Claire Jefford

Featured

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

Perfect for Pinning

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

Perfect for Pinning

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!

Perfect for Pinning!

Don’t miss this series!

Click here to see my Kitchen Design Mistakes Series

Featured

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 Furniture Market in North Carolina.

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 Booked Solid with a Waitlist digital business marketing resource for interior designers, I share 3 examples of actual emails we have sent to clients, advise on how often to send these emails, and so many more of my proven strategies for keeping your pipeline full.

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 Welcome Pack that lists further details of our services, and the benefits of working with our award-winning Interior Design firm.

You can get this free Canva template of my Welcome Pack here.

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 better understand what we are walking into.

With more than 15 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 provides me with the opportunity to show up prepared and express 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.

4. Don’t Hold Back

Although this can depend on your interior design business model, I personally like to give as much value as I can at the 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 long-time coaching clients who has invested in all of my Interior Design BOSS Academy On-Demand resources.
She told me that she invested in me as her Interior Design Business Coach 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 courses and coaching be?’

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 will always 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, especially for full custom design and project management services, but they 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. 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.

Samples shown here of items used in my own kitchen renovation

6. Create a Design Proposal

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

Whenever I share an example of my design proposal template with other designers, they always tell me that they love how professional it looks and how comprehensive it is.

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!

Perfect for Pinning

Featured

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.

Perfect for Pinning!

Featured

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!

Perfect for Pinning

Featured

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.

Perfect For Pinning

Featured

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!

Perfect for Pinning

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

Featured

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.

Perfect for Pinning

Featured

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

Featured

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

Featured

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

Featured

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

Featured

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

Featured

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.

How To Charge & NOT Work For Free

I’m just going to come right out and say it:

Charging a flat fee for interior design services doesn’t work.

As someone who’s worked on hundreds of design projects, offered a variety of services over the years, I’m giving you the pricing strategy I use to get paid for all my time on a design project.

Let me know if this sounds familiar:

You estimate the time it will take you to complete a project, believing that you’ve carefully considered every aspect of what work is required to take the job to the finish line.

The client agrees to your flat fee, you sign the contract, issue the invoice, collect payment, and commence the project.

Brilliant. You are organized and in control!

The design plans are approved, you’ve started purchasing products, and the trades are on site.

Once the project starts…

How long are you into an interior design project until you realize that very little is actually in your control?

There are so many unknown variables that inevitably arise with renovation projects such as:

‘Minor’ revisions
Multiple emails and site visits you never anticipated
Management of damaged materials
Unexpected surprises
Client questions and need for constant reassurance

There are countless elements you never saw coming.

Before you know it, you are playing a reactive role, responding to one delightful mishap after another, and by the time you get a moment to breathe, you realize you are basically working for pennies.

Kitchen Designed by Claire Jefford Inc.

The easiest and most efficient way to eliminate this chaos from your life is to introduce a Hybrid model.

This is where you charge a flat fee for your design plans (elements you can control and accurately estimate time required) and bill hourly for a service like ‘Designer by your side’ for the implementation phase.

Dining Room Designed by Claire Jefford Inc. All professional photography shown in this blog post is by Stephani Buchman.

You manage client expectations up front with ‘starting from’ fees for a specific amount of initial hours, dependent on the scope of work and how much of an active role the clients wish for you to play.

Be firm and fair with how you bill for your time.

With every minute spent on the project, you are getting your clients closer to the finish line with confidence and assurance.

You are guiding them with clarity to minimize mistakes, and helping them make the smartest design decisions possible.

Don’t underestimate billable hours!

My Stress-Free Invoicing Guide clearly lists 9 types of billable hours you may not be charging clients for, and includes examples of real client invoices we’ve issued for renovation projects.

The graphic below shows an example of the estimated number of emails for a small condo project we worked on a few years ago.

Or let’s say you bill $225 per hour. Before you hit send on your invoices, you ‘feel like the bill may be too much’ and deduct 2 hours each week from the actual time spent on projects.

This equates to approximately:

$450/week

$2,000/month

$24,000/year

All of these hours on what may seem like simple tasks are necessary to push the project forward, and THEY ADD UP!

This is all part of you managing the project, and to do so successfully, you must manage your client’s expectations.

Get clear on how you bill and accurately track your time, even when you do bill a flat fee.

Tedious, yes, but it’s a must if you want to stop working for free.

Build trust

This is why I always encourage you to review your interior design proposals and interior design contracts in person.

Opportunities to openly discuss all the work you do behind the scenes, and show them what a huge benefit it is to have you by their side.

Being up front about the way you bill means there are no surprises for your client once the project is underway.

Comment below to share how you bill, either a flat fee, hourly, or a hybrid model.

Need more clarity on how best to structure your design service and fees so your business is truly profitable?

Here are 3 ways I can help:

Instantly download my Services & Rates Guide here. It’s free!
Edit my Welcome Pack template and review it with clients at the initial consultation.
Hire me for a 1-on-1 Coaching call to ‘Pick my brain’ and get answers in real time from someone you trust.

Helping designers transform their businesses with bigger projects, better clients, and higher profits.

5 Things I Quit To Make More Money

There are five key elements in how to present custom furnishings that increase conversions, protect profits, and reduce revisions for full-service interior design clients.

Let me show you the best way to present your design plans to clients that will help you close a deal faster, make more money, and be less likely to get shopped on your interior design presentations.

When I started doing these five things, my closing rate for full-service interior design projects increased, and the time spent on revisions or re-specifying products became a non-issue.

1. Stop Clients Dictating The Budget

The first thing I stopped doing was allowing my client to dictate the budget.

That doesn’t mean I disregard how much money they tell me they have to spend, but I do educate them on realistic costs based on the scope of work for their project.

It’s likely been a long time since homeowners have done a complete decorating project and purchased (quality/custom) furniture for whole rooms all at once.

Part of our role as professional interior designers is to explain to our clients what an interior design project might cost, especially based on the type of furnishings that you’re specifying.

You are likely looking at higher quality and hopefully, custom furnishings, which is often a big reason why the clients hire you in the first place.

Here’s an example from our professional portfolio of a client’s living room with many custom design elements, including the drapery.

Living Room Designed by Claire Jefford Inc.

I let clients know that for a one room custom decorating project like a living room, bedroom, and dining room, we like to provide a starting point between $25,000 – $30,000 investment for the furnishings.

Depending on the size of the room and the actual design of the space, that could go up or down. When you step up to have this open discussion around money, at least now they understand an idea of realistic starting from costs, and a more accurate estimate for their full-service decorating project.

2. Present One Curated Option

The second thing I quit doing was giving clients multiple options.

We carefully do all our vetting up front, on the Discovery Call and the first in-person meeting.

We’re also very thorough at the initial consultation meeting, when we’re talking to the clients about what kind of style they like for their space, and talking about the investment as I just mentioned.

For a step-by-step framework about asking the right questions before you ever start sourcing, check out my blog post The Perfect Interior Design Client Questionnaire.

When we present to clients, we present one option. One option for a sofa style, one option for fabrics, one option for a table, lamps, etc.

Interior Design Custom Project Finishes

That’s not to say I haven’t got what I call my ‘back pocket products’. When you’re sourcing products, you do find other items that maybe could be a fit, but may not have been your favourite option initially.

But I don’t show them these second options unless I feel that I need to. I want to sell them on our initial interior design presentation.

This was a huge game changer! You know as well as I do that once we swap out one item, it can have a domino effect on the entire design, which can be really frustrating.

A good reminder that once again, they hired YOU as the professional. Give one option only, and if needed, have that secret back-up weapon in your back pocket.

3. Quit With The Psychological Projection

The third thing that I stopped doing was psychological projection.

The definition for this scenario I’m referring to for interior designers specifically in terms of cost, is when a designer unconsciously assumes the client’s budget comfort, priorities, or price sensitivity are the same as their own, and then selects furnishings and materials at those price levels instead of what the client has actually communicated or can realistically afford.

Does this sound familiar? I think it’s inevitable when you first start up your own interior design business.

But often our clients are seeking our luxury interior design services so that we find them those one-off items, special high-end pieces to pull together a beautiful, unique space.

Don’t get hung up on the price of one or two items, especially when you come in on budget overall, and if those are the jewels that make the design shine!

Here are two amazing design projects where we did not hold back on custom finishes. These may not be rooms I would design in the same way or invest in for my own house, but the final results achieved were exactly why the clients hired us!

Movie Theatre Designed by Claire Jefford Inc.

Concessions Area With Video Games Designed by Claire Jefford Inc.

Custom Boutique Closet Room With All Custom Cabinetry Design
Designed by Claire Jefford Inc.

Custom Closet Design by Claire Jefford. All professional photography shown in this blog post is by Stephani Buchman.

4. Present A Lump Sum, Not An Itemized List

The other thing that was a huge game changer in my business was when we stopped itemizing products.

When we present to clients, we reveal the total price for all the furnishings we curated for their entire space, and don’t need to itemize every single piece.

Present to them the lump sum and tell them this ahead of time.

This is a conversation we have with clients at the initial interior design consultation, and I will straight up say to them:

“You know, I don’t want you to get sticker shock from a custom pillow with a beautiful fabric and each pillow is $400. Sometimes a fabric for a pillow could be the jumping off point for the entire space, and if I am close to or on budget based on our conversation about the overall investment for your project, then the price per piece is not relevant.”

I’m telling you now, my design friend, presenting in one lump sum will change your life!

Speaking of pricing, if you struggle with how to put together an interior design client proposal (or you just want to be nosey and see one of our real client proposals with a $40k service fee project), grab my Pricing & Proposal Roadmap. It includes a done-for-you template as well as a walk-through video of that $40k project and deliverables.

Grab my Pricing & Proposal Roadmap here

5. Come Prepared To Seal The Deal

The final and fifth thing that I quit to make more money with custom furnishing projects is not coming prepared to that presentation meeting with my contract.

We always bring our Custom Design & Project Management Contract for the clients to sign right there and then.

You can absolutely have a cooling-off period, but just think about it…your clients are super excited at this presentation meeting! You’ve just presented a beautiful design plan uniquely for them and they’ve been able to touch and feel all the fabrics.

Strike while that iron is hot, and if they are ready to move forward with the implementation phase.

At the same time, you want to collect 100% of furnishings as well, so you’re never out of pocket.

To see at exactly what point in time and how much we bill clients for services and furnishings, you can get my Stress-Free Invoicing Guide here.

Comment below to tell me your thoughts on these 5 Things I Quit To Increase Conversions & Make More Money on Custom Furnishings.

Have you already implemented some of these strategies? Share your feedback and experience.

For further Claire-ity on improving your systems and strategies specific to your interior design business, you can always book a 1-on-1 Coaching with me.

Helping designers transform their businesses with bigger projects, better clients, and higher profits.

Stop Managing Renovations

You can absolutely run a profitable, in-demand interior design business without ever managing a renovation project, while still working with great clients and connecting with builders for regular referrals.

I know this to be true, because I’ve done it. (Even when others told me it would not be possible).

Why I Stopped Project Managing

With the start-up of my interior design business, I thought that I had no choice BUT to manage renovations.

I’m talking about projects such as whole home redesigns, main floors, kitchens, bathrooms, etc.

Managing renovation projects left me anxious, exhausted, and spending most of my time putting out fires instead of actually designing.

I realized I had a choice to make. I could either:

Be miserable managing the trades, take on a ton of liability to oversee every detail, deal with damaged materials, etc.
Redesign my business to focus on the aspects of the role that I truly love that include designing, specifying fabrics & furnishings, and consulting.

When I gave myself permission to step away from project management of renovation projects, it was so empowering! Everything changed: my happiness, my schedule, and my profitability.

The Power of Design-Only Services

It all started when a local builder approached me looking for a designer to create concepts for their clients, without needing me to manage the entire renovation.

The project management was their responsibility, as was the purchasing of all the materials such as flooring, tiles, countertops, plumbing fixtures, and paint.

That partnership became the catalyst for a business model that lets me stay in my zone of genius while builders handle the day-to-day construction chaos.

From there, I built out three core services that clients and contractors love:

Concept-Only Design
Designer for a Day
Designer By Your Side

Concept-Only Design

Concept Only Design is where we develop the overall vision and layout, without getting into selections of finishes or furnishings. (that comes later with the other interior design services we offer)

As an example, when you have a client who wants to take down a wall between the kitchen and living room, but then they need to know options for a new kitchen design, how big a new custom island can be, and how to plan the living room layout so the space flows beautifully.

For this service, we create 3D drawings so clients can clearly visualize the new space before demolition starts, which builders also love because it reduces confusion and second-guessing on site once the renovation project is underway.

3D rendering by Claire Jefford Inc.

Designer for a Day

Designer for a Day is typically a six-hour session where we help clients select the key finishes for a renovation project. That can include hardwood, countertops, backsplash, cabinetry colour, grout, wall colour, and more.

It is a one-and-done service: no purchasing, no ongoing management, just a powerful working session that leaves clients thrilled and builders relieved to have clear, cohesive specifications.

Read this blog post with video if you are curious to see exactly how we set up Designer for a Day services.

If you want a clear, professional done-for-you contract to protect you when offering this service, grab my Designer For a Day contract template here.

Designer By Your Side

Designer By Your Side is an hourly service with a 20-hour minimum, ideal for clients who want ongoing guidance without full-service project management.

Here we can attend site visits, help with decisions throughout the renovation, and even purchase furnishings and window treatments, but we do not manage trades like the plumber, electrician, or GC.

We do what we love most and let the GC deal with any deficiencies that arise.

Without overcomplicating it, this is simply an hourly design service that you may be currently billing as a flat fee.

But, speaking from my own experience, and countless conversations with designers over the years either through my 1-on-1 coaching or in my private FB group, 90% of interior design professionals who bill a flat fee, LOSE MONEY.

Designers almost never bill for ALL their hours.

Designers underestimate how long tasks will take.

It’s likely you don’t take into account all the phone calls, numerous emails, preparations of concept-boards, procurement, multiple site visits, etc.

If this sounds familiar, you will want to invest in my Stress-Free Invoicing Guide that will save you from missing out on mountains of money for design services that you are not billing for accurately.

Read this blog post with video where I share specific details of how we offer Designer By Your Side services.

Use my Designer By Your Side contract template to set clear expectations and protect your boundaries.

Yes, You Can Make Great Money

You do not have to manage every aspect of a renovation to be profitable. With the right structure and clear boundaries, design-only and consulting-based services can generate excellent revenue while protecting your sanity and work-life balance.

On a recent renovation project, our client hired us for our Designer By Your Side, and we billed 140 hours at $250 an hour. That works out to $35,000 in service fees alone, plus we made additional revenue on product sales, all without the stress and liability of overseeing every delivery and trades on site.

Bonus: All of these types of services can result in full projects that still give you beautiful portfolio images and strong social media content, which helps attract more of your ideal clients and builders!

Kitchen designed by Claire Jefford Inc. All professional photography shown in this blog post is by Stephani Buchman.

Build the Business That Fits You

There is more than one path to the top of the mountain, and you get to decide which route works for you.

You can pivot, refine, and reshape your services over time to ensure you are doing work you love,because at the end of the day, you are the BOSS.

For a trusted reference on what to charge for various interior design services, go grab my FREE Services & Rates Guide, where I share how we structure and charge for our award-winning interior design services.

Just starting your interior design business? You can pick up my Business Starter Checklist here.

Get the Services & Rates guide here

Do you manage renovations? Comment below and let us know!

Texting Clients is Bad For Business

Are clients micromanaging you with non-stop texts at all hours of the day?

Does it feel impossible to stay organized and on top of projects when you’re communicating this way?

You’re not alone. In my early years as an interior designer, I thought texting would make communication easier. Instead, it opened the door to chaos, blurred boundaries, and lost revenue.

Today I’m sharing:

The one exception where I find it acceptable to text
The three reasons why texting clients is bad for your business
How it could be costing you up to $25,000 per year!

1. Setting Boundaries

When you text clients, you’re not setting clear boundaries or creating structure.

The expectation with a text is that you’ll reply immediately, but depending on what you’re doing or the time of day you receive a message, that’s not always realistic.

In my experience, if I don’t respond right away, texts can easily get buried. They get hidden amongst reminders for hair appointments, messages from my kids, and passcodes sent for logins.

This is one of the reasons why we include a no-texting policy in our Full Service Interior Design contract and outline our business hours, which are: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Setting these expectations upfront lets clients know that you have structure to your business and boundaries for how you work.

When they know this from the offset of the working relationship, you can manage their expectations and they are more likely to respect your time.

2. An Inefficient Way to Work

Text messages are messy.
They are not searchable, and they are easy to lose track of.
How are you supposed to organize all those texts?!

If a client texts you a photo of a rug or a backsplash tile, you have to pull yourself out of whatever you’re doing and get your head back into their project which takes time to refocus.

Feeling the need to respond immediately can easily disrupt your day and is not an efficient way to work on a project as a whole.

For full-service projects, we handle every detail, so piecemeal communication doesn’t fit into our workflow at any time.

Even with Designer By Your Side clients, I recommend keeping everything documented by email, or asking your client to save any questions, and ideas for when you next meet up.

We keep emails in our inbox until we’ve actioned them, and we have a 24-hour response time policy.

If in your initial discussions, you find out a client likes to text, explain to them the reasons why you find this to be an inefficient way to work. Most people understand once you share some stories of why you haven’t found texting to be a smart way to communicate with clients.

You could consider adding a question about this to your client questionnaire, which you would review at the initial consultation to start the conversation on this topic at that time.

While it’s never been an issue for us, if you find that a client is persistent in their request to text you, you must decide if you are willing to work that way and how best to manage it. However, be mindful of tracking for your time, and letting your client know how you bill for these messages.

If you don’t log your time, you could be losing a lot of money – which brings me to my next point -perhaps the most important and the one that can make you the most resentful when not managed properly.

3. Thousand$ Lost

If you know me, you know that I like to do the math. The numbers can add up in a way you never considered, and it’s very eye-opening.

Let’s take a look and see how much money you could be missing out on by not accurately billing for all those text messages.

If you’re spending just one hour per week texting with clients and not billing for that time, and you charge $150/hour, you’re losing $7,800 a year
Now imagine you have three clients you do this with – that’s nearly $25,000 a year in lost income

It’s nearly impossible to accurately track how much time you spend texting back and forth with clients.

When you work by email, it’s easier to log your time, document your communication, and bill accurately.

Texting is not only disorganized, it’s expensive.

Another example of quick calculations to estimate revenue for hours worked can be found in this blog about Designer For A Day.

Two Text Exceptions

There are some exceptions where texting can be helpful:

Letting a client know you’re running late for a meeting.
Sending a quick reminder to check their email inbox for a proposal or invoice.

These are quick, and purposeful texts that don’t turn into a full conversation.

Final Thoughts

By implementing these three simple strategies, you can minimize the chaos, streamline your billing, and improve communication with your clients.

The key is setting expectations from the start.

Explain why you have a no-texting policy. Share how it protects the project, the timeline, and their investment.

Clear boundaries = smoother projects, happier clients, and a business that’s easier to manage—and way more profitable.

I’m Claire Jefford, here to help you gain clarity in your interior design business. Let me transform your design business with bigger projects, better clients, and higher profits.

Comment below and tell me how you deal with this – do you text with clients, and are you billing for that time?

Free Resources

For more Claire-ity in structuring your interior design business, here are some more resources I have to help:

Welcome Packet Template

Making an outstanding first impression goes a long way.

The Ultimate Welcome Package is an essential branding tool to layer into your onboarding process for establishing trust with new clients – which is the key to better client relationships.

Get the Welcome Packet here

Services & Rates Guide

Click here to download the Interior Design Services and Rates Guide and get instant Claire-ity with:

Examples of a dozen design deliverables
Recommended hours for various services
Estimated flat fees for custom projects

Get the Services & Rates guide here

Moody Blue Bedroom Reveal

Today on the blog, see how we transformed a client’s main bedroom with moody colours, fabulous fabrics, and some custom finishes.

We seamlessly integrated some furnishings the client already had, which were timeless, elegant pieces, without compromising the design in any way.

This interior design ‘refresh’ project is the perfect example of how we sometimes work with clients looking to make small yet impactful decorating updates that can dramatically transform a space.

My client said at our final meeting, “I feel like I’m in a luxury hotel!”.

That’s just the look and reaction we were going for. Let’s dive in.

The Client

This project came to life thanks to a lovely local client in a similar stage of life as I am—embracing that partially empty-nester season. With her kids mostly grown, she was ready to turn the spotlight back on herself and update her main bedroom and ensuite.

BEFORE: Full view of the bedroom before, featuring a four-poster bed, beige walls, dark wood furniture, and with brown accent chairs

The ensuite makeover will be revealed in our next blog post.

Get my free paint guides here to stay connected if you aren’t already receiving my interior design & colour updates.

Our client’s large principal bedroom had good bones—we just needed to breathe a bit of new life into it.

She had a great sense of style and was very open to my ideas, especially when I suggested going for a bold and moody look. Yay!

Location

This refresh took place right here in my home town of Burlington, Ontario, on a stunning, large rural property surrounded by trees.

Assignment

Our goal was to dramatically refresh this deeply personal and private area of the home. The layout of the furniture was perfect! So there was no need to do floor plans, which is rare for most interior design projects we take on.

The client wanted to keep some of her existing furniture pieces that were in great condition and had timeless appeal.

BEFORE – traditional four-poster bed, flanked by dark nightstands on beige walls

This included her classic four-poster bed (shown above) and the gold-toned pinch-pleated drapery. I colour matched the gold shiny fabric with a metallic finish I brought from my studio.

The pinch-pleated drapery in a shiny gold fabric was staying

My client no longer wanted a TV in her room, so it and the tall dresser were dismissed.

Before photo bedroom TV, and tall dresser

We did reuse some of her other case goods (with spectacular results!) like this wide dresser below. I’ll share that transformation with you in a bit.

Before photo of dark wood dresser and ornate gold mirror on beige wall

Inspiration

As I often do, I started with fabric to inspire the jumping-off point for the entire colour palette.

This gorgeous velvet fabric combined deep moody blues with rusty oranges—rich, warm, and undeniably elegant, especially when you add in the soft texture -it’s smooth like butter!

Close-up: velvet fabric in rust, navy, and cream tones, used in this bedroom makeover.

From this point onward, the other fabrics with similar colours and fun patterns came together beautifully. Below is how I set up the fabrics and finishes for the design presentation meeting.

Flat lay of design elements including Gentleman’s Gray paint swatch, and area rug options

Here is the interior design mood board we created and shared with our client at the presentation meeting, in addition to the samples shown above.

All of these visual design elements help us to convey our design vision to client’s and to give them a good understanding of how the proposed new design will come together.

Principal bedroom mood board: Fabrics, rust swivel chair, area rug, artwork, mirror, lamps, & paint colours by Claire Jefford Inc.

Love interior design mood boards and want to see more? Take a look at this business blog post with video where I share with interior designers the importance of leveraging these visual tools for their business.

Reveal!

Here’s how it all came together…stunning, right?

Moody bedroom reveal with dark wood four-poster bed, patterned pillows, Cloud White nightstands, blue walls, and rust accent chair

For the bedroom, we painted the walls Benjamin Moore Gentleman’s Gray—a moody, deep blue. This is similar to our beloved Hale Navy, but more blue and not quite as dark.

Custom velvet accent pillows on new cream bedding, styled against Gentleman Gray’s blue wall

You can see how we pulled together the entire colour palette from that lush fabric. Notice the way it perfectly complements so many other decorative furnishings in the space – such as the custom rust orange swivel chairs, the high-pile area rug and the oversized artwork on the wall next to the nightstand on the left.

Rust Orange swivel chair with blue and cream lumbar pillow on an abstract patterned rug

Swivels offer great versatility, my client can easily turn them towards the window to enjoy the view!

Sprayed nightstands in Cloud White by Benjamin Moore with gold hardware

We worked with the client’s existing nightstands and dresser, spraying them Cloud White by Benjamin Moore, with updated gold hardware. It’s quite the transformation at a relatively low cost.

After Cloud White dresser, oversized round mirror and gold floor lamp

For the lighting, we repeated the gold tones of the drapery in both the table lamps and the striking floor lamp next to the dresser.

The wall that previously housed the TV and the tall dresser, was now much more elegant with the addition of this gorgeous sofa table in dark wood and a curved gold base.

After bedroom dark blue walls with artwork and sofa table

Exposed

The biggest design challenge we faced was working around the dark wood four-poster bed with curved headboard and footboard. This piece, while classic, is quite bossy in terms of style.

Bossy doesn’t always mean bad, by the way! It simply means it couldn’t be ignored, especially since its’ presence is the main focal point in the bedroom.

But, here is an example I shared on a guest blog post of my good friend Maria Killam, of my very first decorating project when there was a bossy design element that I couldn’t play nice with.

Moody bedroom reveal with Benjamin Moore’s Gentleman Gray walls, custom pillows, and Cloud White nightstands

While I love eclectic design, we couldn’t find nightstands and a dresser that worked not only in terms of style but also taking into consideration scale, the wood finish and price point.

We looked at over 200 nightstands! In the end, we decided to keep the existing ones- which were in excellent shape – and have them sprayed white to lighten them up and give them new life.

We chose Cloud White by Benjamin Moore as this was the same white paint used on my client’s trim and ceilings throughout the home.

If you love Cloud White, you’ll want to see where we used it here in another client’s bedroom for a custom TV wall unit, paired with Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore on the walls.

Detail shot of gold knobs on Cloud White dresser

With the extra fabric my workroom had from the kidney pillows, they made this runner for my client to use on her newly painted dresser. She was so thrilled with it!

Table runner custom fabric blues and oranges

Investment

It’s important for me to share pricing information when possible -and with my client’s permission – because that is almost always a big mystery for most people. Of course, pricing varies depending on the quality of furnishings, how custom the design is, and the tradespeople you hire.

But so you have an idea, here’s a breakdown of the investment for this particular project:

Fees for our professional interior design services: $5,000
Furnishings & finishes: Approximately $18,000

This included re-spraying the furniture with new hardware, all custom pillows, the 2 custom swivel chairs, the console table, the 10 x 13 area rug with underpadding, table & floor lamps, bedding and oversized artwork.

So we can really appreciate the magnitude of this transformation, here’s a look at the before and afters side-by-side.

Top takeaways

Embarking on a new decorating project doesn’t always mean replacing everything and starting from scratch. And sometimes it does, like with this fully custom living room we designed for clients.

It’s knowing what items you can realistically reuse, and when it’s time to kick things to the curb.

If you have classic pieces that are important to you, in great shape and possess an interesting characteristic about them that won’t hold back the direction you want to go with a new design, then go for it!

And remember, dark and moody doesn’t mean dreary. The mix of dark walls, rust accents, and soft gold tones elevated the design of this bedroom while still feeling warm, inviting, and extremely luxurious.

Your Say

Now it’s your turn—do you love this transformation?

What is your favourite piece of furniture?

Leave a comment below and let me know—I’d love to hear from you.

That’s a wrap for CLAIRE-ITY on another client makeover project. Stay tuned for our next post about this client’s ensuite – you won’t believe the big impact we made with just three changes!

Here & Now Design Consultations

Is there an area in your home that you’ve been struggling with?

Whatever the design dilemmas or colour challenges you are facing, know that you don’t have to figure it out all on your own.

Let’s hop on a Zoom call, I’ll give you immediate answers, so you can move forward with confidence and clarity.

I offer my 1-hour ‘Here & Now’ online design consultations for anyone outside of my local area.

With over 14 years of design experience and having worked on hundreds of projects, I can provide professional guidance in any area of your home. Stop second-guessing, I am here to give you instant Claire-ity 🙂

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

Benjamin Moore Colour Referenced in This Blog Post:

Hale Navy

Benjamin Moore Hale Navy Perfect Colour Palette Here

Revere Pewter

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter Perfect Colour Palette Here

How To Tone Down Orange Wood

Not every interior design dilemma needs a big-budget renovation. Sometimes, you just need a set of trained eyes to help you see what’s working—and what’s not.

During one of my recent 60-minute ‘Here & Now’ online design consultations, I worked with a client who was frustrated with several design challenges in her home.

There was a recent mishap with the updated paintwork of her kitchen cabinets that she wanted my advice on.

She also wanted ideas on how to tone down all the wood on her main floor, and wished for a better solution for the furniture layout in her living room.

Here’s a punch list of what we discussed:

White Dove gone wrong on the kitchen cabinets
Creating a cohesive colour palette
Why Revere Pewter was the perfect paint
Furniture layout in the living room

Let’s walk through what we covered, and the professional advice I provided to help her overcome this design challenges.

What Went Wrong With White Dove?

Here’s an image the client sent me prior to the renovation refresh of her kitchen.

Before – Oak Kitchen With Blue Tile Backsplash And Vaulted Ceiling

And this is the after photo.

White Dove Kitchen Cabinets with Revere Pewter Walls

You can see from the transformation that there were 3 main updates:

The upper cabinets were replaced, now with crown molding, new hardware, and painted white
A new white, square Zellige backsplash tile was installed
They updated the countertops to a white quartz with some gray veining

My client selected Benjamin Moore’s White Dove for her upper cabinetry colour. But the painters did a colour match and used Sherwin Williams paint instead. This is where it all went sideways!

If you look closely at the cabinetry, you can see that the cabinet doors and the crown molding are ever-so-slightly different. (My client tells me it’s much more noticeable in real life, and I believe it.)

The cabinet doors appear creamy, which is what White Dove by Benjamin Moore is – a creamy off-white. But the crown piece above, as well as the pantry door, are more stark and brighter in appearance.

What my client explained happened in this instance, is that in addition to the painters attempting to colour match a Benjamin Moore colour to Sherwin Williams, the paints were also not all mixed at the same time, each one used was a different batch.

This is why when I specify paint colours, I review a waiver that I have clients sign that includes details about not colour matching paints. My client is going to have another painter come in to repaint the crown and the pantry door to match the creamier upper cabinets.

As an FYI, I have seen this happen before when we built a custom pantry with crown detail for a client and had it all painted Cloud White. Because the crown molding was on an angle, the way the light hit it, made the crown look slightly different in colour.

By the way, if you want to know more about White Dove, read my colour review blog and check out my White Dove Perfect Colour Palette.

Toning Down The Wood

The entire main floor of my client’s home had a lot of wood. Even after the updates made to the kitchen, there were still the wood floors, wood stools, and the original wood base cabinets.

First, the oak trim around the pantry door needs to be sanded down and painted White Dove to reduce the contrast in that area.

I suggested replacing the wooden counter stools with upholstered stools that have creamy legs. Ideally, a vinyl option is best as it’s more durable and forgiving when it comes to smudges and spills.

An idea like what I created in the mock-up below includes some decorative elements that soften the space and repeat various colour tones.

White Dove Kitchen Cabinets Revere Pewter Walls Burgundy Stools

Installing an inset Roman blind on the window would provide another opportunity to add softness, as well as repeat colour tones for good flow. For a quick visual, I inserted a houndstooth fabric piece by the window in the image below.

Mock-up with fabric piece by the window

Like the one in my outdoor studio shown below, the blind doesn’t need to be functional if privacy is not an issue – but it looks functional with the pleats at the bottom. You can see more of my interior design studio here in my portfolio.

Office Studio Mock Roman Blind In Abstract Blue Green Floral Pattern

As my quick mock-up reference was meant to provide a general idea of how to tie everything together, I encouraged my client to start with a fabric or a runner, and look for something with a pattern she likes to inspire a colour palette.

This is something I encourage as part of the decorating advice I share inside my Perfect Colour Palette collections. These PDF Guides, available for immediate download are a great starting point to help you confidently coordinate paint colours with fabrics, furnishings, and accessories.

See here for all the colours and choose from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams or Farrow & Ball.

Thousands of Dollars Saved!

This client was also ready to repaint her entire main floor, which I’m sure would have easily cost more than $5000, but I stopped her.

Living room with Revere Pewter walls and stone fireplace

She thought she needed to repaint the walls, but once I saw her stone fireplace with the existing wall colour —Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter— I knew that wasn’t necessary.

Revere Pewter has been a popular paint colour for a very long time. With it’s warm green undertone, this colour complemented the natural tones in her fireplace stone beautifully.

On a side note, Pale Oak or Edgecomb Gray would also work well with that particular fireplace stone.

To learn more about Revere Pewter, and how to pair it with other colours, including the best whites for ceilings and trim, check out my Revere Pewter Perfect Colour Palette.

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter Perfect Colour Palette Here

The biggest challenge with this living room was the furniture layout. Why do architects build homes with angled fireplaces?!! There’s nothing that bothers me more…well, okay, maybe a few things irritate me more, but this is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to design.

Improving the Living Room Layout

Revere Pewter Walls Wooden Floor Living Room

We discussed different furniture arrangements but ultimately, this layout does make the most sense for the way they use this room and considering what we have to work with.

Adding a console behind the sofa like we did here in this client’s coastal living room and again here in another client’s great room, is a good way to soften the look of the back of a sofa, especially when it’s in the middle of a room. A sofa table also offers an opportunity to bring in some accessories for styling.

Mid-Century Modern Style Console. Design by Claire Jefford. Photo by Stephani Buchman.

Narrow Console behind the sof. Design by Claire Jefford. Photo by Stephani Buchman.

Placing a vertical mirror above the fireplace would emphasize the lovely feature of the high ceilings and reflect light from the large window opposite. Since the wall space is limited, the horizontal artwork currently placed there looks too squished.

Living room with Revere Pewter walls and stone fireplace

Revere Pewter Walls In Living Room

For the large window, I would install side panel draperies similar to the ones we did for a Burlington client’s living room shown below in subtle blue and green hues.

I used an app to add a larger area rug. A common decorating mistake many people make is to buy area rugs that are too small. This size is better in terms of scale, as you want a big enough rug so that it extends under the front legs of all the main furniture pieces to define the seating area.

Rug Idea Living Room

With this specific rug I found online, the pattern is pretty and the muted colour tones work very well with the fireplace stone, the wood floor, and Revere Pewter on the walls.

Paint It Like New

Like many traditional or transitional houses, this client’s home had a lot of orange-toned wood. And not only the flooring, stair railings, and built-ins, but also the case good furniture pieces. Painting the spindles or built-ins could’ve been an option, but not every homeowner is open to doing that.

We discussed alternative ideas such as either getting a new coffee table and end tables or keeping the ones she has and spraying them white.

On a recent bedroom decorating project, we did just that for a client. We sprayed her traditional styled, dark wood dresser and nightstands to completely transform and update the look. This is great for reducing waste and saving money on a project.

Below are the before and after photos from that particular project with the updated piece shown without the hardware. We later added gold knobs which complemented other finishes in this large bedroom.

Traditional Brown Dresser Before

After: Updated Painted Dresser Cloud White Benjamin Moore

At the end of our Zoom call, my client had a clear plan, renewed confidence, and a big sigh of relief knowing she didn’t need to repaint her entire main floor. The money she was going to spend on paint, could now be invested in window treatments and other furnishings. Yay!

What’s your biggest takeaway from the design lessons I shared with you here today? Comment below to let me know.

Here & Now Design Consultations

Is there an area in your home that you’ve been struggling with? Whatever the design dilemmas or colour challenges you are facing, know that you don’t have to figure it out all on your own.

Let’s hop on a Zoom call, I’ll give you immediate answers, so you can move forward with confidence and clarity.

I offer my 1-hour ‘Here & Now’ online design consultations for anyone outside of my local area.

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.

Benjamin Moore Colours Referenced in This Blog Post:

Kitchen and Bath Industry Show 2025 in Las Vegas

What a week it was at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas! In this blog post, I’ll be sharing beautiful products and stunning showroom vignettes to glean inspiration from for your next interior design project.

Specifically, Caesarstone, Artistic Tile, Cafe, and Monogram. These brands were not direct sponsors of the Designhounds event that I was a part of, but you can see those suppliers in a previous KBIS 2025 blog post I wrote here.

Caesarstone

Caesarstone has been our preferred supplier of choice for many years when specifying quartz products for client projects. There are so many brands on the market that have emerged over the past few years, it’s honestly over-saturated at this point.

I tend to not only work with brands who have beautiful products, but other factors are how great my reps are and if my trades are happy to work with the materials. Caesarstone ticks all those boxes for me.

Caesarstone Isobellia Porcelain surface

Caesarstone Crestone Porcelain surface

Caesarstone Rossa Nova Quartz surface

While they did have some more colourful lines, the images shown above were showcased in these simple vignettes that were easy to photograph.

Artistic Tile

I love a bold and vibrant pattern tile! Artistic Tile always has a gorgeous booth that attracts a lot of attention.

Artistic Tile green block pattern

Artistic Tile green leaves

Artistic Tile green patterns

What I do find disappointing is that while the most colourful displays get many ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from designers, as well as being super ‘Instagramable’, the opportunity to use these statement patterns for mainstream residential projects, for the most part, rarely presents itself.

Artistic Tile patterns

Artistic Tile Morrocan pattern

Artistic Tile red green black

You can argue that it’s because the products don’t appear to be timeless, and definitely not the ‘safe’ choice, but there’s no denying they would bring a distinct style and add extreme personality to any space.

Popular colour trends in the Artistic Tile booth leaned towards pretty blushes, sage greens, and soft blues.

Artistic Tile pink mosaics

Artistic Tile blush colour

Artistic Tile shower wall tile

If you like these Artistic Tiles and want to use similar colour schemes for a decorating project, I’ve selected four of my Perfect Colour Palettes to make it easy for you. Each of these includes similar hues as well as other coordinating paint colours, and I give you the best white paint to pair with trim and ceilings. They are:

Cafe Appliances

Although I’ve never specified Cafe or Monogram appliances, hands down, their vignettes are consistently two of the most breathtaking booths at KBIS. A must-see for every designer.

And why is that? Because of the array of COLOUR and fun patterns they infuse into these kitchen designs!

Cafe Appliance KBIS 2025

Cafe Appliance aubergine coloured cabinets with gold hardware

Sleek, dark, matt gray Cafe Appliances

Similar colours to this vignette can be found in my Perfect Colour Palette for Agreeable Gray from Sherwin Williams.

Cafe fridge matte gray finish

Cafe fridge spring-themed kitchen

Cafe Fridge copper trim interior

I loved the copper-toned detail on the door baskets and shelving inside the fridge. This is a nice, added touch that is unexpected yet classy. This colour of trim would compliment both the copper sink and pendant lighting in my kitchen design very nicely.

Cafe Appliance fridge copper trim

One of my ‘Favourite Finds’ as a Designhound was this Dual Dispense Autofill Pitcher. The water dispenser in our fridge is quite slow and takes quite a bit of time to fill up a glass of water – okay, well maybe it takes a minute but it feels like a long time! I thought this was brilliant and that it would be handy to have a full jug of cold water on hot summer days or when setting the table for the family.

Cafe fridge water filter

White Cafe Appliance summer theme

This final image from the Cafe booth was my daughter’s favourite. Elise told me to save this image so that when she gets her own place, this can be our inspiration to draw from for the colour scheme. She loves colour, just like her mama!

My Elephants Breath Colour Palette includes similar colours, specifically the pink, green and creamy white you see on the cabinets. Plus, I carefully selected some deep, moody plums and brown tones that you could coordinate beautifully with the popular violet-gray paint colour from Farrow & Ball.

Monogram Showroom

While Monogram is a well-respected manufacturer of high-end appliances, for me it’s the exquisite design and unparalleled details that draw me to their booth year after year.

Monogram showroom KBIS 2025

At this KBIS show, there were a lot of warm earthy tones, specifically reds. This fridge was like a leather finish with white stitching that outlined the glass windows and the drawers.

Red Monogram fridge white stitching

The double bullnose style countertop was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. These details add an extra, unexpected layer to what we are used to seeing on a countertop. The open, lined niche with inset cabinetry lighting was also pretty spectacular.

As an FYI, the hardware and cabinetry detail to the right is just for show. I can’t imagine how functional drawers of that size would be in a kitchen island design -but for the booth, and all the maximalist details, it looked amazing!

Double bullnose rounded countertop Monogram

As you can see from some of the photos shared in this post, arches and curves are still trending in interior design. However, my least favourite detail I saw was the metal grill cabinet cover and edge trim on the floating shelves.

Monogram KBIS grill cabinet cover

I totally get that the idea was to add more dimension and repeat the pattern you see on the tone-on-tone navy blue wall in the background, but this idea is so not practical for a kitchen.

All I see is the opportunity for crumbs and messy spills that would be super hard to clean. Not to mention, the likelihood of me slicing the palm of my hand open on the exposed piece of the basketweave grill on the upper shelves.

But the colour scheme is still popular, blue and white is classic as you can see here in my sister’s kitchen design and in this kitchen refresh we did for an online client we worked with in North Carolina.

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.

Perfect Colour Palettes

Do you like red, earthy tones? Create a whole home palette inspired by one of these 3 Farrow & Ball Paints.

Every Perfect Colour Palette I created below includes a rich red tone and other colour combinations to use in your next interior design project.

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.

Kitchen & Bath Show 2025

KBIS in Las Vegas was an inspirational whirlwind, as usual! I was thrilled to be part of the Designhounds tour, where I got to spend time with fellow design professionals from across North America.

We learned about some very cool, and innovative new products, including the latest from Europe and the UK as part of the NKBA Global Connect division.

Compac Surfaces

First I want to share some fabulous Quartz products from a company in Spain called Compac. We had the pleasure of touring their beautiful booth at KBIS. Compac quartz is a premium-quality, high-performing quartz surface that is stunning and exceptionally resistant to wear and tear.

New introductions at this KBIS show included Compac’s outdoor material called Obsidiana. These are the first surfaces created using up to 100% recycled glass.

Designhound Domenic Marcolongo feeling the Obsidiana Compac Quartz

Obsidiana Glace Finish Compac Quartz

Obsidiana is zero waste

Recycle – as much as possible
Reuse – seek new uses so we throw nothing away
Reduce – the consumption of resources
Reconsider – everything that can’t be recycled or reused

Compac also showcased a new striking pattern in an alternate design line created in collaboration with artist Arik Levy, inspired by the frozen lakes in Alaska.

Ice Gold Compac Quartz

The material is available in different colour ways and named appropriately to reflect each one, such as Ice Gold (shown above), Ice Black (shown below), and Ice Max Viola (purple veining option, not shown).

Ice Black Compac Quartz

For the right project, this product definitely makes for a gorgeous conversation piece like no other! Learn more about Compac and all their products here.

SKS Signature Kitchen Suite

Although you would never know it to look at it, the island top in the image below is actually housing a built-in induction oven. That surface is doing double duty.

SKS Induction With Sleek Down Draft System

The pop-up stainless steel mechanism shown is a down-draft system that multi-functions as a spice rack which is all built into the countertop too.

On either side, it also has refrigeration panels that lift up from below the counter, so you can store items that need to be cooled such as milks and creams, yet keep them close within reach for ease of cooking.

It’s hard to explain without seeing it. So please GO HERE to watch a video on my Instagram page. It’s very satisfying to watch!

SKS Fridge

SKS Convertable Fridge Drawer

To see other products from SKS, take a look at this blog post I wrote when I was part of a collaboration with the brand in 2024.

Impromta – Boiling Water Tap

As a Designhound, we have the privilege of selecting 5 of our ‘Favourite Finds’ from the show and placing a branded placard in the booth of that vendor.

One of my ‘Favourite Finds’ was from Impromta, a UK brand within the NKBA Global Connect division of KBIS. After their presentation, I immediately made my way to their booth where Sales representative Chris, did a demonstration to show me how their Boiling Hot Water Tap is the safest on the market.

Impromta Biometric Boiling Hot Water Tap

While this may look like a normal, albeit sleek and sexy faucet, there’s more to it than that. These patented Hot Taps provide the safest method of dispensing near-boiling water, BUT, if you’re not registered, either by fingerprint or facial recognition, you can’t turn on this feature of the tap!

Registering takes seconds & is easy to do, and each system can register up to 30 users.

Fingerprint & Face Recognition for Safety

As someone with a strong English background, as well as being married to a handsome Brit for nearly 20 years, this type of technology completely makes sense.

My Uncle Jerry was here in the summer and he drinks approximately a dozen cups of tea each day! He has one of these taps in his UK home and was raving about it when he visited us here in Toronto last summer.

The red light indicates that the boiling water feature doesn’t recognize your print

This isn’t only a great feature for making hot drinks, but also helpful when you need hot water for cooking. They also have taps that make filtered water available instantly as well.

See their website here for more details and all faucet types and styles.

To see me testing this product myself, watch my Highlight Reel from KBIS here.

It’s your turn, now. Tell me, would you use any of these superior and beautiful products in your next Kitchen renovation?

Comment below to share your thoughts.

More trends and gems to come soon from the Kitchen & Bath Show in Las Vegas!

While this is a sponsored post, brought to you from KBIS and by Designhounds, SKS Signature Kitchen Suite, Compac Surfaces, and Impromta, all opinions on these products are my own.

Safari Lake Nakuru

On day 3 of our African adventure we drove over 5 hours from Nairobi to Lake Nakuru. We were unaware of the unexpected and incredible experience that lay ahead of us for the early morning game drive the next day.

More on that a little later in the post with exceptional photos you won’t want to miss…teaser – it involves a male lion and a tasty Pumba!

Bird Paradise

Lake Nakuru in Kenya Africa

One of the things I was most excited about for Lake Nakuru was seeing an abundance of bird life. Chris and I are bird nerds, and this beautiful part of Africa did not disappoint.

Great White Pelican bird

Great White Pelicans fishing on Lake Nakuru

Pied Kingfisher in Lake Nakuru

The Ugly 5

In Africa, they have what they refer to as the ‘Ugly Five’ and the ‘Big Five’. I’ll reveal the Big Five in my next blog post, but here I want to share the Ugly Five.

Each of the ‘Ugly Five’ animals has an odd appearance and an even stranger body build. With very dull colours they don’t have the most beautiful appearance to most people.

Although I think the animals are quite cute, just not the birds in this category. The Vulture (which we didn’t get a great photo of) and the Marabou Stork are pictured below.

Marabou Stork Lake Nakuru, Kenya

The other 3 in the Ugly Five are the Warthog AKA Pumba, the Hyena, and the Wildebeest.

Warthog, AKA Pumba with dried mud on his face

Warthog Pumba kneeling to eat

Some fun facts about the warthog I never knew:

They have to eat on their elbows (or knees, I guess?) to be able to reach the grass.

They look like they are wearing high heels by the way they walk.

When the adults want their young to follow them, their tail stands up perfectly straight so the little ones can see where to follow mom or dad, which is especially helpful in the long grass.

Hyena, one of the Ugly Five

Wildebeest Sculptures. It’s the only one of the Ugly Five we did not see!

The Wildebeests are most well-known and guaranteed to be seen during the Great Migration in the Masai Mara.

During the months of July through to October, the Mara is the scene of the epic annual trek of over 1.5 million wildebeest from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara region. It’s also the busiest time of year for tourism for this reason.

I’m glad we went when we did as you get more of the parks to yourself with fewer vehicles competing to get a spot for the best, close-up views. Plus, other than the Wildebeest, we saw every other animal that you would see during the busy season.

Flamingo Hill Camp

I’ve said before that I am not one for camping, not since the kids were little anyway. But what we experienced, wasn’t camping, not even glamping, but a big step up. The accommodations were brilliant!

Flamingo Camp in Lake Nakuru

Flamingo Camp Stone Path

Once again, similar to the Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi shown in my previous blog post, the African colour scheme was fabulous.

Soft yellows, and bright oranges, with the neutral backdrop of the canvas tents in beige with green undertones. There were also plenty of natural materials, such as rattan and warm wood.

Flamingo Camp Bedroom

Flamingo Camp Pool

Morning Game Drive

The best thing about game drives is the excitement and anticipation of what you might see! Animals tend to be most active at night and early mornings, as opposed to midday when the sun is at its hottest.

Taking in the sunrise as you bounce around in the jeep on a muddy and stony path adds to the awe-inspiring experience.

Sunrise in Lake Nakuru Kenya Africa

Zebras and Cape Buffalo at sunrise, Lake Nakuru

Zebras eating grass in Lake Nakuru

I had never given much thought to all the animals that eat grass, and just how much grass they all eat!

I learned that the reason the iconic Zebras stand next to each other, facing opposite directions, is so that prey cannot distinguish how many zebras there are. Their stripes make it hard for predators to tell where they start and stop, which totally makes sense when you think about it.

Below – This guy walked right by the jeep, just a few feet from our jeep. I love the colour palette – black and white stripes of the zebras, the auburn brush plants just behind him, the vibrant yellow-green grass, and the soft blue sky.

Zebra in Lake Nakuru

The giraffes are amazing creatures to see in the wild and to see so many at once and so close together, like these three seeking shade under a nearly barren Acacia tree.

Rothchild Giraffes in Lake Nakuru

Some fun facts about the giraffe are:

They live for 20 – 28 years and can weigh up to 1.8 tons as adults

Giraffes sleep just 5-30 minutes per day, standing up with their eyes open

The gestation period of a female is 14 -15 months -BUT, they can prolong birth by up to 3 months if they feel it is not safe to deliver!

Giraffe eating leaves

Cape Buffalo cooling off in the water – Lake Nakuru

Chris and I in the Jeep on Safari

Best For Last

At the beginning of this post, I shared a teaser about lions and a warthog. Sadly for the warthog, the story does not end well.

Early on in the sunrise game drive, we came across two male lions. Our drivers sensed something was up when they noticed Hyena’s and vultures nearby. Then we came across some blood and guts, what looked like the intestine of an animal – don’t worry, I didn’t take a picture of that!

One of the male lions was sleeping, while the other was lying down, but moving slightly. When he finally turned around, he proudly showed off his meal to us.

Male lion eating a Warthog

Poor Pumba!

This truly was a remarkable sight to see, especially when he dropped the carcass and turned to look right into the lens of my husband’s camera! How beautiful are these majestic animals?!

I hope you’ve enjoyed following along with my safari adventure so far. More to come soon.

If you missed my first post about our trip to Africa, you can read about our first two days on our adventure here.