What do you call a series that provides you help with your color emergencies?  Color 911 is what we thought.

 Part 1

Here we provide a forum of advice, interesting and valuable hints and tips on color. What’s your color emergency?

Anyone who has tried to pick the perfect color to put on their walls knows that it isn’t easy. Choosing the right color can be one of the most intimidating and frustrating exercises in the design life of any homeowner.  But we are here to help with all of your color emergencies.

First, what is color?

The most common definition of color is defined as:  the quality of an object with respect to the light reflected by the object is usually determined visually by measurement of hue, saturation, and brightness of the reflected light.

Really – how about – in order for color to be present, objects need light. And different kinds of light can have an effect on the color of the object.

Is color intrinsic?

Our responses to color are governed by deep-seated associations, which have been either conditioned by our experience or inherited from the past.

The phrase “I feel blue” indicates a cultural association between sadness and the color blue; “seeing red” refers to the color’s deep-seated connection with anger. And others like “green with envy” implies a deep-rooted jealousy we may have for the accomplishments of others.

Expressions such as these indicate that we make intuitive connections between our feelings, and the colors we use to describe them. What is amazing is whether learned or inherited, the responses to color are surprisingly similar the world over.

Let’s shed some light on the subject of – paint color.

Most paint colors will darken as they dry, but lighting is the most important reason why choosing the right paint color is so difficult. Lighting has the greatest effect on how a color behaves. And knowing how to interpret your room’s lighting and color is what Faux Décor does best.

Are there better colors for different rooms?

We suggest that you pick a color you can live with, you will be together for a while. Choose colors that support the integrity of your home’s design and your personal design direction. But if you just can’t decide, here’s what most design experts recommend.

Kitchens – Kitchens are a very personal space and the hearth of most homes. Here are some color basics to consider; Using stimulating colors such as oranges, reds, and yellows in your kitchen “will encourage people to eat and be social.” Greens are popular with home chefs who stay inspired by the color of garden herbs. Professional kitchens prefer the color white - it allows the vibrant color of food to be fully seen.

Dining rooms – Painted with rich tones of red such as burgundy, shades of purple and rose remind us of the color of wine, which is said to help in digestion and make guests linger longer.

Living rooms or Family rooms – Pick tranquil colors, colors that help you relax and decompress after a long day. Colors that help family and friends unwind.

Children’s Bedrooms – My personal experience – whatever they want.

Too much color can have a different effect from the one intended… find out why in Color 911 part 2.

See what we can do with color click here.

Contact color 911 with your color emergency?

(Photos of a 1932 GE Refrigerator and a 1904 Washing Machine)

My, we’ve come a long way. I love to view the beautiful kitchens in design and home magazines.  Some of the photos are absolutely gorgeous, but I question their functionality.  Kitchen design should be personalized for the type of cooking and entertaining that will be done within the space.

Is your refrigerator hinged the proper direction for your work triangle?

In refrigeration, Sub Zero is the best of the best and American made.  What makes them unique is their patented hinge design.

Whether you are replacing an old refrigerator or doing a remodel, consider the refrigerator depth and height.  Cabinet depth is 24 + door = 27” verse standard 32”.  Standard height is 68 ¾” but are available in 72” heights.  Before purchasing, consider hinge placement and cabinetry overhead. Shallower depth is more expensive, but come with a better feature package.   Allow a minimum of 1” rear air clearance for all refrigerators.

New kitchen trends include under cabinet refrigeration, glass door refrigeration and wine cabinetry, microwave drawers, and induction heat stove tops.

For cooks on the go….induction is the answer with immediate heat on and off.  Near impossible to burn yourself or anything else, because ferrous iron pots are required to transfer the heat.

On my wish list is a French cooker, a single eye plate which heats up to 850 degrees.  You can place multiple pots on the plate and cook at various temps depending on placement of the pot.

Over the top – Sub Zero Pro with stainless interior and GE Monogram 72” refrigerator/freezer combination.

Give me a shout should you have questions.  I will be happy to refer you to a kitchen appliance expert.

Design Time by Cheryl Oglesby, ASID

We changed this tired looking master bedroom into a serene and peaceful getaway.

Romantic finishes are always in style. Custom low-profile plaster wall finishes add one of the most important layers of design to any room, color and soft touchable texture.

Italian-broken-plaster is from our European Plaster Collection and is a beautiful crumbling plaster look, tinted with warm and cool colored glazes. Italian-broken-plaster is one of the most versatile and highly prized finishes of all the European plaster designs.

We have added Ness Photography to our design team. We are exited about this new collaboration; better pictures will show our work in a better light, literally. Look for more pictures of our work from Ness Photography in the coming months.

My receptionist was off for the weekend, so the pleasure of meeting and greeting all our consumers would be mine.  I was excited about the opportunity to observe my sales staff welcoming shoppers and listening what our consumers were asking for. When the doors opened, so did my eyes. My experience was enlightening.

Peace symbols on handbags, and bright vivid colors far outnumbered the neutral black and white that has been so prevalent the last couple of years.  As I scanned our showroom, a sea of brown and beige, the consumers stood out like flowers in a field.

At the end of the day, I reviewed what had been purchased.  A lime green sectional with contrasting geometric toss pillows, a two-toned shag (Yes, I said a Shag) which is back in fashion,  a rug with big flowers of different colors,  a bubble mirror, lamps with butterflies painted on shades, and slip covered dining chairs.

A quick walk through the mall will reveal Flower Power is strong in the clothing industry.  And what we see there trickles into home furnishings at a slower pace.

Our designers are excited about this new trend too, the opportunity to create fun and energetic living spaces with a splash of color, pattern, and style is always appealing.

But whatever your design style, stop in at the Cool Springs Sprintz store to say hello and meet my team.

“Design Time” by Cheryl Oglesby, ASID

Update, more subscribers to Faux Décor e-newsletter helps Graceworks.

 Yahoo! we are on our way.

 New e-newsletter subscriber’s totals…

As many of you already now know we have a goal to add an additional 500 subscribers to our newsletter by April 1st.  Faux Decor contributes 10% of profits to Graceworks Ministries. But when we reach our goal of 500 new subscribers, we will donate an additional 10% of this year’s profit to Graceworks.

Faux Décor began our new e-newsletter subscriber campaign on February 1^st . The Faux Décor newsletter is full of new design ideas, tips, editorial blogs, discounts on interior and decorative painting and all sorts of ways to save money on home design.

As of February 22^nd there are 65 new e-newsletter subscribers. 

Yahoo!  We are on our way.

So if you have not already signed up for our e-newsletter please do so.  Just go to the right column on this page add enter your e-mail in the e-newsletter sign up box, and if we are not already friends? Be sure to friend us on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/FauxDecor.faux.finishing.decorative.painting

Thank you all for your support, your partners in design,

Jay Bernard and Faux Décor.

My young niece used to tell everyone she wanted to become an interior designer like her Aunt Cheryl…

Although flattered, I tried to explain that it’s not as glamorous as it seems.   She thought I was drawing, coloring, and playing with beautiful fabrics and pretty things.  And I do, but it’s so much more!  Interior designers are bound by statute and state regulations.  Their work must comply with required codes and standards to insure one’s health, safety, and welfare. And they must responsibly create more beautiful environments.

“What are the benefits of hiring an interior designer?”   An interior designer will partner with you to personalize one’s space to fit your style and taste within your budget. We all want more time and less stress.   If you hire a professional you trust; that is exactly what you will receive.

“What should you expect from your interior design professional?”  An individual with an accredited education, design experience, with the ability to design interior layouts, review blueprints and specify materials, finishes, furnishings, and fixtures.

“What to look for when hiring an interior designer?”  Ask for references, areas of expertise, affiliations with professional organizations, and resume or portfolio.

Fees should be clearly defined and agreed upon prior to starting a project.  ASK QUESTIONS!

*How long will my project take to complete?

 *Who will be working on my project?

 *How will my project be supervised?

 *Is my budget adequate for what I am requesting?

* Do you have insurance?

*Do you have a written contract?

*How are you being compensated?

It’s important that your interior designer is a good listener.   He/she will partner with you to provide you with a plan specific to your project needs.  Our motto at Sprintz, “Imagine the Possibilities” is painted over our design studio at Cool Springs.  Because the options can be overwhelming, our interior designers offer hourly in home consulting or complimentary in-store consultations.  Bring in your plans.  We will be happy to help you furnish your dreams.

“Design Time” by Cheryl Oglesby, ASID

Start your day with the “perfect brew” of color. Check out our new project pics.

Add a little shimmer to your walls and create visual interest. The sheen of metallics plays on light as it goes from morning to night and changes throughout the day. Metallic wall finishes are a great choice for transitional and modern decorating, and is perfect design style for today’s living.  

Walls – Espresso copper metallic glaze – In order to take advantage of all of natural light in this Nashville area customer’s master bathroom, we added richness and warmth to the formerly lackluster walls with a custom blended bronze and copper metallic glaze on top of a painted mocha colored base.  This was the perfect color balance to contrast with this newly installed bathroom tile. For the ceiling color, we custom mixed a soothing shade of softly colored taupe. For this client’s bathroom, Espresso glaze was the “perfect brew”.

Cabinet – French country glaze – summer wheat was the ideal color choice for these bathroom cabinets, when paired with the russet black granite counter top and contrasted against the warm richness of the room’s espresso-copper walls.

More subscribers to Faux Décor newsletter Helps Graceworks.

 Yahoo! great start.

New e-newsletter subscriber’s totals…

As many of you already now know we have a goal to add an additional 500 subscribers to our newsletter by April 1st.  Faux Decor contributes 10% of profits to Graceworks Ministries. But when we reach our goal of 500 new subscribers, we will donate an additional 10% of this year’s profit to Graceworks.

Faux Décor began our new e-newsletter subscriber campaign on February 1^st . The Faux Décor newsletter is full of new design ideas, tips, editorial blogs, discounts on interior and decorative painting and all sorts of ways to save money on home design.

As of February 3^rd there are 25 new e-newsletter subscribers.  Yahoo! great start.

So if you have not already signed up for our e-newsletter please do so.  Just go to the right column on this page add enter your e-mail in the e-newsletter sign up box, and if we are not already friends? Be sure to friend us on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/FauxDecor.faux.finishing.decorative.painting

Thank you all for your support, your partners in design,

Jay Bernard and Faux Décor.

Help us reach our goal,

More subscribers to Faux Décor newsletter helps Graceworks.

Hello to all of our Faux Decor fans and newsletter subscribers, if you’re not already a subscriber to our e-newsletter just press the Email Signup button on the navigation bar at the top of our Facebook Fan page http://www.facebook.com/FauxDecor.faux.finishing.decorative.painting or on this page in the right column in the newsletter sign up box.
 
The Faux Décor e-newsletter will be full of new design ideas, tips, editorial blogs, discounts on interior and decorative painting and all sorts of ways to save money on home design.
 
We have a goal to add an additional 500 subscribers to our newsletter by April 1st.  As you may already be aware, 10% of Faux Decor profits already go back into the community through a Christ-centered organization called Graceworks Ministries.   
 
There will be weekly posts updating the status of our goal. And when we reach our goal of 500 new subscribers, we will donate an additional 10% of this year’s profit to Graceworks.  So by helping us, you will be helping others!  Please sign up for our newsletter and forward to others who can benefit from our services like family, friends and neighbors. If we are not friends yet? Be sure to friend us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/FauxDecor.faux.finishing.decorative.painting

We’re excited to start helping more customers and friends with their home or office design dilemmas.
 
Your partners in design,
Faux Decor
  
Find out why Faux Décor is proud to support Graceworks Ministries.
http://graceworksministries.net

Part 1 - The most important of all the questions you can ask any company to help determine who is the right contractor and the true cost of any project is… 

 Will the contractor stay on your project until it’s finished and complete or not?

This is the most frequent complaint that consumers have with contractors – that they are not always on the project or that they leave for days or weeks at a time, and it’s next to impossible to get them back on the job.
 
Why does this happen so often?
 
Well, it could be because we didn’t bother to ask the contractor the basic questions that help determine a company’s professionalism and trustworthiness – but the most common reason is because we didn’t ask the most important question.

What is this contractor really going to cost me because of the way they do business?
 
A number of contractors will bid a project lower than the competitive project price just to get the job. If a contractor does more than one job at a time then there is a good chance that their intentionally pricing your project low.
 
This type of work philosophy – making up the pricing difference on volume (working on more than one job at a time) may sound like a deal for you.  But in our experience, unless you’re in manufacturing, this production model is not a good fit with a focused, skilled and detailed businesses like faux, painting, or similar trades.
 
Customers who experience or accept this type of work philosophy usually pay a heavy hidden cost. When your project is extended or delayed, it prevents your household from getting back into its routine, and quickly turns your dream of enjoying a finished design into an irritating and disappointing nightmare.

But even more inexcusable is when the contractor finally returns to the project, they are usually in a rush to get it done, causing details to get missed or intentionally ignored. I don’t know which one is worst, your job coming in late or second-rate.
 
So when we ignore the basic questions that help us determine the professionalism of a contractor, or when we accept a price without considering the real cost of doing business, that’s when we run the greater risk of hearing “we didn’t do it, they’ll never see it” or “we’ll see you in a week”.