Wow! The 10th episode of my TNT podcast. It’s amazing that we are here already. I am having an absolute blast making them. Hope that you are loving listening to them and finding dynamite Claire-ity in each episode!
Click on the video below to watch the podcast where I have an open conversation with a client whom I worked with in 2016.
Prefer to listen on the go? Click here to download this episode.
This is the first episode in my new series called ‘A client’s perspective’. I am starting the series with a one-on-one discussion with my past client, Tara Vernest.
We worked together in 2016 when I provided my ‘Designer on Call’ service at her home in Guelph, Ontario. We keep in touch through social media, but we haven’t seen each other in over three years.
It was so great to see Tara and catch up on what’s been happening in her life. We talked about her interior design project and more specifically, why she looked for help from a professional to guide her through her renovation.
The discussion led to how she found me, why she hired me (hint: it might have had something to do with my processes and my upfront conversations!) and what her expectations were of working with a design professional.
My lovely client Tara Vernest and I ‘cheers’ to my 10th TNT episode
It’s nice to hear a different point of view from the other side of the fence. As always, the discussion is open and honest. It is wonderful to dig a bit deeper to really understand the clients’ thinking process when it came to bringing an interior designer on board with a home renovation project.
Sit back and enjoy as Tara and I have a frank conversation of what it’s like to find and hire an interior design professional.
Guest Bio
Tara Vernest
Tara grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo. She attended the University of Guelph where she fell in love with the city and her future husband, Cameron. She’s the mother of two beautiful children, Avery, her 6-year-old sporty daughter and her gorgeous son Noah who is just about to turn 1!
She trained as a Brand Marketer, but her eye can’t help being drawn to home and design—a passion that she attributes to her late mom’s keen eye.
Tara and her husband lived in Singapore for five years. After welcoming Avery, they relocated back to Canada, where they faced a new set of desires for their home that they had been renting out while overseas. This is where our working relationship began.
Tara is joining the Insta – world in a big way. You can find her @whitelinenlifestyle sharing what she loves, favourite designs and advice.
We started off with many laughs and I’m so pleased that we’ve stayed close through social media. I am thrilled that Tara has agreed to be on my podcast. She is the first client to be on my show and I couldn’t be more pleased!
See all my podcast episodes here. New episodes are published every other Friday!
Free Resources
A fabulous FREE resource to help excel your interior design business.
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.
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.
Remember, it only takes one mistake to take your home decorating project from divine to disaster. Don’t let the paint be what stresses you out!
Take my Colour Quiz to discover your Perfect Colour Palette.
Click on the video below to watch the podcast where I talk about the Top 5 posts from my private Facebook Group – Interior Design Business Strategies – IDBS.
In this solo episode, I review the Top 5 posts in my IDBS group from the past month. These are the hottest topics, the posts that received the most engagement from my group during this time.
A nude picture that a client sent a designer – call the police or just block them?
Setting budget expectations – being upfront about how much decorating projects actually cost.
Promo posts – connecting people within our network.
Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses – what you’re awesome at and where you might struggle.
Summer clothes – where to find a classy yet affordable wardrobe for the warmer months.
What I mentioned on the podcast:
When helping clients figure out what they can expect to spend on that beautiful new living room with custom built-ins and furniture or a full makeover of their master bedroom, my Pricing Guides can be a valuable resource.
Welcome to part four in my Bungalow Home Renovation series where I’m giving you a ‘Behind the Design’ tour of my sister’s main floor renovation.
In this latest installment: The cabinetry is going in, the shower is nearly done and we have a check measure, reviewing all the details for the lovely custom treatments for window coverings and the island banquette seating.
Join me for the latest installment in my exciting series documenting my sister’s incredible Burlington bungalow renovation! Click on the image below to watch the video and see the updates.
Work in progress
In case you didn’t watch the video (why didn’t you watch the video?!!), below are some photos that I snapped throughout the renovation process.
Check out the bathroom shown here with the shower niche, half wall and bench seat. I the love white penny round tile on the floor and in the niche, it’s super sweet! More importantly, my sister and her husband love it too.
White shower with shower niche and bench seat
Shower niche with white penny round tile
Here is the custom bathroom vanity painted Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore with black handles. Look at all that storage space! To think that previous to the renovation, all they had was a pedestal sink and medicine cabinet to store items in the bathroom.
Double bathroom vanity finished in Kendall Charcoal by BM with black hardware.
Below is the custom spinning shoe rack in the ‘Girly Room’ which will house 50 pairs of my sister’s shoes. Karen could have two of these with all of her shoes!
Finished in Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.
In the kitchen, the cabinetry is coming together nicely. This wall unit will house pantry items (far right), brooms (far left) and in the centre will be the tea/coffee drinks area.
Custom kitchen cabinetry
The upper cabinetry on this side of the kitchen is Simply White, while the lower cabinets and island with custom banquette is the lovely, rich blue that is Hale Navy. Do you notice the extra pull out drawer storage in the banquette?
Isn’t that backsplash fun?! My sister picked that out!
The final reveal is coming soon!
Thank you for following along with me on this exciting Bungalow renovation series. As we enter the final stages of the cabinetry installations I am excited to move on to more of the pretty with the custom drapery and decor. Stay tuned to see more of the progress coming soon!
Pin it for easy reference!
Remember, it only takes one mistake to take your home decorating project from divine to disaster. Don’t let the paint be what stresses you out!
Take my Colour Quiz to discover which colour palette suits you best.
Click on the video below to watch the podcast where I talk about a Real Client Project.
Prefer to listen on the go? Click here to download this episode.
Running an Interior Design Business isn’t easy, but nothing worth having ever is.
One of the best ways to learn how to run a successful interior design business is to learn from others’ experiences. I’m sharing Real Client Projects on The Naked Truth podcast to help you do just that.
My ‘Real Client Project’ Episodes are all about sharing the details of my past projects. In other words, I review how the client came to find me and what my fees were for the initial consultation as well as for the interior decorating services.
You will hear the specific details of the project including presenting design plans and what happened during the process with the trades. I also discuss purchasing products and the overall working relationship between everyone involved.
In this week’s episode…
In this Real Client Project episode, ‘My Client Wanted to Cancel a $12K Order!’, I share the details of some important lessons I learned while working for clients in my local area.
These Burlington clients were busy professionals with 2 young children. They were fabulous to work with and did not have the time or energy to take on a custom living room redesign project on their own.
As a result, they told me that they didn’t know where to start and the idea of doing this on their own was very overwhelming for them both.
The project went very well overall and it was beautiful to photograph for my portfolio. Still, there were some key takeaways that I learned. I am sharing them with you in this podcast episode.
For instance, offering reassurance and following up with clients after a project is completed, are two of the key lessons I learned. Hear about them and more in this week’s episode of my TNT podcast.
Plus…
Take a look at my new Pricing Guides that I mention on the show. These can help you to set realistic budgets for a project and easily manage your client’s expectations. A fantastic tool to have on hand that allows you to have open conversations with your client’s about money.
See all my podcast episodes here. New episodes published every other Friday!
Free Resources
Here is a fabulous FREE resource to help excel your interior design business.
In this solo episode, I review the Top 5 posts in my IDBS group in the month of May. These are the hottest topics, the posts that received the most engagement from my group during this time.
Topics include: Blog and Instagram Pods -why do they annoy me so much? How to deal with clients who try to set the terms for the project and indecisive clients. The best way to find content for your Social Media My biggest takeaway from Covid.
Join me here and get Dynamite Claire-ity for your Interior Design Business.
An expression that I do not like to hear during an initial consultation meeting or when presenting plans to clients is the response, “That will do.”
No! That’ means something is not good enough and doesn’t excite you! And that does not sit well with me.
Whether you are working with an Interior Designer or doing a project on your own, never settle for something that is just ‘okay’ or that does not inspire you.
Living room design inspired by this gorgeous piece of art. Design by Claire Jefford Inc. Photo by Stephani Buchman.
(PSST – More to come soon on our recently photographed Oakville project shown above!)
I mean sure, there are times when you don’t necessarily have to love every single piece in a room if it works well with the overall design.
But for the majority of the finishes and furnishings, we want you to love the pieces you are investing in. Our goal is to find you the BEST paint colour. The BEST sofa style. The BEST fabric. The BEST wallpaper.
You see what I’m saying?
FREE Digital Download
Before we get dive in, make sure you have my Free Download with 5 tips to getting your paint colour right the first time. You’ll receive it instantly when you sign up here to get my Design and Paint Updates.
Three examples with paint colour
Watch my video below to see one of my biggest pet peeves when people are looking for a paint colour, and even interior designers are guilty of making this mistake!
Plus, I show you three examples of determining the BEST colour to pair with finishes.
Which was the BEST?
In the video I walk your through a few different examples of ‘good -better-best’ scenarios.
One example is which green paint colour by Benjamin Moore is the BEST for a sweet dotted fabric we used in this client’s home, for their guest bedroom window treatment.
Click on the video below to watch the podcast where I talk about a Real Client Project.
Prefer to listen on the go? Click here to download this episode.
Running an Interior Design Business isn’t easy, but nothing worth having ever is.
One of the best ways to learn how to run a successful interior design business is to learn from others’ experiences. I’m sharing Real Client Projects on The Naked Truth podcast to help you do just that.
My ‘Real Client Project’ Episodes are all about sharing the details of my past projects. In other words, I will review how the client came to find me and what my fees were for the initial consultation as well as for the interior decorating services. You will hear the specific details of the project including presenting design plans and what happened during the process with the trades. I also discuss purchasing products and the overall working relationship between everyone involved.
In this Real Client Project episode, ‘The Bully and the Budget’, I share details of my very first custom decorating project! What went well? What did I charge the client? Why did the project go over budget? What didn’t the client like about the trades? How did I deal with the ‘Bully in the Room’? For Dynamite Claire-ity, take a listen to hear all the details. Cheers.
See all my podcast episodes here. New episodes published every other Friday!
Free Resources
Here is a fabulous FREE resource to help excel your interior design business.
Welcome to part three in my Bungalow Home Renovation series where I’m taking you on a “Behind the Scenes” tour of my sister’s main floor renovation.
This week, the walls are up, the electrical rough-ins have been done and prep work has begun in the bathroom shower!
Join me for the latest instalment in my exciting series documenting this incredible Burlington bungalow renovation.
Fabulous Finishes
Throughout the project, both Karen and Jason have been great in following my advice for interior design and decor.
One of my favourite parts of any decorating project is pulling together the fabrics and colours for the space. Custom finishes are not inexpensive, but they make all the difference in taking a home from ‘fine’ to ‘fabulous’!
You don’t see this in the video, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at some of the fabrics and Benjamin Moore Paint Colours that we are using for this project.
Hale Navy and Classic Gray
You may have seen this colour combination before when I used it in a very different style of interior design project here. But in this interior design, we are adding a bit more colour and fun with the Robert Allen Drapery fabric which will be a stunning ripplefold treatment.
Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore is the island colour and lower cabinetry on the main kitchen wall, while Classic Gray is the wall colour throughout the main areas of the home.
Robert Allen Drapery Fabric for the kitchen and open area of the home
Kendall Charcoal and Gray Owl
In the bathroom, check out his pretty floral pattern that we are using for the custom roman blind window treatment. Isn’t it the sweetest?!
For the master bedroom, I found this funky fabric for the floor to ceiling ripplefold drapery which have a ‘black out’ lining. This means that no sun can peek through on those weekend mornings when Karen and Jason want to sleep in.
Funky and fun ripplefold drapery fabric for the master bedroom
We used Revere Pewter in another client’s master bedroom project and also installed custom ripplefold drapery. The difference is that in my sister’s bedroom the drapery will be ceiling mounted.
The Infamous ‘Girly Room’
This room is quickly becoming the envy of all the people out there who adore their wardrobe and are obsessed with fashion.
My sister’s ‘Girly Room’ is dedicated to housing all of her clothes, shoes, purses and other fashion accessories.
Below is the wallpaper and drapery fabric we landed on for this sweet, yet sophisticated room.
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