Hello to all of my dear readers. I am officially a homeowner! I am very happy with my purchase. I worked with Erin Rigo, who is fabulous, to find the perfect home for me. Erin ensured that I really considered all of my first time home buyer wish list before making any offers. Even in a competitive market, she guided me towards homes that were a good fit and did not rush me when searching.
Now I am carefully going through each room and making the house into a home. I am meeting my neighbors and I even received a housewarming gift. The neighborhood cat gleefully and confidently walked up my driveway and delivered a dead mouse on my front door step, which makes it official.
As I go throughout the house and make it my own, I thought I might share the process with you from design to decor. The interior design process has been a creative outlet for me, one that I am enjoying immensely. I am also enjoying meeting those that have helped with the process to turn my vision into a reality.
I want to introduce Maura, Founder of Decor That’s Yours, a full service interior decorating company. I was introduced to Maura through Lauro Painting. Lauro provides a complimentary color consultation to every client. Before I delve into the color experience, I want to first say that if you are looking for a painting company, definitely consider Lauro. I had a seamless experience from start to finish and was absolutely blown away by the attention to detail and of course the final result.
Prior to meeting with Maura, I had an idea of the colors I liked for each room. I even visited the Sherwin Williams store multiple times, collecting swatches, and creating mood boards. When Maura walked into my house, she listened to everything I wanted and the vision I had for my home. We looked at my furniture together and discussed the type of style and more importantly the feel that I wanted to achieve.
At one point, I showed Maura a gorgeous hand-painted framed panel designed by Gracie Studio that I purchased for my kitchen. After gazing at the magnificent panel for mere moments, Maura honed in on the exact shade of blue/green that appears in a small stem of a leaf and matched it exactly. The color Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams now sits serenely on the walls of my kitchen highlighting both the countertops and cabinets.
In the end we chose an earthy palette. I wanted the home to feel warm and inviting. My furniture and decor style is vintage eclectic with touches of rich greens and golds. Maura explained that the walls should not compete with those pieces rather accentuate and complement.
Since I was so impressed with the experience, I decided to learn more about Maura’s company and expertise. Maura explained that she has always been interested in Interior Design. She loves to go shopping with friends and then bring it home and decorate their homes. How to incorporate color into your home, “if I don’t like it, it’s only paint” and that thought helps Maura’s clients to embrace more creative choices without the added pressure.
When her children were little, she decided to take an Interior Design Course through the Sheffield School of Interior Design in New York. It was an amazing course that focused on the different elements of design, while being mentored by an interior designer from New York. Design has remained a passion of hers even after 17 years and 600 color consultations for both private painters and her own clientele base. It also happens to be her favorite part of the business as she explains, it is definitely the foundation of all design. Your background color enhances every other element in the room.
Color is self expression! Whether it is paint, furniture or artwork it should always reflect you. Trends come and go and therefore to stay on trend, you may want to choose a palette in spaces that you can switch often. Keep with your basics and add trendier colors in smaller sections like accent walls, throws and pillows, which are less expensive alternatives.
Remember, design is ever changing. Maura’s tip, “purchase a few good pieces that are versatile and have longevity.” Make the investment in furniture pieces that get the most use, such as sofas and the kitchen table. Key pieces like artwork is another way to personalize your home and reflect your individual style.
Check out Decor That’s Yours for a complete list of services! Check back in to see the completed decor looks!
