Which also makes it the best time to have a colour plan in place… before your project gets going and you’re under pressure for selections.

Right now my Summer Sale includes two ways to get that plan:

If you want to learn how to plan your exterior using the Killam Colour System, the Exterior Colour Masterclass is 50% off.
It’s the complete process for choosing an exterior palette you’ll love. And you’ll get 3 free months inside my membership to get the support you need.

Want a perfectly coordinated plan made for you? The Exterior Colour Packages are 10% off. My eDesign team will put together a balanced colour and finish selections specific to you and your home that you can act on straight away.

Either way, the goal is the same: start this summer with a plan, so every choice you make brightens the way you feel in your home.

In my eDesign department, we have had the joy and privilege of helping hundreds of homeowners transform and create their exteriors.

Today I’m sharing a round up of beautiful and inspiring eDesign exterior transformations.

From Blue to Green Exterior Colour: Before & After

This is a very happy eDesign client who hired us to choose a new paint colour for her house.

She had a very pretty house but wanted a change because her house was looking too similar to all the neighbour’s.

See the after and read the post.

Historic Tudor Gets an Elegant Exterior Makeover: Before & After

This charming Tudor exterior needed an updated colour scheme and a new roof. She decided to leave the warm wood door unpainted and it turned out perfect!

See the after and read the post.

A Beautiful Home Starts with the Right Advice: Stunning eDesign Befores & Afters

Valerie has a lovely house a top a slope that needed a new metal roof colour and a fresher body and front door colour. She  consulted first on those and came back to us when it was time to also update the siding with our Essential Exterior Palette eDesign consultation.

See the after and read the post.

A Charming eDesign Exterior Before & After

This pretty house had so much potential, it just needed some love and it got it!

See the after and read the post.

A Stunning Historic Exterior Before & After

My dear eDesign clients had worked hard to restore the home to its original charm with careful attention to making historically appropriate selections. And finally, they wanted to give the exterior an update with a new cedar roof, fresh paint and new cobblestone pavers prior to selling.

See the after and read the post.

A New Build Exterior Reveal

Sometimes the “before” is just a drawing. It’s so fun to see it go from concept to a beautiful home!

See how it turned out.

eDesign Exteriors: Finding the Perfect Colour: Before & After

This post is a double header. A sweet house was looking a little tired in all white. As I’ve said many times recently, while white exteriors are technically timeless, in the context of the current black and white modern farmhouse trend, they are looking… well, boring.

And a beautiful Tudor that needed an elegant update.

See how they turned out and read the post.

Don’t miss out, the Summer Sale is the biggest of the season!

What kind of exterior project are you tackling this summer? Let me know in the comments.

Related Posts

A Round Up of Amazing eDesign Afters

Decorating Backwards: The Hidden Reason Your Home Still Feels Wrong

All My Best Exterior Advice

The post A Roundup of Exterior Befores & Afters appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Now it’s all about warmth and interest. And above all, everyone wants unique.

But the truth is everyone’s inspiration board looks similar. Because we are still in a trend. Just a relatively young one. The look is charming and lived in. With warm colour on the cabinets. Backsplashes with texture. Warm countertops with some movement.

And since options for pretty natural stone that isn’t the blotchy, earthy granite of old are surprisingly limited, Taj Mahal quartzite is suddenly everywhere.

A beautiful Taj Mahal Kitchen by Blanc Marine Interieures

And because it truly is one of the only good widely available options in this trend, we get clients basically saying, I want this look. But I don’t want Taj Mahal because everyone has it.

So is it really overused and OUT already?

Well that’s the wrong question.

In this episode of Decorate or Renovate, I’m talking about why this warm natural stone is having such a major moment, what most homeowners are missing when they fall in love with inspiration photos, or a splashy slab in the stone yard. And the expensive mistake that happens when you choose a countertop by name instead of by undertone, quality and context.

Before you spend thousands on countertops, cabinets, tile and flooring, watch this first.

Tell me in the comments: Are you team Taj Mahal, team white quartz, or team “please just tell me what to choose”?

Related posts:

The Trending Countertop for 2026

How to be Smart in a World of Dumb Designers

4 Steps to Getting your Countertops Right

The post Is Taj Mahal already dated? appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

She said and I quote “Grahic black and white talks to me, I don’t know why it just calms me”. Then she said it had become her signature.

So then I said out loud in a reel on instagram, Well, I know WHY, because it’s been hardcore trending for the past 10 years!!??!!

When we see an aesthetic everywhere for long enough—in magazines, showrooms, restaurants, new builds and Instagram—it starts to feel less like a trend and more like our own personal taste.

Familiarity becomes preference.

And it could be possible that black and white has been her signature long before the trend arrived. But here is my opinion:

A signature is what remains after the trend has moved on.

And then it became an Instagram reel because apparently I still have some feelings about the black-and-white trend, haha.

For years, I was yelling from the rooftops about black windows, black faucets, black hardware, black lighting, black shower frames and black accents being installed in every new build and renovation.

Not because black itself is bad. Because black had become the automatic answer to every design decision.

Need a faucet? Black.

Need cabinet hardware? Black.

Need windows? Black.

Need a chandelier? Also black.

That is unfortunately NOT a considered design plan. It is often simply a trend package.

And because so much of that black was being installed as a fixed element, I knew homeowners would be living with the hangover long after the trend had peaked.

Well, the shift is now unmistakable.

In my eDesign department, we regularly hear from homeowners who want to avoid the stark black-and-white look. They are moving toward warmer woods, softer contrast, richer colour and more nuanced finishes.

But this does not mean every black element in your home must immediately disappear.

Black is not dead. The “black on everything” default is.

Here is how a little black can still be timeless and beautiful.

1. A Classic Black-and-White Floor

Maria’s Timeless black and white bathroom

A traditional black-and-white mosaic floor will always be a yes in the right bathroom or entry.

Why?

Because it looks exactly the way we expect a classic floor to look. It has historical context. It is not trying to be the newest or most unusual finish in the room.

This was the main bathroom in our bungalow. The black-and-marble mosaic floor was repeated in the leathered black countertop.

At one point, I painted the walls a vibrant green. Later, I changed them to this blue.

But notice that the plumbing fixtures, hardware and sconces are a softer silver finish. I did not repeat black on every small element simply because there was black in the floor.

This bathroom could be painted almost any colour, and the floor would still work.

And by the way, adding colour is one of the best ways to update a modern farmhouse room suffering from an overdose of black and white.

2. A Quiet Black Countertop

A simple charcoal or black countertop can be elegant and grounding, particularly in a kitchen with stainless appliances, which usually already contain some black.

Grifon

The important word here is quiet.

Choose a honed or leathered surface without dramatic white lightning-bolt veining. Plain and simple is the essence of a timeless hard finish.

Soapstone, honed black granite or another subtle dark surface can create contrast without demanding to be the star of the kitchen.

3. An Architectural Line on a Staircase

A little black in a staircase—perhaps a handrail, slim metal spindles or dark stair treads—can create a sophisticated architectural look.

Maria’s Timeless French Country Home

In my house, I had the stair treads painted black to relate to the metal spindles. Refinishing the treads to match the existing wood floors would have been enormously expensive because the work had to be done by hand.

Here, the black has a job. It creates continuity and contrast.

It is not simply another tiny black element sprinkled into the room.

4. One Piece of Black Furniture

When I first moved into this house, I had so many decisions to make, I bought an hour with a celebrity designer I admire to get a fresh perspective on my living room, he told me I needed a black coffee table.

Maria’s Timeless French Country House

At that point, I was so allergic to the black trend that the thought had not even occurred to me.

But he was absolutely right.

The black coffee table created contrast with my yellow sofa and repeated the black stair railing nearby. It gave the room visual weight.

This is the difference between using black deliberately and installing it automatically.

5. Black in Patterned Textiles and Accessories

Patterned rugs, drapery, pillows, art and accessories are the easiest places to repeat a touch of black so that a larger black element feels connected to the room.

A rug containing a small amount of black might relate to a black coffee table. A narrow black band on a drape could make existing black windows feel more intentional.

And because decorating is less permanent than glued-down finishes, this is where you can experiment.

I recently saw a clever treatment for dressing black windows and had AI recreate the idea so I could show you.

When “A Little Black” Becomes Bitty Black Everywhere

This is where rooms go sideways.

One black element can provide contrast.

But then someone decides that the black faucet requires black cabinet pulls. The cabinet pulls require black sconces. The sconces require a black-framed mirror. Then we add a black shower frame, black towel hooks and a black ceiling light.

Each choice seems harmless on its own.

Together, they create bitty black punctuation in every direction.

The room starts to feel harsh, flat and predictable—and it immediately dates itself to the black-and-white trend of the late 2010s and early 2020s.

A black faucet does not require every other small metal element in the room to be black.

In fact, that relentless matching is often what makes a room look more builder-basic rather than more custom.

What If You Already Installed Too Much Black?

If you’re standing in your kitchen or bathroom right now feeling like you went a little overboard, please don’t panic! It was such a huge trend.

The good news is that these are “small ticket” items.

You can gradually swap out that black faucet for chrome or polished nickel, or change those black cabinet pulls for classic knobs. These are amazing for covering holes from builder boring pulls on everything.

It will immediately soften the look and make your home feel more custom. And don’t forget to paint the walls and cabinets a pretty colour. Transformative.

So yes, a little black is still a good thing.

But black is no longer the automatic answer—and frankly, it never should have been.

Are you team “No More Black” or are you keeping a few classic anchors? Let me know in the comments!

Kitchen Refresh

If you’re standing in your kitchen and you can already tell that swapping a few pulls isn’t going to fix it — that the black went too deep, into the faucet, the lighting, the hardware, the window frames — you need more than a hardware change. You need a coordinated plan for what to swap, what to keep, and what paint and finishes will pull the room back together.

That’s what a Kitchen Refresh eDesign consultation gives you. I’ll tell you exactly which elements to change, what to replace them with, and the wall and cabinet colours that will make the room read custom again instead of trend-dated.

Book a Kitchen Refresh here.

Shop my Essential Tools: Grab my Neutral Colour Wheel to identify undertones and see the four gradations of useful whites.

Related Posts

A Tour of the Black Accents in my Home

What Everyone Should Know About Black

Why We Love the Black and White Trend

The post Where Black Still Works appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Renovating isn’t the only answer

That’s exactly where this Chicago couple found themselves. They’d lived in their home for seven years, had one-and-a-half-year-old twins, and their living room still wasn’t working. The furniture was pushed up against the walls, the room felt dark, and with two doorways, small windows and a fireplace, the ideal layout wasn’t obvious.

So naturally, the renovation questions started creeping in: Should we paint all the wood trim? Should we paint the 80s oak kitchen? Is this a $20,000 problem?

Spoiler: it wasn’t.

A glow up

In one day, I gave their living room — and their sunroom — a complete glow-up with decorating. New rugs, better furniture placement, pillows, lamps, art and accessories changed the way the whole house felt. And the best part? The wood trim stayed.

Sneak peek of the living room

A bonus sunroom makeover

Since we were having so much fun with the living room, I couldn’t resist adding the sunroom to the makeover because it’s one of the reasons they bought the house in the first place — and with that beautiful backyard view. It deserved to feel just as inviting as the rest of the home. I removed the furniture from the photo but you can see exactly why this room had so much potential!

See the full transformation for this sweet family in this week’s episode.

Time for your glow up?

How about you? If you’re looking around your house wondering if that big renovation is inevitable, chances are high that a one day transformation will make you so happy you’ll forget all about it and go on that vacation instead! Send me some images of your home here to be considered.

Related posts:

How to Choose Colours that Flatter your Orange Wood Trim

Trends Taking over in 2026: Richer Wood Tones

You’re Over Thinking Your Living Room: 5 One Day Makeovers

The post Before You Paint the Wood Trim: Try Decorating First appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

The worst decorating mistake you can make isn’t choosing the ‘wrong’ sofa. It’s following bad advice. And there’s plenty of it out there.

Considering a project? Post a photo in a Facebook group and you’ll instantly receive hundreds of comments.

Along with paint colour suggestions, endless encouragement, and even AI-generated renderings if you are technically challenged.

It feels helpful and exciting. But almost no one stops to ask the most important question of all:

Should you even do this project in the first place?

See, the danger of trusting AI isn’t that it’s wrong (though often it is). The danger is that it’s persuasive.

AI can produce beautiful images of almost any decorating idea imaginable, but a rendering is not proof that an idea belongs in YOUR house.

Strangers online and AI algorithms don’t know your context. They don’t look at the big picture.

That is exactly why I created my paid membership, the Dream Home Club.

Inside our community, members don’t just get random opinions—they get guidance rooted in timeless design principles.

And here’s something I’ve learned after years of teaching colour and design: people pay attention to what they pay for.

That’s why the advice from a well-meaning friend—or even a decorator friend—often gets ignored.

When you’ve invested in expert guidance, you’re far more likely to follow through and get the results you’re after.

The Mystery of the Dark Entryway

Recently, I came across a social media post from a homeowner looking for advice on her entry staircase wall.

She had convinced her husband to install board-and-batten moulding and paint it black. Now she was filled with regret.

The entry felt dark and heavy, and she was desperately looking for decorating ideas to fix it.

So let’s break things down:

Take a look at the architecture of this entry. The interior doors tell the story of a traditional 1980s or ’90s home.

The heavy black accent wall and obviously new staircase (with the wrong stain colour) is straight out of the modern farmhouse trend:

Within minutes, the comments poured in. People suggested paint colours.

Others generated AI images filled with even more black accents to make the wall feel intentional.

Everyone was focused on the same thing: how to make the black wall work.

But no one questioned whether the idea itself made sense. The problem wasn’t the shade of black, nor was it a lack of styling.

The problem was that the board and batten panelling and the modern staircase did not relate to the architecture of the house.

It instantly created that awkward “yesterday and today” look. It says, “Old house, new trend!”

This is what a timeless and style appropriate update to this entry should have looked like:

Now if you’ve already gone down this road, like this homeowner, what can you do?

At this point, it’s unlikely she’s going to remove the panel moulding after convincing her husband to install it in the first place.

This is exactly where my Decorate or Renovate!? philosophy kicks in.

Before you start tearing things out, it’s worth asking: Can paint colour and decorating solve the problem?

Inside my community, the advice would not be to keep adding more black in an attempt to make a trend feel more intentional.

More black would only amplify the problem.

In fact, she already knew painting the panel moulding black wasn’t the answer. That’s why she was on social media asking for help…

Before her husband divorced her over yet another decorating project gone wrong

Once we’ve invested in renovations that don’t suit the style of the home, the next step is to see what decorating can do to improve the overall look.

The right lighting, furniture, artwork and accessories can often create enough balance and harmony that a costly redo no longer feels necessary.

So rather than focusing on what should have happened, let’s see how the right paint colour and lighting can make this entry feel more cohesive and inviting.

Light Fixture (I asked AI for different paint colours but this is close enough to illustrate the point)

So much better!! I had AI paint the doors and railings because they didn’t relate to the existing floors.

Yes, the new panelling and staircase still aren’t right for the style of the house. But with the addition of a well-chosen light fixture to lightly repeat the black spindles…

And a paint colour that supports the space instead of demanding attention, we’ve solved the problem and kept it from going further off track.

What’s the next step?

Adding an entry table, lamp, the right area rug and some art on the panelling.

Have we now improved this situation 100% yes?? Woo hoo! Let’s review the before and after again shall we?

Decorating Decisions Need Context

This is how so many decorating projects go sideways.

A homeowner makes one change. Then another. Then another.

Each decision seems perfectly reasonable on its own, but over time the room starts to feel disconnected.

Here’s how that happens:

Random ‘experts’ and now AI can help you visualize an idea.

Ask for panel moulding, a black accent wall, or a fireplace makeover and you’ll get inspiration showing you how beautiful it could look.

(Along with fake lighting and often unrealistic decor that no one and I mean NO ONE is going to execute).

What’s missing?

No one stepped back to look at the bigger picture. See, decorating is never about creating a beautiful feature in isolation.

It’s about creating a home where everything relates—the architecture, the finishes, the furnishings, and the style of the house itself.

So before making your next decorating decision, ask yourself:

What style is my house? What elements are staying? What needs to relate to what already exists?

Sometimes the most valuable design advice isn’t how to do something. It’s whether you should do it at all.

That’s exactly why I created my Dream Home Club.

Inside the club, members share projects, ask questions, and learn from one another’s transformations.

Unlike most decorating groups online, the conversations are grounded in timeless decorating principles.

Instead of immediately jumping to paint colours, accent walls, or trendy updates…

We start by looking at the house itself—its architecture, fixed finishes, and overall style.

This helps you make better decisions before spending money, making changes, and heading down a path that may not be right for your home.

It’s also super inspiring to watch other community members bring their ideas to life.

One question that comes up again and again is:

“Can we decorate our way out of this, or do we need to renovate?”

Sometimes a room truly needs a renovation— but not always.

Inside Dream Home Club, people are often surprised by how much changes when they simply make better decorating decisions.

Their rooms start to look and feel completely different, and they often avoid spending thousands of dollars and living with renovation regret.

If you’re excited to bring your project to life using home’s unique canvas… so you can avoid costly mistakes (and put the $$$ you save into other places in your home)…

Join today and add your question to our monthly Q&A happening this Wednesday at 10:30 am PST.

I’ve been writing this blog for 18 years now, which honestly feels impossible to believe. Over the years I’ve shared everything I’ve learned about colour, decorating, undertones, lighting, styling, and creating homes that feel beautiful and timeless.

To be clear, this is not more of ‘the blind leading the blind’, The Dream Home Community is full of homeowners who are learning the same timeless colour principles, using the same language, and many have already taken my courses or worked through my decorating advice for years. That means the feedback is grounded in a shared system, not random opinions from strangers on the internet. My team is also in the community, and I’m in there too, guiding the bigger conversations, answering select questions, and making sure the advice stays aligned with the Maria Killam way of seeing colour and decorating. The magic of a good community is that you’re not starting from scratch, isolated in your own house, trying to make every decision alone. You’re surrounded by people who are learning to see what I see—and that is very different from posting your room in a random Facebook group and hoping for the best.

For my birthday, I’d love to ask for one small gift: leave a comment below and tell me the most important thing you’ve learned from me.

Maybe it was something about undertones, maybe it was learning to decorate before you renovate, or maybe it was a lesson about trusting your own eye.

OMG I’m 59! eeeeeeek

Whatever it is, I’d love to hear it. I read every comment, and knowing that something I’ve taught has helped you create a happier home is truly the greatest gift I could receive. Thank you for being here and for following along all these years.

Sign up here, I’d love to see you inside!

Related Posts

The Style of your Home vs. Your Design Style

Ask Maria: When is Black Timeless (And 4 Design Traps to Avoid)

Inspiration VS Reality: 5 Reasons Your Renovation Falls Flat

The post Why Good Decorating Starts With The Right Advice appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

For one reason or another, I had this space emotionally on hold while I focused on the landscaping and other projects around the house.

It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t finished either.

I was doing exactly what so many homeowners do: putting a project on hold, because life gets in the way.

I was stalling because I thought I needed more time.

In reality, it wasn’t a priority…. until I finally decided to make it more important. So I cleared my calendar to give it a one-day makeover!

A one-day transformation

The result is a room that’s finally living up to its potential—and a reminder that decorating (instead of renovating) is often the last 10% that makes a house feel complete.

With a simple one-day makeover, any room can be transformed:

10 x 14 Area Rug

I love the blue rug I found from Wayfair (linked here), I also purchased a 1/4″ underlay and it makes a huge difference.

I painted the walls off-white when we moved in to eliminate the taupe but it will not stay white when this room is finished. Here’s what it looked like before:

This is the lesson I teach every day: most rooms don’t need to be torn apart. They need to be finished.

Come along for a spring tour of my home and garden, and see how much difference decorating can make.

Watch the video below.

Ready to tackle the room you’ve been avoiding?

Everything is more fun with friends! Join my community to find the inspiration and support you need to love your home again

Related posts:

You’re Overthinking Your Living Room: 5 One-Day Makeovers

Ditch Boring by Decorating with Colour this Spring

What Our Dream House Looks Like in 2025

The post Spring House Tour: The Room I’ve Been Hiding appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Ready to stop guessing and get your home’s curb appeal right the first time? My Exterior Colour Masterclass gives you the exact roadmap to confidently choose timeless colors for your roof, siding, and trim before you pick up a paintbrush.

My French Country Exterior Paint Colour Reveal; Before & After

First, how I put my money where my mouth is. Here is the dramatic before and after of our new exterior including the paint colours I chose and exactly how I landed on them. It’s hard to imagine now that this pretty house once looked like this.

Read the post.

Timeless Exterior Colour: Stand Out Without Being Trendy

It’s so easy to fall for a trend. A new look comes at us, winks and says, hey there! Look at me! I’m shiny and new. No trend came in as striking and as strong as the black and white exterior trend. Here’s my take from a few years in that is still exactly where I stand on it.

Read the post.

5 Steps to Designing a Classic Stone Exterior

Stone is such a huge conversation when it comes to exteriors. Your builder will have you believe that it is a must, a high end detail. But very often it actually detracts. And then there are considerations around placement and combining different stone and brick. These are all critical irreversible and expensive design decisions that you and your neighbours will be looking at for decades.

Be sure to read this post before considering stone for your exterior.

Don’t Let Your Builder Default to Black Windows

This is such an important conversation right now. Suddenly, the default standard, unless you insist otherwise, is black windows for your exterior. Here’s why you need to push back and make an intentional decision for your window colour.

Read the Post.

The Perfect Paint Colour with Exterior Stone

Did you know that if you install stone on your exterior, your number of paint colour options just dropped to maybe 2 good ones? And if you miss, it will always look off. Here’s how to get it right.

Read the post.

Shutters or Not: Ten Ways to Decide

Whether your exterior will look good with shutters comes down to a range of considerations.

I cover the 10 ways to decide in this popular post.

My Most Pinned Blog Post About Exteriors

Who knew that one of the most pressing issues you all face is choosing a fence colour? This post has all my best tips and some highly pin-able pretty fence images!

Read the post.

Kate Marker Interiors

10 Tips to Transform Your Exterior

Here’s an oldie but a goodie. It’s all about some of the most common colour mistakes people make on their exterior. Often, it’s not a complete redo you need, but a simple colour tweak.

Read the post.

Working on your curb appeal?

One wrong exterior choice can create a costly mistake you’ll have to look at every single day.
Don’t leave your curb appeal to chance—get my Exterior Colour Masterclass today and master the system for choosing the perfect timeless palette.

Or Join the Dream Home Club where you will connect with new friends and find ongoing support for all your home projects! My Exterior Colour Masterclass is the ultimate guide to choose everything for your exterior, and my community is the perfect place to get feedback on your course assignments as you go!

Here’s what my masterclass students are saying:

“Extremely helpful and easy to understand. Pairing down choices is a relief!” – Ava Roberts

“Your guidance helped with what is overwhelming and scary. We are so happy with the result!” – Amanda Peterson

Want to skip straight to curb appeal perfection the fast and easy way? Consult with me for the ideal custom solutions for you and your house. You can find my packages here.

Related Posts

Colour Rescue: Coordinating Exterior Colour & Stone

Using the Neutral Colour Wheel Part 2: Planning a New Build

Best New Build Advice from Two Timeless Experts

The post All My Best Exterior Advice appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Suddenly, they had to reopen their older building and right away so I volunteered to help and donate all the finishing touches!

The problem? The suites were functional, but they felt stark, institutional and unfinished.

Each suite had the basics: donated sofas, dining sets and beds, but these spaces had zero warmth, personality or comfort. Here are some of the before’s and afters!

Note I didn’t buy area rugs for these rooms because they don’t want to manage cleaning them in between tenants.

And one of the conversations happening at the time was whether the kitchens needed to be renovated. After we finished decorating the suites, that conversation disappeared.

Because once the rooms had lamps, art, colour, softness and connection between the spaces, the entire emotional experience changed.

These were three of the five Mom’s bedrooms that I finished:

That’s the part people underestimate about decorating.

A home is never experienced one finish at a time. People don’t walk into a room thinking: ‘Nice countertop’. They experience how the entire space feels.

In this project, we transformed five suites, hallways and gathering spaces simply by layering warmth, colour and personality into rooms that previously felt cold and temporary.

I finished 12 kids bedrooms in total and here are 3 of the before’s and afters:

And now, two years later, I returned to finish the last spaces that had never been touched:
the outdoor patios where moms sit while their children play nearby.

Here’s a peek at the two connected areas before and after!

Rechargeable patio lamp

Before:

After (Rechargeable patio light)

This episode is yet another powerful reminder that there’s nothing fluffy or ‘extra’ about decorating.

Beauty, warmth and comfort matter deeply, especially in spaces where people are rebuilding their lives.

Below are some of the before and after transformations, along with the full video.

Watch how the patio came together in this week’s episode:

Connect with new friends and learn to decorate inside my community. Can’t wait to meet you inside!

Join here.

Related Posts

From Grey Walls to Happy Colour

Easy Tips for a Pretty Patio this Summer

8 Makeovers that Saved 54K in Renovations

The post Proof That Decorating Changes Everything appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Speaking of sweet… if there’s ONE thing that delights me and eDesign department the most, it’s this:

Getting notes from clients letting us know how delighted they are with how their project turned out.
It’s super rewarding, knowing we’re helping them love their home more every single day.

Thing is, we don’t often get to show off the beautiful afters, because when their project is done, busy life goes on.

Getting great pictures of a room is more work than you might think.

You’ve got to clear your life out of the room (piles of mail and a stack of backpacks and dog toys is all very relatable, but doesn’t make great photos).

And you’ve got to style the room up for the photo to look good.

While I often provide my clients with styling ideas, that layer takes time at the end of a project.

Then you need to know how to get a good shot. Things line up funny in the camera lens, angles are hard to manage. Light and shadow is really tricky.

Hot tip for photographing a room:

Hold your camera at belly button level and line up the sides of the frame with the walls to get a straight on shot without weird angles.

Some of our clients do get it right, that’s why I’m sharing a round up of some of the most stunning transformations (with some minor edits).

A stunning timeless marble bathroom

Here’s the before of a beautiful bathroom created by Tomesena with my Create a Classic Bathroom eDesign consultation.

And here’s the stunning after! A calacatta gold marble bathroom with a gorgeous wood stained vanity and free standing tub. I added the art and styling for her in AI.

Incredible transformation Tomesena!

A beach house makeover

My client Ginna has a charming beach house. She wanted to tweak the fresh blue and green colour palette slightly to relate to her new area rug and create better flow. Here’s the before:

We helped her soften the colour to better relate to her decor in the living room and kitchen. I added some ivory drapes to soften the window. So pretty!

And we suggested some patterned pillows to guide the new palette for her sunroom to flow with these rooms.

She did such a lovely job putting it all together!

A Fresh Guest Room Wall Colour

My client Shana wanted a fresh wall colour for her cozy guest room. She had some charming textiles picked out and we suggested a few options to coordinate. Here’s the before:

Here’s the option she went with:

And here’s the pretty after!

Beautiful job, Shana!

A cozy open layout

We received this note from a client wanting a cozy paint colour update for their open layout and built ins to look good with their new green sectional and flow well with the kitchen:

“I thought you might appreciate a few before and afters! Thanks for your help with paint colors. It is so warm and inviting now and the bookcases are a showstopper!” 

-Mark and Jessica

Here is the before:

And the handsome custom look after!

Lovely work putting it together Mark and Jessica!

A classic warm wood kitchen

My client Charlotte used our Create a Classic Kitchen eDesign package to get help with her kitchen update.

She wanted to keep the pretty wood stained cabinets and mainly needed help with new paint, countertops, backsplash and decorative lighting.

She was also planning to replace the tile floor with wood.

Here is the before:

And here’s the stunning after!

(I had AI add the styling with blue and white ginger jars because they look so amazing with rich wood):

Such a beautiful transformation!

If walking into stunning rooms like these excites you…

And you want to avoid the disappointment of the new paint colour being close, but not perfect…

An eDesign consultation is one of the best investments you can make in your home projects, large or small. My team and I bring decades of design experience to the table.

Getting your project right from the start is our #1 focus.

Explore my eDesign packages here.

Curious which package best suits your project?

Email my team and we’ll guide you through the process. We’d be thrilled to collaborate with you!

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The post A Round Up of Amazing eDesign Afters appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

One of the most interesting things about filming these makeovers is how often people tell me afterwards, “I never thought my house could be one of your episodes.”

Recently, I met a woman who watches all my Decorate or Renovate!? makeover videos and desperately wants help styling her living room. So I asked her, “Then why didn’t you apply?” And she said something fascinating: “I guess when you’re watching these videos, you never really think that could be YOU.”

And honestly, that’s exactly why I wanted to share today’s makeover.

A few weeks ago, we were having dinner with our friend Gail when she mentioned her brother and sister-in-law were getting their townhouse ready to list. Their realtor was coming Tuesday.

“TUESDAY?” I said. “Then I better come Monday.”

Because once I saw the photos, I knew immediately this was not a renovation problem. This was a styling problem.

The house had beautiful warmth and character that hadn’t been destroyed by the black-and-white trend, but the rooms needed editing, updated lighting, better layering, and a more current feel so buyers could emotionally connect to the space the second they walked in.

So in one day, we transformed the entry, living room, and dining room for about $3,500 — roughly what traditional staging would have cost, except they got to keep everything.

And the best part?

They sold the townhouse to the very first buyer who viewed it.

In a softer market.

Which is exactly why I keep saying: decorating before you sell is not fluff. It’s strategy.

Here’s the living room sneak peak:

Heidi and Glen downsized a few years ago but Heidi missed having a garden so they are selling their townhouse. When the makeover was finished, she sat down in her refreshed living room and said “We don’t need to sell now”. Well they did, to the first buyer, but that’s how great the new space felt!

Watch the full episode!

Also my Chicago True Colour Expert training course was last week and it was so fabulous! There were a few members of my community there and I think that was a big reason why that entire two day course felt like I was hanging out with a bunch of my friends. It was super special.

I met Betsy Manley a couple seasons ago at High Point Market, so fabulous to have her in class!

Now I need you to vote on where we go for Fall, San Francisco or New Jersey? Let me know in the comments. Be the first to know, get on the waitlist!

PS. In other news Terreeia and I are in Puglia, Italy learning about olive trees that are 3000 years old, WOW. Here we are in a boating excursion when we first arrived. We leave here Friday to go to Rome for 2 nights and then we’re doing a Virgin Cruise for 6 nights and ending up in Barcelona! We haven’t been to Europe since before the pandemic so we’re very happy to be here!

Want your living room transformed in my series? Message me here.

Related posts:

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The post The $3,500 Pre-Sale Refresh appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

In my eDesign department, we are seeing requests for stone slabs that are a whole universe unto themselves. So much pattern. So much movement.

If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you know my golden rule: Avoid bossy finishes at all costs.

Because your kitchen is likely the most expensive room in your home, you want versatility. You want a “backdrop” that lets you change your decor for decades without redoing the “bones”.

And a busy stone countertop with a lot to say is not that.

Here is why natural stone can make your life—and your renovation—much more complicated:

It’s Bossy

Busy patterns with multiple colors are incredibly hard to coordinate with. Suddenly, your countertop is dictating your cabinet color, your walls, and every piece of furniture in the adjoining room.

Here is a slab that an eDesign client recently fell in love with.

I get it. It’s like an image of a petrified tree fallen in a river. Amazing. It’s more like art.

But as a glued down kitchen countertop in your open concept kitchen?

Now you’re decorating with the violet greys and taupes and the muddy greens forever. The cabinet colour will much too easily be a miss.

And how do you cut this to make it counter depth and turn a corner??

Instead, I would install a fabulous large piece of art in your room that is displayed on eye level and that, more importantly, you can easily swap out in time to change up the colour palette.

This client wanted natural stone so we nudged her towards a soapstone look granite instead.

Interest comes from the combination, the details and, ultimately, the decor. Not a bossy show stopping piece of art on the countertop.

It’s impossible to predict

See how in her image of the slab above there is the glare of artificial light and the stone is stacked vertically? This means the undertone and colour will look dramatically different laid flat in your kitchen.

It’s Russian Roulette. A wild guess.

There is no way to really predict and control for colour and the suppliers won’t even provide samples for testing. Yikes!

Here’s a kitchen I posted about (from Instagram) where the homeowner was confused about what went wrong. You can read the post here.

You could argue that my pushback on a busy, quick-to-date look is subjective and based on my long experience… and that it’s absolutely up to you if you want trendy.

Both are true. Here’s what’s undeniable: it is impossible to predict colour from the stone yard. It’s an objective fact and it goes wrong ALL THE TIME.

Pattern problems

In my Create Your Dream Home training, I teach a wealth of principles that will save you from falling into the most common expensive ditches. Because you don’t know what you don’t know.

The one rule I never break is that when it comes to glued-down hard finishes, only ONE should have a pattern. The rest need to be simple and solid and play a supporting role.

In this trend there is an alarming tendency to want everything to be interesting in its own right.

And this is a huge problem. If you have interesting floor tile and you want multi coloured patterned quartzite countertop it becomes exponentially more complicated.

You’re basically asking for the impossible.

Installation Headaches

Matching up prominent directional veining is an art form. If your installer doesn’t know how to do it well, it can look extremely awkward. This kind of thing happens all the time.

Maintenance and fragility

Finally, marble can be gorgeous, but it stains and etches. Many quartzites are prone to cracking or moisture darkening.

Quartzite is more fragile. It has the potential to crack along all those pretty veins.
And technically most natural stone needs to be sealed every single year.

This countertop was barely installed before it failed — something we see far too often in Facebook groups where frustrated homeowners share similar experiences.

Boring now equals timeless later

If you aren’t a professional designer, the best way to save your sanity (and your budget) is to keep your hard finishes simple. This is not the time to “get creative.”

The finishes that seduce you in the showroom today are the ones that will date your home to a specific five-year window. Stick to quiet patterns and simple whites or creams.

They give you the freedom to express your personality through paint, art, and styling—all of which are much easier to change than a five-thousand-pound slab of “look-at-me” granite.

Need help making sure your finishes actually talk to each other?

My Create Your Dream Home training will give you the framework to choose the right colours for everything in your home—before you make a permanent mistake.

Over to you, my lovelies: Are you crushing on a fancy natural stone? Or are you looking for simple, timeless alternatives?

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The post Why Natural Stone is Bossier Than You Think appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Because while I do love a good timeless renovation, and I have helped thousands of clients get their colours and finishes right for new builds and renovations in my eDesign consultations, I also love to demonstrate the transformative power of decorating and styling. It’s too often overlooked.

These are one day makeovers. Some of them are two rooms in one house. Because when the living room suddenly looks fabulous, the dining room raises its hand.

You can watch the full YouTube video where I dive into the process. But here are all the before and afters so you can take a good look at each transformation.

Share with me in the comments what you see that could work in your own home

Awkward fireplace to cozy living room

Liz’s living room features an odd fireplace that is off centre and she was sure her room would never be beautiful until they could renovate it. The quote was $12K. We decorated her living room for a tiny fraction of that cost instead.

The fireplace:

Liz’s living room before with the feel of “I’ll do this room someday…”:

And after! Let’s love it today

The cozy room makes the fireplace much less important. We gave it some context with a tall lamp, a plant, some art to make it look much less lonely.

Committing to the details

Christine’s living room and dining room had a good start, but like often happens, she had stopped short of the layers that make it feel polished. She couldn’t commit to where to hang the art. A very common dilemma that stalls finishing a room.

She also thought her fireplace needed a new insert for the room to be complete.

Here’s the living room before:

And after! An abundance of art, and what fireplace insert?

Her dining room before:

And here’s the after I tweaked with some details I would add if we had more than one day (drapes, painted chairs and chandelier shades):

The office space just needed the some art which she already had, a few details and of course, a lamp!

Before:

After!

A nature inspired living and dining room

Kim & Colin got a quote to replace the porcelain floor tile running through the kitchen and hall. I talked them into making their living room and dining room fabulous instead. After all, a hill I will die on is that you will get much more joy out of loving your most used rooms.

Here’s the living room before:

And after!

The dining room before:

And the after. The styling and art we added enhanced with the chairs and light fixture I would add:

Pretty in neutrals

Cynthia’s room also had lot of good things going on, it just needed intentional details and layers to come to life. These can be even more critical in a neutral room. When there is no colour, everything has to work a little harder.

Here’s the living room before:

And after!

The dining room before:

And after, showing the enhanced after here with the light fixture and drapes I would add given a little more time. But how perfect is this wall of plates with her pretty chairs?

You can learn more about how we achieved all these magical transformations in this weeks episode of Decorate or Renovate!

If you would like to transform your home, join my community where you can make friends, share decorating and renovating ideas and learn how to create a home you love!

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The post 8 Makeovers That Saved $54K in Renovations appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

I recently received this reader question along with some photos:

 

We did SW Accessible Beige for my kitchen but you have one person doing the trim and walls and another doing the cabinets. The cabinet guy went to Sherwin Williams and got Accessible Beige, even showed me the label on the can, but it ended up looking like this — so much closer to Agreeable Gray. And the trim and the cabinets are right next to each other. I was devastated and because of shifts in company ownership and other things, there was nothing I could do. Technically he painted it the right color.

Eight months later I learned that Sherwin Williams can’t use the computer to add the exact color mix to the type of enamel paint the cabinet maker used. They have to do it manually. Apparently he could have used a paint other than enamel for cabinets, but I didn’t know to request it.

The average person isn’t going to notice unless I point it out, but I see it every day. Now I’m working on painted backsplash right next to more cabinets and not sure which one to use. Let me know how much it would be for the answer. Just something for people to be aware of. Hope this helps someone.

 

Testing is key

I posted about this exact problem with whites here. That was before the trends turned to trim and cabinets painted a neutral over a white which is obviously even more noticeable.

This is why I always recommend having a sample cabinet sprayed to compare to your colour boards and finishes. You can’t assume it will turn out the same in different formulas.

See Undertones Instantly

The Neutral Colour Wheel shows you the 9 neutral undertones using real paint — your shortcut to choosing timeless colours.

• Real Benjamin Moore paint chips
• All 9 neutral undertone families
• Compare directly to your fixed elements

Shop the Colour Wheel

 

 

Here’s another photo, had AI make the window white so we could see the difference.

 

 

Will decorating help?

Can we decorate to distract the eye around this dilemma? No, unfortunately, not every colour problem can be saved with styling.

Once the house is finished and there are rugs, art, lamps, furniture and actual life in the room, will it bother her less? Probably. More layers always help.

The Killam Colour System in Action

Start with the Colour Wheel to identify undertones, then upgrade to the Bundle for a more complete colour decision toolkit.

Learn the System

Shop Tools

 

 

It’s also an undertone issue

But the other issue here is that Taj Mahal is not so neutral that it works with any warm neutral in this trend. It goes with a few different undertones, but not usually green grey.

Accessible Beige in my system is a green grey but the reason Sherwin Williams named it a beige is because if you don’t know that grey is three undertones, green grey looks beige when it’s sitting beside blue gray.

 

 

Get the Killam Colour System Starter Kit Here

And if this conversation is critical because beige is back and so are all the expensive colour mistakes that go along with trying to get it right. Because if your white trim and cabinets aren’t an exact match, you could decorate to distract, but with colour, it becomes much more obvious.

 

The best way to avoid expensive mistakes

The lesson here is, get your cabinets matched to your trim colour since you can’t do it the other way around. And have sample cabinet painted so you can test all your finishes together. Compare it carefully to a large sample of the colour you actually asked for.

But also, if you choose a countertop that is not some kind of white, you have to be precise about the undertone. Taj Mahal is not perfect with green grey.

And the fact that this kind of expensive mistake should be so easy to avoid is exactly why I created Create Your Dream Home. Because they rarely happen because you’re careless. They happen because no one told you how to compare undertones and which decisions had to come first.

If you’re renovating, building or choosing finishes right now, this is the kind of mistake you want to catch before the paint is sprayed, the counters are installed and everyone says, “Technically, it’s the right colour.”

Learn the system before your house becomes the lesson. We’ve extended the early bird rate for one more day, register here, the next cohort starts May 25. Watch the lessons when you have time and keep the course forever.

Over to you my lovelies, what would you do if this was your kitchen? Which backsplash would you install?

If you have an Ask Maria question for the blog, email me here with photos!

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The post Ask Maria: Why Don’t My Cabinets Match My Trim? appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

This is for you if you’re tired of second-guessing every paint colour, finish, rug, lamp, tile and decorating decision—and you want a clear plan for a home you actually love living in. Learn More Here!

If you have a TV sitting on a stand beside your fireplace and it’s never quite looked right… you’re in very good company.

This is one of the most common layout challenges I see—and most people assume the only solution is custom millwork or a renovation.

In today’s makeover, I’m showing you how we made this exact setup feel balanced and finished using decorating alone.

Instead of spending thousands building around the TV, we asked a different question:

How far can decorating take us first?

If you watched Cynthia and Greg’s living room makeover, you already know this couple had originally planned bigger renovations for their home before life shifted and trips to Australia to visit their grandson became the priority.

So once again, instead of renovating, we worked with what was already there.

The challenge in this room was balance.

A comfortable chocolate brown leather sofa with art they loved but the frames were a little too heavy. A taupe leather chair along with TV placement that wasn’t going anywhere.

So rather than trying to “hide” the TV, the goal became making the entire room feel layered, warm, and finished around it.

And honestly? This is one of the most common layout problems I see.

Today I’m sharing the before & afters (for those of you who want to dissect the details, along with a video for those of you who want the deep dive into how it all came together!

You’ll see exactly how we transformed this family room without custom millwork or renovation.

Similar Ceiling Fan Here & Here

Let me know if you’re inspired to make your TV look better! Because the TV-on-a-stand-beside-the-fireplace situation is not going away anytime soon!

Related posts:

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The post The TV Placement Problem Everyone Has appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

My Mom & Sisters in a fun photoshoot we did (Elizabeth, Hellen (Mom), Maria, Lea and Anita

Every year around Mother’s Day, there’s a rush to buy more things.

Like candles. Have you ever noticed how popular candles are?

It’s because most people don’t have enough lamps.
They’re trying to create atmosphere in a room that isn’t finished yet.

And flowers—everyone talks about the power of fresh flowers.

But the reason they feel so transformative is because they become the one bright, living thing in an otherwise neutral, unfinished space.

They work for a moment. But they don’t fix the room.

What Mom really wants

Here’s the thing, candles, a mug, flowers, they don’t solve the thing most women are thinking about every single day when they walk through their home.

Why doesn’t this room feel finished? Why does it still feel a little off, even after all the money we’ve spent? Why do I keep second-guessing every decision?

In my most recent Decorate or Renovate? one-day makeover, the homeowners told me they hadn’t touched their decor in 14 years.

And you know why?

Because when you don’t know what to buy, you end up spending money on things that don’t quite work once you get them home.

And nothing feels worse than looking around a room and realizing you’ve invested in pieces that still don’t make the space feel right.

So no, your mom doesn’t need more stuff.

The beautiful room she wants

HINT: The gift is a home that feels pulled together.

She wants to stop making expensive mistakes. And she wants to feel confident that what she’s choosing is actually going to work.

She wants to walk into her living room, turn on a lamp, and feel, “I love it here!”.Hint: the feeling she wants doesn’t come from renovating everything.

In fact, one thing I’ve learned very clearly from all these makeovers is that renovating is wildly overrated—and decorating is highly underrated.

It comes from choosing the right colours and neutrals, creating a palette that flows, and knowing how to add colour so it feels effortless instead of chaotic.

In other words, it comes from having a plan.

Because decorating a home that feels calm, finished, and beautiful is not about talent. It’s about knowing what you’re doing before you start.

So if you want to give her something she won’t hide in the closet as soon as you leave (and actually use six months from now), my Dream Home Club could be a great fit.

Your Mom (or you) will finally have a place to share your ideas and get your questions answered before you spend the money. Because decorating isn’t about adding more seasonal decor, it’s about creating a look and a feel.

And you get that from a room that feels finished.

A dining room before & after

Here’s a sneak peek at an upcoming Decorate or Renovate? project I recently did. The dining room just needed the details tweaked, and of course, a lamp, to come together.

Here’s what would make this dining room even better. Collected, fresh and now a place we love to eat dinner at every night!

That’s what I’ve spent the last two decades teaching.

So if you’ve ever stood in the middle of your room thinking, something is off but I don’t know what, this is your sign.

And if this is you, I have something for you.

June 3rd at 1 PM PST, I’m hosting a live “Paint & Colour Decisions” Ask Maria session.
Bring your paint dilemmas, undertone confusion, white trim questions, exterior colours, etc.

We do this every month inside my Dream Home Club so if you’ve been stuck, second-guessing your choices or avoiding finishing a room, this is where you start.

When you join my Dream Home Club, you’ll get access to that session, along with everything inside. Sign up now to catch the Q&A

Here is a gorgeous bedroom before and after from Kathleen, a Dream Home Club member:

And the gorgeous afters:

Kathleen said she’s so happy with how this room turned out. And her favourite tip was learning to put together a gallery wall by choosing a main piece and pulling the theme out of it for the rest. She did a fabulous job!

Happy Mother’s Day!

This Mother’s Day, instead of another thing that ends up in a drawer, give the gift of learning, community and confidence.

Or just get it for yourself

Because no one benefits more from a finished home than the person living in it every day.

A mom doesn’t need more things. She wants to look around and think, “this feels like me now”.

(That’s a gift that gets remembered)

Quick Note: My next Create Your Dream Home cohort starts May 25th, and registration for this round closes Monday.

This is for you (or your mom!) if you’re tired of second-guessing every paint colour, finish, rug, lamp, tile and decorating decision—and you want a clear plan for a home you actually love living in:

Learn More Here

Happy Mother’s Day, and thank you for being here. I appreciate you more than you know.

Photography by Macy Yap

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The post What Moms Really Want (It’s not Another Thing) appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Colour conflicts disappear

I’ve been telling you to decorate to distract the eye FOREVER, but I don’t think I’ve ever spelled it out this clearly.

That’s why so many people assume they need a renovation when they’re looking at their undecorated rooms, because that’s all you see before the decorating and styling is added.

Often, what they really need is decorating.

Once the right pieces come in—lamps, art, pillows, chairs, texture, better scale, stronger shapes, warmth, personality—the room starts to settle down and make sense. Even finishes that once felt mismatched become far less noticeable.

Help! My sofa looks dirty

Here’s another makeover I did for the show:

This was Michelle’s living room makeover that I did after her daughter Melissa’s space turned out so well. She lived next door and wanted her room to have a look and a feel too!

Notice how I repeated the white wainscotting in her artwork and accessories to make it look intentional, we also have browns and copper tones in the accessories and art to take the eye around the room. We almost don’t notice the air conditioning unit because we have so much to look at.

Decorating a neutral room

Here’s another neutral living room for my longtime follower Cynthia: Both rooms went from drab to fab, and they’re still neutral!

And for a lot less than a renovation.

Neutral rooms, in the end, are not easier to decorate. They’re harder.

Because when you remove colour, every other element has to work harder: texture, contrast, silhouette, balance, proportion, and lighting.

Learn to decorate

That’s exactly why I created my YouTube show, Decorate or Renovate—to show homeowners how often decorating can take you much further than you think before spending tens of thousands on construction.

To be clear, I’m not selling cheap here, and I’m not saying you should never renovate. I’m showing how much further decorating can go to create a look and a feel in your home. After all, if you renovate, you still need to decorate to have a home that fills you with joy when you walk in the door.

Understanding undertones is key to creating a beautiful room, especially if you like to decorate with neutrals. If you would like to take a deep dive into undertones, here’s the breakdown of all 9 neutral undertones in my system from my latest YouTube episode.

And if you’ve ever thought, I’m just not good at decorating, that simply isn’t true. Decorating is a skill anyone can learn when you know what to look for and what to do next. That’s exactly why I created my Dream Home Club—to help you create a beautiful, timeless home with guidance, confidence, and support every step of the way. Sign up here.

Related posts:

Ask Maria: I Don’t Like my Paint Colour in Certain Lights

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The post Why Some Rooms Look Wrong Until They’re Decorated appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.