If you are looking for a high quality painting company in the Naperville, Aurora, Wheaton and Geneva areas, Jalapeno has some great services that are always standard with your interior or exterior painting project.

Most painting companies show up and simply put paint on your home.  When you partner with Jalapeno you will always get:

• Free Color Consultations with our trained Designers
• Background checked employees, NO SUBS!
• Promised start and completions dates for your painting project

We work hard to make you feel secure in your decision to partner with us! To schedule your FREE Estimate online simply click HERE!

Here are some great comments from a client in Naperville who had us in to do some interior painting! She posted this on Angie's List.

"The job was done in a very professional manner, from estimate to completion. The owner visited for an estimate with a detailed contract signed before the job was scheduled. Scheduling was quick and easy. A crew leader comes the day before work begins to look at the job and confirm paint color and start time. Workers were on time, polite, and as nonintrusive to my home life as possible. They were VERY careful to use a lot of coverings to protect my home from paint drips and splatter. They did a very nice job, and I am not someone who is easily pleased."

Are you ready for your Holiday guests? 

If your Naperville Area home or business could use some TLC give us a call!  Jalapeno still has some openings for your interior painting project in 2009!  Whether you need the Guest Bedroom repainted or some drywall cracking patched, we make it easy with our online Job Scheduling!  Just click HERE and you can schedule a Jalapeno NOW, our painter for the day for smaller projects or click HERE if you have a larger, multi-room project and schedule a time for your free interior painting estimate!

Jalapeno Paint Werx, Inc. announces its second $5,000 Charity Paint Giveaway Event - A Jalapeno Christmas.  Nominations are now being accepted for deserving area families or nonprofit organizations in need of painting services. The 2008 Naperville Area Chamber of commerce Small Business of the Year Award Winner (5 under 5), will select one recipient, based on need, to receive $5,000 in free paint, labor and materials.

A Jalapeno Christmas was started by Jalapeno founders, Tom Reber & Bruce Watson.  Jalapeno Paint Werx employees will consider all nominations submitted and then vote on the family or organization they feel is most deserving.

2009 has been a tough financial year for many people – this is Jalapeno’s way of helping!  Perhaps you know someone who is struggling due to a job loss, medical bills or other financial difficulties and a new coat of paint on their walls would lift their spirits.  Jalapeno wants to know about that family.  Maybe there’s a nonprofit organization that is doing fantastic things to help others, but their office space could use some spice and inspire them to continue their good work.  Jalapeno wants to know about that organization.  Jalapeno has been honored in the past to bring joy to others and meet the needs of previous winners and they look forward to doing it again this year.

Please submit nominations, including stories and/or pictures, to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   no later than December 4th, 2009.  Additional information on this giveaway may be obtained by visiting their website at  www.jalapenopaintwerx.com , by contacting Tom Reber at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 630-527-1829.

This week we welcome Judy Baker-Blanks, CKD (The Kitchen Lady), to share some great tips when considering a kitchen remodeling project.  Judy can be reached at:

tkl design group       

The wonderful days of summer vacation are over for this year.  The kids are back in school and we’re now back in the same old kitchen we’ve been planning to “do something about”.  How do I start?  What should I think about first?  I know I don’t want to spend a fortune, and I’m afraid the “sticker shock” will be more than I can recover from.

Here are three questions to consider when trying to decide if it’s time to remodel the kitchen.

• Adequate space:  Make sure your satisfied with the amount of counter space, cabinet space and floor space.  The position of your refrigerator or shape of your counter may be taking away from a use full area.
• Traffic flow:  If there’s more than one cook in your household, you may want to consider making room around the main work space.  If you enjoy entertaining, you may want an open plan kitchen that allows for more social interaction between rooms other than the kitchen.
• Efficiency:  If your appliances are dated, they may be costing you more money than you expect.  New technological advances with dishwashers, disposals and refrigerators can save you a considerable amount of money and be worth the investment.

See you next month with more tips to consider when planning remodeling your kitchen….and bath.

This week we welcome our good friend Sandy Knutson-Grebner as she shares some tips on how to chill out with the Blues...

By:  Sandy Knutson-Grebner, Look Again Interior Redesigns (630)862-5472

www.lookagainredesigns.com

Tranquil and calm are two words that describe how a room painted in a blue hue can make you feel.

With all of us having such busy lifestyles these days, sometimes you need a room in your home that allows you to slow down, feel relaxed and secure.   Because blue is a universal color and practically goes with everything (think blue jeans) there is no reason you shouldn’t consider one room in your home painted blue.

Think of the blues in nature paired up with green grass, sand covered beaches and fresh fallen snow.  All of these are base colors in which you can accessorize with yellows, oranges and reds just to name a few.

Here are some of my recommendations for a blue room in your home.

·         Benjamin Moore –

o   Blue Dragon #810

o   Soft Jazz #809

o   Sapphire Ice #808

o   Midnight Oil  #1631 (very dramatic)

Complimentary cream colors that would look beautiful with these blue hues are:

·         Benjamin Moore

o   Early Morning Mist #1528

o   Soft Chamois #OC-13

Whether you decide to decorate in a more formal style or the very casual style, there is a blue for you.

In decorating, having the “blues“ is definitely a good thing!

Here are some great thoughts on the hottest color trends for 2010 from Heather Klein of Emmy & Me Interiors, Inc.

 Emmy & Me Interiors helps inspired Chicago land women transform their homes into
visual stories that speak of interests and passions through efficient living spaces. 
Youthful ideas and a mature sense of style combine for total expressions of you.

 Emmy & Me Interiors, Inc. recently met with fellow designers to talk about the industry color trends of 2010 and would like to share some of those observations and information.

The 2010 color palette is broken down into 4 groups:

The first group will be dominated by neutrals; for those who are comfortable in playing it safe.  Look for grays and browns that have more taupe in its hue.  Like Dior Gray, Sandlot Gray, Café Royal, Sherwood Tan and Squire Hill Buff.

 “Historically, when money is tight and there is a concern for the longevity of a given color, people have a tendency to play it safe with neutrals,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute’s executive director.

                        The next group leans toward the exotic places we dream of; so think of colors that are (spicy and metallic); use Copper, Bronze, Crushed Velvet, Fall Harvest, Sedona Clay and Golden Dunes.

                         For the daring, try (BRIGHT) from the third color group which brings bright and bold hues in the mix.  Yellow Finch, Twilight Blue, Peony and Salsa are great colors to try using for any accent pieces in your home. 

                         Lastly, we look to our outdoor surroundings, the colors of nature; like plants, vegetables and soil.  So try Summer Plum, Forest Moss, Sycamore Tree, Golden Bounty, Bittersweet Chocolate and an Affinity color called Caponata.

            So start 2010 with a fresh outlook and amazing color palettes.

Check out Heather’s website by clicking here!

We are happy to announce the start of a multi-week article series on design.  Over the next several weeks we will provide you with some great design tips, trends, 'do's' and 'don't s' by featuring some of Chicago's premier Interior Designers. 

To kick our series off we bring you the current ASID Illinois President, Hilary Sopata, of Interior Visions Designs, Inc.  Please visit her website by clicking HERE!

Choosing Color

 By the time you see a color scheme in discount department stores, it is already too late.  Interior designers are already specifying the next best color scheme.  For instance, yes, you can still buy a lot of brown items at the store, but off-blacks and whites with a hint of color are the new neutrals.  How can you successfully choose a lasting color scheme, then?

 5 Tips for Choosing Colors

1.     Check out your closet.  If you wear a lot of celery green and raspberry, then chances are you won’t be happy with periwinkle and butter.

2.     It is OK to pay attention to color fads, but become familiar with your true colors.  A client of mine wanted robin’s egg blue and chocolate brown which has been out of fashion for a while now.  Instead we chose oranges and yellows which look much better with the client’s skin tones.

3.     Choose complex colors.  A plain green is never in style.  The “in” color is always sage or grass or celery.  Choosing a color that has a lot of depth to it will give you much more flexibility in the future.

4.     Go for emotion!  Yellow is cheerful and red makes your heart beat faster.  Warm colors should be used in more active rooms of your home while cool colors like blues and purples should be used to create a more relaxing atmosphere.

5.     Be BOLD!  Most people are afraid of color, so step out of your vanilla box and don’t be afraid to go over the rainbow to color your world.

Hilary Sopata, ASID, LEED AP

Interior Visions Designs, Inc.

847.825.0450