AVOID These Design Features for Your Home (This Might Make People Mad...)

[@merryhunt9153]

I want to draw attention to a very important failing - failure to have handrails (or something to grab) on steps. Even if there's only one step, it should have something to hold onto. Humans suffer the most falls when they are taking a step down, and a handrail or handhold helps enormously.

[@AleeshaWeesha]

True! My ex fell down one step. He dislocated his ankle and broke his leg in three places. Again, he slipped down one step.

[@Terri_MacKay]

I'm completely baffled when I see stairs with no railing. There should be a law requiring them.

[@kimwaltz6114]

@@Terri_MacKay 3 or more stairs require a handrail in residential applications. More than 30 inches requires a guard rail.

[@Terri_MacKay]

@@kimwaltz6114 Thank you for letting me know that. 😊

[@Kstella2226]

When my dad built our house, he had railings put on both sides of the staircase. I still fell down (spectacularly) several times, but likely a lot less than I would otherwise. Not just for old people, think of kids who are growing rapidly and whose bodies are changing every day.

[@becac1655]

PLEASE! Make it a Series!!! There are SO many things, us common folk do not even realize could be an issue. And honestly is so enjoyable to listen to you critize things that more content is always amazing. This video helped me realize that I was completely ignoring the lighting for the future kitchen reno.

[@sharonthompson5715]

My cat would be singing the song of her people at 3:00am with a motion activated light under the bed 😂

[@nancygreenfield212]

Same thing with motion activated faucet….. kitty fountain heaven

[@nathalie_desrosiers]

The part about painting over brick is life changing. Literally.

[@loverlyme]

The other problem is that after you paint brick, you have to keep painting it every couple of years. If you leave it as the raw brick, you never have to paint it. You may need to point the mortar to neaten up it's appearance but that doesn't happen too often.

[@Cherrysmith2809]

I always ask myself if this is a product that may malfunction. The more bells and whistles, the more complicated your life will be because you have increased your repair and replacements tasks list. Here is one I find problematic, and frankly, tacky: a water and ice dispenser on the outside of the frig. Water and ice get on the little shelf and on the floor, and the tap lever gets scratched. I like the look of a sleek front, whether stainless or fitted with cabinetry.

[@loverlyme]

These types of fridges have never been all that popular in Australia. I think that when we need ice here, we need a LOT of it. When it's hot in this country, you can be sure it's REALLY hot. I'm pretty sure the ice would melt by the time it made it from the inside of the freezer to the outside part of the door in our overly hot climate!

[@susanrunge7455]

​@loverlyme Nope. The mechanism is on the inside of the freezer so the ice just drops thru a chute straight into your glass. It would actually be a better feature in your hot climate because it allows one to get ice/water without opening the doors all the time so a constant temperature is maintained inside the freezer and fridge, which is safer for the foods within. The little ice shards are a bit annoying but a wider mouth on the drinking glass would eliminate that issue completely.💁🏼‍♀️💡

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

I've never had water and ice collect on the shelf and never on the floor unless I deliberately push the lever quickly with one finger and release to have it send 1-2 pieces of ice to hit the shelf and bounce out. Why would I do that? Look at my avatar. He loves it! It's a special "good boy" treat on a hot day once or twice a week!

[@christopherleodaniels7203]

My contractor talked me out of an automatic faucet, saying they’re in constant need of repair and a nightmare to fix.

[@thornyback]

A single handed manual faucet is so much better and they come in way more designs.

[@sg-qy4sj]

I have had one for the past ten years and I have never had a problem. For people who cook and bake they are awesome. I will replace it if it dies

[@yudelkagomez7047]

​@@sg-qy4sj I absolutely love mine. I have mine for over 10 years. I woks perfectly!

[@VacuaIntus]

Not to mention those types of faucets are a terrible idea if you live in an area that gets below freezing; you have no way to drip the faucet

[@cmvc9131]

@@VacuaIntus You can still turn them on manually like a normal faucet.

[@debbie8430]

Lol! I bought a townhouse that has painted brick in the basement family room, I won a touchless kitchen faucet from HGTV which is installed, and my brother just gave me a motion activated light to put on my fridge! Clearly I need help. 😂

[@sarahab6497]

Omg! Thank you for mentioning the brick! The fools who lived in my house before me painted over the brick on my fireplace a cloudy grey (the whole house was that same color, no wonder they got divorced...so depressing). It's been an absolute nightmare trying to get the paint off to showcase the original color.

[@tiffanyreynolds5445]

How did you go about removing the paint from the brick? I have the same problem at my house

[@erum.m]

Same. the people we rented our house to once upon a time thought it was ok to paint our external red bricks with a red paint color. Someone make that make sense. We couldn't get it off properly so now we are stuck with painting them as well. Sigh. The original were so pretty.

[@mistydevillier2197]

It's also a fire hazard. Fireplace bricks are supposed to breathe.

[@mistydevillier2197]

​@@erum.m Please use the correct type of paint for this. Not acrylic.

[@erum.m]

@@mistydevillier2197 It is outdoors so it is not acrylic. It is Dulux Weathershield.

[@CB-vg1wq]

Yes, please do more of these designs to AVOID. You bring up interesting concerns I have not thought about.

[@stezton]

Amen to painting over brick! I hate when people do that!

[@happybat1977]

I associate it with municipal swimming pools. In the mid 80s.

[@signespencer6887]

@@stezton depends on the brick, some is lovely, some is really ugly. The same goes for wood trim, doors and paneling

[@Techier868]

Wow...lol.... I am one of the people that has the touch faucet and absolutely absolutely absolutely love it I've had it for several years now LOL and would probably install it again, but please continue to do this series I love it even when you criticize my choices!!😂😂😂

[@cmvc9131]

I like it too because it keeps me from having to touch the faucet with raw-chicken hands.

[@AdropAsugar]

I also LOVE my touch faucet. I use my wrists to tap when my hands are dirty, and never had issues. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

[@salicaguillotines]

​@@cmvc9131That's def a perk but then I end up gunking up the the faucet itself contemplating whether bringing the public bathroom home was really a good idea. I'm really split, I don't think I'd go out of my way to install another but it's hype for me once the novelty wears off.

[@jillcarr-hilton7308]

Love my touch faucet, great when hands are mucky!

[@eddiefniii]

The reason you have brick is no maintenance. Painting is maintenance! Builders all over Houston are doing it for new builds … horrendous idea!

[@Misajoejoe1]

I didn't purchase the touch faucet because that was the entire premise of not touching it. I hade a motion sensor Moen kitchen faucet in my last house and I loved it. After 8 years it died. I called Moen and they replaced it, no questions asked. My new house, with a kitchen remodel, I purchased a faucet that is a foot pedal function and I love it even more! You can turn on the faucet by either a like a regular faucet or by pedal.

[@pat4005]

I love that concept of a foot pedal controlled faucet function for off/on. What a great idea!

[@Misajoejoe1]

@@pat4005 I try to have as much as I can to be "touchless" in the kitchen. I also put a pedal on the cabinet which has the trash can in it - step on it and the pull out cabinet opens. Spent the $$ and installed 2 touchless soap dispensers - one for hand, one for dish soap. Instead of using the soap container, I used the modification which has the long tube to fit in the gallon bottles of soap. I wash my hands a lot with 3 dogs.

[@cathystaerkel1833]

Moen is awesome to support their products.

[@becac1655]

@@Misajoejoe1 Life changer idea for the trash cabinet

[@loverlyme]

I love the idea of a foot pedal too.

[@CindyArnold-e5t]

When our touch faucet died in 2022, it took 4 weeks to get an appointment for a plumber to come out. While waiting, the water trickled out at 1 quart per minute! It was like camping out in my kitchen. Cost us $700 to replace it ! My parents’ kitchen faucet lasted from 1940 to 1991. So much for progress.

[@sumisell]

Well you obviously bought the wrong faucet. SMH

[@codyscards6698]

Turn the water valve off in the meantime maybe?

[@squeakel11]

@@codyscards6698 Right? Four weeks...

[@rmcar549]

Wait, why would you not have just turned the water line off to that faucet?

[@mikerudd4943]

My feathers arw not ruffled :). But daddy is mistaken about the "touchless" faucet. (Krauss) I installed 6 months ago and I love how your hands can be messy from food prep and a mere swipe near the activator. No touching required. We are so glad we got it.

[@elizabethscharnell9787]

I've had a touchless faucet for several years. I agree, avoid it. Yes, when your hands are meaty dirty, it is nice to turn it on without touching, but you have to actually have the handle turned on to have that function work. Mine is a constant pain in the neck because when you open the handle, it runs for about 1 second, then shuts off, and we have to wave it back on. Kohler should be better. Worse, the sensor is not sensitive to black skin. My granddaughter's boyfriend just can't make it work. This is a known problem with a number of sensor-equipped things, and I haven't seen much work to correct it yet.

[@occheermommy]

I had a Moen and It worked great. Mine was touch not wave. Maybe that is why I loved mine and the wave is worse. Idk

[@Lissa2355]

Buy faucets you can open with your elbows! My fiance asked for a specific faucet when we changed ours (he works in a lab and wanted the same faucet they use), I love it

[@batcactus6046]

That's crazy!

[@k.dermer2168]

kohler is krap.

[@minkberrystudio]

4:54 Finally, someone is giving a Ted talk on the integrity of bricks! I can’t tell you how cringey it is to see people paint bricks but use the wrong medium! 😅

[@elijahtodd-walden3898]

Everybody wants smart appliances, which is actually really stupid.

[@PB-Trinity]

About painted bricks, I remember seeing a phrase that said : Painting over bricks is to millenials what carpetting hardwood floors was to boomers. I couldn't agree more and both are abominations...

[@herculesrockefeller8969]

Carpeting can be removed from floors, but it is harder to remove paint from bricks. So you are wrong, yet again.

[@ineedhoez]

😂😂😂😂... Fine.I won't paint it.I'll just dry wall over it!!!

[@fnsmike]

@@herculesrockefeller8969 is somebody who has never seen the damage done to hardwood floors by idiot installers who glue down carpet pad or put nails through inlaid edges

[@matthewmcdonald9238]

I’ve had to deal with carpeted floors and painted bricks in my Victorian. It’s so costly to remove but so necessary!

[@wallihaley5194]

Also if your house is solid brick, as opposed to brick veneer, (common in homes built after the 60s) know that brick is meant to breathe and painting over brick prevents that. However, if you must paint brick (but hopefully you won’t do it as now you have a maintenance chore that you didn’t have before), at least use a mineral paint.

[@yudelkagomez7047]

I must disagree with you about the motion faucet. I have one in my kitchen for over 10 years and I won't ever go back to the conventional one. I don't even have to touch it. I just pass my hand over the faucet and immediately turns on and off in a breeze! I am planning to renovate my kitchen and the only thing I'm reusing is my motion faucet. I looooove it!

[@whitneymichael3463]

We've had one for over a year. I freaking love it. It's so sanitary. If the power is out, the handle still works like a normal faucet.

[@susanrunge7455]

The motion sensor faucet is not the same thing as the touch sensor. Btw, we have the former in our pantries at work - I love them, except the battery runs out all the time from constant use & they take forever to replace it. The last time it happened, they finally replaced the battery & the water wouldn't stop running, so we were back to a manual faucet. Sigh. 😅

[@bertbuffin7436]

All of our faucets were Delta, including the Touch faucets in the kitchen. Absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this product and technology. Preparing to build and will absolutely include these in our new home. We only buy Delta plumbing and when we needed a part for the shower, our local plumbing company had what we needed.

[@signespencer6887]

I painted my ugly brick fireplace 25 years ago with regular latex. No problems for 25 years.

[@deliaalvarado847]

My neighbor's motion sensor faucet stopped working during a recent power outage because it requires a power source to operate. Some models can continue to function during a power outage, but only if they have a battery or solar backup system.

[@Quilt4Joy]

My faucet doesn’t have a touch it has a sensor, so just putting my hand near it activates it. I love it so much. It’s amazing.

[@o.m.6374]

It would be helpful and appreciated to have you do more posts like this. We all need these tips as most of our regrets are after the renovations are done.

[@lhitch2900]

I had a touch faucet that would turn itself on every time the sun hit it (got rid of it really fast)!

[@cakedupkevin]

For flooring, it isn't necessarily from your entry point. It is dependent on the longest continuous run of the floor. For example, if you have a living room that carries into a long hallway, that leads into a bedroom then the flooring should be running in that direction.

[@rockshot100]

My entry is parallel to the way the joists run, flooring should run perpendicular to the joists. This just makes sense. Before the days of decking over the joists, the boards would of course run the opposite way.

[@WomanRoaring]

Pot lights made me laugh. When I was renovating a family member’s home I was talking to the electrician, a childhood friend of mine. I was like, I need pot lights here, here, here and here. He said, are you crazy? 😂he toned down how many we added. I didn’t think about how overly bright it was going to be because it’s a very dark house. I’m glad we are friends, I’m not sure a stranger would have told me no, you’re doing too much 😂

[@wendycohen9038]

My pet peeve is laminate flooring put on interior walls or the sides of a kitchen island. Same goes for floor tile on counters. I'd love to hear your comments about these.

[@pamelaryan8753]

I absolutely love my touch feature faucet in the kitchen…had it for 4 years and NO problem!

[@AshleyFromTX]

I love the motion activated faucet, my parents in law have one and it still has regular functionality with a handle, but on the bottom on one side there’s a motion detector. It worked so well, and was so nice to keep things clean.

[@purselmer5931]

There is a huge trend here where I live: buy an older home, paint the entire outside brick exterior white. Do either black or grey outside accents. Put up HUGE front porch lights and rip out every piece of live greenery in the yard. I have no idea if it's the "right" paint but literally almost every home in some neighborhoods are beginning to look exactly like this. It's eerie.

[@gusmonster59]

Anything that is fancy (touch/motion activation), it is just another place it can break. Nope. Do research on things before you buy so you can make a proper decision rather than a knee jerk decision. Flooring running in different directions can be used to show a change in the spaces. If it is transitioned correctly, it looks fantastic. Other than that, make your house YOUR house. You don't live in a magazine and don't need to impress anyone but yourself.

[@Terri_MacKay]

I don't want a Final Destination bathroom. And I definitely don't need my ghosts activating motion sensor lights in the middle of the night and waking me up. 😂😂

[@margaretschaufele6502]

Or your pets if you have them.

[@Terri_MacKay]

@@margaretschaufele6502 13 cats!! Those lights would be going off 24/7. 🤣🤣

[@margaretschaufele6502]

@@Terri_MacKay I also have a cat and I grew up with them. 😻😻😻

[@Terri_MacKay]

@@margaretschaufele6502 My daughter and I rescue them. Our cats were either strays or ones with abusive owners who we convinced to give us their cats. 🥰🥰

[@Omar_Zazzle]

I love my touchless kitchen faucet.

[@annat9568]

I have not noticed the electrostatic issue with my kitchen touch function faucet. I do love it. I even tested this when you and other designers complained about these types of plumbing. It is great for me and I don't have the issues you mention. I wouldn't do it for every faucet in my place but it is great for the kitchen in my opinion.

[@heavenlygothicgirl]

I have severe anxiety and your words on morion activated lights got me on a personal level. Heck my PlayStation 5 decided it was gonna turn on at 5 in the morning for no reason for a week before i just unplugged it when i wasnt playing. I had a heart attack every morning because of that. Cant imagine motion lights in the middle of the night.

[@patmaurer8541]

The touch faucet is ideal for cleaning hands while preventing messes! I recently spent a few days in a home with one in the kitchen and was very pleased with how convenient it was and how much less time I spent cleaning and polishing! 😊

[@immafaint673]

What an awesome channel. Just found it!! Yes, please keep doing these because there are umpteenth amounts of things that people do not know! Also, SUBSCRIBED! 😍😍😍

[@BB-re8mw]

yes!❤ please make this a series.

[@xpsxps1339]

Hi! Definitely continue the series; there are so many nonsensical ideas figured just for some fake "innovation" that are not just stupid, but sometimes even literally hazardous. Thank you!

[@whiteserpent6753]

We have motion-activated LEDs in the undercabinet lights in the appliance bar area, specifically because I want them to come on only when you're using those appliances and shut off again when you're done. The appliances are such that you're only ever over there a couple of minutes at a time. But, yes, if you don't want them shutting off, you don't want them.

[@bf441]

Touch faucets are important for people with certain disabilities. They are not perfect but have made a difference for many.

[@Mariathinking]

The info on the bricks is news to me. This is great insight, thanks. 🙂

[@livelife1899]

Pls make this as a series! Really helpful I'm struggling with floor layout

[@mattypants]

Some of these i agree with and some, not so much. I absolutely love my touch fixtures, they work flawlessly. My kitchen has 2 of them, one in the kitchen sink and one in the butler pantry. The one in the kitchen is great for when you have meat or something on your hands. Painted brick. Its absolutely fine to do and looks fantastic. But you do for sure need to use the correct paint, both for breathing purposes and adhesion. Sherwin Williams can tint their product any color you want. I have definitely seen some crazy overuse of can lights and agree, it can quickly go from home to commercial retail space quickly. Although a friend has a home that is very industrial with a lot of glass and concrete. They have a large number of can lights, but the home looks more like an art museum you live in vs. a regular home, and it seems to fit his lifestyle very well. Henalso had a designer do all the work, which I think is important. Let the pro's do their thing.

[@flaviasilvaa]

I couldn’t agree more with you I live in a re brick house I would never paint them 😘😘😘😘

[@davido.p.9850]

At my big age, I finally live in a house without a ghost 🤣🤣🤣.

[@The_Smith]

Interesting points on the touch faucets. I once considered them thinking it would be a great way to avoid cross contamination when dealing with raw chicken, but I had a cat at the time who used to love to watch the water run out of a tap and figured he'd be worse than a kid at leaving the tap on . . .

[@Novarcharesk]

I have touched raw chicken for over a decade and touched shit without washing my hands. Not a single problem has ever occurred for myself or anyone else around me. Germaphobia is cringe, and people need to get a grip.

[@sumisell]

​@@Novarchareskit's coming don't worry😅😅

[@Kstella2226]

The motion activated ones are great - not if they have any touch aspect. Where the no- touch faucets really make a difference is when you have bacteria-laden raw chicken juice on your hands and need to wash it off without contaminating everything. I have motion activated no-touch faucets and no-touch soap dispensers. If you don't, you need to disinfect the faucet and soap dispenser after using them.

[@JohnMcLovin-xq3qg]

10:12 I’ve seen pot lights used and abused, it always seems to look like a basement or living room nightmare. I can’t even. 🤦‍♂️

[@salicaguillotines]

We have one of those motion sensor taps. Theyre basically hype because in one way saving from gooping up the handle, the tap itself is going to get messy. Oh, and the tap works like a normal faucet most of the time anyway. These faucets are cool and all, but if public bathrooms with motion sensors causes flashbacks, I'd reconsider because EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!

[@ladylyonteeth3952]

If you look for enough designers opinions, you’ll find they start to disagree. Love these videos though! ❤

[@ahn2323]

I have seven cats, two dogs and a nocturnal grandson. There is no way I could anything motion activated. 😂

[@benjamuli]

Perfect video!I hope this vlog will be inspirational for some people because they doing huge mistakes in renovations!I love all your videos!

[@brianhopkins5251]

totally agree, painting bricks looks like trash takes a timeless looking house and makes it look like one particular point in trendy time and 5/10 years from now they are always trying to remove it.

[@lolitabonita08]

here is a question....my home was destroyed by Harby about 7 or 8 years ago...my son hired some "contractor" to do some of the work...ouch...i can not go there is a nightmare...so i am a senior low income but i am fixing the house...the ceilings are bad, showing patches of repairs, and other issues done by the elfs of the contractor...can i use shiplab on the ceilings of the house...bedrooms, kitchen, living room, dinning room and family room? or is too much? i am thinking to do my own shiplab that is cheaper than the real thing..

[@occheermommy]

I had the touch before I moved and I loved it so much. Every house I went to felt broken because the faucet didnt turn on when I touched it. I moved about a year and a half ago and I miss it. I just bought a house and I have a touch faucet sitting on my counter waiting to be installed. I wouldn’t get one for my bathroom because it isn’t necessary but for the kitchen it is a game changer. It is a much more hygienic option which is why I got it in the first place. The only time I have had an issue is when the batteries died and that was only like once a year maybe twice. I dont think it is needed in other rooms because you arent walking around with raw chicken juice on your hands in the bathroom. I wouldn’t mind having something in the bathroom but the shower is dumb.

[@finam3758]

Agree I have a touch faucet in my kitchen. When the battery dies it still works also just use the regular lever. It was here when I bought my place and I love it

[@shelleymalone2456]

I love your practicality. On/off high/low!

[@lucys.4186]

Agree about bricks, they are beautiful. Great presentation

[@mgcap-p6v]

Wake up at 0430 to work out?? It’s the stuff of my nightmares 😂

[@prophetessoftroy]

I guess I’m going to be the exception that proves the rule here, but we’ve had a touch faucet in our kitchen for nearly five years with no issues and apart from wanting to change the style of the fixture, I’m not interested in going back. The only issues we’ve had are with sediment buildup inside the faucet head (it’s not specific to this fixture: we’re on a well, and we’d have that issue with any faucet), and needing to replace the batteries roughly once every 18 months. We paid for a quality fixture, installed it ourselves, and we take care of it. Honestly it’s been great.

[@ny3683syr]

Not bad. I'm a retired commercial designer, and have never heard that it's bad to paint bricks. Your discussion on that topic was interesting. My son, a professional painting contractor, probably knows all about bricks and paint. He only paints very high end homes (mansions).

[@mariannerobards706]

The floor -- outstanding!

[@BB-re8mw]

I can see the motion activated faucet in the bathroom sink, but NOT in the kitchen...when you need to wash, you need to wash.

[@angelabeatty6538]

Had my auto kitchen faucet for YEARS , not problems and I LOVE it!!! Maybe my old school one is better than new ones??🤷‍♀️ y’all are missing out😂

[@acarpio3]

You’re right, we ❤ our touch faucet in the kitchen and it is also Alexa enabled. You can program it to fill any container by voice command with an exact amount of water like a coffee pot or water bottle. So there’s no waste. And if your hands are wet and dirty, we use our arm or elbow to touch activate it so your faucet does not get dirty with whatever food stuff that’s on your hands. Best kitchen upgrade!

[@hagun6535]

Great, helpful input on flooring direction.

[@BB-re8mw]

UGH The recessed lights that look like an airport runway or an operating room

[@emmarantaceae]

Those touch activated faucets are also a no-no if you have guests or house-sitters! No one can figure it out...

[@carolynemma4279]

❤❤❤❤❤Phoenix just found your channel yesterday I can’t stop watching. You have the best and most practical advice. Thankyou for sharing all your practical tips and design fundamentals. Thankyou again!

[@AmandanLeeloo]

Huge fan of all your content, but this video goes above and beyond being just helpful! I've heard these opinions, but have not heard about all the super important functionality issues like you share here. Most excellent video! ❤❤❤❤❤ Thanks!

[@lillice4ever]

Please continue! I enjoy watching your channel so much

[@ljw8228]

Have delta touch kitchen faucet - plug in not battery and it is fantastic. Easy to rinse hands when handling raw meat etc. would never go without one again. Very sanitary. Super easy to work. No issues

[@ladylyonteeth3952]

I bought a faucet. When I looked at after the plumber installed it, it was crooked. When I mentioned it to the contractor, he said it looks fine, and that nobody else sees a problem. It is definitely crooked. I don’t know if it’s a flaw in the faucet, or if it was an install issue. It’s not acceptable though. How do you DD, handle these issues? I’m getting a whole house remodeled, and it’s like me against them over all these issues, and there are a lot of things installed crooked ie, sconces, a medicine cabinet, door knobs, outlet covers.. I’m wondering just who is responsible for measuring. I know some of these things I can fix myself, but it’s driving me nuts. 😢

[@loverlyme]

I saw someone reviewing a sensor dispensing hand towel (the paper kind, not the cloth) recently. Seems like a good idea but just another thing to power up that may die at any time. My paper towel on a roll under a cabinet works fine for me. I always get a piece out at the start of food prep so I don't have to touch the roll whilst hands are dirty. It's really not that hard to plan for what might be needed!

[@jimschuler8830]

1:07 No. It's motion. The point of motion control is to not have to touch it with your chicken-juice-covered hands. How are you interfering with the light sensor that you never come into contact with? Don't lump in motion with touch control.

[@litrealred6840]

Hi! Thank you for talking about painting brick 🧱! 🤗🥰

[@dominaevillae28]

All my plumbing fixtures have levers-easy on and off.

[@lsamoa]

Hear hear. Dropping so much wisdom on us there. Please do make it a series!

[@DaveTexas]

Very interesting about the touch-activated faucets. They look so useful and I always wish for one when my hands are covered in raw meat juice or something like that. Having to twist the faucet handle with germ-covered hands is not something I like…at all. Then I have to soap and rinse the handle. It just feels like a waste of water. But I did not know that those faucets do not work when your hands are wet. Good to know. The homeowner who owned our house before us unfortunately painted the fireplace brick on the living room fireplace. We have a 1970s Contemporary house - cathedral ceiling, sunken living room, front entry onto a landing in the stairway that goes from the first to second floor, all that ‘70s stuff - and the fireplace was originally a dark-red(ish) natural brick that matched the exterior brick. The previous homeowner left most of the original 1970s style intact, with lots of dark natural wood, a parquet wood floor, popcorn ceilings. But for whatever reason she chose to paint the fireplace brick a bright white. The fireplace brick goes from the hearth to the cathedral ceiling, and in our neighbors’ houses, those brick fireplaces make for quite the statement piece. Well, ours just…went away. It must have taken a dozen coats of this paint to get it so thoroughly covered, but it’s white white white, just like the walls on either side of it. As the fireplace sits in an odd place, on an exterior wall on a corner where the living room meets the dining room (it’s technically on a living room wall but is at the corner where the dining room, which sits further back than the living room, meets the living room. Just a strange place for a fireplace. You can’t place furniture near it or around it because it’s the only walkway into the dining room and kitchen. All the living room furniture is in the sunken part of the living room, far away from the fireplace. So, since the fireplace is visually not there due to its whiteness, we really made it go away. We put a very large dining chest in front of it. All of our living room and dining room furniture is in the Arts & Crafts/Stickley style, so we bought this dining chest that is the same width as the fireplace bricked area. It covers the fireplace perfectly, and it’s tall so you don’t see all that much of the fireplace brick. With a large framed photograph above it, the white fireplace brick is nearly completely covered. Living in Central Texas, we only need a fireplace like once every five years anyway. We used the fireplace twice when we first moved in, and then never again so placing the large dining chest in front of it made so much more sense. And you don’t see the awful painted brick.

[@KatSchlitz]

Lime paint can come in many colors and can be done with several coats (which becomes as stone once dry) to allow a more modern clean appearance. Lime-wash (simply thinned lime paint) or lime-paint (true lime based) does not have to mean rustic.

[@Flamenco1313]

Yes more on this topic. Learning so much🤩

[@tamaramartin4015]

Lots of useful information in here, DD, especially the things we wouldn't normally think of. i do like motion-activated lighting, though, because for people with visual impairments, it can help prevent disasters, especially on the stairs. i definitely think you should do more of these, so get busy, mister 😁😁🤪

[@BB-re8mw]

❤great info on the painted brick tytyty...I love the look, but did not realize the downside.

[@thespace2983]

I did paint my brick white- let me explain- it was white already- 50 year old white interior brick with the brown cement showing. It was in the kitchen I don’t know why it was even done. Someone thought it was a great idea- I didn’t. My painter did it in a matte soft white. The surrounding walls were painted in the same white but eggshell sheen and it worked. It worked well. I wasn’t removing the brick. Happy I painted the brick.

[@jp_jas]

We are the ones who painted white originally red brick wall. It makes sense for us because the red wall was eating a lot of light inside our small apartment. Our neighbour next door did not paint it, and her apartment is muuuch darker than ours. But yes, painting process was pain in the ass…

[@SparkleInMoonlight]

I really enjoying watching your videos - it´s a lot of fun + you have practical cool tips on design. It would be cool if this video had more parts - these home features are really useful to discuss 🙂 "What would design Daddy do? Take a shirt-less selfie" I shall never forget😀

[@lexasilvestre]

Always love when you mention Final Destination 😂

[@The_Smith]

There you are! missed you on Sunday!

[@MTLNTB]

I came here for design tips, but now I’m checking out Trainwell because I need to get my ass in shape.

[@lolitabonita08]

finally someone with COMMMONNNN SENSE!!!!!

[@kevina9291]

The flooring KILLS ME!!! anyone who actually lays down floor knows the entire house is laid the same direction!

[@turowat]

All these advises are totally true.

[@ingridkarg-ross8793]

I painted my brick fireplace 20 years ago with regular latex we don’t burn wood and they are perfectly fine. Someone even inspected it and they are fine. I put an electric fireplace insert in it and it is absolutely fine. It hasn’t even yellowed. Still bright white. My husband was freaking out too. It looked way better and allowed me to decorate through 3 different renovations.

[@janicewolk6492]

I like you but one of the things you shouldn't have in your home is your suit. 😊😊

[@samoliver6748]

The previous owners of our house did a "full renovation" a few years before they sold it, and almost everything they did looks awful. They put drywall all around the chimney in the living room and glued some tiles to the front. I peeked under the edge inside the fireplace and found out there's painted bricks underneath. I just hope whoever painted them knew what they were doing.

[@j.m.8545]

I can't stand brick....But I love your paint color!

[@pennyrichmond9341]

Like your new chair. It’s Class.

[@AndreaSmith-gx4yj]

We had the motion activated lights in my classroom. They worked fine when the kids were there, but when I was alone, I'd have to stand up and wave my arms at them. It was annoying and scared the crap out of me the first time that I was the only one at the school and it happened.

[@davidmorris8319]

I get that negativity attracts more clicks, but I'd love to see the inverse of this concept: What to actually go for in designing your home