{friday finds: what’s on sale}

Hirshfield’s Paints are on sale through Monday, May 6, 2013.

• Hunter Douglas rebates on select window treatments.
• Free upgrades on select Hunter Douglas products.
• The Federal Tax Credit on Hunter Douglas energy-efficient window treatments. Good through December 31, 2013.
• 10% off Benjamin Moore Paint through May 6, 2013

Any graduations or confirmations coming up this spring? Take advantage of this great sale if some of your rooms need a fresh coat of paint or new window treatments. Don’t be like me and wait until the week before, and then decide to paint; you know when you have nothing else to do.

Have a fab weekend. I’m looking forward to the sunshine next week!

{friday finds: thinking about an exterior paint make-over this spring?}

Your home says a lot about you. Both inside and out, it is a reflection of your style, personality, and the family who lives there. Making sure your home is an accurate reflection of you is exactly what our Hirshfield’s color specialists are trained to do. Painting the exterior of your house is a very large project that you want to get right on the very first try. If you’ve already made a trip into the paint store to admire the thousands of paint options, you may be seeking an expert to give you specific color suggestions that match your home and personality.

An exterior color call typically starts in the interior of the home because the inside of your house is a great reflection of your style. A color specialist will also take time to interview you as the homeowner to ask you about your color preferences, and even take into account the existing colors in the neighborhood so that your house stands out from your neighbors’, but still complements the look of the neighborhood. Finally, your color specialist will evaluate the permanent or semi-permanent fixtures around your home, such as windows, fixtures, and landscaping like plants, trees, or front walks.

After the consultation is complete, the specialist presents 4-6 color options to choose from for the main color of the house which covers 70-75% of the exterior. Accent colors are then chosen for the trim and remainder of the home. Your new exterior color will change the look of your house– and hopefully make your neighbors just a little bit jealous!

To see one of our Hirshfield’s color specialists, Kathy Basil, explain the exterior color call process, check out the video below:

{friday finds: flerique by eijffinger)

I’m excited to show you a new wallpaper book from Eijffinger called Fleurique. I know Eijffinger isn’t for everyone, but it appeals to my sense of style. The strong colors, patterns, and European flair is what I like most about this line.

This book is inspired by brightly colored flowers. Rounding out the book are stripes, overscaled snowflakes, raised patterns with matte and glossy finishes playing together. Never a dull color in the Eijffinger books.

                 

Fleurique surprised me with the elongated triangles shown here in neutrals, which also is available in a lovely pink. And how cool is wallpaper that looks like shiny, iridescent eyes of peacock feathers? It’s a modern looking pattern not found in other wallpaper books; plus, it’s available in some doable neutral colorways. I see patterns from this book crossing the line from residential to commercial applications. Eijffinger has not disappointed me yet.

The wallcovering libraries vary at each Hirshfield’s location. Call in advance if you are looking for a specific book, and ask if the book is checked in. Our stores are seeing a steady increase in customers looking for wallpaper which is very exciting for us wallpaper lovers.

{friday finds: x marks the spot with cross-stitch}

This awesome painted cross-stitch mural caught my eye back in March of 2011 when it was featured on Bloesem. I’d never seen anything like this before; I was so inspired by Eline’s creativity I was going to paint my own cross-stitch mural. Well, that hasn’t happened… yet, but I’m still impressed and inspired by such lovely work. Wonderful cross-stitch pieces are showing up in the design and DIY worlds. Was Eline’s work the catalyst for this emerging trend? Or is cross-stitch gaining popularity because of the renewed interest in all that is vintage?

Cross-stitch carpets

Unknown

I can’t tell if Bambi is painted or stitched;  it doesn’t matter because it is so endearing. And paired with the crocheted throw…perfection.

Spring 2012 at High Point – from Gan

Close up of rug from Bliss 

Eline Pellinkhof via Freshome

 Eline’s painted cross-stitch patterns add a touch of whimsy to any room. Painting lets you customize the colors for any space in your home. Hang an empty frame on the wall and paint a cross-stitch project inside it. You can go big or small with picture frames.

Peg board cross-stitch project from Beci Orpin

Cross-stitch with the versatile washi tape 

Inge Jacobsen

*Explanation Required Pinterest Challenge with how-to steps

What’s old is new again. How fun to see the traditional cross-stitch design transformed into new and exciting pieces for modern day interiors. What’s next? This line from The Rocky Horror Picture Show popped into my head:  I’m shivering from antici—–pation.

Addendum: I found this very cool painted floor cross-stitch. Oh, the possibilities.

{friday finds: home sweet home}

Here’s the story of a lovely lady, who saved 30,000 bottle caps…

This story warms my heart in so many ways: ingenuity, creativity, recycling, the want or need to express your personal sense of style, and my favorite, yard art. Olga lives in a small, isolated Russian village (north of Mongolia) and saved bottle caps until she had enough to cover her home. She crafted the designs after traditional macrame motifs and animals in her area. Pretty amazing, eh. You can read her story and see more photos here, but these insightful comments say it quite nicely:

Our magic comes from within, inspired by the world we inhabit and the resources we stumble across. How to teach people to listen to the small voice that guides them to the plastic bottle caps, and allows them to be viewed as beautiful? Olga? How did you do it?

Resourceful and fantastic. best things come from necessity and imagination.

Have a glorious weekend. And maybe you’ll think of Olga and be inspired to do something…big or small, it makes no difference.

{friday finds: what’s new at the design studio}

The staff at the design studio are very excited to share a sampling of new pieces which are arriving weekly, as a result from their last buying trip to High Point Market. More news from the showroom is they’re adding two new lines into “the mix,” and one line will be exclusive to the Hirshfield’s showroom. More on the new lines when pieces start arriving at the showroom.

Pillows!

Handcrafted from reclaimed wood this one-of-a kind sideboard is the focal point of any room, even if you don’t have convex mirrors and boom wall sculptures to glam it up.

Close-up of sideboard doors

Reclaimed bench just unpacked and waiting for a cushion.

Love the detail of the doors.

Boom sculpture on a table or on the wall.

Love purple? These corbel bookends and throw lend the right amount purple to a room.

Twisted vines

The metal grouping looks like birch trees in the fall.

Laying Lotus flew off the walls before Christmas

Laying Lotus used as a centerpiece

Aren’t these one-of-a-kind pieces absolutely gorgeous? You know they are. The photos don’t do them justice. I guarantee you’ll fall in love when you see them.

Can objets d’art be multi-taskers? The staff at the showroom seems to think so:

• Boom wall sculptures can be hung on the wall or placed on a table
• Glam it up with mirrors like the showroom did, or keep it simple with a few mirrors
• Wooden column capitals turned candle holders, grouped together, or used as a single, chunky statement piece
• Laying Lotus piece used as a wall hanging or centerpiece for a table; this piece mixes cool and warm metallic finish
• The versatility of the pieces provides an opportunity to use them in multiple rooms

It’s like Christmas at the showroom with the new pieces arriving. Look in the near future for an update on the showroom’s new lines.

Also, as evident by the red tags in the photos, there are still sale items available. Custom made, fabricated headboards are $400 and $500, high-end sofas for $900. Leave a comment if you’d like to see photos.

I hope you enjoyed the “what’s new” theme song.

{friday finds: questions? just ask}

aqua seafoam paint

suggestions for color to go with BM Pomegranate

Pashmina paint color which wallpaper to choose

is there formaldehyde in “touch of gray”

Hirshfield’s gray paint combos

 Maya Romanoff glass beads

window treatment cordless

Sikkens products for decks

Hirshfield’s platinum ceramic matte vs regal matte paint

decorating with pickled wood

Benjamin Moore and best selling mellow yellow white paint

anaglypta wallpaper backsplash

is the color zen retreat by Hirshfield’s a good color for a dining room

window treatments for nursery

Hirshfield’s paint sheens

what color is better for a basement apartment?

paint color for exercise room

what color complements the color Kalamata

which paints does Hirshfield’s sell

This is a list of search terms or queries people have used, which in turn, landed them on the Hirshfield’s Color Club blog. Hirshfield’s would have loved to respond to these queries but we weren’t given the opportunity.

 Is the color zen retreat by Hirshfield’s a good color for a dining room?

This search term brought the viewer to Hirshfield’s blog, but the only mention of Zen Retreat was in a “Colors Predictions For 2011″ post. The viewer found out Zen Retreat was Kathy’s go-to neutral, but nothing about dining rooms.

Aqua seafoam paint?

What’s the viewer trying to figure out with this search? Do you want to use this color in your bedroom? Bathroom? Is this a popular color? Hirshfield’s color experts would love to share their educated opinion on the topic of seafoam.

Dear Mr. H was old school Hirshfield’s

 All you have to do is ask. On the home page of the Hirshfield’s Color Club blog, left side of the page, is the category Ask Your Questions. This is where you ask, “what color complements the color Kalamata?”

Ask Your Questions also gives Hirshfield’s the opportunity to ask you additional questions. The more we know about your project the easier it is to suggest the best colors, ideas, or products.

Question away, Hirshfield’s experts want to share their vast knowledge. Use your real name or a fake name, your e-mail address will not appear on the screen.

Your style. Our expertise.