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Hirshfield's
Loft Living: Creating Separation in Your Space
One of the most difficult things about living in a loft is trying to create separation between your bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, etc. - since they’re generally all part of one big room. Here are my top tips for creating separation and differentiation between areas of your loft:
- Try a Screen: Screens are a great way to separate spaces and are very versatile since they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. In addition to their functionality, they also are a great decor piece.
Three Tips for Compromising on Color With Kids
My daughter recently wanted to paint her room lime green, and that can be a tricky color to choose, especially with conflicting mother/daughter opinions! So in order to keep the peace, we went together to the store to look at samples. She had plenty of ideas on what color was “the one,” which didn’t jive with mine, of course. But what I realized is that if I stick with my “parental principles” for choosing color, we can usually make everyone happy.
- Match the bedding: If we have agreed on bedding, that is the best place to start choosing a wall color. Holding color samples up to a pillowcase or sham can be very helpful, as opposed to just choosing a color that looks good to a child in the store.
- Tell the child there is extra space in the garage. “Take your blanket — and leave your cell phone on the counter.”
- Ask an associate: There is nothing like a professional to give an objective opinion and take the pressure off mom or dad. They also can act as a middle man, since most often, if it’s someone else’s idea, it’s fine (as long as it’s not the parent’s, right?). And likely, the associate will read between the lines and help steer the child in the direction of a good color choice!
- Try it out! It never hurts to get a trial size quart to go and put the child’s dream color on the wall. In the natural light of their room, even they will quickly see if it is not going to work out. And maybe you will realize that even if it’s not your top choice you can live with it…
It's bright. But is it right? We can both live with it -- for a while, anyway.
Three Key Steps Before You Hang Wallpaper
Wallpaper is back in a big way for 2010, and even better, it’s an easy way to update your home while staying on budget. I spoke with Leanne, decor manager of Hirshfield’s Maple Grove location, to get her three top tips on hanging wallpaper correctly:
- Ask Questions: People often overestimate their ability or underestimate the scope of a project and end up frustrated. Make sure that you ask plenty of questions before beginning your project, and you can always give your local store a call for help.
Five Tips For Making the Most of Your Space
No matter how large or small your living space, it seems there are always areas that aren’t used efficiently. Whether your have a guest bedroom that no one enters or a dining room where no one eats, think about ways you can creatively use the space where you dwell.
- Use Your Furniture: One way to better utilize your space is to buy furniture that has multiple functions. For instance, benches or ottomans with hidden storage are perfect for people short on storage space. Maybe you find a beautiful antique trunk that you love – it can store off-season clothes, house bills or other files, or collect childhood mementos. Another way to sneak in extra storage space is to buy long, shallow bins that fit under the bed. Armoires can work in any room, whether they store TVs and electronics in a living area or linens and toiletries in a bathroom.
Ottomans with hidden storage, like this one from Target, can be great for clearing up clutter.
Hirshfield’s Hosts Benjamin Moore Color Expert Doty Horn
Last week, we hosted Doty Horn, Benajmin Moore’s director of color and design, for two nights at Hirshfield’s Design Studio. Doty, a renowned color trends expert, offered insight into Benjamin Moore’s predictions for color trends in 2011. She believes that the overall theme is balance, saying, “the emerging color palette reads more organic than ever before.” Here are her predictions on the influences for 2011:
- The Farm: Doty predicts a shift back to basics - think textures and patterns such as gingham checks, plaids, hopsack and burlap. The color palette is likely to include hues reminiscent of milk, hay and earthy tones, such as Benjamin Moore’s Oat Straw and Grassy Fields.
- Order: The chaos of the past decade has created a desire for structure and balance, which will present itself in the form of geometric shapes, stripes and definitive outlines and borders on design pieces. The black, white and gray scales, including Black Tar, will balance bold primary hues, like Utah Sky.
Hirshfield’s Hosts Paint Sale to Benefit Local Food Shelves
Holidays are times for giving, and Hirshfield’s is doing just that with a paint sale to benefit local food shelves. From now through Nov. 24, customers will receive a 20 percent discount on Hirshfield’s brand interior paints with every non-perishable food donation. Hirshfield’s will then work in partnership with Second Harvest Heartland, the Upper Midwest’s largest hunger-relief organization, to distribute the food to those in need.
Customers can drop off their food donations at any of Hirshfield’s 25 locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. Suggested food items include canned vegetables and fruit, boxed meals, soup, rice, instant potatoes, pasta, sauces, pet food and personal hygiene products. For more information and coupons, visit www.hirshfields.com.
Best Uses of Yellow in Your Home
Yellow was one of the most popular colors of 2009, and with good reason - it is considered to be bright and cheery, and who couldn’t use some cheering up every once in a while? Here are some of the best ways to use yellow in your home and some things to consider when doing so:
- Liven Up A Cold Room: Yellow can be very effective in a north-facing room, adding warmth to a space that might usually feel cold due to the lack of natural sunlight. It also works great on the walls in a lower level to help warm up and bring life into the space.
- You Are What You Wear: It can be tough to find the right shade of yellow to adorn your walls, so a good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t wear it, you probably won’t like it on your walls.
- Natural is Best: When contemplating using yellow in a room, think natural - shades like straw, butter and sunshine yellow are best. I love Hirshfield’s Good Looking (#0918), and Benjamin Moore’s Safari (AF335) is a great butter tone.
- Accent Pieces: Yellow is a great accent color to liven up a room without making drastic changes or overwhelming your senses. It’s amazing what bringing in just a touch of yellow will do for a room — think pillows, art and fresh flowers.
Hirshfield's Good Looking
Benjamin Moore's Safari
Also, remember that when you look at colors online, they’re always a little off, so it’s best to check out samples in the store to determine what shade is perfect for your home.
Next Year’s Color Inspiration? Think Neutral
Though the new year is still several months away – at this point, you might be more focused on getting through the holidays – experts are already forecasting 2010’s most popular trends in design and décor. I spoke with Kathy Basil of Hirshfield’s Design Studio last week about what we can expect – and what kind of trends we can implement in our own homes. She predicts that where 2009 was full of bright, vibrant colors, 2010 will see a shift towards safer neutral tones, and believes this transition may be related to the economic situation.
“Neutrals seem safe in uncertain times,” said Kathy. “People may not feel comfortable changing their whole room, and neutrals provide a great backdrop to pull in other colors. If you nail the perfect neutral in your main living space, you can use more adventurous colors in other areas of your home.”
While neutrals – such as Benjamin Moore’s Ashwood – will dominate the main areas of many homes, plums like Autumn Purple, peacock blues and leafy shades such as Terrapin Green will be popular as accent pieces. Metallics will remain popular, but be more subtle – pearlescent tints rather than pieces reminiscent of mylar or foil.
Neutrals - like Ashwood - are a good base for any room.
Plum shades like Autumn Purple make great accent colors.
Adding in an accent piece in a bright shade of peacock blue can really spice up a room.
Try a natural, grassy green as an complement to your neutral base.
Kathy predicts that a desire for safety may influence all realms of design, including furniture and accent pieces, where handmade and reclaimed items – think quilts and heirlooms – will remain popular. Carpets and rugs also will make a comeback, providing another avenue to make homes cozier.
For walls, wallpaper is the trend to follow. “Not only does wallpaper look great, especially on accent walls, but it’s extremely user-friendly,” said Kathy. “You can get removable wallpaper so you can change it out easily and as often as you like.”
Fall Painting Tips
Although it’s been getting colder in the Twin Cities — as evidenced by the snow covering the ground this week — there’s still time to finish up your exterior painting projects before winter arrives. Fall can be an excellent time of year to paint the exterior of your home — you can paint in temperatures as low as 35º — but there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure the success of your painting project:
- As a general rule of thumb, the best hours of application are between 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Start your painting on the sunny side of your home and follow the sun around. (In the summer months we recommend just the opposite – painting in the shade.)
- Lower temperatures mean slower drying and longer curing times. Be sure to allow ample time between coats, generally 24 hours. This is especially critical when using darker colors (more colorant) or when applying a latex paint over an alkyd primer.
- Watch those dew points! The dew point is the temperature at which moisture will condense on a surface. Paints, stains or primers should not be applied unless the surface temperature is at least 5° higher than the dew point. Remember that all surfaces to be stained or painted need to be clean and dry. If dew forms on a painted surface that hasn’t had a chance to cure properly, you may experience some water spotting or surfactant leaching problems, especially in darker colors.
- Remember all surfaces to be painted or stained need to be clean and dry.
Be sure to follow all label directions, or for more information consult the paint experts at your nearest Hirshfield’s store.
