{friday finds: 2013 asid showcase home tour}

The American Society of Interior Designers and Mpls St. Paul Magazine crossed the river to St. Paul’s Historic Hill Heritage Preservation District for the 2013 ASID Showcase Home Tour.

This historic Queen Anne-style Victorian home features the work of 39 designers and the transformation of 22 rooms. Some rooms are part of the homeowner’s private residence while others are part of the St. Paul Bed & Breakfast. Updating the house, yet remaining true to  Victorian design elements, sounds  like a challenge. It will be exciting to see the end result. I can’t imagine how much hard work must go into pulling all the pieces together.

THE FACTS:

May 18, 2013 – June 9, 2013
The house is open to the public Wednesdays – Sundays, 10 AM – 4 PM
325 Dayton Ave. St. Paul, MN 55102
Tours are self-guided
Closed  on Saturday, June 1 for a private event.
Tickets are $20 at the door and $15 at the following ticket outlets:
Hirshfield’s, ASID MN, Intersource @IMS, Bachman’s, D’Amico & Sons, Patina, Rubble Tile, and The Bibelot

For more information on the Special Events at the ASID Showcase House you can go to this link to Mpls. St. Paul Magazine.

(friday finds: junk bonanza spring 2013

Housekeeping at the end of the day at Junk Bonanza…

Hirshfield’s has been out at Junk Bonanza these past two days and loving every minute of it. Junkers are loving Cottage Paint, the 50+ colors, and loving the on-going Cottage Paint demos being held in our booth and in the Cottage Paint classroom. There’s a lotta love at Junk Bonanza!

Tomorrow is the last day of the Spring Junk Bonanza; the show opens at 9:00am and runs until 5:00pm. Vendors restock every evening; rearranging their booths with new pieces pulled out of trucks and trailers…some of the vendors have living quarters in their trailers. Crazy creative are the junking crowd.

From start to finish on this small table…using Cottage Paint and Cottage Paint Waxes

Benjamin Moore’s Molten Metallics on a cardboard “H”

Showcasing the different products at the H’s booth

Enough about us… here’s Junk Bonanza.

I met people from all over the country who come to shop at Junk Bonanza…Colorado, Arkansas, Thunder Bay, Iowa, North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Toronto, and the list goes on.  I can’t say enough good things about the whole Junk Bonanza experience.

I apologize for the lateness of this post. Hopefully, you’re able to experience Junk Bonanza tomorrow. One last thing, I thought “the junk” was priced to sell.

P.S. I almost forgot to mention the Weddings Lab. This is where brides-to-be can gather inspiration for their own weddings from four different themed vignettes, featuring vintage and repurposed ideas.

{bits & pieces: ombré from benjamin moore color chats}

Benjamin Moore Color Chats did a great blog post on the ombré trend I thought I’d share with you.

Ombré is a paint application that makes anyone look like a master painter. Use the paint colors on a color strip or mix your own secret formulas and you’ll end up with a one-of-a-kind wall or piece of furniture. Here’s the link to Color Chats Ombré: The Fade is Not a Fad.

Trend alert – Does it seem like the scallop motif  is gathering momentum?

{kendall charcoal hc-166}

Apartment Therapy

The island is painted Kendall Charcoal – Designer Sandra Ericksen as seen on Houzz

When did this happen? Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal HC-166 has bumped long-time favorite Revere Pewter HC-172 out of first place as most searched paint color on the Hirshfield’s blog. I was surprised. Revere Pewter has held the first place spot for the past couple years as everyone’s beige/gray favorite.

“Rich, deep, and luxurious, kendall charcoal pops beautifully when paired with crisp white room accents and trim. A versatile neutral, it also works well with most color schemes.” Benjamin Moore

Designer Jennifer Austin-McGrath from Gabberts – Houzz

Meister Construction – Houzz

Sarah created an entryway in her apartment with this great oversized chevron pattern, painter’s tape, and Kendall Charcoal paint. With the high contrast of paint colors, charcoal and white, this small space makes a huge welcoming impact.

Avenue B Development – Houzz

How to determine which colors are popular with Hirshfield’s customers? Talking with H’s employees who refill  the paint swatches in the chip racks and mix up the paint. How’s that for a high tech, top secret, evaluation process?

Cindy (H’s Maple Grove) tells me she is constantly filling in Kendall Charcoal (and other darker grays) on the Benjamin Moore chip rack. She thinks customers like the idea of using darker grays, but when it comes right down to it, they back off, and order a lighter and safer paint color. They mix a lot of Revere Pewter and Hirshfield’s Oak Tone 0217 at the Maple Grove store.

She’s also seeing an increased interest in accent walls – here’s where the customer will choose a darker paint color, or use wallpaper, on that one focal wall.

We painted BM Kendall Charcoal on the wall behind our bed—and it totally changed the look of our master bedroom. I love it! It looks great with white bedding and accents of either orange, yellow, red, aqua, or red. I’m currently using lemon-colored accessories! It’s a dramatic neutral color. Reader from Houzz

Want more? Color Chats from Benjamin Moore showcased their 50 favorite grays in this June blog post.

{friday finds: painting a 1952 linoleum floor}

My daughter has allergies and her bedroom was making them worse. There were the usual suspects. The floor to ceiling bookcases were removed, still the sniffles persisted. We removed the wool carpet and she was left with the original 50′s linoleum. Her room is 11×12 so there wasn’t a lot of open floor space, and for a while she graciously put up with the retro vibe.

Then came the dreaded, “Mom, I want to paint my room.” I say,”dreaded,” because girls of a certain age want their walls hot pink, lime green, or deep turquoise. Kathy (Hirshfield’s Design Studio) had just painted her daughter’s bedroom Benjamin Moore Peony 2079-30,  and said it was a “good pink.” G liked it and I trust Kathy’s opinion when it comes to paint colors. G also submitted her master design plan which included a floor re-do.

What to do with the floor? I liked all the painted floors I was seeing on the decor sites and it sounded like an easy fix. Painting the floor was going to be the least expensive and least amount of work for me. The key was not having to dismantle her trundle-bed, hauling it piece by piece downstairs, and repeating the process to set it up again. Painting seemed like the best solution.

• Prep the floor. The 60-year-old linoleum was already dulled with age so it did not need to be primed or scuffed up before applying the paint.

• Clean the floor. If you do have to rough up the floor, wipe or vacuum up the sanding dust. After washing the floor with TSP, a rinse with plain water, and letting it dry, my floor was ready to be painted.

• Paint the floor. I like to run my ideas by the H’s experts and they usually present me with at least a couple of options. I choose the one best suited for my needs and novice skill level. Cory, Hirshfield’s Monticello, recommended the Glidden Professional Concrete Coatings, White Tint Base. I rolled on a total of three coats, using a short nap roller cover. I waited a day (okay, sometimes a week) between coats. Always check the can for re-coating times.

• Wait. Let it cure. I painted half the floor* and waited a couple of weeks before I moved the furniture to the other side of the room. Before moving the furniture, I touched up any areas where I hadn’t applied an even coat. I placed rugs under the four corners of the bed and dragged it across the room so I wouldn’t mar the newly painted surface.

•  Apply topcoat. For added protection and durability I used Benajmin Moore’s Benwood® Stays Clear® Acrylic Polyurethane, Low Lustre. Don’t be fooled by Low Lustre as there was plenty of shine. I chose the water based product for minimal odor and easy clean up. I applied two coats, allowing for the appropriate drying time between coats. Pay attention to the thickness of the Benwood® when you’re putting it down. I poured the Benwood® on the floor and rolled it out. Don’t do that. The yellow spot next to the rolled up rug is where the product was not rolled out thin enough.

All and all it was a perfect solution for this room. It’s been two years and the floor is in good shape; there are a few dings, but they don’t bother me enough to re-touch. And most importantly my daughter enjoys spending time in her room.

Your style. Our expertise. Hirshfield’s sales staff is waiting to help you with your projects.

*Because I was shifting furniture from one side of the room to the other, I painted and topcoated half of the room. After it cured, I moved the furniture to the other side of the room and repeated the process.

{friday finds: revere pewter hc-172}

J. Hirsch Interior Design

The most-searched-for color on the Hirshfield’s blog is the Benjamin Moore color revere pewter HC-172. Which makes perfect sense, because that is the most-searched-for color on Benjamin Moore’s site. What makes it so popular?

A light gray with warm undertones, revere pewter (HC-172) is a great transitional color that works equally well on walls, ceilings, and trim from room to room. Described as the perfect “whole-house color,” this classic neutral is perfect for an open floor plan.

Dark enough to contrast nicely with whites and off-whites, but not so dramatic as to compete with bold colors, it can ground and balance a room with colorful décor, or create a serene vibe when paired with pale hues and other neutrals.

It feels like the color gray has had an amazingly long run in popularity. My first post on gray was done in the spring of 2009, and back then it had already been popping up on design blogs since 2008. From what I’ve been seeing, grays are still best sellers, but are warming up. “I can’t tell, is that a gray or a taupe?” Good old chameleon colors.

Two years ago my neighbor used revere pewter in her lower level remodel, and with her lighting it leans towards a green undertone. It’s perfect for her space and her lower level looks fantastic. Kathy Basil (Hirshfield’s Design Studio) has found when there is a lot of natural light in a room revere pewter sometimes gets too purple. She said the Hirshfield’s paint color oak tone 0217 is actually a better color than revere pewter. It just works well in many different color scenarios. Read it and weep, Benjamin Moore.

If you think revere pewter is the color for your room, step over to the Hirshfield’s chip rack and pull a sample of Hirshfield’s oak tone 0217. Remember we sell pints and quarts so you can test drive your paint colors before you purchase paint for your entire room. You don’t have time to hide all those gallons of the wrong paint color (in the trunk of your car) and start all over. True story.

For more comments on revere pewter, here’s a link to Benjamin Moore. I always enjoy reading what “real people” have to say about their paint colors. Hirshfield’s partnership with Second Harvest Heartland ends on Monday, December 3, 2012. Save 20% on your paint purchase this weekend.

Happy painting!

{friday finds: benjamin moore 2013 color of the year}

The color experts at Benjamin Moore have made their selection for the 2013 color of the year. And the winner is…..

…

…

…

Lemon Sorbet 2019-60

Benjamin Moore Lemon Sorbet 2019-60

The palette is shifting from super saturated and strong hues to softer, lighter pastel shades. It’s the perfect partner for the emerging palette of freshened, polished pastels that promise to be favorites in the coming year. Additionally, it’s the ideal transition color as we move from the more vibrant spectrum and mid-to-deep tone hues that we’ve been experiencing in home furnishings and fashions.
- Sonu Mathew, ASID, IIDA, Benjamin Moore’s senior interior designer (Source)

{friday finds: it’s a paint party}

Wunderweib

Wunderweib

Apartment Therapy

I’m so in the painting mood! Maybe not so much painting an entire room one (yawn) color, but something along the lines of these very cool painting projects. Listening to the personable Kim Yeager share her tips and techniques from The Art of Junk seminars* Hirshfield’s has been hosting, certainly adds fuel to the creative fire. Also, Benjamin Moore’s brand new chalkboard paint is available in over 3,000 colors! Grab a Benny Moore fan deck and pick out a paint color for your chalkboard. So far I’ve tried orange, pastel green and violet. All look amazing. I’m waiting for that special piece to present itself so I can “do up” my own chalkboard. Hopefully it’s on the curb and free.

{friday finds: hirshfield’s and houzz}

            “The rug came from Hirshfield’s, a local (Minneapolis) showroom .”  Design by Lisa   

 “ The color of the vanity is Hirshfield‘s Color #0540 – Praise Giving”   Martha O’Hara Interiors

“The exterior color is Hirshfield’s 8632W Timeless Gray. The shutters are painted Hirshfield’s Old Porch 8636N.”

 Alethia with Erotas Building Corporation

“Paint – Benjamin Moore #2057-20, Galapagos Turquoise”  Cheryl Burke Int. Design

Hirshfield’s Young Colt 0198 is the wall paint. Hendel Homes

           Wallpaper from Ronald Redding John Kraemer & Sons

HOUZZ is the leading online platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish… With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to get the design inspiration, project advice, product information and professional reviews they need to help turn ideas into reality. 
-Houzz at a glance

Have you been sucked into the Houzz vortex and re-emerged hours later, thinking,”what the heck, where did the time go?” I like Houzz because as a homeowner you get a firsthand look at the work of your local design community; from designers, architects, remodelers, homebuilders, landscapers, and homeowners.

It’s also a great tool for auditioning “the trade” when you’re looking for a professional; you can get a feel for the type of work they do. Do they have the same design aesthetic as you?

And as a Hirshfield’s employee, seeing the Hirshfield’s paint colors, wallpaper, and design studio products used in actual residences, is of interest to me. Houzz has it going on!

Houzz offers over 500,000 photos and 1.8 million “ideabooks” that users have created, the options for interaction are endless on Houzz. See for yourself all the features that Houzz has to offer.

For a little background on Houzz, here’s a link to an article The New York Times did on the house that inspired Houzz.

{friday finds: choose your unique color story with new color collection from Benjamin Moore}

Benjamin Moore has created a new chapter in paint color technology with its most recent color collection, Color Stories. This collection includes eight color palettes that are comprised of a total of 240 colors, making for a truly unique, un-matched color offering.

Benjamin Moore

Unlike conventional paint formulas, the Color Stories palette includes more than the traditional combination of three pigments and does not use any tints of gray or black. Instead, five to seven pigments are incorporated per color. These colors have a greater clarity, purity and are richer than conventional colors because they are formulated with more pigments in very precise, exacting amounts.

Fiery Sunset collection