You may have noticed that my April 2018 posts have been slim…but all for a very good reason you will certainly hear about in future blog posts!  We just returned from a 16-day vacation to Japan, and in one word, it was amazing.  I can’t wait to sort through the 1,000+ photographs and bring you design highlights in my upcoming blogs!

But on to this week’s post which covers an event I attended yesterday at Gillette Stadium - the 2018 New England Paint Expo, sponsored by Sherwin-Williams; a show that introduced some cool new products that got my “Designer” brain working again.  

​So what were the Paint Expo highlights?  As you can see, it was a gorgeous day at Gillette Stadium where the show was held in the indoor concourse area next to the VIP seating.  Wow, Sherwin-Williams put on a first-class show at a really cool venue! Here’s some information on the products that I found the most interesting:

​Ideapaint Magnetized Dry Erase Walls:  Ever wonder how the tech companies acquire whole walls of dryerase board…and custom-color and magnetized to boot?    In the photo below, Julia Romano of Ideapaint shows how her Boston-based company delivers that capability.  This got me thinking that for my clients’ homes, a dry erase wall would be perfect for kitchens, mudrooms, playrooms, home offices, and over a planned “charging-station” area.  Endless applications, and you can have it the same color as the rest of your walls, or perhaps a different color for a feature wall.  I have seen lots of paint options in recent years for chalkboard walls, but chalkboard is so old school and messy…this Ideapaint concept is terrific.

The magnetized dry erase wall starts with a layer of thick wallpaper with a magnetic medium that is applied over drywall - they call this the “pull.” Then a layer of paint (whatever color you want) and then a dry-erase sealer topcoat.  Julia showed me how the rare earth magnets really stick to this wall, with enough holding power for school schedules, kids’ artwork, and all the other paper that transits through our homes and offices.  There is also an option for a magnetized paint as the first layer, but the holding power isn’t as great as with the wallpaper layer.   Their products won’t interfere with wi-fi reception either, which is an important factor in our wireless world.   See more details at the Ideapaint website:  http://www.ideapaint.com/

Sherwin-Williams 2018 Paints: Sherwin-Williams showcased all their paint formulations with new products for super quick-dry (Snapdry Door and Trim Paint), Loxon Self-Cleaning Acrylic Coating, Extreme Block Stain Blocking Primer/Sealer, Duration Home with Moisture Resistance Technology, and many others.  

Heather Bourgeois of Sherwin-Williams gave a superb talk on the Healthy Home Movement and recent advancements in paint products that work to actively work to reduce and neutralize harmful chemicals in our interior environments.  We’re not just talking about minimizing the chemical footprint when applying the paint…we talking about paints that interact with formaldehydes, odors, mold, mildew and microbials to render them harmless.  Wow, paint sure has come a long way in the past couple of years!  I was grateful for the education on these new technologies and paint offerings to better advise my clients who are understandably concerned about improving their indoor air quality.  I’m also intrigued by the Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel (shown at extreme left in the photo below) which represents a water-based hard-shell solution for trim.

Sherwin-Williams also presented all their new 2018 colors and whole new fan-deck.  I have all these new color tools in place and am excited by the new more vibrant color offerings.  Can you tell the color palettes have changed from a few years ago?  You can find  more details on the Sherwin-Williams website at https://www.sherwin-williams.com

Thanks Sherwin-Williams for inviting me to the show at Gillette Stadium!
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Call me to see all the new paint offerings and discuss the ins and outs of color AND paint technology that will brighten up your dream project. 

Happy Spring to all my readers!  I just returned from the International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE) show in Tampa - an amazing 52-hour trip filled with inspiration and fun. It was great to see all the new window covering product offerings arriving on the market, meet many talented designers and window covering professionals, and catch up on the business of design with my colleagues. Oh, and the 78 degree weather and beautiful sunsets at the downtown Tampa Convention Center location were especially fine since it was snowing in Massachusetts.

During the show I tried to see all the vendors and attend as many of the presentations as I could fit in. Here are my 5 design takeaways from what I saw:

• #1) Motorization of shades and window treatments is totally mainstream now.  Costs are way down, and there are lots of options out there in terms of systems and vendors.  There were so many booths with motorized shades!  Do you remember the days before TV remotes and cell phones?  No? Well, window treatment motorization is entering the territory of must-have, or at least, “if it saves me time, let’s do it!”  I even saw a motorized mosquito screen shade, very cool.
• #2) Bold banding on the leading edge of drapery panels. There is a trend toward bolder (and wider) patterned tapes on the leading edge of the drapery (the part toward the center of the window). Several vendors, including Creative Threads and Trimland, featured these new wider tapes. As shown in the photo below, Creative Threads showed linen/cotton blend panels with beautiful embroidered 5” banding on the leading edge.  What a statement those panels would make in a room!

​From what I saw the new trims from Trimland are fresh and transitional…perfect for a family room, living room, or bedroom.   

Even though it was a quick trip what I saw and learned was well worth the time and travel adventures. Major kudos and thanks to the IWCE 2018 organizers for arranging such a terrific show!