Several weeks ago I was at AmericasMart Atlanta for the Gift & Home Furnishings show. In addition to trekking all over the Mart to see what’s new in home décor, I was also there to take some classes through The Decorating & Staging Academy.
I first became aware of The DSA several years ago when I was looking for quality training in color for certification. I found them online, went to Charlotte for a few days of training, then came back to Atlanta and began working as an Atlanta color consultant. In the meantime, I’ve gone back to them from time to time for additional training and course work. They do a fabulous job preparing you for work and business in the areas of decorating, home staging, redesign and color.
The DSA has held training sessions at AtlantaMart Atlanta for several years during the July show. This was my third year to attend. As part of their program this year, for the first time, they gave out design awards in four categories: Best Redesign, Best Vacant Property Staging, Best Occupied Property Staging, and Best Color Transformation. I am humbled to say that I won the Distinguished Style Award for Best Color Transformation! So, would you like to see the transformation? Shown to the right is the “before” shot.
I had intended to use grays for this home, but there was a problem. Can you guess what it is? The trim, which was not to be repainted, was very creamy. I had a mess on my hands several years ago trying to put light gray on walls that resided with a creamy trim. The yellow in the trim ended up turning the walls a lovely blueish/purple – not what I or my client was going for. So with that in mind, for this home I decided to use Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt SW6204 for the walls and ceiling and Underseas SW6214 as the accent color on the coffered ceiling trim pieces and fireplace surround. Here is the result:
I must say that Sea Salt is one of my favorite colors these days, but I normally use it in bathrooms. In this case, it serves as the perfect backdrop for the white furniture and rug with large splashes of red accents in the room. Here is the same space photographed from another angle:
Are you afraid of color? Don’t be! It could make you an award winner.
