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Quite a few of my clients haven't gotten around to putting up their Christmas tree yet. Here's a few quick tips to get you started. 1. First select your tree. There are so many options to choose from:
 Beautiful Flocked Christmas tree via Pinterest. 2. Choose a suitable Tree stand. Whichever stand you choose, ensure that you select the proper tree stand that will give you stability and hold a generous amount of water if necessary. 3. Tree skirts They add a decorative touch and provide coverage for any planters or non-decorative tree stands. Great backdrop to those pretty parcels!  Flocked Christmas tree and skirt. 4. Tree lights We now have three options to choose from:
If you choose LED white lights - ensure that you select the warm white which is usually 2700 to 3000 Kelvin units . This will ensure you have a warm glow. The cool LED lights often give a very bluish and harsh looking light. Incandescent lights are the most beautiful lights but they are hard to find now and produce heat which can lead to fire hazards on dry trees. Mini battery pack lights or Fairy lights are a beautiful option, especially on smaller and more delicate trees, or tree branches. If you go this route ensure that you select the mini or fairy lights that include either a remote option or a timer option, so you are not digging through the tree to find the battery pack. Depending upon which type of lights you use, I tend to use 100 lights for each foot of Christmas tree.  Image via Unsplash 5. Hanging your Christmas tree lights. Note this is the most controversial aspect of this post as there are many methods to do this, but I prefer the "branch wrap “approach. Make your starting point of lights at the bottom of the tree near the trunk. Pull the string of Christmas lights taut to the tip of the branch, then work back toward the trunk, wrapping the cord circularly over itself and the branch, while working your way to the top of the tree. Make sure to select the largest branches to wrap first. Ensure there are more lights at the trunk area of the tree as this provides depth to your design. You will know your tree is "all wrapped up" when you finish at the top lone branch.  I wouldn't recommend doing this, but how cute is he? 6. Ornaments Start with the largest ornaments first, placing them near the tree trunk with a few coming through to the branch tips. Then start with the medium sized ornaments, filling in the gaps and lastly the smallest and most delicate ornaments should be placed near the branch tips. This gives dimension to your tree and draws the eyes from the base to the branch outwards to allow others to enjoy your ornaments. Hanging your ornaments only on the outside of your tree can make it looked cluttered and less 3 dimensional. I've got to say I see this all the time and it's difficult to resist the urge to tuck a few ornaments into the background to provide depth. Plan on at least 10 ornaments per foot of tree. ie. 6' tree needs 60 ornaments. Ensure your most precious ornaments are placed where they can be viewed easily. I have a special light bulb which we had only one of. It's now burned out so I've put it in a large plastic ball ornament, hung it on fishline and added a little 'snow' to it. Now I can enjoy that special blue bulb to this day, nice way to protect those keepsake ornaments!  Special way to keep a Christmas keepsake old vintage bulb. 7. Garland. Some people like to use garland. If this is the case, use it sparingly. I find it can overwhelm the tree so I tend to stay away from it. 8. Tinsel. This is optional and time consuming. Each piece needs to be placed singularly by itself. Try avoiding throwing your tinsel on by the handfuls, as I did as a child! It is truly beautiful to look at a tinselled tree, it reflects the lights and ornaments as well! 9. Tree Topper. Your final touch is applying the Christmas star, angel or Christmas spire to the top of the Christmas tree. Make sure the branch is strong enough to support your topper and can be seen above the rest of the tree facing the most viewed angle.  Here's our Christmas aluminum tree with a Pink Spire on top! 10. Almost done! Now, look at your beautiful tree that you wonderfully decorated, and see if there are any bare patches or empty spaces in the tree. Ask yourself if you may need to add more ornaments or perhaps move a few items. It's your preference on how full you want your tree to look. Some prefer a sparse looking tree while others prefer a full and colorful tree. With all these considerations you can decide what kind of Christmas design theme you choose for this year. It all starts with your tree. Take your inspiration from the tree and dress up your mantel and a few table tops! My preference is to put on my favorite Christmas music, have a nice glass of wine, nibble on a few (OK several) chocolates and dance around the house while decorating the tree. Finished! Have a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy your decorating! Merry Christmas from all of us at Jil Sonia Interior Designs. 
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Ready for the last post outlining the 15 Essential Steps to Design your Dream Home? Here we go! First, let’s review, we’ve looked at steps 1-12 so far: 15 Essential Steps to design your dream home Part 1 of 5 1. Selecting your perfect structure 2. Floor plans and elevations 3. Function 15 Essential Steps to design your dream home Part 2 of 5 4. Budget 5. Mood and Style 6. Overall design 15 Essential Steps to design your dream home Part 3 of 5 7. Bathroom and Kitchen design 8. Furniture Plan 9. Lighting plan 15 Essential Steps to design your dream home Part 4 of 5 10. Window covering 11. Fabric 12. Wall colour Now... we move on to the last 3 steps Part 5/5 Steps 13, 14 and 15 !  Exterior design selections by Jil Sonia Interiors. 13. Styling: Now that you have a complete plan, exterior colours, roofing, windows etc, you can shop! Now it's time for accessories. For rhythm, you need objects that repeat. Instead of one candlestick on your sideboard in your dining room, what about 3 of the same? This way our accessories have more of an impact.  Group accessories in 3s! Ask yourself repeatedly through this process -- are my choices consistent with my commitment to the desired ambience? If not go back through a few steps. You cannot compromise here and get the room of your dreams.  Interior Design accessory selections Continuously keep the mood of your room in mind. Try to do all your accessorizing and styling within a short period of time in order to keep to one style. Note: 80 percent of the design of a room should be in one focused style and 20 percent can vary. This 20 percent will certainly stand out. Every room needs some bling unless it's a Farm home pictured below. Fully complete one room, before moving onto the next.  Rustic items for a rustic farm home 14. Edit your choices: Keep the concepts of harmony and balance in mind when editing your ideas. I find this stage often takes the most time. Your final choices should please your eye, feel balanced, and create your desired mood. Our eyes need to rest so don't be afraid to have a little bare space, that helps make everything else pop. Line the items up along a wall to see what you are working with. What works, what doesn't?  Line accessories up along a wall to review your choices. 15. Finally - Relax: Designing a home is not easy. There are important choices to be made and made quickly. Having a game plan and following it does ease the stress. Now we're all done, kick back, relax and enjoy your beautiful new home!  OK, are we ready? Questions? I'd love to help!  So, let’s review, we’ve looked at steps 1-3 designing your dream home. 1. Selecting your perfect structure. 2. Floor plans and elevations. 3. Function  Jil Sonia Interior Designs - Townhome design, Surrey, BC  Jil Sonia Interior Designs, Abbotsford Online client And steps 7-9 of designing your dream home: 7. Bathroom and Kitchen design 8. Furniture Plan 9. Lighting plan  Furniture plan - details, townhome complex, Surrey, BC.Jil Sonia Interiors Now... we move on to steps 10, 11 and 12! 10. Window coverings: When designing your dream home, be aware of oddly shaped windows. For some reason architects love to add them in! Notice the angle at the top of the window below.  Jil Sonia Interior Designs - 1908 Queen Anne home addition, Mission, BC These windows are very difficult to cover. If you like horizontal blinds these can usually be used for some of the more difficult, or odd shaped windows, however not everyone likes horizontal blinds. Many clients prefer window coverings that can be slid to the sides so that all the glass is showing. Transom windows (especially if they are arched), although beautiful, are especially difficult to cover. Determine what kind of light coverage do you need. Do you sleep in - then curse the sunlight in the morning; or do you embrace it? You may need room darkening, or light filtering blinds. Do you have a window needing privacy? A window with lots of glare? Many solutions are available.  Inside view of the office, 1908 Heritage home. Architect added these windows. Discuss your drapery needs with an interior designer or window coverings specialist. Note blinds, drapery and window coverings can be a little pricey, 30% of your room's budget usually goes towards window coverings. 11. Fabric: OK, so we are really getting to the styling part here. We know the mood we want to achieve. But where do we go from here? One idea is to start with a ‘signature fabric’, this is a fabric that sets a style or creates your desired mood. Determine the placement of your signature fabric. This can be an expensive fabric - perhaps use it just for the front of a small pillow or the back of a beautiful chair. Confirm your signature fabric suits the ambiance you desire. Use this fabric to set the colour tone of your room.  Maxwell Fabrics Now select complementary fabrics. In general, allow no more than three different patterns in one room! Determine placement of all fabrics i.e.: - patterned drapery fabrics for the windows - like the example above - perhaps a cream and raspberry stripe for an ottoman, - black and cream polka dots for the chair backs. Finally select trim to customize draperies or throw cushions. This trim can be a fringe on pillows, or a band of colour/fabric/ribbon along the side of a drapery panel. Then use your signature fabric to pick colours for the rest of the room. 12. Wall colour: Now you can finally pick a wall colour! Can you believe we had to wait until step 12 for this? Wall color is not usually picked until near the end of the design, as there are so many distinct colours of paint to choose from. Kimberley Seldon says " picking a wall colour first is like buying a lipstick, then look all over trying to find a dress to match."  Stella McCartney lipstick top. Remember to keep the room’s atmosphere in mind. What is your light level? Resist the urge to paint a dark room in a light colour. Donald Kaufman says "Light wall colours never come to life in a dark room..." If the room is sunny, play that up - don't use a dark colour for the walls. Look at your signature fabric for wall color ideas. I can go on and on about colour but really colour expert Maria Killam says it best when she says "Painting a dark room in pale colours simply accentuates the shadows in a space." Other questions to ask when selecting a colour 'theme': Are you drawn to warm, neutral or cool colours? Do you prefer many colors or a monochromatic look? Personally, I throw out the colour theory I was taught in design school. I don't understand how someone can look at a room and say "Do I want a complementary colour scheme? What about the split - complementary colour scheme or maybe an analogous colour scheme?" Only interior design students talk in those terms. I used to be one of them!  Red/orange wallpaper, Langley, BC Interior Design client, by Jil Sonia Interiors Maybe, just maybe, those theories come into play when looking at how to spice up a room with accessories or accents, but in general the main points to remember are:
Finding all this confusing? Contact me to find out how you can have the home of your dreams! Stay tuned for our last 3 steps!  So, let’s review, we've looked at 15 Essential steps to design your dream home Part 1 of 5. 1. Selecting your perfect structure. 2. Floor plans and elevations. 3. Function Then 15 Essential steps to design your dream home Part 2 of 5. 4. Budget 5. Mood and Style 6. Overall design Now, let’s move on to step #7 shall we? 7. Bathroom and Kitchen:  Interior Bathroom design and decorating by Jil Sonia Interior Designs, Maple Ridge, BC In our last blog I had mentioned that, when considering the overall design of a new home or renovation, I always start with the kitchen. I find the kitchen counter top to be the most limiting. Yes, there are lots of different materials; quartz, granite, cement, laminates, etc. But the colour palette generally starts with the countertops.  Interior Bathroom design and decorating by Jil Sonia Interior Designs, Maple Ridge, BC Then we move onto the cabinetry itself – do we want stained or painted? The trend is certainly towards a light coloured, painted finish. When I specify a painted finish, I usually go with MDF material for the cabinets. I find all kitchen cabinets or wood in general, contracts and expands with the moisture in the air. If you are using wood, the joints will split a little when the wood swells. If the cabinets are stained, that small gap is not noticeable, but if they are painted, it certainly is noticeable. MDF does not contract or expand to the extent that natural wood does, so we don’t have to worry about any tiny cracks. That being said, if a raw (unpainted) area of MDF is exposed to water for an extended period of time, this will swell and will not go back down. However, all areas of MDF should be painted, leaving no ‘raw’ areas. Just take care to dry off those items before stacking them in the cupboards.  White cabinet interior design by Jil Sonia Interiors Now we’ve got appliances selected (as stated in my last post), cabinets and countertops selected, let’s select our sinks and faucets. Speak with your cabinet manufacturer and find out which size sinks you can accommodate. Ensure the sinks will be large enough to contain all the splashes from either washing dishes or washing hands. Select faucets that are easy to use and go with the general style of your home.  Brizo - Litze faucet In the bathroom when selecting your tub – don’t be afraid to visit showrooms and lay in the tub. There are two things I don’t like selecting for clients - tubs and beds – they really are a personal preference. Make sure you’ll be comfy in the tub. Now, select tile to coordinate with bathroom fixtures, flooring, faucets, etc. Please, please, please don’t select an accent tile. If you really need an accent, perhaps select a textured tile (ie. one with waves), that coordinates with your general tile. Different coloured tiles or patterned tiles date the home so easily. Remember, when in doubt use plain tile. You can always bring in accent pieces of sculpture, or flower vases, etc. to give life to the room, don’t rely on accent tiles to do this job.  Interior Design by Jil Sonia Interiors 8. Furniture plan: It is essential to create a furniture plan before choosing lighting or finalizing the electrical plan. Go through each room and write down all the activities that will happen in each room. i.e. in our living room we: Entertain Watch TV Play board games Read.  Interior furniture plan by Jil Sonia Interiors, Abbotsford, BC client. Ensure you have furniture for each activity and plan for furniture to perform double duty for several functions. We have upholstered ottomans that we prop our feet up on when watching TV, but when we have several guests over, they become seats and they also can be pulled up to the coffee table for board games. Arrange furniture around a focal point, perhaps the fireplace or a window with a view. 9. Lighting plan: a. Choose your general lighting first. This is the lighting that you initially switch on when entering a room – it casts a soft, even light over the bulk of the room. This can be recessed lighting or perhaps a beautiful chandelier over a dining room table. b. Task lighting next; such as Island lighting, under cabinet lighting, desk lighting. Think about what tasks you’ll perform and ensure you aren’t struggling to see what you are doing (have you ever tried to finish a jigsaw puzzle with dim lighting?). A tip when you are reading – the bottom of the table lamp shade should be level with your eyes when seated, this is the most comfortable level for most people and helps to reduce eye fatigue.  Interior design by Jil Sonia Interiors Chilliwack BC c. Decorative lighting is last; such as: wall sconces, up lighting, etc. To me, lighting is one of the most important aspects of design. It can make or break the atmosphere of your room. Be sure to include both up lighting and down lighting (have some light sources shine up, some shine down). Ensure you have enough outlets to plug in your favourite lamp, stereo, computer etc. The electrical budget usually equates to 3% of your budget. Stay tuned next week for more design tips. If you need help or have any questions on home design, please email me at info@jilsoniainteriors.com. I’d love to help you complete the home of your dreams! 
Hi everyone, ready to hear more about designing your dream home?
Earlier, we looked at steps 1-3 of designing your dream home. 1. Selecting your perfect structure. 2. Floor plans and elevations. 3. Function. Today we'll look at steps 4, 5 and 6. Whether you are building from scratch, renovating, or just tackling that one room; we'll help you solve your design dilemmas. 4. Budget: The dreaded "B" word - budget. Create a budget and stick to it. I know it's not fun, but yes, it is essential. Here’s some help…Speak with your builder or interior designer first. They will have a set amount of money allotted for items such as counter tops, lighting fixtures, flooring etc. Shop within this budget and see what you get for that amount. Remember a good hint is to put your money in things that you touch or see on flat surfaces, these are the items that are most visually prominent. Materials such as flooring, counter tops and paint are often where quality really shows. Go for the best you can afford for those surfaces. Items that aren't so visually apparent like toilets, sinks, and high mounted lighting fixtures don't need to be expensive to get that great look. 
Marble bathroom designed by Jil Sonia Interiors
So, save on some areas and splurge where it really shows! When budgeting, don’t forget to include essential items such as window coverings, home insurance and property taxes. 5. Mood and Style: Choose to create an emotional atmosphere in your home. We live by our emotions. Have you ever seen a home that is lovely, but lacking something? It's probably lacking emotion or mood – the real ‘feel’ of the home. What mood do I want this house to convey? What's my style? Traditional, contemporary, west coast or 50s bungalow? Look at the exterior of your home and continue that style throughout. Nothing looks worse than when you have an exterior that is a distinctive style from the interior. We need a unified and beautiful look to create a harmonious home.
I live in a Frank Lloyd Wright styled home. In design school, I learned that he spent a lot of time in Japan. His homes and interiors quite often reflected the Japanese style - low, horizontal lines, and low-pitched roofs. So, I went with a slightly Asian look in my home, minimal furnishings, no clutter, I selected furniture for function - with a Zen like appeal. 
Houzz
Look at those tear sheets you've collected from magazines, often they evoke the mood that you love. Try to replicate that mood - if you need help hire an interior designer- this can be the most cost-effective way of keeping you on budget. Designers prevent you from purchasing those 'one-off' kind of items. Having those types of items in your design can throw off your focus, ending up with a home that has no cohesive flow. Designers can sum up the mood you are trying to achieve and keep you on track. 80% of your style should be one focused style. Whether it's casual, modern, country, formal or informal; keep your style in mind when selecting tile, kitchen cabinets, plumbing fixtures, or purchasing furniture.
6. Design: 
Interior design by Jil Sonia Interiors, Maple Ridge, BC
I like to start with the kitchen; it truly is the heart of the home. Select appropriate appliances before designing cabinetry. Note: non-standard sized appliances or fridges will not fit in standard cabinetry. Work with a great designer who knows how to create functional kitchen spaces. We aren't so concerned about the traditional triangle in kitchen design – whereby the stove, sink and fridge are in a triangle formation. That worked well when there was only one cook in the kitchen, but as kitchens increasingly have multiple family cooks helping out - think about work zones. We need a baking and cooking zone, prep zone, beverage zone, clean up zone. Ensure all work areas are covered and it will make your life so much easier. 
Interior Design by Jil Sonia Interiors
Look through the other ‘work’ rooms of your home i.e. laundry and bathroom areas. List your day to day activities and ensure your home truly functions to enable your life to flow smoothly. Isn't that what great design is all about? Stay tuned for more great design tips from Jil Sonia Interiors. 
What does your dream home look like? Contemporary, Traditional, Craftsman, Mid Century Modern? Townhome, House, Apartment?  Whichever style or type of home you choose, there are important steps to follow in designing your dream home. In this 5 part feature, we will be looking at 15 helpful steps, guiding us to complete the home of our dreams. Today we'll cover steps one to three. 1. Selecting your perfect structure. We all know to keep a folder of tear sheets of desired looks, from magazines. Don't worry about cost just yet; I want you to keep your mind open at this point. Tear out anything at all that catches your eye or makes your heart flutter! After accumulating several photos, look for a similarity. In general do you like ranchers or multi-level homes? Stone, brick, wood, stucco? Lots of windows, or cozy and quiet? Come up with a theme - 'your look'. Speak with your builder and architect about which type of home can be placed on your lot. Often something we like, can be incorporated into what we can afford.  The style of your exterior architecture should influence your interior design. i.e. Victorian homes generally look best with traditional interiors; lodges look wonderful with structured, but casual furnishings. Remember to bring that exterior feeling inside. For example, exterior rock siding also works for the interior fireplace surround.  #2. Floor plans and elevations: On to the inside. Have a copy of your floor plan available, this is a must! If you are not building a new home, you can hire a design firm to draft out your existing floor plans. We need plans to either build from scratch, add on, or renovate. Elevation plans are also important - they allow you to visualize the finished look of a vertical wall. An elevation is a view of an interior or exterior wall. You are standing back, looking directly at the wall. This is a flat, two-dimensional view. Only the height and width are obvious. This view of the wall shows items that cannot be clearly shown in plan. This could be wall moldings, doors, window sizes, light switches, electrical outlets, or a finish pattern that is applied on the wall.  3. Function: List the needs you have for your house. How do you really live? Be honest! Do you need a: play room, large kitchen, four bedrooms, den, or a large family room? Write a list of what you do each day - down to the nitty gritty- including things like how much laundry you do, which door you generally use to enter a home - garage, side or front door. Things like these really let you customize your home to your unique needs. For example; when I come home I rarely enter via the front door. I park in the garage and usually bring items from the car into the home. I immediately enter the laundry room, so, I need a place right near the door to set down my bags of groceries, design sample boards, etc.  A pet peeve of mine is when you enter the home from the garage, come inside, then open the closet door to put away your coat - while someone in your home is trying to greet you - but they are blocked by an open closet door. To avoid this, ensure the door swings are drawn in on the plans to all you to have smooth sailings whichever door or hallway you use! Knowing how to customize your floor plan really helps you plan a home to really suit your needs. Stay tuned for the remaining steps! If you need help designing a dream home, or just the perfect room, email us at info@jilsoniainteriors.com we are here to help.  Hi, I've created a short video showing how our Online design services work. We truly do not need to see your home in person, although we can certainly do so. We just need a few photos and a rough measurement of the room. We direct you to a quick online questionnaire asking you more about your taste and style, and what wants and needs you have. Here's an example of a moodboard we've made for a young client's bedroom. We then take it from there! Please click on the video below.  Online interior design, girls bedroom by Jil Sonia McDonald - Jil Sonia Interior Designs Feel free to email us at info@jilsoniainteriors.com to learn more and get started!   Jil Sonia Interior designs - Ina van Tonder Photography Hi, I'm Jil Sonia McDonald of Jil Sonia Interior Designs, I am thrilled to guest post for Maria while she is vacationing in the land of the Tuscan sun. I have been a professional interior designer for the past eight years, and I live in beautiful Chilliwack, British Columbia. My aesthetic is clean and streamlined, which I love to mix up a bit with pops of colour and lots of texture. 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! Please read along with me and see my answers to Maria's insightful questions.  Jil Sonia Interior Designs –Ina Van Tonder Photography 1. What’s your favourite colour? Why? I have to say my favourite colour is Simply White OC-117 by Benjamin Moore. It is THE perfect white for walls. Not too creamy, not too gray, not too pinky. Using it allows me to change up my accessories with clients, and even at home, whenever the mood hits me. (As other designers will tell you, we love updating our own home and work spaces.) When using white walls, we have to add texture to the room, such as this lovely distressed wood coffee table or this rattan end table. When we use all flat, smooth, finishes, white paint can look like primer – definitely not what we want.  Simply White walls, Jil Sonia Interior Designs –Ina Van Tonder Photography 2.. What was your biggest colour/design mistake? I work with a 15 Step Design System that 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. The client was thrilled, but the home didn’t have anything with 'meaning' in it. Now, I always try to add something that is personal to a client, such as a great, great grandmother’s silver cutlery (below). Our client had these beautiful heritage pieces , and now they are a wonderful conversation point – brilliant idea!  Simply White walls, 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. Maria’s training program taught me 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, 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 you can add to your role as an interior designer.  Grey Owl cabinets, Simply White walls, Marble counters Jil Sonia Interior Designs –Ina Van Tonder Photography 4. When it comes to colour, what’s hot? Gray is still hot – but I see white taking over 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!  Simply white walls and trim. 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.  Stonington Gray walls – Painting by WarlinePainting.ca 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 doesn’t give us the fresh, bright effect 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, a 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  5. 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.  Simply White walls and cabinetry, marble counters. Jil Sonia Interior Designs – Ina Van Tonder Photography 6. 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 head over to my blog at www.JilSoniaInteriors.com/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!  Well, you can imagine how I felt receiving this email from the prestigious Houzz on-line site yesterday! (Houzz is the #1 go to source for interior design inspiration and knowledge). Houzz Unveils 2013 ‘Best Of Remodeling’ Customer Satisfaction Winners  Interior design by Jil Sonia McDonald. About Houzz: “Houzz is the top choice for homeowners seeking residential remodeling and design services, providing an in-depth, 360-degree view of each professional through images of their work, reviews and an opportunity to interact with them directly on Houzz,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community. “The ‘Best of’ winners are professionals recognized by our community of homeowners and home design enthusiasts for delivering exceptional customer service and results, and for creating the most inspiring and innovative residential designs in the past year.”  Interior design by Jil Sonia McDonald of Jil Sonia Interiors, Langley, BC I'd love for you to check out myHouzz profile and let me know what you think! We can be contacted by Email for professional residential interior design.  In our last series 15 steps to designing your dream home, we covered all aspects of home design. In this series we're looking at different aspects of lighting. Today we'll focus on hanging chandeliers, like this beautiful chandelier available here.  Lighting affects our moods drastically. Imagine a dimly lit dining room filled with good food, great company and perhaps a little champagne? Yummy.  Now imagine that same room with bright, glaring lights - yup, fully lit. Quite a difference isn't it? Sometimes we need a room with strong lighting and sometimes soft, diffused light is what's needed. Dining room chandeliers that throw bright light straight down onto a person’s face while they are eating, will cast harsh shadows and create glare and also heat up a dining area. For the best results use a chandelier with 200-400 total wattage spread among the light bulbs. This works well for a medium to generous dining room. In general to determine the size of the lighting fixture needed, add up the length and width of the room, convert this to inches, and this is the diameter of the light you'll be needing. i.e. if your foyer is 10' x 8'. Add 10 + 8 = 18. You need an 18" wide light fixture. A common problem is under sizing your lighting, go big or go home! Overhead lighting can also be put on a dimmer switch (also known as a rheostat), which allows you to control the brightness. Changing the wall switch should done only by a licensed electrician. (If you change the wall switch yourself and it's done improperly, it might start a fire, and your home owner's insurance will probably not cover the loss.)  If a dining room is less than 10 feet high, I like to hang my chandeliers from between 30" - 34" above the dining room table. If your room is more than 10 feet high, such as this beautiful room below, just add a few extra inches. To determine the width of the chandelier over a dining table, the minimum width of the light should be 1/2 the width of the dining room table. The maximum width of the light should be 12" less that the width of the dining table.  Did you know you can also light your chandelier itself? Often people add recessed lighting with an adjustable pivot head and direct the light towards both the chandelier and the table itself. The effect can be quite dramatic, especially on a crystal light fixture, as it allows the reflected light to bounce around the room. In general most chandeliers have open lights with several bulbs, this is great to light up the room (referred to as ambient lighting). If you find there is too much glare, simply select a light with diffused lighting, such as this beautiful fixture below, the shade will help to filter the light and reduce glare.  "Up lights" (you guessed it, - lights shining up towards the ceiling) are a great idea as they provide diffused lighting. This way the light doesn't shine straight down on your guests, but instead it will bounce off the ceiling or upper walls, thereby diffusing it and giving a warm glow to the room. Toronto interior designer Kimberley Seldon often says "you don't need a facelift, you just need better lighting!  In our next post we will discuss the 3 aspects of lighting that every room must have.
Questions? Email info@jilsoniainteriors.com
Last September, I embarked on something new. A colour course taught by Colour Queen Maria Killam.
Another benefit is that after taking Maria's course, is that you can belong to a secret group on Facebook. (isn't anything secret cool?) 
Since most designers find we are specifying so many variations of gray lately, Maria was asking us which grays we like. Well, one of my favourite grays is Benjamin Moore's Kendall Charcoal HC- 166.
Last week I met Sharon Grech of City Line TV.
She was hosting a seminar about upcoming colour trends in 2011. I’ve seen her for years and have always wanted to meet this little fireball! She is a Benjamin Moore expert and focuses on updating clients lives with fantastic and inspirational paint colours.
She had mentioned a poll was done where clients were asked which was the most difficult area of design --in projects ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. 80% of the respondents stated CHOOSING THE WALL COLOUR was the most difficult aspect of interior design. The reason is, it is very difficult to imagine or visualize colour!
Dog house diaries.com show the difference between men and women’s thinking. This graph shows the names of colour in women’s minds and in men’s minds.
The chart above kind of makes sense doesn’t it? Unfortunately.
Sharon explained many things impact colour forecasting such as:
Trends in society
Nature
The economy
Fashion
Pop culture
Technology
Sharon had mentioned a good place to start finding your style is to look at the trend forecasts then narrow it down to what you find pleasing.
In other words if dark grey is trendy, but you are unsure if you like it, perhaps just use it as an accent wall or in slate grey vases etc.
It’s amazing how fashion can change your perception of colour. I didn’t formerly like Fuchsia as a colour. Several years ago when it was in style -as a clothing colour- I started wearing fuchsia and quite enjoyed it. Now that the grey trend is here I find fuchsia a colourful accent to liven up the grey tones.
More and more I find people are not filling up their homes; but are now filling up their lives. Excess is gone and a more balanced and thought provoking lifestyle is prevailing. Let’s only keep items in our homes that we truly love or truly need.
At Jil Sonia Interiors, we'd love to help make your house a home!
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Jil Sonia McDonald -
Jil Sonia Interior Designs
Author:Jil Sonia McDonald - Interior Designer at Jil Sonia Interior Designs. Archives:
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Design Links Bloggers I follow:
Kimberley Seldon Design Linda Holt Interiors The Decorologist Warline painting Greater Van. Home builders Savour Partnership |
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