Home as Canvas and Art Gallery

Interior painting and artwork have an intimate relationship. The way that light reflects, the color tones shifting against the other’s presence. It is no small thing to choose the right location, lighting, and wall color for art, or to choose the right wall color when those factors have been set. [...]

2024-03-21T07:59:00-04:00March 21, 2024|

Community Member Spotlight: Our Beloved Writer/Editor

Longtime readers of our print newsletter may have noticed that not all of our articles are about paint or painting (fun topic for us, but maybe too repetitive for you) and that most of our articles are written by me or Julie Feinstein Adams — plus the occasional featured guest, [...]

2024-02-23T13:47:00-05:00February 23, 2024|

Architects and Designers: Who does what and how do they work together?

The field of home building and remodeling has a clear path from design to construction, then on to “the finishes,” and lastly, the furnishings. After the initial design plans are complete, architects can and often do play a role throughout the construction of the project. But, when do interior designers [...]

2023-09-22T21:11:00-04:00September 22, 2023|

Arana’s Bay Area Home Services Buyer’s Guide 2023

Welcome to our list of trusted colleagues in the home services, contracting services, and building and remodeling industry! Our team has personally vetted these providers in our two decades of serving with or beside them for our shared clients. We hope that this guide is a resource for you, our [...]

2023-08-23T12:41:00-04:00August 23, 2023|

Anatomy of a Victorian – The Not So Secret Symbolism of Decoration

As painting contractors, we revere the inspiration of the architects responsible for the many historical and modern styles of housing in the Bay Area. In particular, we are awed by Victorian-era homes. While painting these beauties, we feel that we get to reopen the channel for whatever inspiration was brought [...]

2023-08-04T15:12:00-04:00August 4, 2023|

Designers’ Favorites: Dawn Carlson on White Interiors

We recently interviewed a number of prominent Bay Area interior designers on their favorite shades of white for painting interiors. In this post, Dawn Carlson weighs in. Carol Perry and Dawn Carlson of MAS Design Dawn Carlson, MAS Design (https://masinteriordesign.com/): Sherwin Williams’ Incredible White How would you describe your design [...]

2022-11-02T14:14:00-04:00November 2, 2022|

Meet Our Professional Color Designer: Cass Morris

When embarking on a new, fresh paint job for their home, whether inside or out, our beloved clients are almost always faced with a tough decision: What color? For exterior painting, this is even more challenging because, in addition to this being the one time they may paint their home [...]

2022-11-01T11:56:00-04:00November 1, 2022|

In the Garden: Maintenance Is in the Details

By Suzanne Arca, ASLA, ALPD, CLCA Founder and Principal, Arca Design Group There’s more to landscape maintenance than just clearing weeds and pruning. Though it may quickly tidy up the place, not every landscape responds well to quick “mow and blow” treatments. Keep in mind that each plant species reacts [...]

2022-11-01T09:42:00-04:00November 1, 2022|