to share with you.

A big shout out and THANK YOU to Häfele Canada who was a wonderful brand and sponsor to work with for our kitchen design project.

If you would like to learn more about these wonderful products and partner with Häfele for your own kitchen renovation, click here if you are in Canada.

Häfele Product Codes with links

As promised, below is a list of product codes and links to the Häfele items we used in my kitchen.

Colour Claire-ity

Do you know my 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time?

Convenience At Your Finger tips

Check out my super helpful Perfect Colour Palettes. Find great colour combinations to inspire you for your next room design palette.

Perfect for Pinning

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Sherwin Williams – Extra White

Extra White SW 7006 by Sherwin Williams

Extra White is one of Sherwin Williams’s brightest whites.

It gives a very clean look to a room but can certainly be enhanced by adding in other beautiful complementary colours, as you will see later in this post in the design rendering we created.

In this paint colour review of Extra White by Sherwin Williams, I share:

The undertone of my featured colour
Colour comparisons in order to easily see the different colour tones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

Sherwin Williams – Extra White

After you read this post, if you would like all the information I share in one convenient place, then you’ll want to check out my new Perfect Colour Palette for Extra White.

My Perfect Colour Palette also includes 10 colours that go beautifully with Extra White and step-by-step guidance for choosing a cohesive colour palette in your own home.

This helpful download is a must-have for any colour enthusiast or interior design professional!

Extra White Colour Review

Undertone: true white

Colour Comparisons

Whites can all look the same to many people until you look at various white paint colours side by side with others. Then you are blown away by just how different they all can be!

And that is why it’s not uncommon for homeowners to overthink choosing a white paint colour for any part of their design project.

High Reflective White SW 7036 and Greek Villa SW 7551

Colour Comparison with similar colours by Sherwin Williams

When I do Colour Consultations in a client’s home, I am always comparing colours so they too can easily see the differences between the paint colours.

Best Whites To Pair With Extra White

High Reflective White SW 7036 by Sherwin Williams

Snowbound SW 7004 by Sherwin Williams

A third white that would work brilliantly as a trim or ceiling colour with Extra White is… Extra White itself.

Yes, if you are painting your walls white, you don’t have to add in another white paint option for trim, ceilings, or cabinetry.

For a beautiful seamless look, they can all be painted in the same white. No need to overthink it!

High Reflective White, Extra White, and Snowbound

For reference, you can see all the whites together in the graphic above.

NEW!!

If whites confuse you, you are not alone. But I can help. 🙂

Fabulous Colour Combinations

Extra White with Smoky Salmon, Web Gray and Relentless Olive

Smoky Salmon SW 6331 by Sherwin Williams

Web Gray SW 7075 by Sherwin Williams

Relentless Olive SW 6425 by Sherwin Williams

The above palette was created using my Perfect Colour Palette for Extra White.

We used the wallpaper below to pull together this fabulous colour combination. I often find inspiration from either a fabric, area rug or wall art.

The below image is a room rendering demonstrating the different ways to combine this colour combination.

The walls and ceiling are shown in Extra White.

The drapery and pillows are Smoky Salmon.

The console is painted Web Gray, while the accent chair is seen with Relentless Olive. I love that name!

On a side note and to show you a completely different colour palette, the living room layout in a 3D rendering shown above was initially created for this Burlington client project.

See if you can spot the same living room, but now done in real life, as you scroll through that blog post.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

All of the colour combinations I shared, plus more options for you to be inspired by, are included in my Perfect Colour Palette of Extra White.

Extra White is also included in my newest Collection that showcases 10 beautiful neutrals from Sherwin Wiliams.

10 of the most popular Sherwin Williams’ Neutrals in one collection

My Perfect Colour Palette library is expanding, click here to see all of them.

Take my Colour Quiz to find out what your Perfect Colour Palette is.

Perfect For Pinning

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Sherwin Williams – Worldly Gray

Worldly Gray SW 7043 by Sherwin Williams

Can there be too many beautiful neutrals?

Talking with designer and decorator friends it seems everyone has their favourites.

Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams is certainly an incredibly popular one.

This subtle gray that some people may refer to as a greige, is a beautiful colour. As with many neutrals, it tends to take on slightly varying appearances in rooms depending on the light and other decor elements.

Let’s explore this colour a bit more closely here in this week’s colour review.

If you’re new here, welcome! Below you will see what I cover in every colour review post.

In this colour review of Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams, I share:

The undertone of my featured colour
Colour comparisons in order to easily see the different colour tones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

Sherwin Williams – Worldly Gray

After you read my review if you would like all the information I discuss in one convenient place look no further than my new Perfect Colour Palette for Worldly Gray.

My Perfect Colour Palette also includes 10 colours that go beautifully with Worldly Gray, plus a 2-page step by step How-To for choosing a cohesive colour palette in your own home.

A must-have for any colour enthusiast or interior design professional!

Available for immediate download here

Worldly Gray Colour Review

Undertone: violet

Colour Comparisons

As you can see below, it’s when we start comparing colours that you get a much better sense of a paint’s true colour.

Anew Gray SW 7030 and Zircon 7667

Colour Comparison with similar colours by Sherwin Williams

When comparing these three colours so closely as I have in the graphic above, you can easily see the differences in the undertones.

Anew Gray is a green-gray, Worldly Gray is a violet-gray and Zircon is a Blue Gray.

So many Shades of Gray! Who knew?!

Well, I did actually. 😉 But because I appreciate how confusing this can be if you are not a True Colour Expert obsessed with colour and design, I have a Free download for you.

Click here to get my free PDF.

Best Whites To Pair With Worldly Gray

Extra White SW 7006 by Sherwin Williams

Snowbound SW 7004 by Sherwin Williams

Pearly White SW 7009 by Sherwin Williams

Extra White, Snowbound and Pearly White

Extra White being a true white will highlight Worldly Gray as a slightly cooler colour compared to both Snowbound and Pearly White. These two whites are definitely warmer in tone.

Fabulous Colour Combinations

Worldly Gray with Blackberry, Silver Peony and Revel Blue

Blackberry SW 7577 by Sherwin Williams

Silver Peony SW 6547 by Sherwin Williams

Revel Blue SW 6530 Sherwin Williams

Revel Blue is a pretty colour that is similar, to but not quite as dark as Van Deusen Blue by Benjamin Moore.

Using the artwork below and my Perfect Colour Palette for Worldly Gray we came up with this beautiful colour combination.

The room rendering shown here is an example of how you can find inspiration for an interior design project and incorporate the colours from my Perfect Colour Palette into a space.

Remember, you don’t need to use all of the colours for paint.

Yes, the walls are Worldly Gray and the built-ins and fireplace shiplap are Snowbound, but those are the only two paint colours.

The remaining colours we integrated into the room’s decor in other ways. The blue sofa mimics Revel Blue and the accent cushions are similar to Blackberry and Silver Peony.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

Love the idea of being inspired by beautiful colour combinations already done for you by a professional who eats, sleeps and breathes interior design every day?

Take a look here in my Colour Shop!

We have single feature colour download available immediately after purchase and full collections from the most popular paint companies – Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore as well as Farrow & Ball.

10 of the most popular Sherwin Williams’ Neutrals in one collection

Take my Colour Quiz to find out what your Perfect Colour Palette is.

Perfect For Pinning

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Sherwin Williams – Canvas Tan

Canvas Tan SW 7531 by Sherwin Williams

Don’t turn your nose up because you think this colour tone is ‘so 10 years ago’, because Beiges are back!

And today I am reviewing a longstanding popular paint colour that is the lovely neutral Canvas Tan by Sherwin Williams.

This is a warm, light tan that does well in both sun-filled and darker rooms.

If you’re new here, welcome! Below you will see what I cover in every colour review post.

In this colour review of Canvas Tan by Sherwin Williams, I share:

The undertone
Colour comparisons in order to easily see the different colour tones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

Walls shown in rendering as Canvas Tan

Sherwin Williams – Canvas Tan

After you read the blog post, if you would like all the information that I share in one convenient place, be sure to check out this Perfect Colour Palette.

In addition to the details I provide in my blog, the PDF includes a total of 10 colours that go beautifully with Canvas Tan.

Plus, there is a comprehensive step-by-step How-To Guide included for choosing a cohesive colour palette in your own home.

A must-have resource for any colour enthusiast or interior design professional!

Available for immediate download here

Canvas Tan Colour Review

Undertone: green

Colour Comparisons

Canvas Tan is a beige with a green undertone.

We can better identify the undertone of a colour such as this when we compare it to other neutral paints in the beige family.

Patience SW 7555 and Accessible Beige SW 7036

Colour Comparisons with similar colours by Sherwin Williams

From the comparison graphic above the true colour of Canvas Tan becomes much clearer.

Patience, shown on the top, is a pink beige.

Accessible Beige has a green undertone, but is more intense than Canvas Tan.

When looking at my large colour boards, a close comparison to Sherwin Williams’ Canvas Tan is Muslin by Benjamin Moore, even though it is a pink beige.

Best Whites To Pair With Canvas Tan

Extra White SW 7006 by Sherwin Williams

Greek Villa SW 7551 by Sherwin Williams

Dover White SW 6385 by Sherwin Williams

Extra White, Greek Villa and Dover White

See all three together to get a better sense of these recommended whites to use with this Sherwin Williams neutral paint colour.

They don’t even look white when you see them on the super white backdrop of my website!

That’s why choosing white paint colours can be a daunting task when decorating your home.

Fabulous Colour Combinations

Canvas Tan with Reddened Earth, Black Fox and Blustery Sky

Yes, other warm colours are back in style too! I am loving this combination with the cool blue.

Reddened Earth SW 6053 by Sherwin Williams

Black Fox SW 7020 by Sherwin Williams

Blustery Sky SW 9140 by Sherwin Williams

Oval Room Blue by Farrow & Ball is similar to Sherwin Williams’ Blustery Sky, but just a little more green.

The beautiful fabric here demonstrates exactly how a complementary colour palette can be used to bring a room together.

Walls painted Canvas Tan, some stunning drapery in the above fabric, an area rug with a strong Blustery Sky shade to it and accent pieces with hints of Reddened Earth and Black Fox. Gorgeous.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

For your convenience, all the colour combinations shown above coordinate with this popular beige (plus 7 more!) are included in my Perfect Colour Palette for Canvas Tan.

Canvas Tan is also included in my newest Collection that showcases 10 beautiful neutrals from Sherwin Wiliams.

10 of the most popular Sherwin Williams’ Neutrals in one collection

My Perfect Colour Palette library is regularly growing, so click here to see all that are currently available.

Take my Colour Quiz to find out what your Perfect Colour Palette is.

Perfect For Pinning

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Sherwin Williams – Fleur de Sel

Fleur de Sel SW 7666 by Sherwin Williams

Fleur de Sel means ‘flower of salt’.

But don’t be fooled and think of the bright white processed table salt that you might find in most kitchens.

Instead, this beautiful, pale, soothing light gray resembles its namesake, the thin crust of salt that forms on the surface of seawater.

A very natural colour that is perfect if you are going for a Coastal Design Style.

If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Claire Jefford, a True Colour Expert and Certified Interior Decorator.

Below you will see what I cover in every colour review post.

In this colour review of Fleur de Sel by Sherwin Williams, I share:

The undertone of my featured colour
Colour comparisons in order to easily see the different colour tones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

Sherwin Williams – Fleur de Sel

After you read this post, if you would like all the information I discuss in one convenient place look no further than my new Perfect Colour Palette for Fleur de Sel, which includes 10 colours that go beautifully with this colour.

A must-have for any colour enthusiast or interior design professional!

Available for immediate download here

Fleur de Sel Colour Review

Undertone: blue/green

Colour Comparisons

Rhinestone SW 7656 and Sea Salt SW 6204

Colour Comparison with similar colours by Sherwin Williams

In the above comparison, it becomes a bit easier to see the true tone of Fleur de Sel. It’s not looking quite as cool as Rhinestone which has a blue undertone.

And you can see that Sea Salt, which is another popular Sherwin Williams paint colour that I have previously reviewed, has a stronger green undertone.

I also have a Perfect Colour Palette for Sea Salt available if this slightly deeper colour is more your style.

When I do Colour Consultations in a client’s home, I always compare colours so they can easily see the differences between the paint colours.

Best Whites To Pair With Fleur de Sel

High Reflective White SW 7036 by Sherwin Williams

Greek Villa SW 7551 by Sherwin Williams

Pearly White SW 7009 by Sherwin Williams

High Reflective White, Greek Villa and Pearly White

You will get quite a different look depending on which of the three whites you pair with Fleur de Sel. See the comparison graphic below with all these suggested white paint colours by Sherwin Williams to get a better idea of how each might look.

Don’t Stress Out Over Paint Colours!

I can assure you that the best colour for your project already exists, you just need to know the 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time.

Fabulous Colour Combinations

Fleur de Sel, Loch Blue, Grape Mist and Liveable Green

Oooh, I just love this pretty colour palette, don’t you?!

Loch Blue SW 6502 by Sherwin Williams

If Loch Blue is a little too bright for you, but you still love the richness of it, take a look at Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball to see if you prefer that colour.

Grape Mist SW 6502 by Sherwin Williams

While I’m a sucker for purples, this Grape Mist is more of a lavender and reminds me of the wall tile we removed from our main floor bathroom when we renovated it in 2020.

Liveable Green SW 6176 by Sherwin Williams

We choose 3 of the complementary colours from my Perfect Colour Palette for Fleur De Sel to create this beautiful palette and pair them with the fabric below.

In the room rendering below you can see how we incorporate the colours from the above palette into our design.

The walls are painted the featured colour Fleur de Sel by Sherwin Williams.

We’ve shown the accent chairs at either end of the table in the beautiful fabric shown in the graphic above.

We placed Grape Mist on the other dining chairs and the bright hue of Loch Blue on the drapery.

Livable Green can be seen on the built-in cabinet that acts as our backdrop for this rendered dining room.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

All of the colour combinations shown above, plus more inspiring options for your next home decorating project can be found in my Fleur de Sel Perfect Colour Palette.

Fleur de Sel is also included in my newest Collection that showcases 10 beautiful neutrals from Sherwin Wiliams.

10 of the most popular Sherwin Williams’ Neutrals in one collection

If you prefer Benjamin Moore or can’t do anything but Farrow & Ball, I’ve created collections of the most popularly used paint colours from both of the paint companies as well and you can see them here.

Farrow & Ball’s Collection of 10 Classic paint colours

My Perfect Colour Palette library is expanding, click here to see all of them.

Take my Colour Quiz to find out what your Perfect Colour Palette is.

Perfect For Pinning

Featured

Sherwin Williams – Anew Gray

Anew Gray SW 7030 by Sherwin Williams

Undoubtedly, one of THE MOST popular Sherwin Williams’ neutrals for the past 5 years or more.

Anew Gray is warmer and a bit richer than many of the other trending grays out there.

If you’re new here, welcome! Below you will see what I cover in every colour review post.

In this colour review of Anew Gray by Sherwin Williams, I share:

The undertone of my featured colour
Colour comparisons in order to easily see the different colour tones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

Walls shown in rendering as Anew Gray.

Sherwin Williams – Anew Gray

After you read my paint colour review, be sure to take a look at my Colour Shop for all the carefully curated Perfect Colour Palettes I’ve designed to inspire your next home decorating project.

Must-have resources for any colour enthusiast or interior design professional!

Available for immediate download here

Anew Gray Colour Review

Undertone: green

Colour Comparisons

As you can see below, it’s when we start comparing colours that you get a much better sense of a paint’s true colour.

Taupe Tone SW 7633 and Zircon SW 7667

Colour Comparisons with similar colours by Sherwin Williams

Taupe Tone is quite a bit darker than Anew Gray and it’s a Taupe, just as the name suggests.

Although don’t be fooled, because this isn’t always the case with paint colour names!

You see when Anew is Gray beside Zircon, a blue gray, now it does not appear to be as gray as you may have initially thought.

When I do Colour Consultations in a client’s home, I am always comparing colours so they too can easily see the differences between the paint colours.

Best Whites To Pair With Anew Gray

Extra White SW 7006 by Sherwin Williams

The truest white out of the three, Extra White is a great white to use on ceilings and trim when considering painting a room with Anew Gray.

Greek Villa SW 7551 by Sherwin Williams

A slightly creamier white, Greek Villa is a wonderful trim colour to go with Anew Gray.

Shoji White SW 7042 by Sherwin Williams

A much richer white (and some might say not really a white at all) is Shoji White by Sherwin Williams and it makes a gorgeous paint combination with Anew Gray.

Extra White, Greek Villa and Shoji White

Looking at all three whites together you can more easily see how a different look and feel would be created for each one in a design when paired with Anew Gray.

Conflicted about choosing paint colours?

I can assure you that the best colour for your project already exists, you just need to know the 5 Steps on how to choose the right paint colour the first time.

Fabulous Colour Combinations

Anew Gray with Iron Ore, Gracious Rose and Chrysanthemum

Iron Ore SW 7069 by Sherwin Williams

Gracious Rose SW 6317 by Sherwin Williams

Chrysanthemum SW 6347 by Sherwin Williams

We used the fabric below as a jumping-off point to create these beautiful colour combinations.

When creating a cohesive look for a room or entire home think of all the ways to incorporate the colours in your chosen colour scheme.

Just looking at this fabric and keeping Anew Gray as your main colour you can see the amazing selection of colours you could use for other areas of the project.

Artwork, drapery, cushions, decorative elements – these all can incorporate the colours of the palette.

The colours do not all have to be used solely for paint.

This stunning colour palette is just one of many you could create using my Perfect Colour Palette for Anew Gray.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

All of the colour combinations shown above plus more options for you to choose from are included in my Perfect Colour Palette of Anew Gray.

Anew Gray is also included in my newest Collection that showcases 10 beautiful neutrals from Sherwin Wiliams.

10 of the most popular Sherwin Williams’ Neutrals in one collection

If you are a fan of the beautiful rich paints by Farrow & Ball I’ve also created a collection of 10 classic colours from this popular British paint company. Check them out here.

Farrow & Ball’s Collection of 10 Classic paint colours

My Perfect Colour Palette library is expanding, click here to see all colours now available.

Take my Colour Quiz to find out what your Perfect Colour Palette is.

Perfect For Pinning

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Front Door Paint Colours

Painting your front door a bold colour is a wonderful way to inject some personality into your home and enhance it’s curb appeal. With so many colours to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide which paint colour to choose.

FREE PAINT COLOUR DOWNLOADS

I totally appreciate that choosing paint colours can be a daunting task! Let me make it easier for you and go grab my 3 FREE tips sheets for choosing paint colours here

FREE GUIDES FOR CHOOSING PAINT COLOURS – CLICK HEREhttps://clairejefford.com/ccd-freebies/

In today’s post, I’m sharing some inspiration from a recent weekend getaway I took with my husband to the quaint little town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. If you haven’t been and you ever plan on going to Niagara Falls, you MUST take a day trip there.

We go every year to do a bit of shopping on the main street and enjoy a nice dinner out. This year we decided to mix business with pleasure and take some time to tour the mature neighbourhoods where the homes are so charming and often colourful.

10 Bold Front Door Paint Colours

In no particular order, let’s take a look at the top 10 front door paint colours that I came across. I have even matched them to Benjamin Moore or Farrow and Ball paints, so you can see similar colours if you want to use them for your own home.

1. Mosaic CC-874 Benjamin Moore

Okay, so when I said these were in no particular order, they really aren’t. However, this is my favourite image…at least, I think it is. There are many more pretty doors to come, don’t you worry about that.

I am a sucker for purple and this front door colour is like a deep periwinkle. So fun and unexpected, I just love it!

Mosaic CC 874 Benjamin Moore

2. Sun Kissed Yellow 2022-20 Benjamin Moore

Black, white and yellow are a classic colour combination and this house is the sweetest, isn’t it!? The yellow front door pops so beautifully and is like a ray of sunshine among a white neutral backdrop.

Sun Kissed Yellow 2022-20 Benjamin Moore

3. Very Green 2040-30 Benjamin Moore

The colour green has been extremely popular this year, especially for cabinetry. You may remember where I shared a bold green kitchen in this post from the Kitchen and Bath Industry show last year.

Take a look at the full image further below and note how it looks so fresh here, framed in a creamy trim tone and with a burgundy backdrop. Red and green are opposites on the colour wheel which means that they are complimentary colours and always look nice together. In this case, the duo doesn’t remind me of Christmas either!

Very Green 2040-30 Benjamin Moore

4. Eating Room Red No.43 Farrow & Ball

478

This pretty colour from Farrow and Ball is more of an intense burgundy than a red. The image unfortunately shows some shadows, but I’m not going to complain about it being a sunny day, so hopefully you will forgive me!

Eating Room Red No. 43 Farrow and Ball

A look from the road, great curb appeal!

5. Strawberry Red 2003-20 Benjamin Moore

Strawberry Red by Benjamin Moore

Now this colour will wake you up in the morning! This bright red is much brighter than the previous red toned door which also makes it stand out more against the white trim. I’m not a huge fan of red, so while it looks lovely here, it would not be a colour that I could ever see myself choosing for my own front door. What about you?

Strawberry Red Benjamin Moore

6. Lucerne AF-530 Benjamin Moore

Blue front door colour and on a charming white house

You can never go wrong with the colour blue in my opinion. Blue and white are especially popular and classic combinations in interior design. Lucerne from the Affinity Line by Benjamin Moore seemed like the best colour match to this cute front door.

Lucerne AF 530 Benjamin Moore

7. Golden Nugget 2019-20 Benjamin Moore

Bold yellow front door with blue gray siding

In terms of contrasting colour combinations, this house was my favourite. I’m not a fan of bright yellows, but on this house, I love how it jumps out at you in relation to the blue-gray siding.

Here you can see the charming little house in its entirety. The garden is lovely too and it had an outdoor patio area to the side with a wooden pergola that looked very inviting.

Golden Nugget by Benjamin Moore

8. Studio Green No. 93 Farrow & Ball

I love green tones, especially a dark khaki tone like the one used on this charming front door and shutters. The entire colour combination is so adorable that I colour matched all three hues with Farrow & Ball paints for you to see below.

Main front door colour: Studio Green

Front door trim: Cooking Apple Green No. 32

Siding Farrow’s Cream No. 67

9. Hale Navy HC 154 Benjamin Moore

Here we have a classic red brick building with a dark blue door, arched details above and bright white trim. I adore this and the little black signs to the left with the house name and the year it was built.

This front door colour is similar to one of my all time favourite blue colours, Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore.

Hale Navy HC 154

10. Jet Black 2121-10 Benjamin Moore

Black doors are always in style!

I couldn’t do a post about bold front door colours without including an all-time favourite and classic, pure black.

One thing I particularly love about a black door is adding a light coloured wreath as you see on the one shown here from my trip to Niagara on the Lake. Fresh greens are also nice for decorating a black front door on occasions such as Christmas.

Jet Black 2121-10

I’ve included a paint swatch of Pashmina by Benjamin Moore as it is a close match to the trim you see in the photograph of the jet black front door.

Pashmina AF 100

I couldn’t resist adding this second black door that pops off of the light turquoise painted character home with white pillars.

This is the cutest look overall in my opinion!

Pin this graphic for easy reference!

That’s my Top 10 bold front door paint colours from Niagara-on-the-Lake! It was a fabulous time away, I hope you get a chance to visit this charming town soon. Cheers!

Cheers from Niagara on the Lake!

Comment below to share which front door colour is your favourite!

Get Colour Confident

A great tool to have whether you are a homeowner or interior design professional are my Perfect Colour Palette Collections. Check out what’s inside each guide here.

Take my Colour Quiz to discover your Perfect Colour Palette.

Interior Design Mood Boards

INTERIOR DESIGN MOOD BOARDS

Not getting the sales you want in your interior design business?

Read on and watch the video further below to see how I share my vision for a newly designed space with clients & get more sales because of it.

If you’re getting frustrated in not ‘closing the sale’ with clients, let me show you exactly what to do to successfully sell clients on your vision for their home.

Mood Boards (sometimes referred to as concept boards) have been an invaluable interior design business tool that we leverage with great success.

You can see proof that this strategy works by viewing my vast portfolio of more than 20 Burlington interior design projects that we’ve professionally photographed.

We include mood boards in all of our custom interior decorating presentations for our clients, who then continue with our services to see their project through to that exciting final reveal day!

Before I dive into why you need to be using interior design mood boards in your business, I want to touch briefly on what a mood board is, just in case you are not familiar with this term.

A mood board is like a vision board.

When you look at a mood board, it should tell a story or have a theme through a collage of ideas or your desires based on the images, colours, and text.

Although you can create physical mood boards with fabrics and various other samples, I’m referring to digital mood boards created on your computer.

Here are examples of mood boards we created for a client’s custom bedroom.

Mood Board Master Bedroom Design

The neutral paint colour we used for this entire Burlington condo project on the lakeshore was Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore.

4 Reasons To Use Interior Design Mood Boards

Reason #1 – Visualizing Made Easy

Interior design mood boards are essential to include in your presentations as they allow you to easily convey your design ideas to your clients.

This helps them to see and better understand the design concept you are proposing for their space.

Many clients hire an interior designer or certified decorator because they find it difficult and often impossible to visualize how something will look. In utilizing mood boards, your designs can come to life, enabling clients to understand your brilliant ideas.

Below are 2 more mood boards we designed for another client’s primary bedroom.

Reason #2 – Close The Sale

Now that clients can see your brilliant ideas for their home, you are much more likely to sell them on your vision. Clients can get excited about what the final outcome will be and how everything comes together so beautifully.

For the mood boards shown above, our clients loved everything we proposed. They were quick to make their decision and moved forward with our interior design proposal, purchasing everything we proposed for the space.

Here are some of the professional photographs so you can see how beautifully it turned out. Photo credit to Stephani Buchman.

Room colour is painted Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

Reason #3 – Pretty Organization

Interior Design Mood Boards make it easier for you to keep client work organized.

We have a folder for each client where we keep all paperwork pertaining to their project. In addition to our interior design client presentations with mood boards, our client folders include email correspondence, spec sheets on items we’ve sourced, client contracts, etc.

This is important, and a smart business practice not only for you to be able to reference easily as needed, but also when you are meeting a trades person or supplier to discuss details of the design. Everything is easily to hand!

See this blog post with my YouTube video for a sneak peek of exactly how we organize interior design client folders.

Reason #4 – Manage Clients Expectations

Leverage Mood Boards of previous projects as a helpful tool to show clients in the initial consultation meeting so they know exactly what to expect from your presentation.

Many clients may not know what a mood board is, so showing examples at this all-important first meeting will allow you to manage their expectations of what’s to come AND lead to the next phase of services.

Plus, they can start to get even more excited about their project and working with you!

Now you know why using mood boards in your client presentations is crucial for getting the sale, but what about how to present your interior design services and what rates you should be charging?

I’ve got a FREE download for you that lists different interior design services you can offer & estimated hours per design service to give you an idea of what to charge.

Click here to download this comprehensive 20+ page Guide now.

Resources & Templates

Run your business like an Interior Design BOSS.

Each helpful resource is categorized by different business topics to make it easy for you browse my resource library here.

Don’t waste time second-guessing in trying to create your own. My interior design contract templates, interior design project proposal templates, marketing strategy guide, initial consultation processes package, and much more, are instantly available for you to access now.

Join my Free Community

Running your own interior design business can feel lonely, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Be a part of an incredibly supportive and highly engaged free online community of like-minded interior design professionals.
Click here to submit a request to join my free Facebook Group Interior Design Business Strategies.

Answer the 3 required questions to be considered for approval. Please allow for about 1 week for us to review and approve your request to join.

Colour Trends 2025

Another High Point Furniture Market adventure is in the books!

Kathryn and I drove over 12 hours south of the border, from Toronto to North Carolina before meeting up with our design friends at an Air BNB located about 20 minutes from the hustle and bustle that is Highpoint Market.

The stunning, scenic landscape at this time of year always makes the drive more bearable and believe it or not, enjoyable!

Brilliant bright autumn foilage in the West Virginia Mountains

The abundance of warm colors we encountered in the autumn leaves, signaling the change of seasons in the West Virginia mountains, hinted at one of the most dominant and noticeable trends at this year’s Fall Furniture Market.

Before we dive into the latest interior design trends and plenty of eye candy to inspire ideas for your next decorating project, I want to give the following shout-out.

Thank You to Sarah Daniele from Mydoma, Maddie, and Jenny from IDS National for inviting me to speak on a panel, and to Unique Loom for hosting the event in their beautiful showroom.

It’s always a pleasure to share insights with others in the industry on the strategies I’ve learned and developed over the past 13 years of running a successful interior design firm.

This is also largely in part as to why I’ve been a business coach for nearly 8 years. I love teaching and empowering others!

While what we do may look like ‘fun’, (and make no mistake, at Market especially, we definitely have fun!) there’s a lot to know and so much that goes on behind the scenes of running an interior design firm that isn’t very glamorous.

If you are a designer or decorator, be sure to take advantage of the helpful, free business resources I have available here.

Maybe you have a passion for all things colour and design related and are considering a career in the interior design industry. Feel free to take a peek at my business blog articles here.

Goodbye Gray, Hello Warmth

Gray is officially stepping aside as warm, inviting hues make their return. Hooray!!

Trending colours at Highpoint Furniture Market 2025

I took the photo above with samples from my design studio to show a round-up of the main colours I saw in the showrooms at Highpoint.

Out of the bunch, the most popular color of the show by far, was a rich rust tone. It’s a slightly deeper and more moody take on the classic terracotta.

Living room with rust chairs and accessories

Rust coloured living room accents and curved white sofa

This color is a reflection of the changing shift toward earth tones, which are more grounding, and calming than the previously popular grays, bright whites, and cool blues we’ve seen so much of over the past 12 years.

You may remember from this Highpoint colour trends post I wrote that Terracotta also made a big return in 2022.

It didn’t really take off then though, so it will be interesting to see if people warm to it more this time around.

I had our custom basement bar painted in a deep red tone by Farrow & Ball about 4 years ago and created a warm colour palette of greens and browns in the design.

I love the look, it’s a cozy space and great for entertaining guests. And, all these colours are what was trending at Highpoint.

You can see my colourful basement project here.

Trending Tones: Olive, Cognac, and Mustard

Other popular earth tones seen around the various Highpoint showrooms were deep shades of green, classic cognac, and various shades of deep yellows.

More trending furniture colours

The image below shows more muted tones of similar colours presented in a different, more classic design aesthetic.

Living room with muted tones

This was the first time that I can recall seeing so many similar colours at market to those announced as part of the recent Benjamin Moore‘s Colour Trends for 2025.

Benjamin Moore Colour Trends 2025

Just look at how the striped fabric on this chair showcases so many of these colours! And, don’t they look fantastic together?

Whether you agree or disagree, comment at the end of this post to share if you are happy to see the return of warm colours in interior design.

Bouclé, Black, and Gold

We continued to see a lot of white bouclé fabric used for many upholstered pieces like sofas and chairs.

Bouclé was the prominent fabric for many vendor displays a couple of years ago, it was everywhere -so much so that the trending hashtag for that Highpoint market was #boucléallday.

The same striped, velvet fabric from the chair shown above was also used on two of the accent pillows on this white bouclé sofa, with similar colours repeated in the artwork above.

White bouclé sofa

In the foreground of that living room display, you can see gold on the stems of the oversized apple accessories.

Below, there is a gold band on the bottom of the accent chair with the white bouclé backing and cognac suede seat.

Cognac leather chair with bouclé back and gold trim

Gold accents are still going strong and made a return at the same time I started my career as a Burlington Interior Decorator in 2011.

If you thought that soft gold finishes were a trend, I can assure you, they are not or else I wouldn’t have approved the hardware selection for this online client’s kitchen design.

Black accessories such as lamps and other light fixtures were also frequently featured in living room displays.

I am personally not a big fan of all-black accessories, especially since black is being overused everywhere in interior design at the minute.

Cognac sofa with black accessories

This artwork below is a perfect depiction of this fall market’s trending color palette in a single piece, including the black frame with gold nailheads.

Oh, dang, I never had a chance to tell you about the undeniable return of the nailheads yet!

We’ll save that for my next blog post where I focus on Design Trends from Highpoint. Stay tuned.

Until then, don’t be boring…

This wall mural shows more of the same trending colours

Are you loving the warmer earth tones and want to bring more of these colours into your home decor?

Check out a previous blog post I wrote about Mid-Century Modern Design Style and related Perfect Colour Palettes here that I curated using colours from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and Farrow & Ball.

If Boho Casual is more your style, click here to see those Paint Palettes and blog post, they are also worth checking out to get you excited for your next design project.

Is decorating with white more your style?

Don’t miss my top five white trending paint colour series from Benjamin Moore here.

Kitchen Refresh Blue & White

Today I’m thrilled to share a before and after transformation of a kitchen refresh I helped a homeowner in North Carolina with when she hired me for my online design consultation services.

Not every kitchen renovation has to be fully gutted and completely custom to make a powerful impact.

A smaller scale kitchen remodel is exactly what homeowner Stacey was planning, and she already had some rough design plans and estimates for work when she reached out for my professional help.

She and her husband wished for an updated look, and more functionality from the kitchen design. As this isn’t their forever home, she wanted to keep costs relatively conservative, while still creating something beautiful.

Behind The Design: Kitchen Refresh Video

Watch the recording of this live webinar that Stacey and I hosted, where we dished all of the design details that went into this kitchen refresh.

The Design Layout

When Stacey booked her online design consultation with me, she was sent a questionnaire along with a request for photos.

I also like to ask for any design plans or finishes one might be considering so that we can add these to a clients folder and be best prepared for our meeting.

First, we needed to address the layout of the kitchen.

A before photo of Stacey’s kitchen

As you can see from the before image, the layout had a ton of wasted space in the middle of the kitchen. A kitchen island was definitely at the top of the wishlist.

In addition, the pass-through into the dining room and the cabinetry you see in the image below were slated to go as well.

This cabinet is going and the pass-through will become an opening

The plan was to open up this area completely and eliminate the doorway to the left on that same wall, as that would become redundant once the pass through became a complete opening.

This door way will be eliminated

This would make for a better kitchen design layout overall, and allow for the necessary space to incorporate an island with ample room required for traffic flow.

Kitchen island drawing by client’s GC

Cabinetry & Flooring

To save money, they decided to keep and respray the perimeter cabinets, yet update all the doors and drawers. The new fronts were all to be a ‘shaker’ style.

This refacing update was key for modernizing the look of the kitchen. Arched details on cabinetry (like what they had) are typically indicative of an older, more traditional style of millwork.

White shaker style kitchen door front

Changing out the old vinyl flooring was also going to be a significant update. I assisted Stacey in finalizing a neutral floor tile that tied in with the other finishes, which you will see shortly in the ‘after’ photos.

Be patient, the exciting final reveal is coming 🙂

A neutral, non-patterned flooring would not only to update the look, but also takes the focus away from the busy, ‘dirty’ looking patterned flooring that was there before.

Design Tip:

We mainly specify hardwood flooring throughout a home when clients are undergoing an entire renovation. However, in a kitchen refresh like this, installing a tile is the better option because trying to match a new hardwood to a previously installed hardwood in other areas of the home is almost impossible.

Even if you manage to find the same species of hardwood from the original supplier, the hardwood that’s been in the home for a while will likely have changed colour over time and the differences will be evident.

Although we did manage to accomplish just that with the rich hardwood for this Burlington client’s project, it’s not typically the case.

Countertops & Paint Colours

Stacey wanted a white kitchen with navy blue accents, similar to the idea of the kitchen we designed in my sister’s bungalow shown below.

See the entire project here

In case you were wondering, even though we’ve seen this look for quite a few years now, blue and white is a classic colour combination that always looks fresh and inviting.

We selected Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy for the island colour, but only after the subway tile had been confirmed. More on that soon.

The quartz countertops are white with subtle gray veins. By carefully looking at the countertop selection, I specified Chantilly Lace for the perimeter cabinets and Classic Gray for the wall colour.

Choosing The Backsplash

Ah, the baffling backsplash debacle!

One of the biggest kitchen mistakes people make when it comes to selecting finishes, is to look at everything in isolation as opposed to how they should – by viewing all samples together.

The backsplash tends to be where the majority of homeowners get stuck.

Unless someone is working with a designer, this integral part of the overall design is the most common piece of the puzzle to get left until the very end.

Should you go bold?
Should you make it the same material as the countertop?
What about doing a contrasting grout?
Would creating a focal point over the oven be a good idea?

So many questions, right? I get it!!

That is just one reason why hiring an interior design professional is well worth the investment.

Whether you are local to me in Burlington or in the Toronto area, or further afar wishing for an online design consultation I can help guide you with these type of kitchen selections, just as I have done with Stacey.

Often it’s not until the renovation is underway that you realize just how many decisions you have to make and how stressful it can be.

All you have to do is make one mistake for the entire kitchen design is compromised.

There is no turning back once everything is installed. You will have to live with that mistake for many years because it’s too expensive to redo.

While this post about kitchen cabinetry companies was meant for Interior Designers only, what I share is eye-opening and mostly unknown to most homeowners. If you have a minute, it’s worth the read and may suprise you.

For this kitchen design, when it came to the backsplash, here’s the advice I gave Stacey when she sent me the 4 options shown in the image below:

Glossy, bumpy subway tile: Too shiny, and highly reflective
Matte, picket fence tile: Bold and sophisticated
Glossy standard subway tile: A nice option
Glossy beveled longer subway tile: Too shiny, and will be very busy once installed

I found this photo below of a similar tile to the fourth option to show Stacey exactly what I meant by it being too shiny and very busy looking when it’s installed, especially with a white grout.

Once I shared my feedback on all the options that she provided, she didn’t hesitate to go with my top choice: #2.

This rich looking, matte picket fence tile was to be installed horizontally in a stacked pattern. YAY!

Once we landed on the blue picket fence backsplash tile, we colour matched it to confirm the best blue for the island cabinetry. The best choice was Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore.

Kitchen refresh work in progress

Near Fatal Mistake, Avoided With My Expert Advice

While this may not be one of the nine kitchen design mistakes I included in this series, it is one you are definitely going to want to avoid.

During one of our Zoom Consultation Calls, Stacey said, “My husband wants to go with black handles for the cabinetry, even though we both really like the gold look that’s trending right now.”

Let me tell you what you need to know about the warm gold finishes we are seeing today in interior design. The gold tone made a comeback the year I began my business in 2011, and while I thought it was going to be a ‘flash in the pan’, all these years later, it’s still going strong.

Golden finishes are NOT trendy, it’s black finishes that are trending currently.

I immediately said NO to the black hardware and sent her a photo similar to the one below to illustrate why.

Black hardware looks harsh against a white backdrop

Despite the serene wall colour, the white subway tile, and the neutral countertop in the photo, notice how your eye is instantly drawn to the black hardware?

All of these harsh black ‘bits’ dotted throughout a kitchen with a backdrop of white cabinetry takes away from the fresh, serene look one is hoping to achieve in this type of kitchen palette design style.

This is just one of the massive mistakes many homeowners are making right now, which is understandable when you consider that everyone loves to hear about what’s trending in kitchen design.

But, once you see it, you cannot unsee it!

When I brought it to her attention, Stacey and her husband agreed it was best to move in a different direction.

There have only been a handful of times I’ve specified black hardware for cabinetry which is either:

When the cabinetry is black like in my bathroom here (please don’t judge me when you see the gross before images on that post)
With dark colourful cabinetry and black plumbing like in our laundry room design on this project
To repeat a black finish in a minimal way like we did in this client’s window seat

The hardware decision alone is another perfect example of how one mistake, one single decision that may seem minor, can compromise the entire design.

That type of disaster is what I want to help you to avoid and why I offer my ‘Here & Now’ Online Consultations for instant, expert advice.

After our discussion and my recommendation, they went with the classy, warm champagne hardware finish and repeated that finish in the 3 glass pendants above the island.

The Reveal

Here’s the after photo Stacey sent to me. What an incredible transformation, now so fresh and fabulous!

After photo of blue and white kitchen refresh project

Final Design Inspiration

I always like to show clients how all the finishes for their project look when put together, and add additional inspiration pieces like I did in the image below.

I pulled the beautiful wallpaper sample you see and some fabrics from my interior design studio library.

We love to create dynamite designs and well put-together spaces by layering in beautiful decorative elements. Strategically repeating colours are key to a successful design and for creating flow.

Stacey ended up purchasing that exact wallpaper for her dining room and is currently waiting for it to be installed. I can’t wait to see the final result!

When pulling together a colour palette and overall design style for your next project, be sure to look at the bigger picture and consider all the details.

Here are the before and after images together.

For this specific project, Stacey hired me for a total of 3 ‘Here & Now’ Consultation Zoom calls.

My professional guidance and keen eye for colour were exactly what she was looking for to feel confident in her decisions and to ensure she avoided making costly mistakes.

I was able to help her create a brilliant kitchen design refresh without a full-on renovation.

Stacey was great to work with and quick to follow my advice.

Thank you Stacey for trusting me to help you make your dreams for your home a reality. I’m thrilled you and your entire family love your new kitchen design!

What’s your favourite part of this kitchen refresh project?

For me, while I love it all, if you forced me to choose just one design element, it would be the backsplash.

Comment below to share your thoughts on this kitchen transformation.

Helpful Design Resources For Your Next Project

If you are planning a kitchen update or home renovation of any kind and want expert guidance at any stage of your project, I can help.

Here & Now Design & Colour Consultations

I now offer 1-hour online design and colour consultations for anyone outside of my local area.

With over 13 years experience of running my own interior design firm and working on hundreds of projects, I can provide professional guidance in any area of your home.

Learn more about this exciting new service and book your online appointment here.

I can’t wait to e-meet you and help you with your project!

Local In-Person Design & Colour Consultations

If you are local to me either in Burlington, Ontario or around the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), I would love to come to your home for a 2-hour in-home consultation.

Click here to connect with me via my contact page.

Perfect Colour Palettes

Are you losing sleep and overthinking when it comes to choosing the perfect paint colours for your home? Don’t sweat it!

As a Certified True Colour Expert I have instant advice to make it easier for you.

We have more than 50 Whole-Home Colour Palettes readily available for you to instantly download. All of the paint colours in each palette have been carefully selected by me personally.

Plus, there’s you get tip sheets on lighting, paint sheens, how to create a gallery wall, a paint planning template, and more.

You can view the entire gallery of paint colours here.

Or, click below on your preferred brand to see the most popular paints to choose from.

If you love the paint colours we used for Stacey’s project, see below for two of the most popular Benjamin Moore paints.

Hale Navy

Benjamin Moore Hale Navy Perfect Colour Palette Here

Classic Gray

Benjamin Moore Classic Gray Perfect Colour Palette Here

Big Reveals

For another interior design project transformation, check out custom this Burlington living room we designed for clients. There’s no shortage of colour in that project!

Perfect for Pinning

Trending Sofa Designs: The Best Couches with Chaises

There are some exciting trends in sofa designs that I want to share with you. Interestingly, all of the living room sofas I’m showing you here on the blog today have one thing in common: large chaises.

Yes, sofas and sectionals with large chaises are currently trending in upholstered living room furniture. I’ve got six different looks and styles to share with you that are in the showroom of my local decorating centre.

Plus, we’ve compiled a few sofas’ with chaises to share with you that we’ve used in recent interior design projects.

1. Super Casual and Comfy

This first style is incredibly casual and comfy, perfect for lounging. It’s not the best choice for someone who prefers a more tailored look or likes to sit up straight.

I see this fitting beautifully in a cottage or as the main seating in a basement living area.

2. Modern Elegance

Next up is a sofa with a modern feel, featuring a slightly curved arm detail that adds an elevated touch.

This style merges contemporary design with subtle sophistication, making it a versatile sofa with chaise for various living room aesthetics.

3. Perfect for Cuddling

This sofa features a chaise that matches the width of the adjacent sofa cushion, making it ideal for two people to cuddle up on.

Notice how the back cushions are smaller than the large seat cushions, offering different configurations for seating and back support.

While I’m not a fan of the skinny chrome legs, they do provide a streamlined look that some people prefer.

Overall though, the narrow chrome legs are too small for the scale of this sofa. And while in this photo the rug is not under the leg shown on the right side, you always want both front legs of your sofa to be on the area rug. This helps to create a ‘vignette’ and bring the entire sitting area together.

While this video is older, it’s still a great example of what you want to consider for choosing the best size area rug for your living room design.

4. Bulkier Comfort

The fourth sofa is similar to the previous one but with much bulkier seat cushions and a more substantial frame. Surprisingly, it also features small, dainty chrome legs.

Given the larger scale of the cushions, I feel that chunkier legs would be more appropriate.

5. Spacious Sectionals

Sectionals with chaises are hugely popular for those large living spaces.

Notice how the feet of this sofa are almost invisible due to its proximity to the ground. This might pose a challenge for vacuuming underneath, which is important to keep in mind if you’re obsessed with vacuuming as much as I am!

6. Long Chaise with Ottoman

Lastly, we have a sofa with a long chaise and an ottoman-type table in the middle.

This configuration is fantastic for a custom living room design setup. The ‘bump-out ottoman’ offers a convenient spot to perch or place snacks, and it also maintains a clear view of focal points like a fireplace.

In one of our most recent living room designs, we created a custom sofa that had a ‘cut out’. This means, it had no back cushion by the section in front of the fireplace, so not to obstruct the view of that feature wall. Below is the 3D rendering.

3D Rendering of our Burlington Client’s living room design

Our Interior Design Projects

Now let’s take a look at interior design projects that we here at Claire Jefford Inc., have created for our fabulous clients.

First, we have this contemporary, tailored sofa with chaise in a light gray fabric.

What you need to know:

The sofa is opposite to the media wall with a TV
The chaise is oriented on the right side because opposite on the left side, there is a swing door that opens into the room
The gray fabric has blue undertones which work beautifully with the other soft, blue accents in the room. We love blue colour combinations!
The family fights over who gets the comfy chaise section 😉
The wall colour is Collingwood by Benjamin Moore, which is the same colour as my updated main floor – well, at least the ones that aren’t covered in wallpaper
Collingwood is similar to Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray (except Collingwood has a Violet undertone)

Fun Fact:

We called this project Collingwood Casual & Manhattan Blues because the artwork behind the sofa is a map of New York City, where our clients loved to vacation. It is separated into 3 pieces which we had custom framed.

Next up is a project we called Marina Gray & Rich Woods and the sofa with chaise has similar chrome legs that we saw in some of the trending sofas from my decorating centre.

Light gray living room with statement coffee table

What you need to know:

There are 2 back pillows and one longer bench cushion, instead of a ‘2 and 2’ configuration
The chaise is on the side with the door to the patio, which we measured carefully to ensure there was enough clearance with no obstruction
I would have loved to include drapery panels to add another element of softness and a pattern. However, there was not enough room for a ‘stack back’ since the windows were so close to the walls, therefore, we felt having good light was more important

Fun Fact:

This was the first (and last) project where I never actually met the clients until the day of the photoshoot. My design assistant at the time led the entire project while I oversaw and approved all plans before she presented them to our clients. (they were lovely BTW!)

Conversational living room in neutral tones

The third project I’m sharing a sofa with chaise may very well be an example of the biggest sofa we’ve ever worked with in a living room. It is a light cream sofa which our clients purchased themselves for this large living room.

Large living room, creamy sectional with chaise

What you need to know:

These clients have five children, which meant they needed an overscale couch to ensure all seven of them could gather here comfortably to watch TV together
The room was so long that we divided it into 3 different spaces – the far end with a console and extra cube seating to be used as needed, the TV viewing area, and the opposite end with 2 accent chairs
The wall colour is Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore, but the kitchen was painted Stonington Gray which is why we named the project as we did (see below)

Living room design with Edgecomb Gray walls by Benjamin Moore

Fun Fact:

For this Stonington Gray & Gold Treasures project, clients worked with us using our Designer By Your Side Services. Since that meant that we weren’t designing the entire room in one go, the large 3-piece artwork set with the gold leaves was one of the final pieces of the puzzle to this room design.

The name of our project reflects these ‘Gold Treasures’ and you can see the finish repeated in the round mirror at the opposite end of the room, in the accent pieces by the two patterned chairs, and the framed colourful artwork above the striped bench seat.

Patterned accent chairs with a backdrop of custom, color blocked drapery

Do you have a sofa with a chaise? Or if you were going to invest in one for a living space in your home, which style do you like best?

Comment below to have your say.

Perfect for Pinning

Pale Oak OC-20 by Benjamin Moore

I recently used this neutral Benjamin Moore paint colour on a client’s main floor project and to say we are thrilled with the results is an understatement.

I’ve heard great feedback from those who have painted with Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore. If you’ve used it, please comment below to share your experience. Do you love it as much as I do?

As with each of my colour review posts, you can expect me to share with you:

The undertone of my featured colour
Colour comparisons to easily see the different colour tones
Client design projects where I used Pale Oak
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project

After you watch the video, if you would like all this information conveniently laid out for you in one place and have even more paint colour combinations to use with this popular neutral paint colour by Benjamin Moore, be sure to check out my Pale Oak Perfect Colour Palette.

These PDF download colour guides provide details you need to know before you choose a paint colour, as well as inspiration for your next decorating project with my carefully curated whole-home paint palette collection included.

Pale Oak Benjamin Moore Paint Guide

Below is the video of my Pale Oak Colour Review.

Undertones: Taupe Greige

Colour Comparisons

Stonehearth CC-490 and Cedar Key OC-16

With Pale Oak in the middle, you can see how it’s more of a greige and less beige when compared to the other two colours. That’s how it also appears in our client project shown below.

A client project with Pale Oak

A project where we used Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore for the wall colour was in our Burlington clients’ custom living and dining room design.

Dining room in Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore

Refined Living Room with Pale Oak Walls

Paired perfectly with moody blues and light green

Designed by Claire Jefford Inc., Photo by Stephani Buchman Interiors

Their main floor was already painted Shaker Beige by Benjamin Moore and our clients wished for that to remain unchanged if possible.

Shaker Beige has a pink undertone and pairs very nicely with Pale Oak. As you can see in the image below of the custom bench seat with the artwork above, we added artwork and pillows to this front foyer vignette which worked fabulously with the overall colour palette.

Foyer Bench Seat With Pillows and Shaker Beige Walls

You can see the full project here, as we also redesigned this client’s Great Room where we used White Down on the fireplace shiplap and custom cabinetry.

White Down is a soft white and is included in my ‘Top 5 Whites’ list. You can sign up for that to find out all 5 White Paint colours here.

Best Whites to pair with Pale Oak:

White Dove OC-17

White Dove by Benjamin Moore is always one of my favourites!

Cloud White CC-40

Cloud White works wonderfully with Pale Oak

Ivory White CC-130

Ivory White is the most creamy of the three

Fabulous Colour Combinations

Healing Aloe 1562

Healing Aloe by Benjamin Moore is so soothing!

Smoky Green CC-700

Smoky Green is more intense & bluer than Healing Aloe.

Newburg Green HC-158

Newburg Green, perhaps my favourite combination with Pale Oak

Here we used Newburg Green on the floating shelves, which looks beautiful combined with Pale Oak on the walls.

The graphic below shows you all the colours together, plus Chelsea Gray HC-168, thrown into the mix. How gorgeous is this?!

Perfect Paint Palette!

Click here to see more photos from this project where we used BM Pale Oak on the walls.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

All of the colour combinations shown above plus more options for you to choose from are included in my Perfect Colour Palette of Pale Oak.

Pale Oak is now part of my Benjamin Moore Whites & Neutrals Collection showcasing all 10 my Benjamin Moore white and neutral Perfect Colour Palettes.

My Perfect Colour Palette library is expanding with more colours to select from!

Click here to see all of them.

If you want to get all my Benjamin Moore colour guides in one place, look no further than my Benjamin Moore Ultimate Collection. All 20 of my Benjamin Moore guides in one handy collection.

Perfect For Pinning

Take my Colour Quiz and discover your Perfect Colour Palette.

Why Pay an Interior Designer for a Kitchen Design?

This question was asked in my private free Facebook group for interior designers, Interior Design Business Strategies.

If you’ve ever wondered what the best way to respond confidently to this type of question is, you’ll want to read this post.

From what I understand and based on what I’ve been told by designers who work at Kitchen & Bath showrooms, they are hired to ‘sell boxes’. Their goal is to sell as many boxes as they can, because that is where these showrooms make the most profit.

Design by Claire Jefford Inc.

I always thought it was so bizarre when I would have clients hire me to help them select their kitchen finishes, even though they were working with a Kitchen company.

However, that’s because many of those designers don’t get paid for the designs, nor do they get paid to select finishes. They are paid based on cabinetry sales and only get their money after a kitchen has been installed.

So how can you confidently answer the question of ‘Why hire an interior designer as opposed to a kitchen design company?’ the next time a new lead or client asks this of you?

Read on, because in this post I’m sharing 4 ways that you can market this service and important details you should be discussing with potential clients to promote your kitchen design services.

1. The bigger picture

When we create main floor concept designs for clients, our professional advice is based on what we think would function best for the way they live.

We also take into consideration many other design elements when it comes to the overall aesthetic and character of the home to ensure there is not a disconnect and that there is a meaningful flow throughout.

Below is a kitchen rendering option that we designed for a client. And below that image is another 3D render of the great room that is open to the kitchen.

Not only does the blue and white colour scheme continue into the living space, but so do the soft wood tones we incorporated as well.

In my own home design, you’ll see how I repeated the blue tone of the Benjamin Moore Kensington Blue kitchen cabinetry in the living room with the slightly textured blue wallpaper and custom swivel chairs.

You’ll notice that the upholstered pink-coloured ottoman is also intentional, as this relates to the decorative details in the kitchen such as the wall plates, accent wallpaper by the floating shelf, and the window treatment. This repetition creates flow within the design.

Design by Claire Jefford Inc.

Wall plates with pretty botanicals

Wallpaper pattern with the same fun colours repeated throughout the home

By the way, if you are still not feeling confident about how to market your design services to your clients and effectively communicate to them the value of your work, my comprehensive Rock the Initial Consultation process package will make you feel supported and in control of every step of the process.

2. Our cabinetry is custom

Although most of the general public thinks that they are, most cabinet lines sold by kitchen companies are typically standard sizes and often built off-site.

Our cabinets are 100% custom and my cabinet maker builds everything within his local shop just outside my hometown of Burlington, Ontario. We can easily integrate smart storage solutions and use every inch to maximize space as well as function.

Custom broom closet designed by Claire Jefford Inc.

Custom pull-out cabinet with Haefele oil racks

For smart kitchen storage solutions, take a look at my kitchen here.

3. I am not invested in ‘selling boxes’

We create a vision with the best solutions for the client being top of mind.

We are not swayed by commissions on sales of cabinetry or countertops. Our GC manages the renovations and collects payment for everything except soft furnishings, while we bill for our professional interior design services.

So, the idea of ‘a free’ kitchen design from these showrooms, can come at a cost of compromising what is best for the client.

Design by Claire Jefford Inc.

In addition, the drawings a homeowner receives from a Kitchen company will often only be basic and in black and white.

We, on the other hand, are selling a ‘vision’ and want to get our clients excited about their projects!

Often we will provide 2 options for layout where it makes sense to do so and can easily upload different finishes and cabinetry colours to convey the possibilities for their new space.

This was an alternate option for my kitchen colour scheme – fun, eh?!

4. We can help select all the finishes

As an independent interior designer, you can get more involved in the project to ensure other finishes are specified for a cohesive design.

This means, we are a ‘one-stop-shop’ and can assist with other design elements such as counters, backsplash, cabinetry colours, and hardware, in addition to decorative elements like kitchen island stools, window treatments, lighting, and artwork.

We don’t just create the layout design for the kitchen, we bring all of the design elements together beautifully.

Design by Claire Jefford Inc. Most photos were by Stephani Buchman.

If you love hearing about the latest trends in kitchen and bath design, read this post from one of my trips to the Kitchen & Bath show in Las Vegas.

What about you? How do you sell clients on hiring your interior design firm over a showroom for kitchen design services?

For more helpful resources to push your business to the next level, see my shop page here.

My helpful resources will help you to get organized and gain more confidence in the way you run your interior design business!

Benjamin Moore Colour of the Year 2024 – Blue Nova

Colour Trends 2024

Incredibly it’s that time of year again. Benjamin Moore’s Colour of the Year 2024 has been revealed!

Blue Nova 825/CC-860

A moody blue with a strong lean towards purple, like a deep, periwinkle tone.

Benjamin Moore Colour of the Year 2024 Blue Nova

And guess what? Blue Nova is a similar tone to colours that I’ve used recently for custom cabinetry on two different interior design projects.

Yes, I am the interior design colour trendsetter. 🙂

First up is my own kitchen design where I selected the cabinet colour Kensington Blue.

Kitchen cabinets Kensington Blue by Benjamin Moore. Design by Claire Jefford Inc.

Kitchen Island colour is Stratton Blue by Benjamin Moore

While Blue Nova is slightly less intense than Benjamin Moore’s Kensington Blue, take a look below at just how similar these two Benjamin Moore colours really are.

Now check out a basement laundry room we designed in 2022. We used the colour Indigogo by Benjamin Moore for the custom cabinetry.

Photo by Stephani Buchman. See the full basement project here.

Although not every colour of the year becomes the next big thing, it will be interesting to see if people will embrace (and really commit to!) Blue Nova in a similar way that I did in these Burlington interior design projects.

Flat-panelled cabinets are Indigogo by Benjamin Moore.

I absolutely adore this colour tone and the way in which my entire kitchen design came together.

But it’s not easy to pull off this colour successfully in design as it is to do with the neutral look of a style such as ‘farmhouse’.

That is why many tend to play it safe when decorating, by using popular white paint colours. But I find safe and neutral to often equal boring or uninspiring.

I say – Give me colour!

In addition to the Colour of the Year announcement, Benjamin Moore has also released their entire Colour Trends palette for 2024.

Benjamin Moore Colour Trends Palette 2024

Look at the Colour Trends 2024 palette and then this image showing the different finishes used in my kitchen.

The paint chips I matched from my Spode wall plates with brass rims create a very similar colour palette. These plates from my mother-in-law were the jumping-off point for our entire kitchen design.

Finding inspiration in meaningful decorative items such as these is a great way to determine how to choose the best paint colour for a project.

Botanical Spode Wall plates on a backdrop of Collingwood Paint by Benjamin Moore

This is proof that you can create an entire room or even a full home colour palette from the helpful downloads I’ve personally created, my Perfect Colour Palettes.

Beautiful rooms showcasing the 2024 Colour Trends:

With the 10 colours found in the Colour Trends 2024 palette, you have a vast number of beautiful paint combinations to work with blue.

More images from the Colour Trends palette for 2024 can be seen below. Photos are courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

Blue Nova 825/CC-860

Benjamin Moore Blue Nova backdrop

Blue and orange are opposite on the colour wheel. You can see how these similar colour tones when combined together in a space can create a striking pairing.

Topaz 070

Blue Nova and Topaz

White Dove OC 17

See my popular White Dove colour review post here.

White Dove with Topaz.

Regent Green 2136-20

Dramatic Regent Green with orange tones hardwood

Painted ceilings can add incredible drama to a room. Here you can see the dark Regent Green ceilings and trim contrasting with White Dove on the walls.

Below is one of our dining room designs where we used the contrasting colour combination of Hale Navy on the ceiling and in the niche while painting the wall the soft, beautiful neutral that is White Dove.

Dining Room Design by Claire Jefford Inc.

When Benjamin Moore announced Aegean Teal as the Colour of the Year for 2021, I already had that colour painted on the ceiling of my outdoor interior design studio.