Answers to your most frequently asked décor questions

I’ve noticed that I get asked the same décor questions about my home over and over and I thought it would be a good idea to put them all in one place for easy reference. In this post, I provide answers to your most frequently asked décor questions. The topics range from paint colours to décor sources to how to do make a slipcover. I’m answering your ten most frequently asked questions.

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What colour are your walls?

This question most frequently refers to my living room or family room. In our living room, the walls above the board and batten are painted in Classic Grey by Benjamin Moore. The board and batten itself is painted in Sheer by C2. These are two of my very favourite light neutral colours. Classic Grey is a soft beigy grey that is warm and inviting. Sheer is a crisp, clean looking white that has a touch of softness to it without being yellow. I used Sheer on the trim and doors throughout our entire home. If I ever get the chance to repaint our kitchen cabinets, this is the colour I would choose. Both colours look good under most lighting conditions and work amazingly well with most other colours.

Our family room is painted in Sparrow by Benjamin Moore. It is a mid-tone blueish grey and it looks great paired with white and grey. Yellow or gold accents really pop against this colour. I often get asked if Sparrow has blue or purple undertones and it definitely does have blue undertones. In some lighting, there may be a very subtle purple undertone. This isn’t a “true” grey, but it has warmth and personality. If you want to see the tutorial on how I installed the board and batten click here. The post also shows before pictures of this space.

What colour are your kitchen cabinets?

Our kitchen cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore Seashell. This colour is a warm white that borders on soft cream. It’s not a crisp white, rather it’s more of a classic and subdued colour. As with most cream colours, it can be hard to pair with other colours. It looks best with greys and wood tones.

When painting kitchen cabinets, prep work is everything! Make sure to clean and degrease, lightly sand, prime and then apply a specifically formulated cabinet paint, like Benjamin Moore Advance.

Are your kitchen countertops concrete?

This question comes up every time I post an image of our kitchen on Instagram. No, they’re not concrete, they’re actually laminate. I honestly feel a thrill every time someone asks if they’re concrete though. When we built our house a decade ago the kitchen design centre had our cabinets on display paired with a gorgeous quartz countertop in this exact colour. Quartz counters weren’t in the budget at the time so we decided on an affordable laminate in the same tone. The plan was to change out the countertops ourselves at a later time. Well, it’s ten years later and our kitchen looks the same! The plan is to eventually change them to white quartz as I love the look of an all-white kitchen.

Our grey laminate counters have held up pretty well, though there is some slight warping at a seam that is near our sink. Overall, I would recommend this style of laminate if you are on a budget and want the look of concrete. Real concrete counters can be DIYed economically and provide a more textured and rustic appearance.

Where did you get your coffee table/poster bed/family room ottoman from?

These are the three most asked about items of furniture in our home. The coffee table in our living room was purchased twenty years ago from a local Ottawa store called DeBoer’s which is no longer in business. I haven’t been able to find a replica of it, but I’m linking a couple of options with a similar feel. It has classic styling that has stood the test of time. I like that it looks good in a variety of settings, including beach house, farmhouse, cottage, and traditional style homes.

Our poster bed was purchased 25 years ago from an ancient department store in London, Ontario called Kingsmills. I adored this store in the heart of downtown London. It was an old-school department store with three stories of home goods, furniture, and clothing. This bed was my first furniture purchase and is made of solid wood with an inlaid ironwork circle. I still love it even though sometimes I long for something a little more modern.

Our tufted ottoman is from Wayfair. It did require some assembly and every now and then I have to tighten the bolts that hold it together or it gets a little wobbly. It has lovely upholstery and has held up quite well. It’s wonderful if you have young children and worry about them bumping their heads on the coffee table. It also doubles as a footrest.

How has your IKEA sofa held up?

Two years ago, I purchased the Ikea Froslov sofa for our family room. I wrote a complete review of that sofa here, and I’d say it’s held up pretty well. The cushions and support are still like new with no sagging or indenting of cushions. The fabric itself has had a couple of small issues. The first one is that the cushions are not removable and do not have slipcovers, therefore they are a little more challenging to clean. We have a carpet/upholstery cleaning machine that does a great job, so this hasn’t really been a big deal for us. The second issue is that the fabric has pilled very slightly in one spot. It’s only in the one spot where everyone seems to sit because it’s the perfect TV-viewing spot. I only notice it when I’m quite close to the sofa and it doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse from when I first noticed it about a year ago. I definitely would recommend this sofa if you are looking for a sleek, neutral, and affordable sofa. It’s definitely best for families without pets or young children.

How do you keep your white walls and furniture clean in a house with three boys?

I’m finding it a little easier to keep the walls clean now that my youngest is nine years old. He’s past the messy fingers-on-everything stage and the walls-are-my-canvas stage. We have a few simple rules in our house that really help to keep white surfaces and fabrics clean. Everyone has to wash their hands when entering the house and after eating. And only non-staining foods and drinks are allowed outside the kitchen or dining room. That’s it- just two things! We can enjoy popcorn movie nights in the family room and nuts, raisons, and dry snacks in the living room, but juice, chocolate, and messier things are off limits (a least for the kids).

I have a simple cleaning regimen to keep things clean- slipcovers are washed and upholstery steamed about every 6 months. Kitchen slipcovers and chair pads are washed every two weeks. I wash the walls and do some paint touch ups about every 6 months and I repaint the trim every 2 years. I tend to repaint the walls in higher traffic areas about every 5 years.

What are the best places to purchase furniture and décor in Canada?

I find that the number of brick and mortar stores in Canada is declining but there are more online options now. I plan to do a full blog post on this topic for all my Canadian readers soon, but I’ll share my favourites here. For furniture, I love Urban Barn, Homesense, Structube, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Restoration Hardware (though it’s mostly out of my price range). Some local Ottawa stores I love are MY Home and The Upper Room. I also visit thrift stores, antique shops, and keep an eye on local buy and sell listings. For online, I like Wayfair and Overstock. For smaller décor accessories, I like to visit small shops and Etsy. There are too many to mention here, but I love that I can find unique and personalized items and support small shops at the same time. I can’t forget to mention that I love making home décor, from wreaths to knit blankets to shelving units.

Where did you get your blanket ladder from?

I made all the blanket ladders in our home and I shared a blog post on how to make one in under an hour. It’s surprising how easy it is. I provide the complete tutorial and the shopping list you need to take to your local hardware store. The wood can be purchased for less than $20!

How do you make a slipcover for a chair?

I learned to make slipcovers a long time ago because I wanted to be environmentally responsible. Also, I had a budget that didn’t include new furniture very often. I recommend purchasing the best quality furniture you can afford and purchasing or making new slipcovers later on when you want a new look or the current slipcover becomes worn. Slipcovers can be a lot of work depending on the size and style of the piece, and there are multiple steps to achieve a professional look.

I promise to share a complete tutorial soon. I recommend taking a look at some Youtube videos of the process as it’s a very visual process. Any blog post or book you use should have lots of images that document the process.

Where are your living room and family room rugs from?

I change the rugs in our home quite often, but the current rug in our living room is the Tieton Area Rug (8’ x 10’) from Boutique Rugs. Our family room rug is the Nuloom Ivory Vintage Odell Rug (8’ by 10’) from Rugs USA. Both of these companies are online retailers located in the United States. I also enjoy purchasing rugs from Target, IKEA, Urban Barn, and Crate & Barrel.

Summary

I hope this has helped provide answers to your most frequently asked décor questions. If you have any other questions about paint or décor sources, you can check out my home resources page here. I’m also happy to answer any questions you may have.