Know what we’re doing over at Inspired Spaces? We are writing letters to our architects telling them what we would do over in our homes if we had the chance. Come. Share, won’t you??? Make me feel better about the dumb stuff in my house by telling me about the dumb stuff in yours because dumb design loves company.
And…. soon, I’m not sure exactly when but I have a deelightful guest blogger lined up who is going to talk about decorative finishes and how to turn a hunk of junk into an heirloom. There WILL be pictures and y’all will NOT be disappointed, I promise.
You might want to put Inspired Spaces in your bloglines so you don’t miss out on the all design goodness coming your way. Purdy please?
Hanlie says:
We’ve been househunting for quite a while and am always amazed at the absolute stupidity one sees in so many houses. And some of these houses are new! Has nobody learnt a thing?
January 21st, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Jim says:
Are GUY’S invited, or is this “for women only”?
January 21st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Julie says:
What fun you must be having. While not a decorator, I love that sort of thing. I’d comment to my architect, but we designed and built our own house. I would just have to look in the mirror and fuss. I have done that already. We have lived here for almost 15 years now. I’m working on the next one! : ) Well, the design anyway.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:48 pm
MarathonMom says:
I don’t think the guys should be allowed. My guy used my scrapbook scissors to fix a toilet flapper. Any more like him could destroy the chi or the shway or whatever.
January 21st, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Yvonne says:
It’s been there (on my bloglines)since day one….and I LOVE it!
January 21st, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Nicki says:
Some of this stuff is dumb and not architectural but here goes:
-I’d put a trillion more electrical outlets everywhere, including under the eaves outside
-There would be two shower heads in my shower. Ahem.
-I’d have one big bunk room with a vaulted cealing for my three boys – with bunks built into the walls.
-My theater room would have tiered platforms with theater chairs on them instead of a flat floor with a sectional like we have now.
There’s lots more but I won’t take up anymore space. I need to write this stuff down somewhere…thanks for the incentive!
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 am
The Other Elle says:
Done!
Love it!
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:51 am
Teri says:
Oh, I don’t even know where to start. Our old farm house was built in 1889. I have tons of issues with the builder & even more with the idiot who decided he was a decorator. He used really ugly teal, green and black paneling in the bathroom to cover up some even uglier fake plastic ( yes, plastic) white bricks. Not to mention they didn’t bother to glue the ugly bricks up…they used duct tape. We have pictures from the 1920′s of the house & people have not been kind to this house. My mother walked in for the first time, looked at my husband, informed him she did not raise me to live in anything like “this mess” & he better get to fixing things. 15 years later, he’s still fixing things.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Sally says:
Our house is 6 years old (we didn’t build it-we bought it after it had been foreclosed) but after living here 3 years, we have found so many things we would have done differently had we built it ourselves. It is so obvious that this was built as cheaply as possible. (We didn’t notice these things before we bought it, we were too excited to be getting an almost new house for such a low price.) Live and learn.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:03 pm
SJ says:
We have a number of “what were they thinking!” items in our house. Here are a few:
The light switches for the closets upstairs are on the wall opposite the door handles, so you can’t reach the switch if the door is open. The light switch to my son’s room is in the hall. Brilliant.
All the closets in our nicely-finished basement have arched doorways, but no doors. They’re impossible to fit with doors. Who wants to display the contents of their closets to everyone who comes through? We were told this was an Italian thing.
They installed a new furnace, but used too-small PVC pipes to vent it. Then they proceeded to dry wall over the pipes. Fixing it will require ripping out a wall and ceilings from 2 rooms, estimated to be a $15,000 job.
Some of the downsides of home ownership.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Joy says:
Okay, I’m not following directions completely, but I’d like to share a few (actually a lot of) things I finally got to do right when I designed and decorated our new house after wanting to do so for 30 years(since I was in high school). We lived in our last house 18 years and there were many things I was ready to do differently. My hubby and I are blessed with 4 kids, 4th to 11th grade, so this is a big, busy house.
We put in locker closets by the back entry door. These have doors on them; open shelving is too messy. Each closet has hooks for coats and backpacks, shelves for shoes and a boot tray for wet or muddy shoes. Out of season footwear goes on the highest shelf. Each closet has unique interior hardware, something fun to add personality.
I have a counter in the laundry room as high as my elbows so I’m comfortable standing to fold all our laundry. I built in a vertical set of 6 shelves so each person has a place from which to take their clean, folded laundry. I added a second rod 12″ over the first to store empty hangers above the clean, hanging clothing. I ended a set of cabinets early so I could tuck a litter box in the corner out of sight. I chose glossy ceramic wall tile in butter, sage and baby blue for an easy-to-clean, waterproof floor (and counter) that I love.
In the kitchen, I ran the upper cabinets closer (just 15″ above) the counters so I can see into them more easily. (I am not a 6′ tall man!) I mounted the electrical outlets horizontally right up against the bottoms of the cabinets so they practically disappear. (We had to use pantry cabinets to pull this off with a 9′ ceiling.) I put in a couple super bright can lights (250 watts): one directly over the disposal so I can really see what might be in there and another over a spot on the island so I can see what I’m cutting. I designed our eat-in area so we are facing another in a u-shape rather than a long L-shape (as in our last house). Much friendlier. I put in a glass tile backsplash with 5 neutral shades (4 metallics and black) with touches of irridescent purple so it goes with everything yet looks smashing. I found 3 coordinating stones so my floor, island and perimeter counters are more intriguing. I also did 3 kinds of brushed nickel cabinet hardware for interest. I hung my kitchen towels under the island overhang to make them handy yet not visible. I found deep hooks so when they’re hung they’re away from the wooden cabinets so they can’t mildew them over time. I bought a sheet of clear plexiglass to mount behind them to further protect the wood.
The walk-in pantry contains a shelf the same height as the kitchen counter and a bunch of outlets so I can have all my appliances (microwave, toaster oven, toaster, coffee maker) readily available but instantly out of sight if I close a door. Putting a second microwave in there has been unbelievably handy. The pantry runs diagonally from the back entry hall into the kitchen (all of which have polished or tumbled slate floors – that way they are inexpensive, durable and don’t cleave our feet), so I can enter with bags of groceries and drop them in front of the freezer, in front of the pantry shelving or on the kitchen counter, all within 10 feet, without taking off my shoes. (In Michigan, we can bring in a ton of dirt if we’re not vigilant.) Behind the pantry door is a cluster of outlets above a shelf so I can recharge our cell phones, GPS, bluetooths, etc. in a dry spot handy to the kitchen.
I spent literally 80+ hours on the web to locate unusual (but not weird) light fixtures. I think they have a dramatic effect on a room’s personality. Finding the clearance places on the web was really helpful. We put in lots of lights – we’re so nearsighted and Michigan can be so gloomy. We love it bright. I put in 3 skylights and splayed them as far as I could to bring light into the center of the house.
I daringly put tons of color in permanent things: tile, flooring, counters, fireplace surrounds, certain light fixtures. We’ve only lived here 3 months – I’m gambling I’ll love these colors forever. I’ve been drawn to them for years and they look great in nature(thanks, God!), so I figure I’m pretty safe. I did have an interior designer help me place 5 paint colors visible from the front door – tricky in an open floor plan. I especially liked her idea of going one shade darker in the stairwell to the kids’ level.
In the master closet I built the organizer with a shelf the duplicate size and height of my hubby’s dresser top so he can freely empty his pockets there and have our bedroom still look tidy. I put really deep soft carpet in that closet since it’s where we’re barefoot everyday.
In the master bedroom we added a duplicate switch so we can operate the central light and fan without leaving bed.
I designed our shower deep enough I no longer need to have (or clean!) shower doors. I put the toilet stall as far from the bedroom as I could and put a self/slow-closing lid on it so we don’t wake each other in the night. (And I selected Toto toilets so we’ll never have to plunge a toilet again!) We connected the master closet to the bathroom to reduce noise and light if one of us is still sleeping. Although there’s a lot of stone flooring in the house, I used non-stone, washable floors in and around all toilets and showers so I can use bleach freely in those places. (Bleach ruins stone.)
I put the powder room far enough from the public areas that our guests feel privacy using it. No toilets are visible through any doorways.
I chose wide trim everywhere to help the house look more substantial. We used MDF not wood for all trim so it won’t dent like our former pine trim did. We used oil-based paint on the trim so I can dust it with a feather duster (no more rubbing with a dusting cloth!). We put an electrostatic filter on the furnace to grab much of the dust and cat hair out of the air. Less dusting!
While I worry about my cherry newell posts being too massive, I really wanted a stairway (and matching fireplace) unlike any other. I’m happy with the massive handrail and metal spindles. I love cherry and black. In the entry I found an attractive cherry and silver wire mesh, 2-shelf shoe rack to encourage everyone to leave their shoes there without having to say anything.
The doorless computer nook faces command central in the kitchen so I can easily monitor just what the kids are watching/playing.
In the adjoining dining room, there’s enough room to get chairs in and out and walk behind. I put the piano at one end of the room and its bench is helpful additional seating.
In each of the kids’ rooms, I placed one closet with large shelves to fit laundry/tote tubs and 2 shelves close together at eye level for small/precious things. A second closet has double rods for their clothes so everything has a place. For the girls, hooks against the back wall hold the few dresses they wear. While the electrician didn’t follow my direction, the kids’ closets were to have lights that automatically went on/off with the door open/closed so as to save electricity. In my junior’s ceiling, we put extra insulation so his music is shielded from our master bedroom.
In my study, below the chairrail, I put a wallpaper of pale pink peonies on pale olive so one part of the house is incredibly feminine. I just love it in here. We used no wood on the exterior (all vinyl, aluminum, cultured stone or Azek) to keep maintenance to a minimum. We installed vinyl windows – vinyl is so easy to keep clean, plus, using only casement or fixed, the sills are completely smooth – no grooves to catch dead bugs! The trim paint exactly matches the window’s shade of white so that the vinyl blends into the trim and the windows looks substantial (which vinyl windows seldom do).
We plan to be here forever, so it’s pretty much handicap accessible, with only one step up in the garage entry and one at the front porch, four foot wide halls and extra room in the master bath. All the essential rooms are on the main floor.
In the garage, my Dad and I mounted a long rack for tools and, behind it on the wall, I mounted a large, stiff sheet of #2 plastic so that the tools don’t dent or make muddy the painted drywall. I painted the garage’s interior my favorite shade of pale green so it welcomes me and looks surprisingly home-like. (Why paint it white??)
Okay, I’m getting embarassed I’ve gone on so long. I began adding in where I found my deals and how I did my storage but I’ll spare you! This is my first time commenting on a blog; I hope I don’t scare anyone by my length. However, since I’ve poured my heart into this project and searched forever for direction on making a home both lovely and functional, I thought it might be helpful to someone to share all these ideas. I’m no architect and had to figure out much of it for myself.
My loving hubby has posted a house diary (just go to the end of it for the finished product) at http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/house so you can tell me if you think it’s way over the top!
I hope it’s helpful, even inspiring. Thanks for reading!
January 27th, 2008 at 10:35 pm