Ten Painting Tips

1.  Buy a quart each of two of your favorite colors and paint them on the walls.  Live with them for a week to see which one works better.

2.  Lighter colors usually help a room to feel more open and light.

3.  Darker colors usually help a room to feel more cozy.

4.  When you are using more than one paint color in a room, change the colors at an inside corner.

5.  Take time when selecting a white paint.  White has color to it and it can have a pink, peach, yellow, or even blue tone to it.  Choose one that works with the colors and other finishes in your home.

6.  Try painting your ceiling a lighter version of the color on the walls to help reflect more light.

7.  Painting the trim and doors the same color as your wall creates a contemporary look.

8.  Use a flat or matte finish on areas where you don’t have much need to clean the walls.  A matte finish creates a rich and deep texture.

9.  Use a glossier finish on the trim and doors so they can be cleaned easily.

10.  Use the same trim and door color throughout your home to create a sense of flow and unity.

.

.

.

Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer.  Her company Clio Design provides interior design services and unique artwork and cards.   Visit her site at www.cliointeriordesign.com

Color 101: Intro to the Color Wheel

When you select colors for your home, having a good understanding on how colors are created is very helpful. The color wheel is a wonderful tool that helps us to see how colors are made and how they interact with one another.   If we begin with the color red and follow the color wheel in a clockwise fashion,  we can begin our learning experience.

• Red -  this color can range from looking very warm to versions that are much bluer.  Yellow makes the red warmer and adding blue changes the red into a color that feels and looks cooler.  When white is added to red it creates pink which is much softer than pure red. Red is an intense color and very energetic.  You could use this color in an area where you want a sophisticated and luxurious design.

• Orange – When you mix red and yellow, you create orange.  Depending on the type of red or yellow that you use, there are numerous types of oranges.  They can range from the bright orange of the fruit to the rusty colors that you may see in a Tuscan style home.   Orange makes us feel warm, energetic and can increase our appetite.  In your home, bright orange adds a contemporary design to any room while more rusty earthy versions can provide a warm and comforting feeling.

• Yellow  – Adding yellow to any color usually warms it up.  Yellow is a bright color and is nice to use if you want a cheery look to your home.   Yellows can range from very bright to softer and more pastel tones.  Use the very bright yellows in smaller areas and the softer yellows to paint an entire room.

• Green – The colors yellow and blue create green.  The more yellow the green has in it the warmer it feels.  Greens provide a calm look and remind us of nature.  To connect your home to the outdoors, choose greens that remind you of the plants around your home.

• Blue -  If you want your home to feel relaxed use the color blue.  Pastel blues can provide a softer look while darker options create a more sophisticated and masculine feeling.

• Purple – Mixing blue and red together make purple.  Adding white to purple creates lavender.  Some purples are wonderful to use for a retreat area and other purples can provide a playful look to a child’s room.

• Neutrals (Browns) – Browns are made by combining a number of different colors.    Neutrals vary quite a bit and can have an orange, red or even blue tone to them.  Using browns and tans provide a sense of grounding in our homes and they work well with other colors.

• Black and Grey – Both black and grey are sophisticated colors and can be a great backdrop to other colors.  Adding white to black creates grey.  Grey’s can have blue or yellow tones to them.

• White – The color white comes from many different sources.  Some versions are very cool while others can have hints of yellow, pink or even orange.  Selecting the correct white is important since you want it to relate to the other colors and finishes in your home.  White is always a wonderful color to use when you want other colors to stand-out.  Galleries use it all of the time in this way so that the artwork is the main focus.  Try using just white tones on all of the finishes and furnishings in a room for a soft and contemporary feel.

.

.

.

Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer.  Her company Clio Design provides residential interior design services, original artwork and art consultation services.  Please visit her website at www.cliointeriordesign.com.

Decorating the Front Door

I like to turn to nature to inspire me with ideas to decorate the front door.  Each season provides numerous directions to take for the style and color.  Since it is spring and the fruit trees are showing-off their blossoms, I decided to look to the pear tree for ideas.  I like how the pear tree branches have an orange tone to them and I like that combination with the blue teal color of our door.  I selected a branch that I found interesting  and thought about how I would decorate it.

I decided to make flowers and leaves out of paper.   I chose red for the flowers because  I liked how the red would work well with the branch’s orange tones and also provide a bright and cheery contrast to the blue of the door.  For the leaves I used a cream color wallpaper that had a variety of pattern.  I cut out flower shapes and leaves in a free form fashion and even added a fun dot to the center of each flower.  I squeezed and folded the flat designs to give them some dimension then I thoughtfully decided where to hot glue them on to the branch.

I enjoyed the process of creating my branch and was even more excited on how it turned-out.  It was easy to make and something that you could do too.

.

.

.

Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer.  Visit her website at www.cliointeriordesign.com.

Changing Out Throw Pillows

When the weather begins to get warmer, I always like to change out my throw pillow covers.  I keep the same colors as before, but they are now in pastel versions.  The lighter colors create a feeling of coolness and the change is refreshing.

.

.

.

.

.Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer.  Her company provides interior design services that help you feel great about your home.  www.cliointeriordesign.com

Take a Step Outside to Find Colors for Your Home

I noticed recently that the winter and spring rains have brought more color to the desert hills where I live.  The greens are more brilliant and the browns are much deeper.  The look reminds me more of being back east than living out in the western desert where colors are frequently softer and more subtle.  I wanted to get a closer look at what these colors were composed of and use them as an inspiration for the color schemes I offer to my clients.

I packed my watercolors and a paint deck.  I used watercolors because I enjoyed the process of mixing paints and how they create a soft and luminous effect.  I sat myself down on a grassy area and began to look at the landscape, I noticed the rocks first.  From a distance the color of the rocks looked uniform, but up close I could see all of the variation of color, lightness and darkness.  I mixed my paints and applied colors such as deep orange, rusty red, grey and brown to my paper.

I turned my attention to other elements.  From my earlier vantage point on the road below, I saw brilliant greens and softer sage colors.  The grasses were not just green, as I thought from a distance, but they actually had red along the end of the tips and orange near the base.  I found colors for the soil, the lichen on the rocks and the dried flowers and weeds.  Sitting on the hill I noticed all of these colors working together to create a new color.  I was reminded of how the impressionist painters capture color and light.  When you look closely at a painting by Claude Monet, you notice the numerous layers and colors that go into creating one area of the painting.  As you step away, the colors begin to work together to create new effects, and forms become more apparent.  In nature, I realized that each plant contributed to the overall look of the hills much as in a painting.

After my morning of discovery I ended up with a set of paint and color schemes that could be used to enliven homes in this area.  The set of colors includes rust browns, oranges, sage and grassy greens, dusty blues, soft whites and other colors in between.  Using these colors on the interiors and exteriors of a home will create a connection to the native terrain.  I look forward to going out again during the different seasons to capture any changes to the landscape.

If you want to have your home feel a part of the landscape, take a walk outside.  You don’t have to be an artist or designer.  Take pictures, bring paint chips, markers or whatever material to help you record the colors of the native plants, trees and rocks around where you live.  Nature is a natural decorator and artist.  The colors always seem to work together effortlessly.  Using nature as an inspiration for the colors of your home will help you feel connected and in harmony with the landscape around you.

.

.

.

Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer.  Visit her website at www.cliointeriordesign.com and her nature blog at http://naturemusings.wordpress.com/

Creating a Home That Reflects Your Lifestyle

Many times when we think about decorating our home we look to other people’s houses or to the latest design ideas for inspiration.  There are many wonderful decorating options out there but they may not always be the best fit for your family.  It is enticing to have a home that looks just like the one on the magazine cover.  But at the end of the day does that design really help you and your family feel great about your home?

If you want to feel at home and have your house reflect who you are, then take some time to figure out what is most important to you.  If you look at your family’s lifestyle and the routines that take place everyday, you will have the clues to help you to design an environment that works for you.  Below are some typical family lifestyles that many of us can relate to.  While your family may not match these lifestyles completely, many of the tips can be a starting point for any home.

The Busy Bees – Your family may be on the go and any time that you do spend at home is probably helping you to re-energize for the next activity.  You need a place that is organized and helps you to stay organized.  The kitchen is especially important to keep streamlined so that mealtimes are easy to prepare and there is time to catch-up with your family’s daily activities.  Having closed storage areas so that you don’t see clutter, food and cookware will provide a calm feeling.   Busy people also need a place to rewind.  Create a comforting and soft place to land in your family room with cozy furniture and an arrangement that invites conversation. Paint the room in soft calming pastels such as greens, blues and earth tones.   Alone time is also important.  Bedrooms provide private time to read, create art or play music.  Incorporating a reading chair and table in your bedroom invites you to slow down.

The Entertainers – Your family enjoys having friends, family and co-workers over to your home throughout the week.  So that your guests feel welcome make sure that there is always enough seating and areas to set down food and drinks.   Displaying your accessories only on the walls and shelves keeps clean-up to a minimum.  Your furnishings need to be beautiful as well as functional.  Use fabrics that are durable as well as cleanable.  You can create an energetic environment by using colors such as orange, red and yellow.  If you keep your dishes and party ware organized and accessible, then it easy to set-up for any type of get-together.

The Homebodies – Your family loves being at home.  You may even have a home office or home school your children.  Since you are around your family quite often throughout the day, it is important to have personal spaces for each member of the family so that there is quiet time to reflect and express yourself.     Your child’s  bedroom is the place where she can personalize her space and have a retreat that decorated in her unique way.  Using magnetic paint on the walls is an easy way for your child to re-arrange decorations and artwork without using a nail and hammer.  If you can, separate your work and school areas so that when work is done, you can go to another area in your home and feel like you have left your work behind.  Folding room dividers can also give you that same feeling of separation.  So that your work and schools areas don’t look cluttered, keep the materials organized with plenty of storage.  At the end of the day, make sure to have an inviting family area in your kitchen or family room where you and your family can re-connect.   Using one paint color in the main area of your home will help you feel connected, while incorporating coordinating colors in the bedrooms and personal spaces will help each member of the family feel special.

Creating a home that works for you is easy.  Pay attention to what is important to you and your family and the decorating will fall into place.

.

.

.

.

.

Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer.  Please visit her nature blog Nature Musings and her website www.cliointeriordesign.com

Your Home is About You

It is so important to have your home reflect who you are.  Your home needs to be a place where you don’t have to impress anyone.  A place that helps you to feel comfort and relaxation.  We all have different needs, wants and desires for our home so it is so important that you create something that you like and love.  Go with what is in your heart and what makes you feel good.  A true home is not about impressing your friends or keeping-up up with the Jone’s.    This is the place just for you so be imaginative and caring when you create your perfect environment.

.

.

.

.

.  Carol Gilman is an interior designer and artist.  Visit her nature blog at http://naturemusings.wordpress.com/ and her website at www. cliointeriordesign.com

The Color Red

Red provides a feeling of warmth and energy when you use it in your home.  When you decorate your walls with red paint or wallpaper it can create a bold and luxurious statement   If you want to use it in smaller quantities, try it as an accent color for your accessories.

.

.

.

.

.

Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer who enjoys sharing information on how to enjoy your home more.  Visit her website at www.cliointeriordesign.com

Refreshing Changes for the New Year

New Look, New Year

Ten Ways to Refresh the Look of Your Home

1. Try a new paint color on one wall or an entire room.
2. Re-arrange your furniture in a different way.
3. Purchase an area rug to pull a room together.
4. Deep clean your carpets and the grout around the tiles.
5. Re-upholster a chair to give it a new look.
6. Print out, frame and display your favorite photographs for everyone to enjoy.
7. De-clutter by giving away anything that you have not used in the last year.
8. Update the look of your cabinets with new pulls or knobs.
9. Paint your front door a new and inviting color.
10. Place a couple of throw pillows on your sofa to add a punch of color.

About the author:  Carol Gilman is an artist and interior designer who enjoys helping everyone feel great about their homes.  Visit her website at www.cliointeriordesign.com for more information on how to feel great about your home.

Planning the Spaces in your Home

One of the most important things to think about when you are decorating a room is to make that there is enough space for all of your furniture and for people to move around easily.

Follow these tips to create a room that flows well.

• Plan ahead – Take some measurements of your room before you purchase any furniture. Determine some initial furniture sizes and create a preliminary furniture arrangement. When you plan ahead you will be more focused and you will find the perfect pieces that fit your room.

• Mapping – When you plan a room’s decor keep in mind how people will be moving around the space. Everyone needs to have pathways to get from one area to the other. You can think of it as a road map. Planning on how someone enters and leaves the room and how they get to the sofa, window or chair helps everyone feel comfortable. When you create your arrangement, make sure to allow enough space and clearance around furniture to allow for these paths of travel.

• Porporation and scale – Select furniture that relates to the size of your room. If you have a large room and high ceilings, you can use larger pieces of furniture. While a smaller more intimate area feels better if you use pieces that are smaller in scale.

• Balance – One way that you create balance in a room is by leaving open spaces. It is visually and physically restful and creates the feeling of harmony. Balance will automatically fall into place when you plan ahead.

.

.

.

About the author: Carol Gilman is an interior designer and artist. Her company is Clio Design at www.cliointeriordesign.com.

Please visit her nature blog, My Musings on Nature.