Of course, I took I look around my home and found a few of the dreaded ten things. Sometimes these things cannot be avoided. You buy a house that has something you cannot afford to change. Or you rent a place where you are not allowed to make a change.
 |
| The dreaded recliner - photo from Houzz |
I believe you can always work with what you have through the super powers of the decorator and the magical use of smoke and mirrors, the offensive can be made tolerable and sometimes even beautiful.
 |
| Guilty guilty guilty! Laminate floors came with the house - I actually don't hate them -They are the easiest thing to keep clean - Fabric on wall is meant to look like wallpaper - Fake flower cherry blossoms are mixed with real ones for the photo shoot - photo by Sara Essex Bradley |
I also believe that one woman's/man's ugly is another ones beauty. It's your home and it should be the way it makes you happy.
Now when it comes to clients, they may love fake plants or something that doesn't jibe with a designers vision or aesthetic. Our talent is to make it work, because we don't live there. Just stash the plant for the photo shoot.
 | |
| Guilty, guilty, guilty! Fake flowers on nightstands, walls painted to look like wallpaper (by Mitchell Settoon), laminate floor, and does this rug qualify for carpet? What about the padded fabric covered wall behind the bed? Photo by Sara Essex Bradley which appears in Susana Salk's New book Decorate Fearlessly published by Rizzoli - Get that book! |
 |
| Decorate Fearlessly by Susanna Salk - From Rizoli: "Featuring inspiring interiors from today’s top designers, Decorate Fearlessly shows us how to be bold and personal with our design choices, creating spaces that we love to live in. Decorate Fearlessly is both a photographic trove of fabulously designed homes—by such renowned designers as Mary McDonald, Ashley Hicks, Alex Papachristidis, and Jonathan Adler, among many others—and an inspirational how-to-decorate volume with spirit and verve." I am one of the "many others" - There are two photos of my work in this book! |
I went through some of my pictures to show you the offending things I have that Houzz says that people really don't want in their homes.
 | |
| Guilty! My walls are not perfect enough to install wallpaper, and I can't afford the wallpaper I love, so I faked wallpaper in my office - photo by Sara Essex Bradley |
 |
| Here's the real wallpaper done by designer Eric Cohler that appeared in House Beautiful |
 |
| Guilty! My office, where I faked a Tricia Guild wallpaper - actually Mitchell Settoon painted the ombre wall for me - photo by Sara Essex Bradley |
 |
| Tricia Guild wallpaper |
Here's the list:
1. Carpet (I don't have it, I have area rugs on the dreaded laminate)
2. Laminate flooring (guilty!)
3. Taxidermy (don't have it now, but I have had it)
4. Vertical blinds (don't have them)
5. Fake flowers (guilty)
6. Wallpaper (guilty kind of)
7. Too many knick-knacks (Duh. Define too many)
8. Fluorescent lighting (don't have it)
9. Recliners (don't have one but I have wrestled with having them in the past, trying to find a cute one)
10. Clowns (now that depends on whose coming over)
 |
| Send in the clown - or is it an undercover decor police officer |
Before the decor police come and fine me or take me off to rehab, fess up and tell us: Which of the 10 things people really don't want in their homes do you have?
My husband has his beloved deer head on the wall....But that's it for my home and I would not have that if it were not for the male in the house. Vicky Darnell
ReplyDeleteMy husband insists on and loves his reclining furniture in his man cave. It's his house too so I live with it and have to admit it is very comfortable. In the past I have had wallpaper, laminate flooring, vertical blinds and oh, of course, who DOESN'T have fake flowers.....??? I don't live in an area that sells cheap fresh flowers, plus who has time to constantly be worried about that anyway? Our homes are just that - our HOMES, not SPACES that are just to be looked at and not lived in. The way we live and work, children, grandchildren and pets are all things I have to consider in decorating my home. It doesn't look like a magazine shoot but I don't really want it to either. I want it to feel loved and lived in so, unfortunately, that includes lots of designer no no's. Great post Valorie and I'm so glad you are back doing what you do best.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I forgot, the man cave is home to several pieces of taxidermy also but I have to admit, I kind of like them too.
DeleteI am sort of back, if you know what I mean, but sort of is good for now. Thank you for being here for me. xo xo
DeleteI’m nonetheless learning through an individual, although I’m looking to obtain the objectives. My spouse and i surely appreciate examining exactly what will be placed on your own websiteand that assisted everyone also. thanks.
ReplyDeleteInterior painting nyc
Wall painting nyc
Interior painting manhattan
Interior painting ideas
You promised me hideous and all I saw was your beautiful smiling face and your lovely rooms. I am so disappointed XOXO
ReplyDeleteWell I am guilty of more than I thought I would be!
ReplyDelete1. carpet in the Closet
2. laminate at the beach house because easy to clean
3. Taxidermy, no but I have sold it
4. Verticle blinds NO
5 Fake Flowers, yes silk of course
6. Wallpaper, always used it even when out of fashion.
7. Too many knick knacks, I have enough for the whole state!
8. Florecend light, NO
9. recliner, NO
10. clowns, Yes
Larry
Masion Pompeii Antique and Interiors
Alexandria, Louisiana
I have carpet in the bedrooms; wallpaper in the kitchen and eating area but getting up the energy to remove it; and I'm looking for not one but small two recliners!
ReplyDeleteOh, these list are funny, really. I adore wallpaper, of course not in every room, but I love it in a small nook, powder room, hallway, closet, etc... I don't like recliners but my husband does - ugh...I found one that looks more like a club chair..not great, but... Houses are personal - do what you want! Personally, I'm bored with all these very white, bland, hipster houses seen on a lot of blogs - cactus, woven wall hanging, sheepskin throw, little wooden things, - they seem to all be copies of each other! The best homes I've seen are the ones where the owners/renters do their own thing, maybe quirky, even weird at times, but always inviting, comfortable, & interesting!
ReplyDeleteOk.let's do this: Carpet, Laminate,wallpaper,{I'm getting sleepy} fake flowers, knick knacks (sleepier) plain ole all around bad taste.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel better.
YOU, on the other hand look fab in your Cheetah jammies...
It's me Carey!
ReplyDelete1. Carpet: I assume this means wall-to-wall carpet. We have off white in the slightly sunken living room, master and guest bedrooms, and office. I've tried going with large sized rugs, but that complicates placement, cleaning, and keeping the furniture from sliding. In some rooms I need the freedom to move pieces around smoothly without the worry of rug edges. Also, it's cool here a lot, even in the summer due to coastal fog, so the soft quiet coziness of carpet is inviting. Carpeted rooms look bad in photographs as the carpet looks lifeless, but in real life they look and feel much better.
2. Laminate flooring: We have something called engineered hardwood which isn't as thick as traditional hardwood as it's good for only one or two re-sandings which hopefully won't be necessary in my lifetime. Some of our neighbors have laminate, and it's beautiful. I'm sure it depends on the quality of the flooring and the room it's in.
3. Taxidermy: Never had it and never will.
4. Vertical blinds: Never had them and never will.
5. Fake flowers: Never had them and likely never will due to all the dusty examples I was raised with in the 1960's and 70's. Which reminds me, remember all of those cookie cutter Home Décor wall arrangements and tablescapes you could order at those gatherings that were sort of like Tupperware parties? I've seen others use them well, but fake flowers and plants are just now for me. I would use them if they were hyper-intentional looking, such as giant paper flowers from Mexico or blooms made of glass or ceramic.
6. Wallpaper: I don't have any now, but the right wallpaper in the right place is absolutely awesome. The only thing is you have to be vigilant about taking it down if it gets dated. We took down very stubborn 80's pink & blue wallpaper from 17 foot walls in our living and dining rooms when we bought our current house. It was two enormous walls and one bathroom wall and it took us four days. If I was to get wallpaper again, I would choose it very carefully indeed!
7. Too many knick-knacks: I have lots of knick knacks, but they look beautiful. It's all about arrangement and using design principles to pull it all together, isn't it? If it's done right, you can have a lot of stuff in your space before it becomes "too much."
8. Fluorescent lighting: It was in the kitchen of our 1977 house when we bought it in 2001 and we got rid of it the very moment it was possible. Yuck, never had it before that and never will again unless put in an institution against my will. I don't believe that fluorescent lighting is healthy for people (though plants seem to adore it).
9. Recliners: Oh dear, the biggest recliner available is in the middle of my living room. It's made for big & tall men, so the back of it rises above all the other seating. The man of this house is not big nor tall, but he chose this recliner because "it was the only one that completely cushioned his heels when the foot rest is up." I tease him and say that he looks like Laugh-In's Edith Ann sitting in her giant rocking chair with her feet sticking straight out (Lily Tomlin from the 60's for the youngsters who are clueless). The leather on it is a lovely quality and color, but the style is very recliner-ish. I hate it but have no say in the matter. Sort of like Frazier's dad's chair. Having said that, I do get lots of say on everything else to do with styling and decorating the house, so I just live with it.
10. Clowns: My grandma started collecting clowns in the 70's. I have a very few from her collection for memories, all vintage and smallish, and actually very appealing because of their age and unmistakable 1940's look.
It's me Carey again! I used up all the words in my last comment!
ReplyDeleteSo anyway, I agree with everyone else in that if you like it, then it works in your home. One has to feel at home when at home, and thank goodness we all want something different. And of course there's always some smarty pants who comes along and makes someone else's most hated home décor element look fabulous. I've given away "ugly" things before, only to see them used to a stunning result in the recipient's home later. Drat!
The "Decorating Fearlessly" book! I have a young friend who craves lots of pattern and color and mixing to a dangerous degree. I've helped her pull together her living/dining room and her bedroom using mostly things she had, craigslist and thrift store finds, strays from my own cupboards. I also framed or reframed lots of wall art for her and sewed up tons of pillow covers. Anyway, she is moving from CA to Illinois this summer and is nervous about trying to pull her new home together on her own. A few months ago I used that photo (the one on the cover of the book - which I'm pretty sure I saw on a blog post of yours) to list how and why that room worked. There is so much going on in it, but it's very cohesive. So, I picked out every little thing I could find in that room to illustrate to her what is going on behind the scenes, the intention behind it, wrote out a huge list of things for her to notice and study about that room. If she had seen all the pieces of that room in a storage shed, she would never dream they belonged together, but with the design principles at work as they are here, it was a perfect lesson for her to understand what is at play in achieving the look she loves.
When my daughter got married several years ago I got a look at the price for real flowers and wow...I asked the florist about mixing in artificial and she was basically appalled by the idea. So, I decided, I will just do this myself with the help of my sisters and a talented friend or two. October wedding and my daughter wanted the theme of it to be white,very pale green pumpkins mixed with flowers in various shades of soft pinks, blush, the celery greens. I went online and got a whole bunch of artificial flowers, ordered from the local grocery all the rest of the real flowers and greenery (hypernium berries - spelled wrong) and we MIXED. On the tables, went the real stuff - elsewhere, in the big displays went mostly artificial with some real mixed in - I had to spray paint orange pumpkins the soft white and very pale green - couldn't find any real ones in those colors that year - by the way - pumpkins take paint really well.. The whole thing worked beautifully, was very economical...Sometimes, you just have to do it yourself and don't listen to the "experts"!
ReplyDeleteValorie, none of the ten would ever be ugly in a home you designed because you have the talent to make the most of everything you are given to work with. That cannot be said for many designers. That is one of your great strengths and it shows often in the jobs you feature on your blog. We all have to deal with some kind of "ugly". It's called living and out of necessity, there are certain elements that we must incorporate whether we like them or not. I believe you could make all ten beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOh what a fabulous post. Guilty myself of laminate flooring. We actually chose it due to ease of installation, care and cost. I plan to follow your lead and cover most of it with pretty rugs. Also have wallpaper in my kitchen and will soon have it in both baths. I draw the line at ugly recliners!
ReplyDeleteHope you are well Valorie!
xo
http://www.thegreenroominteriors.com
I don't like recliners; only one person can sit in them. They are all too big for me to be comfortable in as well. I hate carpet it is a pain to clean; it is unsanitary, does nothing for allergies, and when you ruin one spot you mostly ruin it all. It ends up in a land fill, at least area rugs are smaller when you get rid of them, and you can take them outside and beat them. I also think area rugs are prettier. Laminate flooring has come along way, I could live with it, though I rent and have no say in my flooring. I have never had vertical blinds, but I have had more min-blinds then I have ever wanted. I hate cleaning them so much that I never want to see them again. I don't like fake flowers or knick-knacks, I hate dusting, and I don't want to dust dead animals either. I don't mind wall paper, some of it is nice, and paint can look outdated too. Clowns are just disturbing.
ReplyDeleteNow I don't know why fluorescent lighting gets such a bad rap. I love a brightly lit room, I live fairly far north and winter nights are just so long. I can afford to light 3 to 4 blubs for the cost of one equivalent incandescent. They don't have the flicker or warm up time now that used to give them a bad rap. In hard to reach places they last a lot longer without needing to be changed as often. They come in different types of color warmths, I like the daylight ones. Home Depot (other like stores might too) has a display of the colors, you might surprise yourself and find something you like, and lower your energy bills. There are dimmable, and three way cfls. On warmer days they are nice since they give off less heat. I'm not a huge fan off the long tube blubs, but they are great for lighting large areas, just harder to replace when they go bad. (Have I come across as lazy yet?)
A newer option is led lights, I'm not sure the cost is worth it yet, but the price point should drop, and those will lower energy costs even more, last longer, and have no mercury. These too can be dimmable, and three way, though it might take some work to find ones that you like and are compatible with your fixtures. If you can shell out the cost for incandescent bulbs you could surely afford led blubs. And if you don't like them you can just return them to the store, then you are only out the time it took to try something new. They look promising if they can live up to their 20 year life expectancy, at about 1/5 the energy of incandescent bulbs, I'm not sure they really beat out cfls to justify the cost yet.
It’s been over 10 months since I’ve remodeled my kitchen and the compliments received from my family and friends just keep coming. I hired the team at Classic Kitchen and Bath in Illinois because they are a family business and have been around for as long as I can remember. Remodeling can be quite a hassle but these guys made the process much simpler for me. It was a great experience working with the team at CKB- a company that prides itself on quality workmanship, timeliness, and customer service. Visit their website today www.myclassickitchenandbath.com or call 630-515-9151. I highly recommend them to anyone considering a new kitchen or bathroom.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly, I don't have anything on your list in my house but the best thing I see in your house is You. Besitos ..
ReplyDelete