Working with an Interior Designer? Here’s What NOT to Do!
Working with an interior designer is the surest way we know to guarantee a beautiful, updated home that reflects your tastes. We love working with designers, and your project will be in good hands. . But homeowners can unknowingly make life difficult for their designer, and get in the way of their own project’s success. […]
Interior Painting: Using White Paint the Right Way
White paint is the go-to color for most homeowners in Austin, TX, and with good reason! (It’s quickly become the go-to color in San Antonio, TX as well, although San Antonio kept its beiges and tan colors a lot longer than Austin did. By the way, the lovely white interior space in our title […]
How to Pick the Right White Kitchen Paint Color
Whether you want a “bright white” kitchen or you love some of the softer, warmer whites that are trending now, selecting the right white kitchen paint color for your walls or cabinets can be massively frustrating! After all, there are hundreds of whites, off-whites, and beiges out there, in all variations of undertones: blue-whites, yellow-whites, […]
Is Brown Coming Back?
Are interior colors getting warmer, and is brown coming back? I’m often asked if brown is coming back. (NOTE: This post was written in 2017, scroll down to the bottom for our 2025 update!) This photo is my answer to that question. Yes, brown is being incorporated back into interiors, bringing some friendly warmth into […]
Updating a Tuscan Brown Home? Here are 6 Tips
Updating a Tuscan brown home, step by step If decorated your home in the 1990’s or early 2000’s, odds are it contains plenty of elements from the “Tuscan” design trend. You almost couldn’t avoid it – stores carried nothing else for about fifteen years. But now those same elements feel heavy, old, and outdated. You […]
Decorating with Cream and Gray – Taking the Nervousness Out of It!
After seeing light, fresh interiors everywhere in stores, on HGTV, and in your friends’ houses, you’re ready to freshen up your home, especially if it’s still in what we call the “Brown Phase” of the past few decades. You’ll be moving out of the Dark Ages – literally! But you’re unsure how to begin. Cream or […]
Painting Crown Molding to Match Cabinets – Is It a Good Idea?
Painting crown molding is usually straightforward – just paint it the same color as the rest of the trim or woodwork in the room (the baseboards, door casings, and window sills). But there are exceptions! . If we’re painting kitchen cabinets in a new color, homeowners often ask us whether their crown molding should be painted […]
Black Painted Trim – 5 Guidelines on How to Use It!
Perhaps you’ve noticed lots of black painted trim – doors, windows, woodwork – in interior design magazines. The problem is, not ALL the trim is black, which makes it hard to figure out the pattern. Maybe all the baseboards and crown molding are white, but the windows themselves (the metal, wood, or vinyl parts – […]
Grasscloth – Yes, You’ll Always See the Seams!
Grasscloth is enjoying a bit of a revival, one that we love to see. Today’s grasscloths are more sophisticated and elegant than the 1970’s straw-looking wallcoverings we may remember from our grandparents’ homes. The fibers and weaves are tighter and lay flatter, colors are more sophisticated, and you can find lovely versions with […]