A lot of decorating tips seem to be housework disasters -

[hedgehog]

I think the record for all time worst was the use of popcorn finish on ceilings.

I see a lot of high end decorating ideas that seem dubious if you don't have a full staff of maids. For example - the bathroom sink that consists of a bowl sitting on the counter - Oh Goody! I can clean the inside and outside of the sink, plus try to keep gunk from collecting around the bottom outside edge!

Can you give some tips as to things you would/ wouldn't do do make it easier to keep the house clean?

[salvorhardin]

1. Hah! My entire apartment has a popcorn finish on the ceiling

It also has some weird textured fabric on all the walls, but I quite like that actually.

[jeff47]

2. Built a house once with an interesting playroom

The floor, walls and ceiling were waterproof materials. Had a drain in the floor, and a hose bib.

Dunno how well it worked out in the long run for cleaning.

[quakerboy]

4. I have never understood

why all bathrooms are not like that.

Also, it seems like a really smart idea for Dorm rooms. And bachlor pads. And just in general.

Or take it another step and put in an oversize dishwasher spray arm.

[ehrnst]

6. Expense. Angling the floors and making them watertight.

I wanted our new small powder room to have that sort of floor, so that I could mount a hand held shower head on the wall, install a sliding, water tight door on the and turn the room into a shower shower stall when need be.

Making the full floor shower proof was going to cost more than putting in a shower stall.

[hedgehog]

11. That is exactly how they build shower rooms in Korea -

although the upscale apartments now feature something closer to an American style bathroom. Of course, the water tight bathrooms were fairly small, not the grandiose chambers becoming standard on new construction here.

[MADem]

15. Over in the middle east I lived in houses with bathrooms like that.

Tiled walls and ceiling, shower in the corner, drain in the center of the floor. It was very easy to clean!

[Warpy]

3. Oh, gawd! Where do I start?

I guess my pet hate (after the vessel sinks you described) would be that huge nest of throw pillows on the bed. My gawd, you not only need to pitch them off to get into bed to sleep, you also need to retrieve the bastards in the morning and throw them back so you don't trip over them and break your fool neck on the way to the bathroom. They're also dust and allergen catchers, no thanks.

Then come the kitchen fads: the can lights that make it bright enough to sell jewelry in there but don't provide much in the way of task lighting, the stainless steel that surprise! is harder to maintain than white enamel was, the granite countertops that must be sealed with sealant that makes marks if you set down a hot pot (and one of the selling points was being able to set down a hot pot), exudes radioactive radon gas, and cracks if you drop a can of beans on it, and the wood floors that just don't do well if you are much of an enthusiastic cook. Throw in the textured backsplashes that are impossible to clean when they get greasy and you have the perfect yuppie kitchen, let's call for pizza so we can keep the it all looking nice.

Other fads I have loathed in the past that are coming back are the "mid century modern" furnishing fads that might be nice sculpture but is hard as hell to live with. Most of it is plastic or plywood, so I suppose ease of cleaning is in its favor, unlike other desecrator fads.

Oh, and don't forget all the mini shelves and alcoves full of artfully placed but meaningless knickknacks. Those are the very definition of "dust and cobweb collector."

[hedgehog]

8. I am constantly amazed at kitchen makeovers that are a cleaning nightmare!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Ha! You're right on about the kitchen stuff.

I'm in the process of a major remodeling of my ancient, horrible kitchen. It involves tearing the whole thing down to the studs, expanding the footprint a bit, and installing all new cabinets, appliances and countertops.

And everybody just assumes I'm going to get stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Aside from the expense, I hate those things. Stainless steel shows fingerprints - it always looks messy. And granite is so hard you can't drop anything on it, and it has to be sealed or it stains and even grows mold in the cracks. I'm going for plain old white appliances, and Corian or Cambria for the countertops, or maybe recycled glass. Not granite. I don't want a yuppie kitchen, just one that is easy to use and keep clean and won't cost me an arm and a leg.

[Warpy]

20. I live in a crappy neighborhood so I'll stick to Formica

although stainless is nice for counters even if it's a bitch to clean in appliances.

The best thing about Formica is when you get sick of the color, you can change it out fairly economically.

An HGTV show some years ago tested stone countertops versus Formica. A can of beans was enough to crack marble and granite. They had to drop a bowling ball 20 feet to wreck the Formica.

[LiberalEsto]

21. Formica stays nice a long time

We've lived in our house 14 years. The previous owner re-did the kitchen a couple of years before selling it to us, and the off-white Formica countertops have been subject to all kinds of abuse from certain other family members. But they still look nice. Stains easily come off with a bit of baking soda or a weak solution of bleach in water.

What I hate is the sealed wood floors in the kitchen. Stuff drips into the cracks between the boards and is almost impossible to get out. Wood is a terrible idea for kitchen floors.

[Warpy]

22. Hear Hear!

The only worse idea is carpet. When I redo my kitchen (when I steel myself to living out of a microwave and having a gang of men clomping through here every day--oh hell, maybe I'll just move), I'm thinking either linoleum or cork flooring. Saltillo tile is the big thing here, but I want something that's a bit easier to stand on and doesn't shatter everything I drop on it.

One great thing about being such a Gypsy and moving around so much is being able to see what works and what doesn't and wood floors and a working kitchen are pretty much incompatible. Engineered flooring that looks like wood might be a tick better but I'm not going to bet the rent on it.

Having lived with linoleum and wood countertops, I'm well aware what an advance Formica represents. I love the stuff. While I wouldn't have stone counters ripped out in favor of it, I'd always wish I had it.

[ehrnst]

5. Trellises as wall covering - NOT - you would be dusting that thing forever. (nt)

[hedgehog]

7. Remember that home decorating show where you let the neighbors re-do your house?

One neighbor took and glued feathers all over a wall. I've always wondered what brought that on!

[yardwork]

9. I remember one episode where they glued cardboard on the walls, ceiling, and floor of a guest room.

They used permanent glue. The furniture was made of cardboard, too. The owner cried when she saw it. I didn't blame her.

[Le Taz Hot]

13. I remember that one!

I was dumbstruck. How the HELL do you get off glued-on feathers except by replacing the drywall? I remember another show in which a professional decorator was hired to re-do a family's dining room. The family was of Cuban ancestry and the "decorator" took a perfectly good, beautiful, NEW white china cabinet with clear glass and "antiqued it," turned it sort of a greenish white, took out the glass and replaced it with chicken wire. The rest of the room was equally bad. When the owners saw it, you could tell by their faces they were thinking, "how long and how much money are we going to have to spend to re-do the room?"

Personally I can't stand professional decorators. Everything they touch seems to end up looking like the lobby at the Marriott.

[Adsos Letter]

10. Velvet flocked wallpaper, and grasscloth. I hate that stuff.

I was a painter for 30+ years and never could overcome my hatred for either of those types of wallcovering.

[Le Taz Hot]

12. Carpet in the kitchen or bathroom.

I know many will disagree with me on this but my first house had carpet in both. If you cook at all, you know that it's far easier to sweep and mop a floor than it is to a) drag out the vacuum cleaner every day or b) have to clean the carpet once a week. And carpeted bathrooms? If you have boys you understand the problem. You guys don't always aim that well. Y'know?

[OKNancy]

14. I love this thread

My husband does work in very, very wealthy homes. For some reason he thinks that we should have the same things.
Our latest tiff is about this gold-framed mirror he got from his mother's house. He says he sees gold all over the homes he does.

Like this:


LOL - we have decor by Target.... and some ingenuity. I'm going to "antique" the mirror frame in silver/black

[Adsos Letter]

16. My wife can definitely relate!

Before I retired I spent about 80% of my adult working life as a painter on some of the most expensive estates in Napa Valley (both new construction and re-paints).

She's had to reign me in on the costs and ambitions of home projects on many occasions. Like the fact that carrera marble floors aren't going to look nearly as impressive in the bathrooms and kitchen of our tract house as they do in a $20,000,000 home...not to mention the cost of said floors, etc.

She can be a real wet blanket on these things.

[ZenLefty]

18. I'm going to put some of those "Please Do Not Sit" signs on my chairs.

They're just regular chairs, but maybe a sign like that will make them appear fancy.

[jenifer123]

17. A lot of decorating tips seem to be housework disasters -

Nice decorating and safety ideas for home, there should be water proof material on walls, ceiling and floors. I love simple decoration at home but it should be attractive.

[tru]

23. ceilings, stainless steel, granite

I hate stainless steel. On my list is getting the stainless steel sink replaced.

Around where I live, ceilings tend to be not popcorn but swirled with an integral sand texture. So you can't even do the popcorn removal stuff. It looks cheap, cheap, cheap, like advertising, this person did not know how to do a level surface. But I dread having a plasterer in here. I've heard that you get plaster dust into every atom of the house.

I have Formica countertops that are thirty years old and look good. When I see granite I think, fad that will go the way of pink bathrooms.

One thing I would do is make sure there is enough room behind and around faucets so that they can be cleaned easily.