Beautiful house boat in Alameda we had the pleasure of painting

Barnhill Marina, Alameda + Cass Morris Color Design

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Colorful and very personalized exteriors are a hallmark of the floating homes in Barnhill Marina, like this one. As described in Alameda Magazine, Barnhill Marina is a cheery neighborhood of “Artists, working professionals, and retired people (who) all cohabitate in (this) little oasis of zany-colored, kitschily-decorated mini-Victorians. Some are big kayakers, sailors, and paddle boarders — others just enjoy observing the water.”

While anything goes, and usually the bolder, the better, this project’s colors were (like all projects that Cass consults on) chosen with an eye toward how the home will look in relation to its neighbors. The pops of orange against the blue echo the gray body with red trim of the home on one side, while also harmonizing with the orange body of the floating home on the next berth down, and echoing the warmth of the sunny yellow exterior of the home when facing the other direction.


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Hillside Avenue, Piedmont + LMB Interiors

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We love the gorgeous and unusual Farrow and Ball paint color that this family chose, with the guiding hand of Laura Martin Bovard and LMB Interiors. This was a fun remodel! (Many of them are.) Choosing to paint kitchen cabinets not-white is a big deal, a bold move, and yields lovely results.

When a designer thinks outside the box, and her clients are willing to follow her there, magic happens.

A kitchen paint color that is not white; and the cabinets are show-stoppers.

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Birch Court, Rockridge + McCutcheon Construction

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For this Rockridge classic turn-of-the-century Craftsman-style home, we were tasked with the job of painting ever-so-carefully around the gorgeous factory-finished blue cabinets, custom built by Segale Bros.

We were so pleased that the homeowner agreed to a high-gloss, oil-based white. We loved the choice to paint the rest of the cabinets a different color, and how each color and finish highlights the distinctive grain of the wood top on the island. This is a wonderful indoor-outdoor project we did with McCutcheon Construction.

We painted the exterior of the home, as well as the kitchen, and the new, expansive, back entrance that opens up to the garden.

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Montclair Ave, Oakland + HDR Remodeling

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We LOVE this gorgeous ADU, designed and built by HDR Remodeling!

ADU stands for “Accessory Dwelling Unit.” And, while ADUs might have once been the place that gave you breathing room from your Mother-In-Law when she came to stay for extended periods (not for us, we love our MILs!), these days the ADU serves many functions, from an income-generator via Airbnb, to a home-office or homeschool room, to a way to re-welcome-home adult children who previously left the nest, or shelter other relatives long-term — creating an accommodating extended family compound in uncertain (and even in better!) times.

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Roberts Way, Hillsborough + LMB Interiors

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Before Laura Martin Bovard of LMB Interiors worked her magic in this kitchen, these walls were a bright coral red! And the cabinets, a nondescript white.

Laura’s inspiration to spec this light azure blue color transformed the space, plus the addition of a gentle buttery-golden patterned wallpaper on one wall to add a little sunshine. It’s rare that clients will go with a color on cabinets that is not white!

We don’t know who specified the angry red for this kitchen’s previous incarnation, but we think all can agree that this is now a calming and welcoming kitchen that we’d like to cook in.

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Thousand Oaks, Berkeley + The Grubb Co.

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This gorgeous home in Berkeley was in need of an interior refresh in preparation for sale. As can be the case with many older homes in the bay area, the previous owner had lived out their years here, without attending to ongoing maintenance. When we came in, the place was a mess. Our craftsmen restored this home to glory with extensive repainting of the walls, cabinets, built-ins, and the beautiful black front door. We restored and painted the whole exterior as well.

This project is proof that paint can breathe new life into a home.

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Proctor Ave, Oakland + Cass Morris

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This modest split-level home, built in 1939 in the Montclair district of Oakland, is typical of the housing stock of this area. A modern stucco structure with wood trim that features clean lines accented by detailed painted-metal railings.

The expansive backyard patio is the hidden gem, a beautiful part of the house made more so by the right colors and paint application. Cass Morris, architectural color consultant, customized this color palette to match the homeowner’s personal style.