Thank you for the compliments! I really fell in love with every piece when I first saw them. I do like the beads but I was never totally happy with the look. I just couldn't seem to find anything else. I agree about the material not matching the heaviness of the furniture. I would have been happier with the window treatment if the material wasn't shiny and silky and was a bit more thick and heavy with the beads. Plus I think I would have prefered the brown to be much darker. I just found some dark brown suede panels with a leather band at the top. I purhcased them loved the look but it too didn't match the furniture. So back to the store they went just 40 min after purchase. I think maybe I will give the material stores a try. I might find some thick heavy maroon material that I can fashion into a window treatment. I have searched all the stores and haven't found anything that sings to me. :( Thanks for the link. They have some really nice stuff! Hallway I still need some advice on a green color for the hallway. I will be adding a white chair rail. As for the bedroom I do worry that if I get a smaller one I might regret it later.... still I don't want it to overpower the dresser or the room either. I don't have to have a mirror there, I could always hang it over the headboard instead.

Hi, I've been stalking Ellen kennon for the last two weeks. I've sent her pictures of my rooms and have been emailing back and forth ever since. She has been extremely helpful and sent me swatches of what she suggested I use. I'm really excited to use her paints. She actually sends the formula to glidden prof. paint and you pick it up there. So, it should be local for you. Glidden paints now owns ici. I did see that the ici paints uses (and incidently glidden) the same manufacturer that Fine paints of europe uses. And, I've always heard good things about the ici paints. Anyhow... In my room, I have these wonky grey green couches that I can't match anything to. And, lovely brown orangy trim to boot. She recommended mushroom, her tobacco road knockoff, sage, and several others. I really want to go with the powdered pebbles, but she didn't recommend it. I just love the color. She said mushroom would work best. It is a light beigy, greyish color that I do love (not as much as that darn powdered pebbles- the perfect taupe). And, she reformulated it so it didn't have those funky pink tones. For the gallon size, it was 52 dollars in flat. Maybe 53 in satin. I spend that for regular old BM (not aura) paint. Originally, I was planning on FPE paints, which was I think 125 per gallon. I contacted FPE for help. They have a color specialist. Though emmett was helpful, Ellen was much easier to speak with and get ideas. FPE literally has thousands of colors. Ellen only has maybe 100 to 200. Easier to deal! I'm super indecisive. So, I've been collecting paints/painting for months. I was going to hire a color consultant and pay the 200 dollar fee. Until, I saw some information on EK on here. She will help you and is really nice. I think you should seriously look into her paints or at least give her a call/send her a picture. I think it was funcolors that speaks with her/did some sort of interview with her. You might search for funcolors and see what she says.

Pains me to see such good intentions go to waste though writing about the experience here will help others. This situation is why some builders advocate for being involved in the design process. Even if just a consulting roll, a collaborative team effort might have prevented this unfortunate outcome. I think designers often fear their vision will be watered down but with the right people involved, costs and alternative construction details can be evaluated as the design is developed without sacrificing design or aesthetics. Design-bid is a bit antiquated for those seeking higher performance. In my experience, everyone benefits in a collaborative approach. To address some confusion above, Passive house (PassivHaus Institute PHI) is a German born building certification. Passive House US (Passive House Institute US PHIUS) is the N. American split from the German version. Passive Solar Design is the traditional term used to describe getting free heat from the sun. Being mindful of those strategies can help reduce cooling loads in TX, like stretching a home from east to west helps minimize windows on those vulnerable directions. Keeping Homes Cooler is a blog I wrote for new and existing homes. Often Passive House homes end up with passive solar design elements as do other designs looking to maximize efficiency with no extra upfront costs. Some passive house projects are approaching cost parity with typical crappy construction. I always enjoy Steve Baczeck's articles in Fine Homebuilding. If you can't do Passive House, at least do Energy Star. This will involve a third party energy rater who will help push a home towards current international building codes. Though these codes are rarely adopted and enforced locally, they represent a very good balance of cost and efficiency. Involve the rater early in design process. Matt Risinger is an awesome resource for building in TX and anywhere in the south. I would follow his advice as much as possible. His videos and articles on airsealing, insulation, waterproofing and humidity control are particularly important.

Not a pro but had this issue with a bedroom. A flat white can be a good base/primer coat. If most of the room is one color and less of the room is the other color, test your choice of paint on both colors before completing the room. If it the original coat of paint seems to bleeds through either wall, or if it appears you have "defects" in the color of one wall, then consider a flat white paint primer on that wall primer before painting the full wall. Would not choose a gloss paint to cover a mistake -- they can end up just emphasizing it.