White walls can appear naked without proper decorating, but they can be a great neutral and multi-use color like black and gray. To create balance in a white room, add pretty drapery, large scale art, beautiful lighting, and moldings on eye level. White paint can elevate mood by clearing the mind and giving space for creativity.
To spice up a white-walled room, start with a rug with some color, but not too much, and ensure there’s cream in it. Paint almost everything you don’t like, as paint is your best decorating friend. Add a pretty throw and pick up the floors to create breathing room.
Compromise over decorating your home by using an Ottoman, coffee table, pendant light, good wallpaper or painting for your wall. Consider using an Ottoman as a coffee table, a pendant light, or a good wallpaper or painting for your wall.
In the dining room, consider adding color and interest by reupholstering seats, adding art, and accessorizing tables. If the room still looks dull, remove clutter and move/add new wall art.
To get laser-focused and create quick home decor projects that make a big impact, move furniture around the rooms in a different configuration, remove clutter, and add new wall art. Remember to stay informed about the do’s and don’ts of working with white paint and what to know before popping open a can at home.
📹 *NEVER* Have These 20 POPULAR Home Design Trends…If You HATE Cleaning!
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How to compromise when decorating?
When renovating a home, it’s crucial to maintain a respectful atmosphere and share ideas freely. Even if one partner is more skilled or experienced, each person’s input is equally important. Pay close attention to strong feelings towards a piece of furniture, color, or another decorating element.
To avoid compromise, create a friendly atmosphere and prepare for the project together. It’s not all about you, but putting in the work together is essential. A well-decorated home is possible for everyone, and it’s important to find mutual inspiration from sources like Pinterest, Instagram, and home magazines. Talk about what you want in a living space and create a wish list based on your shared wants. This approach ensures that the renovation process is enjoyable and doesn’t lead to conflicts.
Are white interiors going out of style?
In 2024, white is out of fashion and brown is in, indicating a trend towards creating more characterful, cozy, and comfortable homes. Brown is an easy-to-work-with shade that can be treated like a neutral, making it an ideal choice for adding character to any space. It’s a versatile choice that can be used as a neutral, but not overly moody. Design expertise will be provided in your inbox, including inspiring decorating ideas, beautiful celebrity homes, gardening advice, and shopping round-ups.
How to make a white wall more interesting?
White is a popular paint color due to its versatility and ability to enhance the sense of space. It can optimize natural light and make the space appear cleaner. However, all-white interiors can sometimes feel bland or lack personality. To warm up your living room, consider adding green, warm timber tones, a Chicago dining table, a metallic accent, textures, color in accessories, and mixing in black.
Adding green, warm timber tones, textures, and color in accessories can help create a more inviting and inviting atmosphere. Ultimately, the choice of paint color should be based on personal preference and the desired effect on the space.
What is the 2 3 rule in decorating?
A room may be divided into two sections, the larger of which is a 2:3 space and is intended for larger furniture items such as sofas, beds, or dining tables. The smaller of the two sections, which is also a 2:3 space, is designed to accommodate secondary items such as storage or seating. In order to achieve optimal organization, it is recommended that furniture be arranged in accordance with the 2:3 rule.
What to do when you hate your new paint color?
To improve your wall color perception, consider adjusting the lighting in your room. Change the temperature of bulbs and position of lighting sources, and try to create a dynamic lighting plan that changes with the light of the day. Adjustable bulbs can help you experiment with the right settings and create a dynamic lighting plan.
Add more color to your walls, as it can impact your perception of the paint. Consider adding an accent wall, which can make your other walls look dramatically different. Choose the right complementary color for an accent wall and consider using wallpaper to create patterns that can have a variety of effects on your perception of the paint. By experimenting with different lighting settings and adding more color, you can create a more visually appealing and visually appealing room.
What to paint when you don t feel like painting?
The author enjoys painting household objects such as clocks, globes, and telephones due to their geometric simplicity. They also enjoy painting books, perfume, makeup, and glasses/sunglasses. Jars with items like candy, paper clips, or rubber bands can be painted with simple pencil outline or light blue background. Drinks, such as cocktails, coffee, and tea, are also favorite due to their geometric simplicity. The author enjoys adding garnishes to these drinks and continues to enjoy the process of painting these objects.
How to add warmth to a white room?
White walls are a popular trend due to their brightness and versatility, making them ideal for updating home decor. To add warmth to a white space, consider using wood, greenery, rich textures, mixed metals, and architectural details. Wood is a great way to inject warmth into a space, as its natural colors and textures connect us to nature. White walls offer an excellent blank canvas to pair with woods of your choice, such as light oak for flooring.
Accent chairs with wooden frames and mixed-material coffee tables with matte black metal can also add interest to a space. Overall, white walls can be a game changer for those who enjoy a well-styled interior that feels anything but stark.
How do you tone down a white wall?
White walls can create a layered, tranquil look in a home, with neutral colors like brown, grey, green, or blue. Black objects can add an edge to the room. While all-white walls can give a stark feel, bold patterns and muted shades can be used. A statement rug can be a focal point, and white walls can give shabby chic a minimalist twist. All-white minimalism has been popular for decades, and painting walls white can be a fitting allusion to the past. Retro or period furniture can be complemented with a white touch for a touch of style.
What is the rule of 3 in decorating?
The Rule of Three is a visual design technique that suggests grouping objects in odd numbers to create a balanced composition that is visually appealing. Interior designer Kristin Marino believes that grouping objects in odd numbers is more visually pleasing and memorable than grouping in even numbers. This technique is applied to graphic design, artwork, and photographic compositions. Interior designer Paige Goodloe loves using the rule of three in interior design, as it helps create balance and beauty in a space. The rule can be applied to any design element, from color, pattern, texture, furniture and decor placement, and organization.
What color instead of white?
French Grey-Pale is a popular Little Greene neutral, suitable for interior spaces with a middle tint of blue and red. It is flexible and suitable for various lighting and spaces. Benjamin Moore Metro Gray is another great neutral with warmth, while Sheep’s Wool is a cool-toned option for blue-toned spaces. Natural stone colors like Portland Stone, Bath Stone, and Clay are becoming popular as warm neutrals for creating restful living spaces. These neutrals are perfect for creating comfortable living spaces throughout the seasons.
Can you paint over paint if you don’t like the color?
In the event that painted walls require repainting, it is recommended that a primer be used in lieu of multiple coats of new paint. This is due to the fact that the existing paint may necessitate a greater quantity of paint than the new paint, thus rendering it more cost-effective to cover the existing paint with a primer.
📹 4. What To Do When You Hate your Home
Have you ever lived with feelings of discontent about the 4 walls that you call home? Is it not as picture perfect as you wish it could …
Tall or full tile walls in a bathroom make cleaning easier and keep the bathroom better looking and in better condition. In a room that’s all about liquids, it removes the worry about anything, including lotions and hair dyes, splashing and marring walls. Porous walls aren’t sucking liquids up like a sponge if they are covered with tile or any type of waterproof sheathing. It’s simply way more sanitary Unlike paint, tile is not affected by moisture and can be easily wiped clean, and on a full height wall, splashes rarely reach the top 1/3 of the wall, so the top 1/3 needs a wipe down only a few times a year For any tile job, I would recommend using epoxy grout which is non-porous, does not absorb anything that hits it, and never needs sealing. The truth is that most people do not choose full height tile walls because the cost of installing them can get expensive. As for the suggestion that, in a kitchen, going with no backsplash is better than going with a tiled backsplash, that is plain lunacy The sole purpose of a backsplash is to protect the wall. Anyone who values their home, or cleanliness, in the least would always have a kitchen backslash. While tile isn’t my favorite choice, it’s still light years better than no backsplash at all. Re open showers, they only work well if properly designed. Most people simply do not have enough space to engineer them correctly. In smaller spaces, it’s better to use a door or shower curtain. As for kitchen sink size, it is best to go with the largest single-bowl sink your kitchen can accomodate.
Gotta push back on the idea that no backsplash at all is a wise alternative to grout. This is a TERRIBLE idea. If you think getting sticky kitchen grease off of semigloss paint is easier and non-damaging to the paint over time than grouted tile, you’re high. Solution: Use larger tiles and darker colored grout. That’s what I did in my new house and it’s working out great!
1. Open shower door 2. Floor to ceiling tiles 3. Slated wood grooved wall panels 4. Shag rugs 5. Fake olive trees or branches 6. All white homes 7. Marble counter tops 8. Boucle material on arm chairs or sofas 9. Viscose rugs 10. Wood floors in the bathroom 11. Open kitchen shelving 12. Maximalism 13. Copper Accents (which tarnish) 14. Fluted furniture 15. Furniture with individual glass panels 16. Painted wood floors 17. Dual bathroom mirrors 18. Full length bathroom windows 19. Small tiled back splash in kitchen 20. Trench drains in bathrooms
In our most recent home we have Formica laminate on the kitchen walls from countertop to the underside edge of the upper cabinets. It’s a brilliant idea! Don’t know why I’ve never seen this anywhere else. Solid surface, nearly indestructible, easy to clean, doesn’t conflict with other design elements in the kitchen…I love it. And it’s 35 years old and still looks as clean and crisp as new!!💕
The best, most practical decision I ever made was putting in a very nice, 22 inch, white, cast iron, single basin kitchen sink in my master bathroom. With a pretty kitchen faucet with a sprayer. This has worked out so beautifully, I can’t believe it. First, hubs has no issue using the sprayer to rinse his hair trimming down the sink. This ended a 30 year war in our marriage. But it’s also worked out great for us for keeping toothpaste and water splashes IN the sink. When I wash my face, all the water I splash goes right in, even the water that wants to run down my elbows. It’s big enough I can wash my hair or rinse out hair dye easily. Cleaning is so easy with the sprayer. The sink has been repurposed as a infant/toddler bath, dog bath, and once an emergency cat bath. It proved to be invaluable while we were remodeling our kitchen. I was able to turn the master bath into a kitchen of sorts that got us through the ordeal. Talk about handy. There have been zero drawbacks to the sink/faucet combo. It’s an absolute must for any bathroom build we do in the future.
Although not a trend, but having pets for me is the way to ensure you will need to do daily cleaning. I absolutely love my two dogs and could never live without them, but recently I sent them to a friend’s house for a month, when I preparing my house for sale. I felt the weight of the world come off my shoulders. Cleaning took just minutes and no worries about finding that elusive fur in all the nooks and crannies!
Yes. Someone finally talks about dust!!! I can barely keep up with the dust in my home, I can only imagine someone with a huge house having these things! Every time I go to the store or see something online, my first thought is “is it worth dusting?” 😂 I thought I was the only one. I’m glad other people think this way too. It’s straight up a full-time job to keep your home clean. I like having stuff, but not a lot of it. I don’t consider myself a “minimalist” bc my belongings bring me joy & happiness. But I’m not a “maximalist” either. I need what I need & that’s it. I don’t buy a bunch of crap I don’t need bc it “looks good”, like do my guest come clean my home? No, didn’t think so lol. I’m not out to impress anyone. I live comfortably the way I want. I’ve been complimented several times by nurses & hha about how nice my decor is & how they wish they could decorate like mine. It’s a nice compliment, but I’m still not going out of my way to impress people. My home reflects me & my happiness. I’ve always liked the art of feng-shui, the space in your home is really the only thing that matters. If you don’t have good space or design your home with natural lighting in mind, your home will just look like a bunch of crap in a house. But my mom is the wisest, before she passed away, she used to say, “My home’s not dirty, it’s lived in”. I cannot emphasize the importance of that saying. Most people want their home to look like magazines or a home improvement shows on tv, but that’s the thing, what they don’t tell you is that it’s all FAKE.
Being a tile installer myself, I know most DIYer’s and even many professionals never SEAL the grout on their backsplashes. It only takes a couple hours, and should be done once every year or two. Then it’s VERY EASY to just wipe off that spaghetti sauce with a sponge or paper towel, and it will not sink into the grout. Should also do this with tile floors and showers as well. PS – I think there’s also a sealer for marble counter tops???
A word about Copper handles, door knobs, fixtures, etc. The reason many manufacturers select copper is due to its antimicrobial properties. Copper kills microbes, almost on contact. Therefore the copper is there to kill germs. If you are allowed to go into a current hospital, you will witness many handles and grabbing hardware, even faucets, which are copper. The copper therefore has an intended medical purpose for existing and more of it (not less) should exist in American kitchens and bathrooms.
Another viewer commented that “Sometimes designers think so hard about aesthetics that they forget the practical purpose of what they are designing”. This is so true. I’m going into the interior design field, but I’m also very practical! Anything you bring into your home has to be easy to clean! I agree with all of your choices, but one: I would rather clean the two mirrors in the bathroom over the two sinks. The oval shapes of the sinks and the mirrors complement each other so well. Also, I have marble on the walls of my shower. Big mistake! Marble is so delicate that you need a special cleaner so you don’t ruin the finish. High maintenance! Thanks for your articles!
Good points here. I was sad to see the slatted walls, but when you mentioned they could be hiding places for critters, I was with you.😲🕷 Regarding the maximalist point, I think collections in general are not a good idea. My grandmother collected salt & pepper shakers and she was always trying to pay my cousins and I to clean & dust them. My mom collected earrings and displayed them on corkboard but grime and dust were too difficult to keep up with them. I used to be a collector of nautical items but shells and related items were a pain to keep clean, so I no longer keep collections. All my knick knacks are good sized and and easy to dust. Thx for the article.🙂
Not to disagree with you but I would like to point out a couple things about grout……today’s grout already has the sealer combined in the mix and at best, if you have areas where you have may have large splashes or large spills of grease or tomato sauce, it is recommended to reseal those grout lines with a grout sealer only once a year or so; it comes in a small bottle with a sponge applicator on the tip. All kitchen counter surfaces that are natural and porous require some maintenance to protect its’ beauty. My granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms look as gorgeous as the day they were installed twenty-nine years ago because I apply a wipe-on sealer about every six months. I wipe it clean constantly every day, so once every six months or so to apply a granite sealer, only takes a moment to reapply the sealer with a cloth and then it is good for at least another six months. A good vent in the bath room will rid it of moisture from showers and prevent mildew and again…… reseal the grout lines in the shower stall area where it receives the highest amount of water once a year; only takes a few minutes. .The grout stays clean, mildew free and very easy to wipe down once a week. Easy…peasy. Everything requires some maintenance but in today’s age, most manufacturers will suggest the easiest and fastest way to maintain their product.
My husband and I have a massive, open shower. It’s beautiful… except for the cheap walmart shower curtain hung up with a $4 tension rod. When I hung it up, it felt like it was self defense. We’ve intended to install a glass door, but discovered that installing the shower WITH a soaker tub was a horrible mistake. Again, looks great. But that massive tub is constantly getting all of the soapy splash from showering. If I don’t use it at all, I have to clean it every week anyway. Now we’re probably going to pull the tub, rip out the thousands of dollars of six year old tile work, and just have an 8×8 foot shower… with a freaking door.
Our house is easy to clean. Real hardwood floors, no rugs, no upholstered furniture, minimum hardwood furniture, clothes are hund up, and nothing on surfaces. Use a boat varnish for real hardwood floors in bathroom and kitchen. The boat varnish seals the hardwood, it becomes waterproof and long lasting.
You’ve listed so much that I’ve agreed on for the past twenty five years! Grout is just awful to keep clean and I refuse to install tile because of the grout cleaning issue. I have a 1970s kitchen where the backsplash is the same as the counter top and it is the best countertop I’ve ever had – never stains, I can put hot items in it and it doesn’t affect it at all. I enjoy my countertop so much that I installed new floors to match it. Super easy and quick to clean the backsplash and wish it would come back into availability
Bathroom windows are a lifesaver! So much less condensation in the property otherwise you need a dehumidifier on all the time. The condensation ends up everywhere and travels far causing mould. Unless you live in a warmer climate. Would love advice on how to choose sofa fabrics that are easy to clean. I keep seeing people with kids and pets with white sofas and think that wouldn’t last me a week!
My bathroom shower has both half glass and no door and a full wall of tile it’s the easiest bathroom to keep clean. The water doesn’t go all over. It’s well vented do no mold or mildew. It’s curbless so the robo mop vac ensures I never have to scrub the shower floor. I love that bathroom. Mid tone gray grout hides a lot.
Very much appreciated on fast forward part. I just not looked until segment was over. I am so phobic over 8 leggers ( and I live in the rural where there are tons more than when I used to live in my urban home area that I still love) it is amazing I am still alive. Another trend I noticed: Gray. I live in a rental with gray counters in kitchen and washroom. Also, noticing a ton of gray in kitchen items at stores, especially 5 Dollar Tree, and gray items in general. Though off-topic and has nada to do with cleaning, but thought I add to the fact trends were being spoken of. Outside of the gray, I do love my current apartment and within barely any distance to where I need to go the most ( outside of seeing my only child ). Edit: Also no harm on repeated info, especially for folks who do not see every vid, or like me, a first time viewer.
Some of these were very eye-opening, I had never thought of before. Two things I would have to think twice on: – 1.the kitchen backsplash is there to protect the walls. They are much easier to clean than a wall. 2. I see your point on 2 bathroom mirrors, but I have always had 2 individual mirrors and have never had a problem keeping them clean. Amen to the rest though!
AMEN on the marble. We rented an apartment with a white marble entry floor. When we had snow or any dirt or pebbles or rock salt on our shoes, not only did it scratch the floor, but every time the door swung open open or back, the movement of the door dragging the salt back and forth, left deep grooves in the marble. Same with our master bath, floor to ceiling white marble, including, bidet, toilet, shower with glass door AND, a double sink vanity. But we moved in after a single man who only ever used one sink, as did we. Soone sink looked pristine and beautifully white, while the other sink was no longer shiny and showed years of wear and tear. Glad we learned that before we redid our own kitchen 5 years ago. No marble for me. 😅
I love a good inexpensive rug. I plan on changing out my rugs every year. I rotate several 8×10 rugs around my house. When they get dirty I clean them and put them in storage in the garage. It is cool when the orange one ends up in a new room for a while. 🥰 expensive isn’t everything. Clean is my favorite. Back splash is easier to clean than Sheetrock. You just wipe it down. 😵💫
My shower has subway tile. One day I’m going to rip it all out and put slab porcelain on the walls. I hate grout. The End. My shag carpet story- in 1975 my bedroom had burnt orange shag carpet in it. My best friend threw up on it at 2am after a night of too much Strawberry Hill. It was great fun trying to get it cleaned so my mother wouldn’t suspect.
What’s up with the dual mirrors in the bathroom? This has been a trend for the past 5 or so years, and….WHY? What was wrong with one huge mirror across the entire vanity? It reflected light better, it made the room feel more spacious, and you had better visibility of yourself (I like seeing that I didn’t drip toothpaste on my outfit, or check to see how my outfit and hair look with a quick sideways turn – can’t do that in a smaller, too-high-to-see-your-waistline mirror!) A one and done mirror for me (was it to increase our spending, since this trend encourages you to buy 2 mirrors?)
Glass coffee table I 💯 agree the only reason I have mine is because it was my mothers and it’s sentimental something I cannot replace but if it wasn’t it would’ve been out the door long ago- dirt gets trapped under the glass in the grooves and it’s so dangerous removing to have it cleaned it just too much!
I’ve had tile backsplash por 25 years in my kitchen, which I use everyday, and the backsplash is very easy to clean with soapy water. I don’t even have to clean it every day, only maybe once a week or whenever something actually splashes on it, which doesn’t happen that often since I used the lids of my pots and pans when cooking. It actually doesn’t even attract dirt not dust. They’re white with a faux marble design in very light pink and gray so the look is classy, it does not age. I’m in the process of remodeling and replacing my cabinets but I’m keeping the backsplash. I also have floor to ceiling tiles in my bathroom and it is actually a nightmare in the shower floor, but not in the walls. Easy to clean, elegant, waterproof, no need of painting. All you need is a swifer once in a while in the hard to reach areas and a rag with clear or soapy water in the areas with more traffic like around the sink, the towels, the light switch. I’ve remodeled my bathroom twice in 25 years but the tiles stayed.
I have an all white modern house with marble every where. I don’t have kids or dogs, I am very clean. The magic eraser gets everything out of all surfaces, so no worries. You like what you like and you put up with it for what you like. I say go for it! ❤ Note: the tile in your bathroom is WAY too dark 😂
I am so pleasantly surprised. Many of those things that are popular now, I didn’t like. Never really thought about why, so now I know why. Thank you! The one thing I’ve dreamed about is the open shower. I’ll need to really rethink my options for that and the tile options too. Glad to see this before we remodel. Good info and you have a new subscriber.
I have always had exactly the same thoughts and I presumed I must be a boring person. Very glad to see I was right to have those boring ideas. One thing I like to add is the need for a very large kitchen sink, not two smaller ones side by side which make it difficult to wash large pots. Over 50 years I have had two kitchen renovations done and each time those kitchen renovators tried to bully (truly, bully!) me into one sink only “because you don’t need two if you have a dishwasher!”. They only followed my wishes after I threatened them with going elsewhere.
In many countries I lived in Europe, the shower head has a mobile pipe so you just take it with your hand and approach the water to your body using the angles you want. Modern bathrooms have the fixed shower head and the mobile part. That means that if you use the mobile part, water do not splash everywhere.
Squeegee on ALL glass is the simplest way to go and always store them on a hook or rubber side up. Once the rubber is bent, you either have to soak in hot water for a few minutes to reshape it or possibly toss it, depending on what happens to get stuck to it. I’ve used this method for decades. If you happen to still have newspaper that works the best and remember to always use vinegar and water 50/50 ratio for best results.
The first thing I consider about everything I buy for my home is how easy it is to keep clean and whether it has cracks or crevices that attract dirt. I like everything clean. Always hated glass tables. Always hated carpet. Another thing that is very hard to clean is the rustic rough wood. Always full of webs and dust!
Where I’m from, bathrooms and kitchens are tiled floor to ceiling, or between top and bottom cupboards. Half tiled walls looks weird. Cleaning tiles and grout is really a non-issue. We also have dual basins and mirrors in the bathroom. Again cleaning is not an issue. We also have walk-in glass showers, open on one end, with trench drains. The floors of the showers are constructed so that water drains off away from the opening. The shower heads are also placed so that they do not spray towards the opening. The metal covers on the trench drains can be removed to clean them out if so required. The drains itself are designed in such a way that odours are trapped, similar to a u-trap. I have been cooking meals for 38 years and really don’t understand why cleaning spills is a problem. You mess, you clean it up immediately. You also get sealants to protect marble from absorbing stains. It seems most of your gripes are based on hearsay and not personal experience. We have had slatted walls, unplastered brick walls and never were there any bugs hidden in them. Maybe if one never cleans them, it could happen. Same applies to fluted furniture. You vacuum regularly and no dust accumalates there. You said the article is light hearted but really it is exagerated.
A good solution to the shower issues is to install a shower outdoors. This obviously works best in a hot climate. I made a surround with PVC fence material. Plumbed it with PVC and installed a $200 point of use water heater. Water splashing not an issue and neither is cleaning. Fifteen seconds with the pressure washer every so often works just fine. In addition to minimal maintenance, taking a shower outdoors is a sensual experience.
If you are set on buying marble countertops, have the contractor put sealant on it. You may have to reapply the sealant later, but the added cost is worth the protection. Never paint hardwood. You can slightly change the color with sealant. Painting the hardwood lowers the value of your house. I got a great discount on my house because the last owner painted the floors. It turned out to have red oak under the paint. The paint removal, sanding, and sealing took me over 3 months. Now the floors are beautiful. Put area rugs on your hardwood floors and secured runners on your stairs.
When I rehabbed my downstairs master bath I wanted the open shower, but am happy that I decided on having a door. My consideration was to keep the heat in the shower as the lower level can feel cold in the winter. I have 1/2 walls with glass on two sides plus the door. I always squeegee the walls and door after taking a shower and with floor to ceiling tile in 2 bathrooms I never have a problem with mold or dirty grout. The grout they used is epoxy grout that is stain and water resistant. I have a wood coffee table and a wood gate leg table that I put glass tops on. You don’t have to worry about water spots and scratches on the wood. My gate leg table holds potted plants. My son inherited my mother’s dining room set. He had a glass top made for the table because the young children were starting to damage the wood. I don’t like painted interior doors. I grew up with doors that were natural and varnished. When I purchased my home built in 1958 the doors were that way. I have lived here for 53 years and only recently did I lightly sand and re-varnish them. It is an easy DIY project too. There is no dirt or finger prints to worry about. I have no windows in either bath and I am perfectly fine with it. Fewer windows to clean is good for me. I do like my tile in the kitchen that covers the walls up to the cabinets. The tile is oatmeal color and the grout is brown. No problem looking dirty even if it is. Also the tile I picked for my master bath floor is 24″ x 24″. There are few grout lines to worry about.
Not sure if the trend hasn’t made it across the pond yet, or if the US has all soft water, but the one I cannot understand is black bathroom fittings. Taps, shower frames and even showerheads, they will be spotted with white within a day of use here. As for tiles. I took off the kitchen ones years ago and just paint the walls every so often Tiles in the shower, (open, but with a curtain across) I have covered with fablon, for now but will be aquapanels, or an all in one pod, when we replace the shower.
Use WD-40 to clean your stainless steel appliances. It looks great and keeps prints to a minimum. Yes, it works and the little old lady who sold me my appliances at Home Depot said this to all her customers and uses it on the showroom floor appliances. It really works, I have a husband who is like a toddler and touches stuff that all you have to do is use the hidden edge handle on our refrigerator to open it, not put your hands all over the place to open it.
I am from Brazil, so I’m genuinely curious: don’t y’all have large format porcelain tiles? I ask this bc floor to ceiling tiles are the norm here, but we have these big porcelains tiles (90×90 cm or 32×32 inches are usually the norm, but they can get so huge that we literally makes countertops and tables with just one piece), minimizing the use of grout (that are also thin, about 2mm or less), are SO easy to clean, maintain, relatively cheap to buy, and mimics the use of granite or marble so well that some are almost indistinguishable from the real stone.
A lot of people don’t know that the marble installers do not seal the marble after they install it that is something that you are responsible for doing your friend needs to seal her marble in order to keep stains out. They should tell you, but it’s in their best interest not to say that you have to have it replaced sooner.
I prefer heated ceramic tiles on floors and floor-to-ceiling tiled walls to carpets on floors and wallpapered walls with weird plastic tiles half way up. There are also glass shower doors with rubber on the bottom that open like regular doors and that fit snuggly onto tiled floors. They are much better than those metal thresholds on many shower doors.
floor to ceiling tie in the shower itself is a must. opt for 24×48 tile, very few grout lines to keep clean. Shag rugs hold debris like no other? dont believe me? hold one end and kick the fluffy side and see what comes out. I agree with everything you said. esp open shelves get dusty and greasy. unless you hold only plants or picture frames, dishes hell no.
Having grown up in a place where tile is used extensively I’m amused by the “grout is a nightmare” thing. Tile grout is not hard to clean unless you expect it to be unnaturally white. Tile grout color is supposed to “age”. So you should be careful when you pick a color that works with you chose tiles. Of course you need to clean the grease, dust and general dirt. But that is no different than any other surface. And often easier. But if you over clean it, you’ll strip it and the damage will actually make maintenance harder.
We did the open shower in our previous home. It looked freaking amazing but yes the water did splash a lot more than we thought it would and also…. During the winter time it SUCKED bc the shower steam would immediately escape you so if you werent directly under the hot water you are freezing! And when you’re drying off after your shower you’re not in an enclosed shower basking in the warm steam leftover from your shower. You’re just openly shivering and regretting everything. So yes, it looks great but it’s full of nuances
Regarding the grooved/slatted walls: I think the same thing every time I see filmy canopy bed curtains; after living in a house where I would see big spiders crawling up my organdy curtains, that’s a big fat no. Likewise, those rustic style wood beams crisscrossing under the ceiling. Spiders would love that.
Thank you so much for these. I definitely hate cleaning 😊. Two specific comments: 1. Thank you for tip on open kitchen shelving. As you said, if you need or want to have it, use it for daily use items so they always get washed anyways. Good idea. 2. I love that you said backsplash isn’t actually necessarily in kitchen. I agree. I am planning to try removable vinyl wallpaper as kitchen backslash. I’m hoping it will be attractive and easy to clean. Also economical enough to change.😊
My house is a mostly white, Japandi style that’s relatively easy to keep clean except for the floors. The counters are just cheap, durable laminate. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Fools & their money are soon parted with expensive, porous or easily scratched options. The same goes for stainless anything. America needs to get on the ball with European-style kitchens that are very easy to maintain & the fridges are customizable with panels that will match the rest of the cabinetry. Speaking of… those goddamned shaker or other, traditional cabinet designs need to go. They are visual clutter & it’s a pain in the ass to deep clean them with a toothbrush
This lady is funny she is giving some advice on what she thinks. She dont think wood on the bathroom floors is good. 😂😂. Stop giving advice based on your opinion. They have wood floors that are waterproof especially made for bathroom and you seal the seams with silicon. We had woods floors in our bathroom for 5 years now and it still looks good.
I had Pergo floors in both my bathrooms. NEVER had 1 problem with the flooring! Still looks and performs GREAT almost 20 years later. Also, if you have marble counter tops in your bathroom, or kitchen, they need to be “sealed” with a sealer periodically. I worked as a private duty nurse and wondered why I didn’t have any staining on my patient’s marble countertops. Her daughter informed me that she “seals” them at least once a month with a spray on marble sealant. I don’t know the specifics of how to seal the marble counter tops. But I was working there over 2 years and never had a problem. The wooden slats on the walls hide every kind of bug imaginable! I agree with you! I never had them. But I heard horror stories! Yuck! Also, shag carpeting was HIDEOUS to clean in the 70’s!!! Why people are bringing them back is beyond me! My aunt used to have to rake hers. Yes, a plastic garden rake was the only way to get up the dust, dander etc. Ugh!!!
I just watched your article for the first time. I agree with all your ideas. Im not a total minimalist, but every time I go to purchase something, I always say “that would be hard to dust.” I like clean lines on furniture, etc. And yes, I have a few faux florals and stems.I also have a pretty faux fern plant in the corner of my living room. How do you keep these faux stems, etc. clean? And I have a beautiful floor lamp with some crystals hanging underneath the shade, in my bedroom. I clean that occasionally by wiping each strand. Not easy. I do not have any material tufted headboards on my beds. Only wood or iron. I love the swifter dusters. Best invention ever, cause you can throw them away, and they get in hard to reach places. I also love using an old toothbrush to clean ” hard to reach”places. I like simple window treatments also. I like articles like this. I’m a new subscriber.🤗
I live in the tropics and have 3 showers with floor to ceiling tiles… 3 meter high ceilings… NO PROBLEMS with mold etc in 19 years. Grout looks fine. The open showers should have drain slanted towards the floor, not flat… That is what happens in the states when they try to Integrate open style with western site. Another trend in the US is the Asian and Europe style of wet rooms. These are quite common here, more so in older homes and native citizen population here. But having the floor wet in the whole bathroom is a pain…….go in after someone showers or cleans the bathroom and you have socks on… Better take them off… Need a rug on the outside of the bathroom door too to dry those wet feet.
Opening shelving in the kitchen is a really bad idea with certain heating systems with in the floor vents, think about it, everything on the floor gets blown up into the air and if you have kid’s and animals all the dirt and fur gets blown up and flys around and settles on your stuff on the open shelves whether you use it every day or not. Just also makes the kitchen look cluttered.
Actually, if you use the right white paint, I suggest a commercial concrete/wood paint, white flooring can be easy to take care of. Nothing a monthly mopping won’t take care of. As far as wearing goes, the wear can be a beautiful aesthetic . Of course that’s just my opinion. Also if you seal your marble countertops properly, they won’t stain. I’ve had white marble countertops forever, and I’ve never had a stain on one and Italian is my favorite food type.
I also hate having cabinets that don’t go to the ceiling because they get so dusty on top of the cabinets i reather have extra cabinet space even when i have to pull out my step ladder. Because when i clean on top of my cabinets i have to stand on my counter tops to clean the top. Getting order not as easy.
Just to be clear: real trees collect the EXACT same amount of dust on the leaves as fake trees. My real fiddle leaf figs get COVERED in dust over time, and it damages the leaves every time I try to dust them off with a damp rag. I guess the rule should be if you don’t like having dust on tree leaves just don’t have greenery in the house/
All your problems with dust everywhere, and most of the trouble with grease in your kitchen – that’s your ventilation system too. Dust shouldn’t have time to sit down in your house before the ventilation escorts it out. Your kitchen may get splashes of grease depending on how you cook, but the rangehood should be removing the fumes so they can’t stick to your fittings. Fix your ventilation and then get back to us.
Great article! I put my plastic artificial plants in the dishwasher (top rack). Of course, they need to be hardy plastic plants. I also think you can be minimal and still have color in your home. My mom had loads of knick knacks that she would have to dust around. My home…colorful but not a lot of decorations.
If you don’t like to clean, get a small studio apartment with minimal furniture and put nothing on the walls. If you can get a place with no mirrors or windows, even better. Oh wait, it’s sounding like a jail cell is the vibe she’d enjoy…but those bars? Solitary confinement. Now all of her issues with cleaning have been addressed.
I’m doing an open shower remodel down the road just for handicap accessibility but am adding a shower curtain rod to keep the heat/cold & water contained. ETA: No one wants to mess with a glass wall. It’s just dumb because of the extra maintenance. Our bathroom is also our laundry room & we’ve had a couple water accidents that have leaked outside the bathroom & I really want to put a 1/2″ basin all the way around with an open drain (in the shower) to release it instead of dealing with leaks & potential mold issues down the road.
Shag rugs 4:35 went out way back when the word “trend” wasnt in existence. There’s a reason for this.. I cant believe someone convinced you all that they’re in any way desirable. But if you really love it go back to the 60s and ðo wall to wall shag carpet in the bathrooms. I have nightmares about this.
Thank you. All common sense at first sight. Scary to think how far away we have gotten from common sense, left to reinvent the wheel and capitalists resell us old ideas that went out of use for a reason. This is happening because extended multigenerational families have been separated by again, capitalist social engineering and most young people do not even know who their grandparents were, much pess inherited any wisdom from them. On this subject, it is trivial. But we have similarly list our grounding in law, our very rights and politics, and this leaves new generations completely susceptible to gross abuses, Democracy in danger and society crumbling all around us, being devoured by scavengers and vultures. And worse yet, this is the generation that is going to “care” for us in old age. Shivers.
Tiles are hard to keep clean? No. Tiles is easy to clean. Grout can be sealed so it doesn’t mold. I’ll take tile in the bathroom and kitchen any day! You apparently don’t know what a backsplash is for. A proper backsplash keeps your wall from getting stained from the food you prepare. Like TILE, a backsplash is easy to clean because it is made to wipe clean. It actually takes LESS time to clean a backsplash than a painted wall (scrubbing that paint can make it peel!). Any this is personal taste and choice. Just because one person dislikes doesn’t mean it is bad to have. It’s your home. Decorate however it makes you happy.
Hun, any rug that a watermelon rolled onto after falling from the counter and proceeded to rot WILL smell and you won’t be able to get the smell out. Just be thankful you didn’t have to pull up the flooring to get the smell out. I’m sorry but shag or low pile, any rug would be a total loss in that situation.
sorry but u r wrong, very wrong, about floor to ceiling tiling in the bathroom. it actually keeps everything very clean and very fresh and there is absolutely no mold and no paint chipping or any other problem. you are wrong about marble countertops because if your girlfriend had this problem it means they weren’t sealed properly. Open shelving in the kitchen for items that are constantly used such as cereal bawls and coffee cups is fantastic and very easy to keep clean as the dishes are used few times a day so there’s no stagnation. it is much much easier to keep two mirrors in the bathroom clean than one giant one because you have a lot less area to clean and also both of them do not get dirty equally.
…? VARNISH a wood floor 2-3 times(!) PRIOR to walking on it. Why would someone use it without protecting it first? And, a few of the other items you mentioned can also be protected beforehand then, regularly. Example: My painted WHITE tiled kitchen backsplash was/is easy peasy to clean and it’s a decade old. Cheers.
I don’t have artificial plants, but I’ve “dusted” my real plants by taking them into the shower. Since most “silk” plants are polyester, I’d think they’d be waterproof. Also, marble can and should be SEALED. That said, we’re putting in Hi-macs counters (from Home Depot) because quartz is too heavy for our floors to support (and reinforcing the floor was too $$$). Hi-macs is 1/4″ thick, a definite upgrade from laminate, and does come in some marble-look finishes.
Yes yes yes !!!!!!!!!!!!you are in my mind 100%..especially for these walls/panels with small sticks of wood which the most designers use like they have never clean in their life …or bamboo head beds where bags hide easily etc…….as for the bathroom and kitchen comments in my opinion you are correct too ……….. fake flowers you just shower them if you like them….most of all houses looks all the same with no personality…….bravo!!!!!!!!!!
The full length window shower… I have two of those😅. Mind you, I live in Europe, but these windows come with either luxaflex or pleated screens Inside the windows(there are three sheets of glass, the luxaflex is between the layer on the outside. All openable for easy cleaning if that’s necessary(which should be never). As for the cleaning, yes that’s an issue if your water contains a lot of calcium which can form ugly stains on the window. But we have a water softener. Added to that, we spray a hydrophobic (same as you use for you car windscreen/chassis) on it. That makes it easy to clean. Basically, no more than any other window. Just the spray every so many months. I love perusal into the garden while showering. The luxaflex block the view towards the inside. Oh, you can choose any colour you like.
I disagree on viscose rugs. I have had mine for 15+ years, and they are totally fine. The secret is – keep your shoes off, keep your staining stuff off those rugs (eat and drink at the table, no rug under the table), vacuum clean regularly. The end. They hold up fine and look fine. Those on hardwood floors are WAY better than carpeted surfaces, IMO
Painting floors is okay. People should use porch & floor paint, which is extra durable. It requires two or three coats and allowing at least 24 hours (36 is better) for each coat to cure before walking on it. If the paint is properly cured, it doesn’t chip. Painting stairs is dicier because it’s high-traffic. Painted floors mop up nicely and are easy to clean! That’s especially true if prep work was thorough. I’d think twice about making the decision to paint a floor if I had kids or dogs, though. Lots more wear & tear.
Our rental has white quartz as the countertop and as the backslplash and it’s so easy to keep clean. The rental also unfortunately has black cabinets which show every finger print and bit of grease. I’m constantly cleaning them! Another thing it has in the kitchen are modern looking flat black drawer pulls. These are constantly collecting crumbs and finger prints. Also black hardware looks really trendy right now, but is definitely less forgiving for hardwater stains and chipping (keep a Sharpie handy!).
Marble countertops NO. Get granite, or be happy with old Formica, skip the tiles tooo omg. P.s. be warned, granite is harder than Formica or anything else. You will break a few dishes until you learn not to bump it at an angle or drop things.Believe me when I say granite wins every time for strength, accidentally ending a few of my dishes before I learned to Respect the Granite. And an iPad…ouch, but still, great easy surface, use only soap and water or granite cleaner. I’ve never had to scrub the surface once.
It is exactly why I did not choose marble for my kitchen counter top because I love cooking and I am messy. Marble just isn’t an option. Bouclé was shitty in the 70s, I don’t know why you’d get daily use furniture (dinner chairs hellloooo) in that material. It’s just asking for disaster and hard work and pilling and stuff getting stuck in it. Wood floors in bathrooms is a no but you can get really gorgeous wood look tiles nowadays that look great but are easy to clean 👌🏼
Open showers are sooo cold. No way. Ive had both. (Pay for the custom glass door). Marble stains amd requires sealing and polishing. But a hack for granite and marble is an easy clean (plaster of paris, muriatic acid mix to the constiency of pancake batter, smooth on a thin layer to totally cover area, cover with saran wrap to seal, wipe off/remove in anout an hour). Unstains and brightens stones. Its an amazing hack. You will do the whole counter in pieces bc youll see such a difference.
I have 4 wooden ventian blinds with the slats, those and my oven are the hellish cleaning jobs in my house. I have cream coloured ceasar stone on my benchtops, I just remove any stains like red wine spills, gravy and tomato based sauces off with a product called Gumption. Eight years and no stains. Glass shower screens are so easy to keep clean wirh the right products. I use a spray give it a 2 min light scrub and rinse it off, then just shower. My product only costs $2.50. in the meantime between cleaning I spray a leave on shower cleaner as I exit my shower. Nothing is hard to clean if you use the right tools and products.
Modern bathrooms with full tile feel terrible and uncomfortable. The reason is the sound bouncing off all the walls. People are so insanely afraid of water in the bathroom they make the problem worse. We have solid clay walls/ceiling and they absorb all air moisture within minutes and release it slowly later. They work well with solid wood or pure lime colour. And we have a 100 y.o. wood floor in our bathroom. A small washable carpet keeps mostly dry. And what does all this do? It reduces moisture, the sound is comfortable, no mold. Feels More like a wooden sauna than a hospital 😊. The tiles are only in the splash areas: shower/bathtub and behind the sink. That is enough, unless one would be stupid to flood the whole room – but even that wouldn’t do that much harm as long as everything dries within a few days.
I hate cleaning — so everything I own is white. That way when something gets dirty you immediately see it and can wipe the area clean. So because there are no dark crevices or speckled counters (that are always covered in mystery sticky stuff)… dirt doesn’t accumulate. There is no deep cleaning of the bathroom or kitchen because I can see the dirt and spot clean frequently. Which is an extra few seconds here and there. It’s much less of a chore than doing a full “cleaning” that takes a significant amount of time (which I never really go)
An easy fix for a doorless shower is to use a shower curtain on a tension rod. The rod could go behind any glass panel to reach a far wall if necessary. I have seen painted floors in old houses ibn second floor bedrooms. It is usually because the original wood was damaged and impossible to sand, stain and reseal. So you either paint the floors or use wall to wall carpet. Nowadays there are rugs you can wash so really there are no positives to using shag rugs. If you have kids that play with Legos on shag rugs all the tiny parts will get into the shag and if you walk across them in bare feet your feet will get hurt by the hard corners and shapes of the plastic blocks. OWWW! Oh crap! Damn Legos! There is marble looking quartz that will not stain like real marble. And they do look just like marble without the staining or cleaning problems.
After years of home ownership we are downsizing and renting. Our rental has a tile backsplash. But if you rent and the kitchen has no backsplash, clean the paint as best you can and then look into peel and stick tiles. Those could work very well and make the area easier to clean. I find that when I wash and put away dishes every evening, I wipe down the stove, counters and backsplash to disinfect and this also doesn’t allow grime to build up on the backsplash. It makes your deeper weekly clean a breeze.
UK ylot of vibes of.I’ve made about 20 articles and said the same thing but I only care about getting new subscribers and views so I’m recycling content to the point where she prefaces every other sentence with admissions that she’s said it before on prior occasions. he poorly veiled Karen her air of superiority
Best thing I ever did a few years ago was to put an indoor outdoor rug in my family room. I have dogs and a husband who spills a lot of stuff. I just take it outside and power wash it. I wish I thought to do this when my 4boys were young, although they didn’t make such nice outdoor rugs as they make now. Some of them look so much like indoor rugs
We live in Germany where most bathrooms have fully tiled walls. I have never seen any of them get moldy in the grout. We never have to clean the tiles either, only the floor and the tiles directly inside the shower (which get soap on them). I have no idea where you got the idea that tiles would be hard to clean or get Mold…. Also the open shower thing: I am not a fan myself, but I have stayed in hotels with these before and they have to be designed correctly to work. The shower head shouldn’t be facing out towards the rest of the bathroom, and also the floor has to be sloped a bit to keep the water from flowing out. Also you have to keep the drain clear! And yes, you need a lot of space. They don’t work well in small spaces.
Ugh… I had a glass panel coffee table in the 80s, and I hated it! I had to lift the glass and clean it every single day. I’m completely with you on open shelf storage and marble in the kitchen being bad ideas. I re-did my kitchen a couple of years ago, and we went with a really pretty black and gold granite with an undermount black Kohler neoroc sink. It looks great, and it’s SO easy to keep clean. I did do tile backsplash all the way to the ceiling, but I got the smooth kind that wipes clean easily. That textured stuff is gorgeous, but it would be a nightmare to clean!
The trench drains remind me of the old large urinals they had at sporting arenas. It’s hard enough to keep a small hole clean from hair and toothpaste residue, I can’t image how difficult it would be to keep a metal grate clean. Gross! Not to mention… one drunk house guest and who knows what else might go into that sink 😉
You give a lot of good things to consider! Inadvertent barriers to cleaning can be very frustrating. It’s a great reminder to “Choose your trouble” if you have the option. We painted the old wood floor in our kitchen with porch paint, and I definitely have a love/hate relationship with it. 😅 It’s authentic to our old farmhouse and works well in our completely unfitted kitchen, so I can easily give it another coat as it wears and chips to freshen it up or even change the color completely. However, it shows the wear pretty quickly, although that’s also part of the charm. There’s no plan to change it, but it’s the one thing that takes more attention. We also have open shelves in the kitchen around the sink area that holds our daily dishes. It’s the best! I’m quite tall, and now I never bang my head on open cabinet doors. Giving the items on the top shelf a quick wash a few times a year is a fair exchange for the convenience. 😅
Our bathroom has copper sinks. I do like them some, but it does take work to keep the copper nice. I ordered Twinkle and it works well but it takes a long time to get the little nooks and crannies clean. Then you have to get that cleaner out of the nooks and crannies. I mean I worked for an hour, told myself that I would finish later. I never did
Windows in bathrooms is very old. Our 1945 cape cod has them. They’re small windows, usually frosted. You used to be able to get small shower curtains for them, but that stopped in the 1980s or so. I had to buy cheap shower curtains from the dollar store and trim them down. Tile on a kitchen backslash is also old. My late parents installed that in the same cape cod kitchen in the 70s or 80s. My brother and I inherited the house in 2018, but I grew up in the house as a kid.
I prefer to clean two small mirror than one much bigger. I love my tiles in the kitchen. They are much easier to clean than just painted wall. The marble is not good for kitchen but there is a various range of other types of stones that you can use in kitchen and they will survive ages without any stain.
Is that a coax cable connector on the tiled wall in the bathroom, over the tub? Also, is that a telephone jack on the tiled wall in the bathroom, close to the toilet? First one: anything electrical close to or over water is dangerous. Second one: eww! The very last place I want to talk on the phone is the toilet.
The trench sinks are popular in my country in the toilets of shopping centres and pubs/clubs. They are functional for large numbers of people using them and the water doesn’t usually end up on the floor which could be a lawsuit waiting to happen especially if you have drunk people trying to navigate their way around. I would never get them in my house because of the association in my head with where I’ve seen them. I do like the bathroom sinks that look like a large bowl sitting on top of the counter. My mum has one in her bathroom and it looks stylish and elegant and it’s easy for my mum to clean around it because there’s plenty of space around it. And she’s in her mid 70s so anything she finds easy to clean is actually easy to clean.