Design Doctors and Careful Painting spice up Burnsville rambler

Careful Painting just finished a complete redecorating job in Burnsville at the Eric and Pam Dahlager household. A friend who works with Eric at Waste Management recommended us to the Dahlagers, and we painted the entire main floor for them, in addition to staining a new patio door to match the existing cabinetry in the kitchen.

Pam and Eric have a fairly simple lifestyle, but the decor was dated, and as Pam said, it was time for an update. Motivated by a recent trip to Italy, the Dahlagers called in the Design Doctors to help redecorate six rooms and the hallway of their 30 year old suburban home.

The Italian scheme is warm and inviting. Design Doctor Victoria selected colors from the Devine paint line to complement the existing walnut-stained woodwork. She also helped Pam select everything from flooring to furniture. Pam raves about the ease of working with Victoria and about the Design Doctors’ service – Victoria even checked Pam’s online selections to make sure they would harmonize with the overall design scheme and provided her expertise on a shopping trip to HOM Furntiure.

The Dahlagers sold their old furniture to a young neighbor who was getting married, and the entirely new furnishings do make a dramatic difference in the look of their home. More importantly, they are comfortable, functional, and fit into the Dahlagers busy lifestyle. We love the flooring and carpeting Victoria and Pam picked together, and so do the Dahlagers. Pam is an independent consultant for PartyLite candles, and her own products are the icing on the new design – the warm glow and scent of the candles coming from attractive sconces and candle holders multiplies the warm, cozy effect of this design scheme.

This was our first experience working with Devine paint, and we were interested to see if this line held up to its reputation of being a high-quality product. We were very pleased by the results. Devine says that its product goes on like yogurt and looks like chiffon. Those aren’t necessarily the words I would have picked to describe the paint, but there’s no doubt that it is creamy, easy to work with, and dries to a great velvety finish. Victoria chose the colors Filbert for the living room, Muslin for the hallway and guest bedrooms, Reef for the master bedroom and bathroom, and Cafe for the kitchen, with an accent of Cabernet on the soffit above the kitchen counter. The colors harmonized well and drew the eye from room to room. As much as we like Devine paint, we did use our favorite paint, Benjamin Moore Aura, for the Cabernet red accent above the kitchen counter. We’ve found that for dark colors like Cabernet, Aura is unmatchable in its ability to cover, ease of touchup, and effortless scrubability. In fact, both Devine and Aura provide easy cleanup, which may be important in the near future as Eric and Pam are contemplating adopting a golden retriever puppy after the unexpected death of one of their hunting dogs over Christmas.

There are a few details left to address (Pam is not quite done installing the sconces that will show off both her entryway and her PartyLite candles) but the overall design is done, and was complete ahead of schedule, which allowed the Dahlagers to do some entertaining in their new home over the holidays. The warm colors are incredibly effective; they work together to create an Italian-inspired refuge from Minnesota winters and compliment the dark woodwork perfectly. The Careful Painting crew enjoyed this work, and we’re glad to have had a part in such a great re-decorating project.