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

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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.

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Why Your Home Needs More Lamps (and How to Add More)

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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Decorate or Renovate: 3 Simple Kitchen Fixes (When You Can’t Renovate)

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

My Spring Sale is officially on for four days only, with savings on some of my most helpful resources designed to help you create a beautiful, timeless home with confidence. Shop the sale.

Because in 2026, one thing is clear:

Too many people are letting random inspiration, endless scrolling, and AI-generated images make expensive decisions for them.

That’s how you end up with a home that feels like five different trends collided.

Beautiful rooms don’t happen by accident. They happen when you understand colour, relationships, proportion, and how to make choices that work together.

Here’s What’s On Sale

50% Off My Ebooks

My ebooks are packed with practical guidance to help you avoid common decorating mistakes and make smarter choices faster.

If you’ve ever thought:

• Why does this room still feel unfinished?
• Why does my paint colour look wrong?
• Why can’t I pull everything together?

Start here.

Bonus Gift When You Spend $50+

If you bundle your ebooks with my Colour Wheel (which is almost never on sale) and your order is over $50, you’ll receive my paint.guide FREE.

Shop the sale

That’s a $20 value included as my gift to you.

10% Off My eDesign Packages

If you need expert eyes on your renovation, kitchen, exterior, or decorating project, now is a smart time to book.

Sometimes one correct decision saves thousands.

Styling School On Sale

Learn how to finish your rooms like a designer so they feel polished, layered, and complete.

Because most homes don’t need renovating.

They need styling something I keep proving over and over again inside my Decorate OR Renovate!? YouTube channel!

Mood Board Course On Sale – NEW AI MODULE FOR THE TECH CHALLENGED!

And this one just got better.

I’m adding a brand new module that teaches you how to use your mood board with AI more effectively.

Because here’s what most people are doing wrong:

They go straight to AI and start asking it to create rooms before they’ve clarified their finishes, colours, furniture, and direction.

That leads to wasted time, confusing results, and visuals based on bad inputs. And unless you’ve paid for a lot of time, it’ll tell you you’ve used up your images, come back later!

When you create a mood board first, then use AI second, you’ll get far better results—and a room that actually makes sense.

I’ll also teach you how to troubleshoot when AI keeps taking you in the wrong direction.

Exterior Masterclass On Sale

If your exterior project is happening this year, this course can save you from one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make:

Treating permanent exterior finishes like trend accessories.

If You Have a 2026 Project Planned…

Do not wait until materials are ordered, cabinets are installed, or paint is on the wall to start learning what works.

That’s the expensive stage.

This sale is about getting the right tools now so your project ends up beautiful, intentional, and timeless.

Not cobbled together by Pinterest panic and AI confusion.

Four Days Only

Once the sale ends, prices go back up.

If your home is next, now is the time.

Shop the Spring Sale now and create a home you’ll love for years. Shop the sale.

Related Posts

Why AI Gets Your Paint Colour Wrong

10 Steps to Planning a Timeless New Build

An Apartment Styling Makeover for White Walls

The post Spring Sale: Up to 50% Off for 4 Days Only appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

I’m here to give you a blast of tough love.

Creating or renovating a kitchen is likely one of the most expensive projects you’ll ever undertake. So honestly, it’s kind of nuts to think you can wing it. Or crowdsource it to that homeowner’s Facebook forum. Or to ChatGPT.

Does your kitchen even need a full expensive redo? That’s the first good question. Maybe you’d be much happier with a couple of smart updates and keeping tens of thousands in the bank.

It makes sense to get expert advice. It will save you tonnes of time, money and heartache.

Today over on YouTube, I’m sharing 5 kitchen before and afters and exactly how I helped my clients create their dream kitchens from just small but smart tweaks to full renovations. If you’re living with a kitchen you don’t love or embarking on creating a kitchen, this is a must see.

Want the best insurance that your kitchen will turn out beautifully?

Check out my eDesign packages here. And my DIY Kitchen Templates here.

Related posts:

5 Dream Kitchen Details You Will Regret in 2030

$5000 Colour Expertise vs $50,000 Design Firm

Renovation Success Starts Here: Your First 10 Decisions

The post 5 Kitchen Transformations: 3 Ways to Create a Beautiful Kitchen appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

In January 2024 black windows, hardware and lighting became the builder default and now in 2026, I’m hearing everywhere that with many builders, black windows are the ONLY option:

 

Recently an eDesign client building a moody rustic exterior in the mountains submitted in her questionnaire that the builder was offering only black windows. My team went back to her to suggest that she ask her builder what it would look like to have other colour options (bronze specifically).

 

Since she agreed with me that the black windows going up everywhere in her area looked harsh and trendy, she persisted with her builder and finally was able to access bronze windows. But it was an upgrade. One my client was happy to pay for.

So yes, it’s official, in 2026 black windows are the builder default.

 

Please make sure this doesn’t happen to you

 

Avoid making expensive decisions out of context

 

The only way to be in charge of the outcome of your project is to have a clear plan.

Window frame colour is one of the first decisions you’ll be asked for. And if you don’t have your exterior colours and finishes completely nailed down, the interaction will go something like this:

Builder: We are putting in the order for your windows

You: ok

(You now have black windows).

Or like this:

Builder: We are putting in the order for your windows, the options are black or white. You want the current black look right?

You: Ummm, we aren’t sure yet. But I guess black looks current and most people are choosing black these days?

Builder: Yep. Great, we’ll get them ordered.

(Bam! Black windows on your whole house).

Then in the interim months, once you’ve done some thinking about what you want your exterior to look like, you start to realize black windows don’t suit the direction at all. But it’s too late. You’re stuck with an irreversible, expensive, trendy mistake.

 

I’ve spent decades teaching that choosing permanent finishes from a timeless perspective is the only way to have a home you’ll love forever. But to do that you need to have a solid plan created with that end clearly in mind. So before you sign that window order, here is what you need to know about the exterior black window trend.

 

From Hot to Predictable

 

 

When they arrived on the scene at the start of the modern farmhouse trend, after decades of drab brown and then grey exteriors, the high-contrast look of black windows on a white house quickly became the hottest new thing. So so high contrast and striking, they looked “sexy”, bold and new!

But all trends eventually die because they get overdone and the consumer craves something new. If every new house was red because red was trending the same thing would be happening.

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

 

The “Black Hole” Syndrome

 

The other thing to consider is that windows without white or cream mullions naturally look like dark holes in the facade during the day and at night from the inside.

 

 

When you add heavy black frames, they often lose all their architectural detail and simply look like soulless black holes from the street. The pretty photos you see on Pinterest? They are almost always taken at dusk with every interior light turned on to make the windows glow (below). In the bright daylight, that effect disappears, and your curb appeal goes with it.

 

 

Mitchell Builders Group

 

A More Timeless Dark Alternative: Bronze

 

If your house truly needs dark windows to look right, skip the harsh black. Consider bronze instead. This is what I recommended for my client that was creating a rustic home but was clear she didn’t want trendy black windows. Anodized dark brown or bronze frames offer a classic, softer look that is somewhat less stark and much less trendy. Softer charcoal is also pretty like this house below.

 

 

Cusimano Architect Inc.

 

Interior Windows

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know my opinion is that your interior windows should definitely be white to create the versatile canvas your decorating needs. You don’t want to be stuck decorating around harsh black rectangles in every room long after the black and white trend has gone.

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

 

Stop Guessing. Start Comparing.

 

So as I said, it comes down to having a well considered plan laying out exactly what you want before your builder starts asking you for big expensive decisions. Again, windows are one of the very first choices you’ll be called to make. Building a home requires hundreds of high-stakes decisions, and the order of those choices determines if your house looks timeless or like a 2026 time capsule. Guessing leads to expensive mistakes you have to live with forever.

And if you already have black windows on your exterior, don’t worry, there are some very good strategies to update the look. We often help clients with this issue in my remote consultations.

 

My eDesign New Build Package with the All Inclusive Exterior Add On provides you with a complete colour and finish schedule—from windows and roofing to flooring, paint and cabinetry—so your home feels cohesive and intentional from day one.

Shop my New Build eDesign Packages here.

 

And if you want to be the expert of your own home, The Killam Colour Starter Kit gives you the all the essential tools you need to get every colour selection just right, no second guessing.

Are you currently planning a new build or renovation and have questions about my packages? Email my team here.

 

How is your builder reacting to your requests for something other than black windows? If you have black windows and are dismayed at how black they look during the day, my exterior masterclass has the solution. You can access it here.

Related Posts

What if Red was the Trending Exterior Colour?

Help me Find the Perfect Black for my Exterior

How eDesign Saved this Exterior from Black Windows

 

The tools that make colour easy

Colour Wheel + eBook Bundle

Shop Now

Killam Colour Starter Kit: Benjamin Moore Neutrals & Whites

Shop Now

Killam Colour Starter Kit: Sherwin-Williams Neutrals & Whites

Shop Now

Exterior Colour Masterclass

Shop Now

The post Don’t Let Your Builder Default to Black Windows appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

I know, so many of you have asked when this bathroom would be finished and the reason it took so long to appear is because it needed the perfect piece of art (which she still hasn’t found) so I took matters into my own hands and virtually added it along with a few other decorative items so that you could see the final after.

And the video is so fun with my Sister and I bantering about her 80s bathroom that looked like this for far.too.long. And wow it’s so much better!

I was so surprised how much BIGGER it felt once the wall and the dropped ceiling above the shower was removed!

Here’s a breakdown of this bathroom design.

Shop the Look

The steam cleaner for tile I talk about in the video my sister purchased and it WORKS. You can get it here.

How to get the perfect bathroom renovation

My bestie Jan Romanuk managed the entire renovation to perfection. She also managed the renovations of both my homes. The best thing about having Jan as your designer/project manager is that you have both in one package!

During the renovation of my current home when we took possession in October 2022, I had one painter who was here for 3 months painting every room, so he watched all the trades come and go and one day he said “Jan, I have been on many job sites and I have NEVER seen anyone run a ship like you!”

Jan is located in North Vancouver, you can contact her here, if you have a project!

The 3 details that get missed in bathroom renovations

In this video we’re talking about 3 details homeowners miss all the time with a few more thrown in, it’s a fun conversation that includes my sister Anita, check it out below:

Create your timeless bathroom

If you have a bathroom that needs updating, you can get my advice for giving it a refresh rather than a full renovation here.

But if you’re clear it’s a full renovation you need, check out my Create a Classic Bathroom package here to get all the prettiest timeless options for your bathroom tailored to you right down to the pretty details.

Related posts:

5 Steps to Starting a Bathroom Renovation

The Best of my Bathroom YouTube Videos

My Warm Wood & Timeless Primary Bath Renovation

The post 3 Bathroom Details You Can’t Afford to Get Wrong appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

Is AI designing your House? How’s it going so far?

I recently listened to this podcast I‘ve been following for a long time. At this point I feel like she’s a friend giving me an update on her life. Chalene’s content is about helping women over 40 live their best life with a lot of personal stuff thrown in which I find highly entertaining.

Anyway, she was talking about how fake so much of AI generated content is out there with this comment:

“It’s not giving you an accurate, validated, 100% guaranteed, truthful answer. What it’s doing is giving you what is most prevalent in its database. So if there is a myth, a misconception, misinformation that’s repeated over and over and over again, and that’s a preponderance of the data that it’s getting, it’s going to output that to you. So it drives me nuts when people go, ‘I checked it with AI’.”

AI is mixing up my colour advice

And that is exactly what it’s doing with my online advice all day and all night. It even takes recaps of blog posts and adds the popular myths and misconceptions about paint colour out there in the ethernet and mashes it together.

The worst part about this is because AI is often right, people get this false sense of “Ok I got this” and then make irreversible decisions with the answers it provides.

And have you noticed, nothing you ever ask is perfect? AI Always finds room for improvement. An outfit I had improved based on AI’s advice still needed something, I posted it again and it said “Roll up your sleeves” When I was clearly wearing a short sleeve top. Who can relate to this?

Anyway, I inserted this stairwell I had decorated recently (using AI to install my ideas). I asked for a painting estimate for the space and it asked if I wanted some decorating advice. I said yes to see the response.

By the way these colours were chosen to create flow from the living room and dining room for this makeover I did recently.

Anyway, this is what came out:

Why this is misleading advice

Let me count the ways that while this sounds really smart and authoritative, it completely misses everything:

1. The carpet on the stairs is Violet Grey, not Pink Beige
2. The floor tile is Green Grey, not “warm gray-beige with a slight green cast”
3. And no, it’s not the green walls that are pulling green-grey out of the tile
4. “Because this is exactly the kind of space where the wrong colour quietly drags everything down.” Well no, colour is necessary to bring grey finishes to life.
5. “What this space actually needs is a more complex neutral that sits right between pink-beige and green-gray.” No again, finding the right paint colour with conflicting undertones in finishes is NOT about choosing a “bridge” in between colour.
6. The first neutrals recommended were taupes and Green Greys, there are no Yellow Beiges in this entire scenario.

Yikes! It’s crazy how it’s kinda using my language, but in a totally convoluted way.

What this shows is that trusting AI for advice on your home; Investing anything from the cost of a can of paint to a full renovation to this kind of advice is a really bad idea.

I also recently heard an AI critic (it was in my scroll so sorry, I can’t recall who) say that the biggest problem is that AI doesn’t know how to say “I don’t Know”. Because it doesn’t know it doesn’t know. What it’s doing has actually nothing to do with “knowing,” it’s only emulating plausible patterns. Meaning it’s also perfectly poised to give you whatever is trending, and not at all timeless.

And when it comes to interior design, the issue is not only that it is making things up. AI is the very opposite of discernment. It doesn’t have a point of view. It doesn’t have taste and experience of the tactile, visual world. It doesn’t know what is going to look good and what won’t.

AI is excellent help at tasks like virtually installing the rugs and art I chose to illustrate what is possible for my client. It’s good at generating ideas that need to be sifted through carefully to find a good one. It’s good at streamlining my copy for clearer communication. But all this needs a knowledgeable designer editing and guiding the AI.

It’s not about letting the AI be the expert.

The bottom line is, getting the design plan right for your home is not where you want to take this kind of risk. That’s like throwing tens of thousands of dollars at a guess and crossing your fingers.

It’s much smarter to get a carefully thought out, beautiful plan based on real experience and save your money by NOT making expensive mistakes at all.

If you’re planning a repaint, a renovation or a new build, take a look a my eDesign packages.

I want to hear about how you’ve been using AI for your home projects and how it has been helpful. Please share in the comments.

Related Posts

Read This Before You Rip Out Grey Floors

Design on a Budget: 5 Before & Afters

Colour Rescue: Got a High Wall? Think of Art as Wallpaper

The post Why AI Gets Your Paint Colour Wrong appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

The common decorating mistake that a lot of people make is adding more grey to grey floors and I’m here to tell you it’s way easier than that to bring those floors to life!

And replacing the flooring in this home to create one continuous look through the main floor of the house would easily be $20,000 or more because it would ALL have to be replaced if you didn’t have more of the same wood flooring. And most of the time, that’s not where we need to start.

The truth is, gray isn’t the problem.

What’s missing is colour.

In this video, I’m showing you exactly how I would choose the right paint colour for their hallway using my Killam Colour system large colour samples, along with two simple ways to transform the space so the gray tile fades into the background instead of being the thing you notice first.

Because when you get the colour right, everything else starts to fall into place.

Watch this video and then let me know in the comments which you would prefer? New floors everywhere or a decorated and painted entry hall!

And if you want to learn how to do this yourself—how to actually see colour and make these decisions with confidence—my True Colour Expert Training is coming up in Chicago, May 14 & 15, 2026!

This is where I teach the system behind everything you’re seeing here. Because once you get this, you’ll never be guessing again. Register here.

And I’m looking for a Decorate or Renovate one day makeover in Chicago (specifically close to Naperville). Contact me here.

Related posts:

Two Best Ways to Decorate a Room with Grey Floors

How to Choose a Colour Palette for Your Home

3 Ways to Brighten a Small Dark Room

The post Read This Before You Rip Out Your Grey Floors appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.

When the garage is part of the main approach to your house, it isn’t just a utility. It’s an important design statement.

But first, there are a few spots left in my True Colour Expert Training this Spring. We had such a great class in Vancouver last week, and I’d love to see you in Chicago May 14th and 15th! Sign up here.

Garage door windows

The secret to a garage door that actually looks expensive and intentional—rather than just a big blank slab—is almost always windows. Glass is the key. Without it, you have a utilitarian wall of metal that feels disconnected from the rest of the house. Choosing a style with windows goes a long way to making the garage door look like an integrated and attractive part of the house. They create a friendlier look.

The next important thing is knowing what style of garage door will look best on your house.

Modern garage doors

If you have a sleek, modern home, a full-view aluminum door or a modern glass sectional door looks best. It keeps the look clean and lets the light in.

DB Garage Doors

Traditional garage doors

On the other hand, for a more traditional home, carriage-style doors are the classic choice. But here is the most important detail: the window style, proportions, and grilles on that garage door must match the actual windows on your house. If your house has traditional square grilles and your garage has arched windows, they’ll never look like they belong together.

When it comes to the colour, you want it to marry the rest of your house. Often, the most timeless choice is to paint the garage door the same colour as the house body or the trim like on my house above. In the vast majority of cases, I would avoid the trend for painting them a dark “accent colour”. It quickly looks unbalanced since garage doors are so large. And often, at a glance it can look like the doors are gaping open.

In some cases, usually when balanced with other wood elements on the facade, a timeless brown wood look is exactly what’s needed to add warmth and texture.

The Spruce

Choosing a garage door is a high-stakes decision because it’s expensive. Once it’s installed, you’re stuck with it for a long time. There is a lot to consider, style, colour, window shape, size and details.

When the decisions for your build or renovation start piling up and stressing you out, know that you don’t have to guess. I can look at your specific home and tell you exactly how to create that “welcome home” feeling in an Exterior eDesign consultation. It’s a tiny fraction of the cost of your project but powerful insurance for getting the best possible result.

Or, if you want to learn my approach to exteriors based on the Killam Colour System so you can make these decisions with total confidence, come join us in the True Colour Insider membership. You’ll get access to my Exterior Colour Masterclass where I show you how to get the “envelope” of your home right the first time.

Related Posts

eDesign Exteriors: Finding the Perfect Colour Before & After

$5000 Colour Expertise vs a $50,000 Design Firm

Are Black Windows the Best Choice for Your New Build

The post Don’t Let Your Garage Door Ruin Your Curb Appeal appeared first on Maria Killam | Timeless Colour.