Salisbury Designs

10/09/2026

Now that I’ve touched or painted every wall in my whole 1960’s ranch house (that used to be entirely two tones of grey), I just wanted to share the top 8 Valspar colors I’ve used to connect both floors even though they have different feels. I’m definitely a Lowe's Home Improvement girl, so Valspar has always been my go to paint option. These are my favorite neutral colors that don’t lean too cool/blue or too warm/yellow (like the white + beige I have everywhere), my favorite pops of color that still have a grayish undertone (like the blue + green I have several places) & the fun colors I only have in one room so they can be a bit brighter & louder (like the purple + clay colors). Save this if you’re looking for just the right shade of one of these colors I would obviously recommend because paint can totally transform any space & using the same color in different parts of your home is a good way to tell a whole color story throughout 🎨

10/08/2026

In between new projects I decided to make over this plain old white bookcase into something so much more warm + adorable. I reinforced the back, added a cute hand cut wood trim piece along the top to give it some dimension, wallpaper to the very top for more interest and then pulled two colors from that to paint the body in Milk Chocolate & the moveable shelves in Canyon Earth. It looks so sweet now and will be listed on the local Denver fb marketplace soon {$45} if you’re interested!

10/06/2026

10/06/2026

Now that I’ve finished painting the last wall to match the beige on our first floor, the entire basement from the stairwell leading down to the furthest guest room is completely updated to our style now! It has come a long way + taken a lot of time, but it functions perfectly for us now. We have added a 2nd living room, workout space, game/pub area, movie room + office/guest room (not even including the secret workshop behind the wall) in such a small amount of square footage because it is now all designated in separate zones that all still feel connected with the same colors & old/traditional style. I am so happy with all the details, designs + new lighting I added including magnetic, rechargeable picture lights over the dart board & painting and motion activated hall lights from the dark movie room to the bathroom. It is all so functional, but how I wanted the whole floor to feel from walking down into the basement & all the way through it. That’s what good design, DIY, a bunch of decor from thrift stores + lights from Amazon can make any space feel like ✨

10/01/2026

Our summer basement refresh is finally ALL finished 🎉 I kept adding more projects of course so it took a little longer than planned, but the whole entire space is all tied together now. Since it’s a long space, the separate zones make it feel like different functions but the same colors & decor make it feel connected. I got rid of the last light green wall from back when the basement had more garden vibes (that I had to patch a lot) + painted it the same Freshly Baked beige as our kitchen to make the whole house feel connected. It feels lighter & brighter when you walk downstairs, but the dark green, brown + dark wood still make it feel moody as well so it’s the best of both. I also added some more lighting so we don’t always have to use the bright can lights in the ceiling by hanging these two perfect magnetic, rechargeable painting lights from Amazon over the dart board + actual painting. They were so easy to install & work so great because you just pull the magnetic piece off to recharge them. I also added different gold lights with puck lights inside to the fireplace so they pop a little more and now all the lighting in the basement feels great. It has just the right feel + function for each part of it, so I’m happy with the Old World/Nautical/British/New England vibes of the whole space ✨

09/30/2026

We’ve lived in our 1960’s ranch for almost 10 years now & boy has it changed! You’ve seen so many different designs come and go if you’ve followed me a while but I love seeing them all together when they pop up in my old photos and I genuinely loved every stage. It’s gone from all white + grey everything (when we bought it in 2017) to eclectic (I mean ceiling tin as backsplash), to farmhouse (white shiplap everything) to moody (dark grey + arches everywhere) to a mix of warm, old world shapes & modern lines that it is now. Every different style brought me closer to being comfortable with my own style now and has taught me that even if you live in small spaces like my family, they can always be elevated + changed with even just some simple materials or paint. I’m sure my style will still evolve over time, but my kitchen definitely feels the most functional, most like me & most homey now.

09/29/2026

The top of the basement stairs + last basement wall were the only two walls left to paint a color to match the rest of the house, so I painted them both my favorite beige Valspar Freshly Baked 🍞 Since I was already painting the stairwell I decided to add a cool design to the ceiling to mimic the kitchen, added more cedar slats to mimic the island beadboard in the kitchen, added some wallpaper from the stairwell + a cute curved wood hanger for hats to bring in the Dark Walnut from the stairs as well. Now all the beige color on our first floor matches, but the pops of dark colors bring you into the different moodier basement vibes. The curves all work together on the ceiling + on the wood hanger and I replaced the light with something smaller, curved & ribbed to match the slat wall. I printed a photo of one of our favorite mountain hikes in CO (Lake Isabelle) that I desaturated the colors to match the wallpaper to hang above the hat hooks & it looks so good all together 😍

09/28/2026

I got this photo from a client last week of her updated mudroom build we made back in the Spring this year that looks so good! We originally added a shiplap panel to the wall to the left of the custom shoe storage, but it turns out it wasn’t their style + there wasn’t a good place to end it, so she decided to hand paint the wall herself (because she’s an amazing muralist with Murals by Lupine Co.), which looks so much more their style & obviously looks so cute! I’m ready to build more benches like hers under the window that add so much character, practically + intentionally to any unused space, so reach out if you’re needing something built in added to a nook, kitchen or bedroom too 🛠️✨

09/24/2026

Every Halloween + Christmas that last few years my daughter comes up with a new idea to add to our wood cut out decorations & they just keep growing and growing. Last year we added the Billy Butcherson (if you know you know) headstone, so this year she wanted something from Hocus Pocus 2. We went with the flying silhouettes of the sisters on their broom, swifer + roombas that turned out so cute! I just pieced together some leftover plywood using wood glue + supports on the back, painted the background with a mix of colors, hand drew on the Sanderson sisters, painted them in black & then hot glued some solar twinkle lights around the edges. I drilled a hole in it to thread some rope through to hang it in our front tree, so check back to see how the solar lights turn out at night… 🌚🧙‍♀️🧹

09/22/2026

If you missed my post from yesterday I’m back in business in a different way this time, so be sure to read that (pinned post) if you’ve been looking for a custom fireplace or bookshelves like my own 🔥 Now that I have two beautiful + grand fireplaces in my house, I have twice the reason to decorate them for the seasons & I’m so excited 🎃 My favorite place to find any kind of seasonal decorations or ones I won’t use all the time is thrift stores because it saves them from the landfill, are always so much cheaper + I love all the cool treasures you can find that you won’t just find in every other big box store. I absolutely love to layer heights, textures & colors to make a cool scene since I have two chunky size “mantles” now. I know that’s not everyone’s style but these would both look so beautiful very minimal as well. The best part of hiring someone to make a fireplace for you is making it just exactly like you would want to fit your vision, home + style best 🏠