Behr Marquee Launch and a California House Tour

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Behr paint. In fact, earlier this year I made my love for them even more official when I joined their “DIY Expert” team and began bringing you monthly projects done with their oh-so-fabulous Marquee line of paint. Marquee has been available online and in select stores for a while now, but just this month the Marquee line launched into the majority of stores across the US, making it more readily available for everyone to try. To help celebrate the launch, Behr DIY Experts and other bloggers and media gurus from across the country gathered at Behr’s headquarters in southern California for a weekend of fun, and I was so delighted to be a part of that amazing group.

Getting to California from my home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was quite the adventure in itself. Donnie is the travel wiz in our family, so he is typically the one that orchestrates our trips, and I rarely travel without him. I was a little nervous, but he assured me that I could do it, and off I went in the wee hours of the morning to catch my flight. Imagine my delight, then, when I ran into my friend Amy from The Blissful Bee during my layover in Dallas! She was headed to NYC for an event with Better Homes and Gardens, I was headed to Orange County, and we were only one gate apart! Talk about a small world!

{Look at how cute she is! And clearly I am sporting my “I have been up since 3:30 am and have been traveling all day” look. Don’t judge. 😉 }

My day got even more delightful when I arrived in California and was greeted at the airport by my sweet, sweet friend Chelsea from Making Home Base! She and her adorable daughter made the trek up to visit me at last minute’s notice, and I was beyond thrilled to get to spend the afternoon with them. We checked out the area, we ate yummy food, and we eventually made our way back to my hotel so I could check in.

Love this girl!

And speaking of the hotel… have I ever mentioned that my hubby is obsessed with travel points? My hubby is obsessed with travel points. Because of this, we are in all sorts of “clubs” and “membership programs,” and when I checked in, the sweet girl at the desk said to me, “Oh, I see you’re part of our blah blah blah program, so I gave you a free upgrade.” So let me just say that a normal room at this particular hotel was extremely gorgeous, so the upgrade was out of this world! It was seriously bigger than my first one bedroom apartment. Amazing. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you probably saw my little Flipagram video, but here is are a few pics in case you missed it:

And the area surrounding the hotel wasn’t too shabby either 😉 :

But anyway, onto the reason I came to California in the first place! Our first stop with Behr the night we arrived in California was to visit the Sunset Magazine Idea House. Behr supplied the paint for the entire interior of his gorgeous house in Manhattan Beach, and it certainly was a beautiful testament to their amazing paint! Sunset Magazine’s goal with their idea house each year is to showcase trends for decor and design in the local area, and as you’ll see the house is extremely representative of California style– modern, light, sleek, and stunning!

There’s a lot to see, and this post is getting long already, so I’ll try to keep the commentary to a minimum and just let you gaze at the lovely house! Here’s what we saw when we pulled up:

Gorgeous, right?! And that was just the first look. Let’s head inside…

(c) Behr

I was in love with the dining room table, and that high ceiling was just fab!

(c) Behr

Just off the dining room was this cozy little lounge area. You can see the small butler’s pantry area as well.

(c) Behr

The office– so cozy and truly California-esque!

(c) Behr

I see so many white kitchens in blogland, and I adore them, but I loved seeing this dark kitchen that feels fresh and welcoming. And that backsplash– swoon!

(c) Behr

You always hear home decor people say “get the furniture off the walls,” and I think this living room is a prime example of how following that rule really makes a room look cozy and inviting!

Heading outside…

(c) Behr

(c) Behr

Comfy seating area and ah-mazing pool!

Another view of the pool from the master bedroom deck. We heard that the Duck Dynasty family owned the house behind the pool and that they were considering buying the idea house as their guest house! {Don’t quote me on that. That’s just the rumor! 😉 }

And speaking of the master bedroom…

(c) Behr

It’s pretty incredible! Love that light fixture!

(c) Behr

(c) Behr

And the master bath… we could have had a party in there since it was so big!

(c) Behr

I think this may have been my favorite room in the house. It was designed as a “retreat” for the mom in the house {oh so that’s why I love it… 😉 }, and I just fell in love with the moody, cozy vibe. The walls are painted with Behr Marquee’s Naturalism, and now I think I need to find a way to incorporate that color into my house!

(c) Behr

The playroom was another favorite. That mural is fabulous– it was super textured and really added a lot to the room.

And you know this second bedroom was right up my alley… aqua, chevron, and tons of beautiful texture? Yes, please!

Needless to say, It was a completely amazing night, and what made it even better was getting to spend it with these incredible people:

Photo: BehrPaint

From L-R: Mandy {Sugar Bee Crafts}, Kate {Catching Up with Kate}, Lindsey {The Pleated Poppy}, Christina {The Frugal Homemaker}, Caylin, Jennifer, Jennifer {Clean and Scentsible}, Debra, Amanda {Small Home Big Start}, Kim {Newly Woodwards}, Robin {All Things Heart and Home}, Liz {Liz Marie Blog}, me!

And just when I thought the visit couldn’t get any better, it did. We spent all day Thursday touring the Behr facility, learning everything from how they choose and name the colors, to how they formulate the paint, to the science behind it, and we even got to see paint actually being made, packaged, and shipped off to Home Depots around the country!

From top left: The beautiful Behr Marquee color display {look for it at your local Home Depot!}; Paul the painter demonstrating Marquee’s one coat coverage (Most amazing painter ever. We were all trying to figure out how we could get him to come to our houses to paint!); The tools the pros use!; Color swatches in Color Marketing– pretty pretty!}

(c) Behr

We even got to do a craft (painting picture frames) with the Marquee paint– so fun!

After a yummy dinner at Watertable, the restaurant at our hotel, and a quick walk around Huntington Beach the next morning, we headed home. I almost got stuck in Dallas due to an issue with our plane, but I made it home eventually! 🙂

Clearly it was an awesome trip! I already loved Behr paint, but seeing the passion of the people behind it and how much love and pride goes into making it, I am sold for life. If you’re interested in seeing projects done with Behr’s new line of Marquee paint, check out my living room, master bathroom, entry, and desk— love!

I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of the Sunset Magazine Idea House! Come back tomorrow to check out my fall home tour!!