  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography Hi, my name is Jil Sonia McDonald of Jil Sonia Interiors I am thrilled to have been asked to guest post for Maria Killam while she is away vacationing in the land of the Tuscan sun. I've copied the post here. I have been a professional Interior Designer for the past 12 years, located in beautiful Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. I am absolutely passionate about Interior Design and it gives me great joy to create dream homes for my clients. I love what I do! Maria had a few questions for me.  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography 1. What’s your favourite colour? Why? I have to say my favourite color is "Simply white" OC-117 by Benjamin Moore. It is the perfect white for walls. It is not too creamy, not too gray, not too "pinky". Being an Interior Designer, has me working with paint, furniture, fabrics, carpets and tiles, everyday. Simply White is the color that allows me to change up my accessories with clients, and even at home - whenever the mood hits me. And as other designers will tell you; we love updating our own home and work spaces. I have found that when using white walls, it is important to add texture to the room, such as this lovely coffee table in a distressed wood from Restoration Hardware shown below, or this rattan end table. I have seen that when we use all flat, smooth, finishes white paint can look like primer – definitely not what we want.  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography 2. What was your biggest colour/design mistake? I work with a 15 step design system, which doesn’t leave room for mistakes, but sometimes it’s the little things that really ‘make’ a room. I once decorated a client’s home and it turned out beautifully, client was thrilled, but it didn’t have anything with ‘meaning’. Now, I always try to add something that is personal to a client, such this client’s great, great, grandmother’s silver cutlery. Our client had these beautiful pieces mounted in a shadow box, and now they are a wonderful conversation point – brilliant idea!  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography 3. What is the most important colour lesson you’ve learned? When I started out as a designer I had no idea about undertones in colour selection. I thought a beige, was a beige. I discovered with the training and mentorship program from Maria Killam's course “Specifying Undertones”, that there are many undertones of beige – pink, yellow and green, to name just a few! She taught me to compare colours, so that we, as designers, can know exactly how to give our clients, or ourselves, the PERFECT colour. I cannot recommend this course highly enough. Such a great professional development experience that one can add to their role as an Interior Designer.  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography 4. When it comes to colour, what’s hot? Grey is still hot – but I see white over taking more and more! Clients are all asking me for light and bright. White walls with pops of coloured pillows, throws, and accent trays, as pictured below. I just love it!  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography 5. Which colour do you think is timeless? I think a grayed blue is timeless. I strongly recommend you use a very grayed blue — so grey looking that on the paint sample chip itself, it looks gray, not blue! Colour appears twice as bright on your walls as on the chip, so we always need to select muted gray blues unless we want in-your-face baby boy blue. One of my favourite grays with a slight blue undertone is Stonington Gray HC-170.  Warline Painting 6. Which colour trend would you love to see disappear? If I had a magic wand I’d banish the world of pinky beige carpet. I’ve discussed this with carpet manufacturers – they were blissfully unaware! Pink beige can clash with so many other colours – especially yellow! It’s one of those non-descript, all pervasive, colours that look too much like skin tones and doesn’t give clients the fresh, bright colours that we’re all yearning for today. Often builders who don’t hire professional designers, think it’s a neutral colour, but it’s far from that! Here, client’s dog Bella, shows off her timeless medium brown flooring – isn’t that much lovelier than pinky beige carpet?  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography 7. What do you think is one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make with colour? The biggest mistake homeowners make on their own is trying to select a paint colour first. Really, we should be first selecting our hard finishes, and in the following order: countertops and tiles, flooring, furniture, draperies, pillows. Paint comes last. We have thousands of paint colours to select from. It is absolutely vital that homeowners choose wisely, with the help of a great interior designer. Paint colours should be a beautiful backdrop for the other items we have selected, unless the paint finish is a beautiful metallic or lacquered finish. Here, we’ve added a darker, grayed blue table, which just pops against the Simply White walls.  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography 8. Which part of participating in Specify Colour with Confidence™ created the biggest breakthrough/aha moment/insight for your business, and how did it help you move forward? I realized just how important it is to compare colours. It is almost impossible to determine the undertones unless you compare samples side by side, with a pure white background behind them. A simple piece of white poster board is such a great tool to have on hand when choosing colour. Now, I meet all my clients with absolute confidence. I know that I will help them choose the most amazing paint colours, fabrics, tiling, and more, making their home perfect!  Jil Sonia Interior designs – Ina van Tonder Photography For more great tips, interior design insight, or to see more photos of my work, please check out this blog. I’d love to see you there! Maria, thank you for this exciting and amazing opportunity to guest blog. I’m eternally grateful for all the colour instruction that I’ve received from you. I’ve just not found this instruction anywhere else! Now, I'd love to know... Which white is your favourite right now? 
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It's always nice to be featured in different publications and magazines!  Beckenstein Fabrics was kind enough to ask me to present my recent projects. I was happy to be featured with 2 other amazing interior designers. Feel free to read more here https://www.beckensteinfabrics.com/3-talented-interior-designers-share-the-projects-they-completed-this-past-summer/ Thank you so much Beckenstein for your kind words and for featuring our designs!  |
Jil Sonia McDonald -
Jil Sonia Interior Designs
Author:Jil Sonia McDonald - Interior Designer of Jil Sonia Interior Designs. 
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