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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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Room Makeover Tips — On A Budget!

Annie Elliott | March 28, 2017

Thank you, House Beautiful online! I’m very proud to be featured in Lauren Smith’s article about interior designers’ favorite ways to impact a room in a big way — on a small budget.

Best Benjamin Moore paint color advice from DC interior designer Annie Elliott, bossy color, for living rooms, bedrooms, and more Farrow & Ball, Benjamin Moore, best paint colors, paint color advice, Edgecomb Gray, Windham Cream, Summer Shower, Arsenic, Black, Black Forest Green, Shaker Beige, Opal, Whispering Spring, China Blue, Wedgewood Gray, Mizzle, Million Dollar Red, Monterey White, Simply White, Ivory Tusk, Simply White, Super White After twelve (!) years of bringing color into people's homes and lives, I've learned that certain paint colors just come through again and again. Here are my go-t0 paint colors for every room. Best Living Room color (neutral): Edgecomb Gray Best Foyer color (and Living Room color - color :)  ): Windham Cream Best Dining Room Color: (a navy blue - F&B?) ***Bathroom: Summer Shower or Whispering Spring Wedgewood Gray? China Blue? Kitchen - choose a light green, maybe F&B? Mizzle #266 Basement: Ivory Tusk With Super White trim. Best trim colors: With medium toned colors, such as Edgecomb Gray - OC-117 Simply White With deeper colors, such as HC-45 Shaker Beige - HC-27 Monterey White Best baby girl's nursery color - Opal Alternate uses: Guest room, bath Best baby boy's nursery color - pick a green Best accent red: Million Dollar Red 2003-10 Best Bedroom color: Farrow & Ball Light Blue Best color for shutters: 2047-10 Black Forest Green Best color for handrails: Black Best Powder Room color: Wallpaper! Freshest new color: Arsenic. I'm dying to use this color. Maybe in a Dining Room
Getty image via House Beautiful online

You have exactly one guess as to what my #1 tip is.

That’s right: paint ;)

But there are more! Check out the article when you have a second — I guarantee you’ll pick up a trick or two.

Bossy color | Annie Elliott interiors is a design firm based in Washington, DC. Annie’s interior design work and decorating insights have appeared in such publications as Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and, most recently, Bethesda Magazine. 

Category: Color + paint colorTag: before and after, budget, budget decorating, decorating advice, decorating tips, design on a dime, furniture, makeover, paint color tips, room makeover

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Sep 10

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Pink, green, and a splash of dark orange come together to create this sunny, summery bedroom 🪷

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Sep 9

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It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! This week, feast your eyes on @timorous_beasties Fruit Looters. TB claims that William Morris’s Strawberry Thief pattern inspired Fruit Looters, but only the name indicates the connection: Strawberry Thief, Fruit Looters…get it? Whereas Morris’s iconic pattern is medium-scale, rhythmic, 2-D, cartoon-like, and muted, Fruit Looters is the opposite in every way but subject matter. The scale is huge, with the foliage “stripes” providing a geometric order, and it oozes TB’s trademark edginess. The crisp pattern is finely drawn; pull it apart, and each element — a flower, a bird — could be in an English botanical print. Fruit Looters comes in vivid, saturated colorways, some with a metallic sheen, and dramatic black is present in all.Recently, a client (who originally introduced me to Timorous Beasties!) and I used Fruit Looters wallpaper in her stairwell, in the Alabaster colorway. The drama. Oh, the drama!

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Aug 27

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SO much fun to create this entertainment space! This client already had a living room and kitchen…this space is for friends and family to relax, talk, and just BE. What’s your favorite feature?

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Aug 26

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Happy Wallpaper Wednesday! There’s no better paper to feature in August than Schumacher’s Citrus Garden 🍋 🍊.The Swedish designer, artist, and architect Josef Frank created the Citrus Garden pattern as a fabric in 1947. The hand-drawn, whimsical, quintessentially mid-century, irresistibly cheerful design exemplifies Frank’s philosophy: “The freer the pattern, the better.” I’ve used Citrus Garden fabric a few times, but shockingly, the pattern wasn’t on wallpaper until 2017!! 🤯 Deprived for so long!! As soon as the opportunity arises, I’m running, not walking, to get my hands on this wallpaper.@schumacher_midatlantic 📸 @angieseckinger

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Aug 19

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All of a sudden, novelty accent lamps are EVERYWHERE! Some are cute, some are…inadvisable ;) If you just can’t resist a lamp in the shape of a snail, my latest blog post has recommendations for proceeding responsibly💡

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Aug 12

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Happy Wallpaper Wednesday! Let’s talk about Cole & Son’s Acquario, shall we?Iconic Italian artist Piero Fornasetti designed Acquario for Cole & Son in the early 2010s. He was going through an ocean phase, captivated by its mysterious depths 🐠, so he developed this fish design and put it first on plates and fabrics, and then, luckily for us, on wallpaper. We just installed Acquario in the Print Room Blue colorway in a client’s tiny practice room (he plays classical guitar), and we LOVE it! That big old blowfish, just gliding along…he kills me.Featuring: @cole_and_son_wallpapers @fornasetti

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Aug 9

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Green, light blue, and a touch of navy come together to create a room that's bright, welcoming, and incredibly summery 🥰 🥰 🥰 #interiordesign #summercolors

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Aug 7

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Given that my brain is still on an academic calendar 🤷‍♀️ , I thought I'd do a little review and see which blog posts resonated with you the most in 2025-26. Who knew that a post from 2011 (!!!) is still in the top 5! Click over to the post to to see the year’s greatest hits. #interiordesign #designinspo

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Jul 24

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Get ready for a dramatic before and after! We transformed a playroom into a dining room, and the result is pretty amazing. (But still fun!) #wallpaper #interiordesign #diningroominspo
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