Our former house came with two chandeliers in 1971. About once a year we would take all the crystals off, wash them in dish detergent, polish them dry with a lint-free dish towel, and re-hang them. It was actually such a satisfying job because the result was so nice!
Yes it must be so satisfying to see it sparkle!!! We used to do it with items made of copper when I was a kid. Always before Christmas. I loved doing it with my mother and loved when we were done. Maybe you can sit down an talk while doing it, or listen to RUclips or a book or something. I mean making it a nice moment, like a tradition. We even had some special Christmas drink and cookies I remember. Really nice moments and like a tradition to make everything clean for the Holidays. I have an old vintage chandeler with only fifteen big prismas. Half of them are in a smoky brown colour and half of them clear. That is also a tip if someone loves them and don't have much energy. Some old ones has just a few but very ornamented prismas (at least in Sweden). The smoky color is also a more forgiving color than clear.
Had a crystal chandelier, a smaller one, and it would just get washed in the bathtub, allowed to dry, and then put back up and reassembled. We NEVER polished each crystal because we never felt the need. Sparkle is great until you have to live with it in your eyes every day.
Many years ago I bought a house from a woman who owned an upscale lighting shop. Needless to say, the chandeliers in that house were beyond spectacular. Luckily, that woman taught me how to clean chandeliers the way they do in those stores. There is a spray you can buy from upscale living shops. You put a couple of towels down on your table or floor… With a couple of sheets of newspaper about that. Then, simply spray on the cleaning fluid and let it drip off. No need to wait. And it shines!
@@mkedee824 She brought it from her own lighting store. She said it was available at any upscale lighting shop. I no longer have chandeliers so I really don’t know where to get it anymore.
I think an open nightstand (with adequate shelving) *can* be good if you need to prioritize seeing where items are over aesthetic vision. I know some folks with ADHD who love open shelving because it's easier for them to notice things they would otherwise forget.
I feel so vindicated! I have ADHD I tell my parents that this is what I need to do. They just keep complaining that it looks messy. I live in my own apartment now, so I don't have to listen to their complaining every day thankfully.
I soooo agree. I don't really like nightstands for storage anyway, so I have like my glasses, phone, and a book and that's it and those leave with me every day so I prefer my open "nightstand" (put in quotes because my shelves are built into my headboard).
Yeah, I wanted to skim this video and picked this part first. Already very niche advice that applies to the creator and people who might be like the creator, not so much for my ADHD brain. Also disagree with the "nobody wants to see your intimate items" bit. Your bedroom is LITERALLY your own private recluse. I know some people who collect certain kinds of toys because of the sculptural design some people come up with and has a whole cabinet. That's what makes them happy in /their/ private space, so who cares what's on display there?
Funny to say something is very niche followed by not adapted to my ADHD brain. While you all like to identify yourself with your ADHD in order to recognize one another, you're actually generally the minority. It's good that you know your needs and how to deal with them, but you don't have to come scream about your specific ADHD on a video about a tip that just concerns most of the rest of the population.
A crystal chandelier is *VERY EASY TO CLEAN* . All you need is an old umbrella and a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol. You *hang* the umbrella opened upside down under the chandelier and then use the spray to _"rinse"_ each crystal in situ and allow it to drip into the umbrella. Tom's wife Pam
I already got rid of the chandelier because it was a hassle to clean. I wish I had seen this valuable piece of information earlier. Thank you Tom’s wife Pam.
Regarding the matte cabinets, I have matte kitchen cabinets with an anti fingerprint layer, and that makes them super easy to maintain. I didn't ask for it, it was standard.
@@HosCreatesif you’re proper scrubbing a matte finish, eventually it is going to become a gloss. Typically the matte is caused by a very fine texture, which is also what causes it to catch dust and the like so easily.
Idk what she's talking about. I work part time in a cabinet shop. We order large sheets of plywood laminated with a matte sheet of mica, then apply a gloss layer as an option if the client wants it. The base laminate doesn't leave any fingerprints. The gloss layer does. Its been like this in every house i've been in- gloss is worse.
As someone who has had 80% of these at some point, I can only say that you are correct on all of them. The only one I would add is bathroom furniture made out of plywood/chipboard (which is super common unfortunately). The slightest bit of damage will cause the whole thing to swell up in that area and it will look awful, and there's no way to repair it
Old wood furniture made into sink stand with all the stored things in the linen closet instead is lovely And the pipes showing is just fine in my opinion. I use metal there, not pvc pipe tho lol Put some baskets to hold towels or hair stuff if u want
exactly!! my mother has her sink made of plywood (more like the place where the sink is, idk the name) and it looks so bad! it looks like it'll suddenly break, 0/10 ownkdnkd
Glass furniture is generally the pain she indicates, but in darker spaces (spaces without direct sunlight) AND spaces not frequently used, it is actually helpful. Its sparkle actually brightens up a dark area. The dust doesn’t really show, and if it’s not frequently touched, it’s fine. I have a dining room with no direct sunlight-north facing window, that is used, at most, once a week and during the winter months only, so it the fingerprints don’t need to be cleaned any more often than that. That glass table, reflecting the ceiling lamps and chandelier, save the space.
Yes, that. I used to have a round, glass dining room table, because I didn't actually have a dining room and there was only a somewhat awkward corner space without direct sunlight in the living room to put it. Because I wanted the nice spot at the window for my sofa. It was fine. I would mostly eat on the sofa anyway (lol), but the table was nice to have for the occasional guests and it would look really, really, nice with appropriate lighting/candles. Looked much better, than a wooden table.
i agree. we have a big dining table because we have a big family but we don't have a big area for said table, so it being glass actually makes it look smaller and the room looks less cluttered.
@@raraavis7782In my mother's house she have a glass table but its always covered with a table cloth. We never appreciate the reflection, and it look so fragile without protection. I think wood tables are more beautiful.
SUCH excellent "pain to maintain" items! I might add upturned glass or frosted glass shades on light fixtures, due to their unhappy tendency to showcase how many insects met an untimely end in them recently. 🤢 Also have never understood bed frames with sharp corners or platforms that extend past the mattress- ouch!
Beds with frames that extend well beyond the mattress are awful! We just stayed at an AirBnB that had one and now we both have bruises on our shins from the bed frame.
@@BlondeQtie Some people are more prone to hit their feet , toes or shins on furniture or objects than others. I rarely hit myself on anything but my husband hits something all the time. I wish I knew why he is like that. I have to be careful about the furniture I choose and the room I have to put it in. I dont know if you noticed but many couches have a fit leg to support the middle but they now place it far from the edge to prevent people hitting themselves.
To buy inserts made of featherd for decor pillows can help decor pillows to keep them fluffy (if they have synthetis inserts). It also can help to have and insert one size bigger than the cover, to get the cushion fluff out by itself. Maybe it's possible to fill out that cloud sofa with something inside? Like a fluffy duvet or something else to fluff it out? Or maybe with some foam rubber? Im actually thinking about foam rubber for the cushions we sit on on our sofa. They tend to get wrinkles. I just need to find a wide enough foam rubber, and if I can'tI will buy a matress of thst material and cut it in the right size. 😊
@@josefinarivia I know, we have allergic and vegan family members. The dust depends much on the quality of the covers the feathers are in, if they are woven tightly enough. At least we did not have that problem except from one very old pillow from maybe 40 years ago. Otherwise there are extra insert covers to prevent that. There also are certified down pillow and duvets, at least in Sweden. I don't think it's even allowed here if its not. This with the down/ feathers picked from living animals was reported much here some years ago. After that I have only seen certified. Taking feathers from animals we eat is at leaat better than throwing them away, in my opinion. Vegan is big here and a movement. But I think it's a long way until everybody are vegan... I don't think it will happen.
@@stinaljungstrom8691 Haha oj, visste inte att du va svensk. Men jag sa inget om veganism, och det är inte relevant. Djurrätt och etik är en diskussion helt oberoende av veganism. Plockning av dun från levande djur försiggår ju fortfarande i stora delar av Europa och övriga världen, speciellt i Kina där största verksamheten finns. Certifiering som finns för dun och fjädrar är gjort av industrin och upprätthålls av samma industri, alltså är den ganska opålitlig. Det många väljer är att istället köpa andra material och varför affärer som Jysk erbjuder "down-feel" som ska likna känslan av dun. Dun och fjäder är också två helt olika saker, och det hemska är att ifall du plockar fjädrar av en levande fågel så växer dunet tillbaka (som är under fjädrarna) och det är därför det fortfarande händer. Dun och fjädrar är också en drivande faktor för att slakta gäss och ankor (som dun och fjädrar för fyllning kommer från), så det är inte frågan om "det är bättre att det används än slängs" det är ju en drivande faktor för slakt.
i LOVE that you help us think of stuff like this!! i also love that you openly admit to having a few of the items on this list bc sometimes the hassle is worth the design but i appreciate you giving us the knowledge to make informed choices :)
Aww, I’m so glad!!! I definitely make mistakes and even intentionally choose impractical things. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants 🤣. My job is to keep you informed and give you ALL of the info so that you can get the most out of your hard earned money!
I loved this! It's so easy to get swayed to buy something without even thinking of maintenance. I'm a low- maintenance girl but also a sucker for aesthetic. I have to be careful when I shop 😅
I have a chronic illness so I have planned my entire house around low maintence, highly aesthetically pleasing things. Best choices I’ve ever made. I’ve definately made a few mistakes along the way and learned a lot from my previous house (dark floors are a no for me bc it’s like you have to dust them every single day) I’m still learning but we’re building the dream home right now 🙏🏻 Starting with NO DECK! A stamped concrete patio so we can just power wash it and be done 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Just a comment about the open nightstands... I have had these twice and both times they were the style with a drawer at the top and then a shelf beneath this. As long as the space between the bottom of the drawer and the shelf is big enough, you can use a nice basket (or similar) for loose storage, but I recommend getting a basket that's tall enough for its contents to be hidden until you slide the basket out. But this is literally the only way I will have an open nightstand... my life is not a photo shoot!!!
Hi KB! I have three crystal chandeliers in my home and find that maintaining them is very easy when I use a drip dry chandelier cleaner, several Brands available on Amazon. All I have to do is lay some towels or large piece of plastic underneath the chandelier and then spray it with the solution. You can then either just let it drip dry on its own or take a microfiber cloth to wipe down the crystals. I don't have to dust in between but I live in the suburbs where less dust gets kicked up then in the city. Love your videos, thanks so much for creating them!
Years ago I read a tip from Heloise to hang an umbrella upside down from the chandelier to catch the drips when you clean. I love my crystal chandeliers and would get more if I had somewhere to put them!
@@claremiller9979 I'm so glad you can get your beautiful chandelier now! I learned this from the store where I purchased it in PA. That's how they clean all their display chandeliers! Enjoy!
The open night stands - yes! Stay away from them! We have semi-open night stands I guess, they have a tiny drawer and then a shelf underneath. They drive me insane. I SO wish I had ones with huge drawers for actual storage. You can never have too much (hidden) storage!
@@stinaljungstrom8691 If they're available in your area, you can try to buy one of those fabric-covered storage bins from IKEA that usually comes with their Kalax shelves (the shelves with the cube-shaped holes in them for storage).
It’s interesting that matte cabinets are hard to maintain-I was told not to buy gloss for the exact same reason. I ended up with cherrywood, love it. Open cabinets are a mistake in any room, not just for the visual, but because you’re increasing the amount of dusting that you’ll be doing. A friend broke her hip going over an ottoman, think that through…. You need to calendar quarterly polishing of brass (monthly would be better). If you wait longer than a quarter it gets much harder to clean. If you accept fingerprints on glass as a delightful patina you’ll be much happier. Solid black or white anything is just much harder to keep pristine. If you like pristine buy something with a pattern to it. Welcome to middle age, my dear. When we’re young will happily accept the extra work for the beauty. When we’re older and don’t have live in help, anything that requires extra work ends up “decluttered.”
I have a lifelong injury (it never healed correctly) from hitting the corner of a very sturdy blanket chest 😅 sometimes the furniture is dangerous, sometimes our clumsiness or circumstances make them dangerous. But I would say anything relatively low needs to be in an area where it’s exceptionally difficult to miss that it’s there
My flat came with a kitchen that has white shinny cabinets that have no handles. You can see the fingerprints when entering the kitchen because of the way that light hits on them. Now add a partner that likes to open the spices drawer or the plates cabinet while cooking. 😭
Yeah, I was thinking… high gloss cabinets will definitely show fingerprints! So what are we left with? Semi-gloss paint, or maybe wood grain? We gotta have something, because otherwise we have the dreaded open shelving, and in a kitchen that is THE WORST! I’ll take fingerprints over greasy dust any day!
Finally a decorator who gets it. One gets to an age where what is old is new again so these impractical designers means I would never feel good hiring a decorator to help me. However I would enjoy working with KB. Love this video!
I’m surprised you didn’t mention wall to wall carpet!? I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent scrubbing out spots in my carpeting and I’m over it! Hard floors all the way! Also- for crystal chandeliers there’s a spray that you can use to clean them and it just drips off- No ladder- no cleaning individual crystals- Great channel! Thanks for sharing!
Carpeting for the win I love my kids getting down on it to play vs bare floor. It’s warmer too. Kids can vacuum by age 6. They do it daily in living room. Mom does it weekly to get corners and edge it
@@YeshuaKingMessiahI have kids too and I have carpet in the playroom and bedrooms and that's it! I do have a rug for living room. But when it's cold out, just wear slippers. Hardwood is so much nicer, I want them in the bedrooms
@@laurent1144 I do like hard in entryways, hallways, baths, kitchen & dining but bedrms, living & family/playrooms carpet always Rugs mean u have 2 surfaces to clean now. That strip all the way around the rug. UHUH
KB, you are SO right about these things! Designers get caught up in the look and forget about the function. Kitchens, in particular are the worst and I have one more to add to your list: open shelving. Kitchens are not magically impervious to dust. But when you add steam and grease from cooking, it creates a special cleaning nightmare that a damp cloth doesn't fix. Open shelving is the dumbest idea in the world of dumb ideas. Example: my friend told me about an acquaintance who renovated a home to rent out as an AirBNB. He ignored the advice for closed cabinetry in favor of the all too trendy open shelving. He subsequently heard from disgruntled guests that they had to wash everything before they could use any dishes, glassware, etc. because were covered in dust. He eventually replaced the open shelves with closed cabinets because he was losing renters. Kitchens can be beautiful AND functional, so my advice is to ditch the open shelving and save artistic displays for other rooms.
big this!!!! its one thing to have SOME open shelving mixed in with the cabinets. personally, i have two metal grate shelves i keep my pots and pans on that has hooks to hang cooking utensils on that is extremely useful, and i have it AWAY from the stove!
You just got SO MUCH CRED for being honest about the cabinets. I remember when you revealed your beautiful kitchen and loved every bit of it and so did I. I might have made the same design decision had it not been for your honesty in sharing your maintenance experience. You didn't pretend to be a know-it-all but instead one of us, trying to make our best decisions in the hopes that it works out as we think it will. Very cool KB! After finishing watching this video all I can say is our lil girl has grown up!! OMG your advice was on point and from the perspective of maturity and common sense. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
My parents bought a chandelier back in 1969. Once a year, usually around Easter, my father would take down all the crystals and wash them. I must say, when it was clean, it looked fantastic. I don't have a chandelier. Super fun video, you really are having a good time.
@pjg6019 I bet the chandelier was beautiful. Cool that it seemed like it was a [holiday] ritual or tradition for your dad. Reflections of these childhood memories make me smile. Greetings from Chicago 🪴
In an effort to prevent myself from collecting clutter/junk, I switched from a bedside set of drawers, to a simple table. I quickly learned that there are some items that need to be at my bedside, and after a few months it got annoying to have a random selection of stuff on view. Last week I purchased a small wooden box, which now corrals and hides my kindle, notebook, pen etc. (which would otherwise have been in a drawer). Lesson learned.
I have a shelf and drawer and still manage to clutter the top surface. Cat toys, treats, brushes and scratchers take up an inordinate amount of nightstand space!😂
the open nightstand thing is HUGE. My husband and I are getting up there in age and both of us have a 'kit' that we need nearby the bed. On his side, the CPAP was an eyesore, but he kind of needs that to live, so I found a solution. I couldn't find a CPAP nightstand that looked good and no regular nightstand would work with all the cords and tubes. I found a nightstand that was close, then rebuilt it to fit the CPAP setup. I used pics of a CPAP specific nightstand so I'd get the function right. I bought these handle inserts I could countersink into the sides of the new nightstand to keep the look neat. A big hole in the back, two holes on the side, some paint, and thar ya go. A custom CPAP nightstand that fits in with the art nouveau look of the room perfectly.
Another surface that shows dust almost immediately is (black) metal. I have a coffee table with a black metal top and a black Ikea Olivblad plant stand, and both show dust really quickly after cleaning.
OMG, I just found you, and I love you. Another pain to maintain are drapes that pool on the floor. Holy moly, your Roomba and your drapes will be toast. Open shelving in the kitchen. What was I thinking? I live on a gravel road in a rural area. What? Was? I? Thinking?
Glass table! Haha! I had one. My Rottweiler was constantly walking under it and looking up. Doggie snot on the underside of the glass was definitely hard to clean.
I think I really hit the ottoman jackpot because I inherited an ottoman that is ultra comfy. It’s on wheels too so it’s super easy to push around the living room for different settings. Whenever there’s people in my living room, it’s almost always in use either as a footrest or a seat. I love it so much and I really hope to have it for the rest of my life haha
I was a bit thrown by the ottoman thing if I'm being honest. Without fail, my family has only ever purchased ottomans that are ultra comfy and soft for seating/foot resting without danger, or for glorious hidden storage. We basically treat ours like chests that we can still move fairly easily.
Yes, I am older but I learned a long time ago that people trip over ottomans from The Dick Van Dyke show. Dick tripped over one at the opening of every episode.😊😉I'm also happy that I don't like glass furniture, never have. I think it's cold looking and I'm all about warm furniture.
Wow! How refreshing. We’ve gotta be real and PRACTICAL about design. Personally, I would never ever have a kitchen with open shelving. Can’t believe it’s a thing right now. 🤣
Great topic, Kiva! Thank you. Not hard to maintain, but putting knobs on lower kitchen and bathroom cabinets. I think my bathroom cabinet doors are on a mission to pull my hairdryer from my hands and to rip all of my pockets off. Love the look, but won’t make that mistake again in the future.
I'm about to get a new kitchen fitted and I went around the showroom looking at handles judging them on how likely me or my dog are likely to get caught on them. I literally had to replace the drawer handle on my hall table because my dog was catching his collar on it every few days, and I'm just as bad on door handles. Sleeves, pockets, belt loops, I catch everything on everything.
Door knobs are my pet hate and mixing knobs with pulls, makes my eyes twitch every time I see that look. My kitchen cabinetry has long fold over pulls.
Omg I’m so glad you mentioned the curved lamp. I became obsessed with them because you! Lol. I finally got one 2 years ago and I keep hitting my head on it. But it’s so beautiful so we are keeping it.
I did my kitchen as a "no cracks" kitchen - no tile/ grout. slab cabinets, etc to make it easy to keep clean. I love the look of fluted cabinets and furniture but I know my limits and that would never work for me!
I'm genuinely curious - what did you do for the walls around the sink / prep / cooking areas if you have no tile? Asking because I'm putting a space together on a super-tight budget and it seems like kitchens must have tiles, but the tiles I find appealing where I am cost a fortune. It would be a huge win if I could skip tiles altogether and still wind up with a great kitchen that is easy to keep clean.
@@user-kpkxgtj Just paint - I have soapstone and did a 2” (vs the more traditional 4”) backsplash to protect from spills an stuff - bc it is black it disappears and looks more like shadow than backsplash. I am working on finding a photo to have printed in metal to behind the range, but my range is freestanding with the back controls so it’s not that exposed right now. You can also get tempered glass pictures to hang behind the range. 99% of prep is done on my island.
In the words of DJ Khaled, "Another One"...lol...Great video, Kiva! I always learn so much from you...the brass "impractical" was a good one for me! And thanks for the chuckle this morning!
Sharp corners: Half of the furniture in my apartment is still from soviet era, and everything is so damn sharp, even beds. I often bump into stuff, so if i don't have at least one bruise - it means that i wasn't home for a while 😅
I LOVE Glam but it's not my style because I need something low maintenance so for me it's ~industrial + antiques~ my vibe is gothic vampire collecting antiques that lives in an industrial loft.
A trend I find a pain to maintain is the giant centerpiece in the middle of your dining table!! Like yah it looks nice, but I find it annoying to remove it when I actually sit down to eat so I can see the person on the other side of the table.
I love how considerate you are when thinking about all the people that could be impacted by not receiving the health care your wife provides because of an injury to her head that could be caused by the curved lamp you positioned in the wrong spot at your house ❤ butterfly effect 🦋 it’s funny but also it’s true 😊 we should be mindful with everything we do
I'm going to argue for glass table tops they are so much easier to clean than wood. Like everything just comes off with a quick wipe. No staining, no water rings a bit of windex and a rag and like new.
Always consider your region when organizing your home. We live down dusty country roads, so my bare kitchen countertops and lack of dustable surfaces aren't a minimalist design, it's practicality. Great video.
YES! Market in the bathroom is so overrated! One of my best friends is from a family where let’s just say they don’t have to worry about money. When she moved into her house the master bathroom was all done in marble. Girlfriend ripped it all out immediately and replaced it with tile for this very reason. It’s way too much to deal with.
Grout. Scarlett O'Hara style " I shall NEVAH live with tile floors outside of a bathroom again!" Seriously loved this video, you are too funny! Oh and it was lovely to remember the minute in my twenties when I had a beautiful white couch with amazing overstuffed rolled arms and a glass coffee table from the Bombay company. So pretty. Then I had kids.
Huh? I have tile floor in half my apartment. Much less pain than the wooden floor in the other half. I need to scrub them once a year in the kitchen, because they are textured and accumulate grease drops with time. Otherwise, no problem. They don't take damage from computer chair wheels, which -destroys- wood and laminate. They don't absorb stains, aren't afraid of water. We're making almost all tiles in our future house.
My two living room ottomans come in very handy. I never thought about them altering or varying my line of sight. But it’s true, they do. One ottoman came with a chair. The other I got for three reasons: to add color, extra seating, and so I or someone else can put our feet up when more than one person is on the sofa and there’s no room to lay down or curl up. Neither of my ottomans is difficult to maintain or showing more wear than anything else.
Agreed! I have a well padded, chesterfield style ottoman in my living room with wheels, that I use as a coffee table/foot rest & I ABSOLUTELY adore it! No hassle maintaining it at all, and no worries about hurting my shins🤣😂
You are so right about the glass table. I’ve been refusing to admit it to myself bc I spent money on it but it genuinely pisses me off how often it needs to be cleaned 😂
@@JishinimaTidehoshiExactly. I've had wood and glass. The maintenance is the same bc I eat at my table and I wipe it down after each meal. I personally love a glass kitchen table.
I loved your list! You always make so much sense. Thank you. Fuzzy rugs are a pain to maintain. You know the ones that look matted and dirty quickly. The ones with the long nap that crushes under your feet and your vacuum eats up as you attempt to get rid of the crumbs that fall down into the fuzz, and the strands of hair wrap around those long shaggy things... Another thing that I made the mistake on is oiling my butcher block countertops in my bathrooms. The oil isn't waterproof, so I'm having to constantly monitor myself and my guests to prevent water from sitting on the counters or seeping under the soap dish. Even with constant monitoring & maintenance, in the 6 months I've had them, they've accumulated water stains AND the oil attracts dust so the counters have gone from a beautiful warm natural tone to a dull gray. I'm procrastinating about having to sand them down or to treat them with mineral spirits to get the oil off so I can seal them with polyurethane. I originally went for the oil because it's "natural", but hey, I don't lick the counters in my bathroom. If they were in my kitchen, I'd definitely go for polyurethane and I'd be using a cutting board.
Yes, and those carpets can trouble for the whole room. We had one and I had to dust the livingroom so often. One hour after dusting it was so much dust all over the furniture again. I'm also thinking it can't be good for the lungs. We also had the problem with that kind of oil and stains, but we had it in the kitchen.
I learned so much from reading your comment!! Last night I was piling some cooking utensils with “boos block miracle oil” and it says you can use it on unfinished wood counters too. I was intrigued by the idea, even though I don’t have counters like that, but here I am now learning from your experience that sealing something like that for real is definitely worth it. Thank you!
I’m less than 20 seconds into this video. THANK YOU for not wasting my time. I always skip to 1-2 (sometimes even 5) minutes into videos to get the content I clicked for and you just jump right in. I had to go back to see where your content starts. This is my first time seeing your content but I’m subscribing now!
I do have white matt kitchen cabinets. Was particularly asking my designer if they were difficult to maintain. She promised I won’t regret and she was right. I think it depends on the color, material and the mattness itself.
Love these Kiva! I also don't get the wall to wall marble, especially on floors like an entryway or God-forbid, a bathroom. Talk about slippery when wet! It's an accident waiting to happen. Same with the glass furniture, in my opinion. I'd be afraid of breaking it & then it's cut central. I'd also include things like the cloud sofa & other such furniture. I don't want to spend tons of time fluffing pillows. :D
There's a spray cleaner for crystal chandeliers that does a good job. I've lived with the same chandelier for decades, and the only part I have to dust by hand is the bowl-shaped bits under the faux candles. Otherwise, I put a painter's drop sheet under the chandelier, make sure it's turned off, give it a good spraying, and let it drip-dry. The cleaner is called "Sparkle Plenty", which is kinda tacky - but it works!
For stainless steel appliances that show fingerprints, take a small amount of baby oil on some paper towel and wipe the surfaces down. Then, take another piece of paper towel and lightly buff the surface. For some reason, this keeps fingerprints from showing. 😊
My guess would be that fingerprints are basically oil. On a shiny and un-oiled surface the fingerprint oil sticks together and remains intact, clearly showing the "finger's print". When you put baby oil on it and buff it you're leaving a thin layer of oil all over the surface. This means when you leave a finger print the oil on your finger immediately dissolves into the thin surface layer because oils dissolve in other oils. Et voila, no finger prints.
I like this explanation because I'm always curious and when I read the original comment I was puzzling over why that was so. Thank You! lol@@IshtarNike
Yes to all. The other two on every decor video are lighting candles under the greenery, and having a bench at the end of the bed with books, throw, greenery, vase and candle. Does all that stuff get moved at night so the bed linen doesn’t push them onto the floor? Where do all the pillows and cushions from the bed go at night? Surely not on the floor and then gets put back on the bed in the morning.
Absolutely agree. A little tip if you have glass furniture (also works on windows and mirrors): Don't use ammonia cleaners or windex. I take a gentle sponge with soap over it, then a rinse. Then, a final wipe with a coffee filter. Leaves no streaks and no lint. You can also take a preventive step and coat it with Rain-X or some type of car wax. Don't wax a table top! lol
Love this topic! I hate anything that is too high maintenance. Ain't Nobody Got Time for That! We also need an episode with people with allergies. The dust accumulating furniture that’s hard to clean is just a nightmare for people with allergies. I would love a wicker bed frame but ugh .the little crevices that gather dust right by my head, no thank you.
I think all furniture should be slip covered so it can be washed and refreshed. It is difficult to find slip covered furniture that isn't shabby chic, something modern and slip covered is rare. I have found a couple ikea chairs that are square and modern and have washable covers but I would like something higher quality for a sofa, can't find it without spending $20 0000!
@@nancyneyedly4587I’m debating sewing slip covers for furniture for ease of cleaning and dust prevention but that’s also a pain. I’m sure you could take them to a professional upholsterer or something and get some custom covers to fit. Probably not for cheap, but probably not designer prices either.
Thanks for talking about this! People I live with look at me funny when I mention "Oh, that's beautiful, but that's a pain to clean!" I absolutely love glass tables, but I refuse to get one until I can afford live-in help. Every time I think of getting matte walls, I stop and consider how much time I would spend having to clean them... My favorite, since our house is all people with ADHD, is anything that is not dishwasher safe. Someone is gonna come along and stick it in the dishwasher, and then it'll be ruined and someone will be sad.
My housemate and I bought some furniture when we moved in during the pandemic. We took the glass top coffee table with the other stuff. THAT was a mistake. That table NEVER looks good. Like, EVER.
I love glass coffee tables in small spaces because you can see through it and it gives the allusion of more space. Cleaning the top is not that arduous, honestly.
I'm soooo with you on the busy aesthetic of wall to wall marble and with the chandelier. Chandeliers are only attractive in public spaces like hotels (where they are somebody else's problem) or for people who have a cleaning person who is VERY meticulous, understands how much they cost, and how nearly impossibleit is to find replacement pieces. When one piece brakes, and it will, because of the cleaning process, your chandelier will sit there like a toothless wonder, except it won't be as cute as a 6 year old. I remember as a child, my mom and our cleaning lady up on a ladder, 4 times a year, with a bucket of soapy water, washing the crystal pieces one by one. The process used to take 2 days because there was more than 1 chandelier, the rest the house also needed to be cleaned, and there were meals to be made. This is not how I want to spend my free time, thank you. 😅 Tips: 1. Buy replacement crystals before they brake. Especially if its a new chandelier, stock up while its still in production. 2. Resist the urge to swiffer using an extension. The pieces will clink against each other and create nicks or worse: get knocked off. Get on a ladder, cup them in one hand, and dust with the other.
Or you can just use a spray and drip clean product. Also in the internet age, replacement parts are not as difficult to source as they might have been in the past. The higher end pieces are even easier to source. I agree that it is good to have some replacement crystals on hand, but most retailers will supply with a few replacement parts when you purchase I bought mine on CL and the seller still had the original paperwork, original receipt and some replacement crystals as well. She even had an extra center round ball. I love my bargain chandelier. I clean with a spray and drip cleaner I buy by the gallon- literally.
@@pippadawg7037 For newer model chandeliers maybe it's easier to find replacement parts but for vintage chandeliers, especially couture one-of-a-kind ones, even the internet wouldn't help much in finding replacement parts unless it was just for a screw or a hook.
@@_Just_Another_Guy My Schonbek Strass chandelier is vintage- obviously. A couture one-of-a-kind chandelier would be made from components which are replaceable. Actually a Baccarat or Waterford factory made "model" would be more difficult (though still easier than the past with Replacements selling Waterford) to source than a couture one-of-a-kind chandelier. Maison Bagues is about as couture as it comes and they used readily available bohemian crystal and their rock crystal sconces and chandeliers aren't really "crystal chandeliers" per say but the rosettes and hanging prisms are easy enough to replace anyway. Murano glass chandeliers aren't what people typically think of when you say "crystal chandelier" i.e with hanging trimmings, but even those parts are available online and much easier to replace than in the past. Also many online vendors specialize in hand cut and bronze cut glass replacement parts for antique chandeliers. So vintage, antique, or new replacement parts from trimmings to bobeches and even arms and columns can be sourced online. I love vintage lighting because it scares people which keeps the prices down. People don't realize how easily and inexpensively vintage lighting (lamps to chandeliers) can be rewired and restored and how easy it is to source parts.
@@pippadawg7037 I'm with you on the price and craftsmanship of vintage chandeliers. But it has been my experience that after the internet purchased pieces arrive, they don't exactly match. I'd have to keep searching and making 1 or 2 more purchases for my mother until we found the right ones. In response to your previous comment: Yes, all chandeliers come with extra crystals (they always have,) but my recommendation to buy extra pieces is because they are never enough, especially if you have a "helpful" cleaning person. I'm not criticizing your choice to buy a chandelier. I certainly see the appeal. I personally prefer to have my things work for me, not the other way around. My recommendation is just that, a recommendation. People are free to follow it, or not.
Oh im with you with the sharp edged furniture. We stayed in a hotel but couldn't relax because of the evil sharp edged glass coffee table that got us everytime we walked past!
Hello Keva, you’ve knocked it out the park! Like literally I’m shopping around for some these high maintenance products! Guuuuurrlll thank you! Timely and wisely 😮 Sending you greetings from Barbados 🇧🇧 peace 😊
Newly renovated my home and bought a Swarovski chandelier for the 2 story foyer entrance and I have no regrets. It’s STUNNINGLY Beautiful. We also had to install an electric key to control the height of the chandelier and be able to bring it down to clean. It was worth it to us bc we have a fairly smallish house compared to our neighbors but the foyer gives big time illusion.
What a clever idea. I think that for any two story lighting, the 'lift' should be a default installation - for cleaning and for light bulb replacement.
Wow! You are so great! We've all made one or more of these discoveries the hard way... and often the reason we made them was because we saw the item or items in a RUclips video and thought they looked nice. "Form follows function" is often ignored by designers on RUclips, and rich people can hire an army of people to maintain their homes - but the rest of us are hoping for some beauty but with low maintenance. The myth that has been pushed on an unsuspecting public is that fine materials are necessary for a beautiful, peaceful home - but that simply is not the case. Yes, such high quality items goes a long way, but only if they look pristine (which they almost never do). Some high-maintenance things that should be obvious are light-colored rugs and glass furniture, but people don't think about maintenance before buying. Other less obvious high-maintenance pains in the neck are stainless steel appliances (unless you already learned about them from working in a restaurant) and any real marble on any horizontal, frequently used surface. Beyond "items" is building design itself: tall walls and high ceilings often mean hiring expensive painters to paint them and higher energy bills for heating/cooling unused space, real wood floors require more than just mopping to maintain, and light-colored floor grout usually looks nice only when new (sealing offers little protection) and can never be restored to "like new."
“STOP THE GLAM HATE” - Agreed!!! I recently heard another RUclips content creator describe traditional home interiors as “fancy” - which I believe was her nice way of saying “pretentious.” But I hopped on to say that fancy suits me just fine! I’m always thrown when people trash talk glam, sophisticated and high-end traditional design - as though the owner is putting on airs or getting too big for their britches. Luxury gives me a sense of well-being ...it makes me feel pampered and serene. Why are others so uncomfortable with it? Are they afraid they don’t deserve the finer things in life - or of being judged by others? I don’t know. But it’s time people realize that everyone should be at liberty to feather their nest in whatever style brings them joy and peace. I’d go bonkers living in a seaside or a farmhouse themed decor - but I think they’re quaint and I’ve enjoyed staying in those places from time to time. People’s design preferences are likely shaped by their past - their fondest memories or, conversely, as a reaction to their upbringing. If you had a parent that wouldn’t let you sit on the nice furniture - then as a grown up you opt for very casual decor; if your parents had no sense of style, then you crave being surrounded by beauty as an adult...🤷🏻♀️🤷🏽♀️🤷🏼♀️
I will point out, some people associate what all you've described here with Retro, as in overly exaggerated/intricate/or cliche, which is a very "love it or hate it" design philosophy. Some people need their spaces to be straight forward to relax. Retro 70s and 80s were... Not that, and those are rapidly becoming the main decades people think of first when thinking retro, rather than the 50s and 60s with their cold war and space blob design trends.
I've had a few but the dark wood (that got bumped and scuffed) and glass coffee and end tables with toddlers was the worst 🤦🏾♀️ Such a great list, glam is so pretty but def high maintenance👌🏾❤🙏🏾
My little brother ended up shattering the family's glass table when he was around 10 years old. He was having zoomies and backflipped off the back of the sofa, missed the seat landing, and instead landed straight onto the glass table. No more glass coffee tables after that. The family only use wood coffee tables now.
I clean Airbnbs and found out that diluted vinegar in a spray bottle does really well with taking all the fingerprints and streaks off a fridge. Worth noting that for the best maintenance, you'd also be treating the surface with something like an odorless oil after cleaning It helps me because streaks are a huge pain that look terrible on the fridge
I have a glass table with sharp edges, and I love it. Surely it isn't always looking spotless but when I've cleaned the house it looks so beautiful and elegant. One day when I get children, I'll just replace the table with something else. Meanwhile, I will cherish it😊
Thank you KB for this informative video bc I agree with all that you’ve mentioned. Another to add is cloth sofa that pills! Omg! I am a first time homebuyer and sofa buyer and didn’t realize this is a thing! I literally have to razor slice to remove them annoying pills once a month or even more often than that. Can’t wait to invest in a high quality sofa soon.
I know your comment is a month old and I'm late, but.. you can get a little handheld pill shaver for like $5 that will make your life so much easier! Just make sure the fabric isn't wrinkled when you shave it cause then the wrinkles will catch and you'll make a hole 😂
As a CPAP user, I will say that for all I do like a nightstand to have a drawer, I ALSO want it to have an open shelf that's not the floor beneath it, so I can put my CPAP there.
I like your glasses so much! They are ome of those glasses that you look at in the store and can't decide are wether they are a baaad fail or an EPIC succes, but when the right person wears them all top-notch high fashion vibe stylish and you feel horrible for ever doubting them.
I'm glad you mentioned glass tables and Arc lamps. I have never understood the trend from day one. My niece has a glass coffee table and 3 kids. Her table is filthy with fingerprints and dust that just jumps out at you. I constantly bang my head on her huge floor lamp that arches over her couch.. Totally impractical .
I love your combination of style and practicality. It's nice to hear advice geared toward real people living in real homes. So much of the content I see assumes that the audience lives in a huge house with enormous rooms and super high ceilings; no dust, dirt, children or pets; and an unlimited supply of time and money. I just want to live my life in a house that reflects my personality and doesn't need a team of stylists and maintenance staff to keep it looking good.
Yes! This has been my issue with the design videos. I want to live simple and most of the design videos are keeping up with high maintenance trends for homes that are borderline mansions. I think most people just want to share their design aesthetic versus help others to live simply. Gotta be careful what we let influence us.
@@Talia_IceCreamPaints "Gotta be careful what we let influence us." That's it exactly. I think a lot of people get caught in the idea that we should be trying to follow unrealistic advice to achieve unrealistic results or risk being seen as hopelessly without style and taste. Influencers are often good at giving us that impression, whether they intend to or not. I like that I don't get that here.
Another wonderful video, Kiva. I have to say, Ottomans are purely a footrest and are not designed to be sat on. This is why they are not as comfortable as a chair.
Thank you for the light colored rug reminder. I have a grey rug (and various shades of grey furniture) and every once in a while start thinking I want a “brighter” one (i.e. white) once in a while. This video shut me THEE hell up 😂
Lol. Dust loves cherry stained furniture too. 😆I agree with all of these. I only have 1 piece of cherry but it's a magnet for any dust, cat dander, anything. I decided a long time ago I wasn't ever buying a crystal lamp/chandelier unless I was rich enough to have someone else clean it. Metal is way easier!
I have 2 of your culprits, and you're absolutely right!! I'm sick and tired of the fingerprints covering my fridge. I'm about to give up and say that it is my version of modern art or something... The other one is the light-colored carpet. And we have 4 big dogs. And live in the country. And have horses and chickens (no, they do not come into the house, but we do, after working with them). What the heck was I thinking!?!?
I despise the excessive exotic marble trend. Usually owned by the same people who will lecture you about gas stoves. Hard pass. That said, I have a glass coffee table that I love, but not nearly as much as it loves reaching out and stabbing me in the shin three times a week. Been searching hard for something else.
The people who have marble you described seem to be greatly influenced by the media. Soo... You can accuse them of being the like of a Russian oligarch. Point out It's actually late Empire/Regency circa 1915 a.k.a "Russian" style. Especially if they have something which is satin, velvet, fur, dark expensive wood, crystal glass, golden or red nearby. Affluent Russians love to showcase the richness of natural goods of Russia, so expensive natural materials are put all over the place if they want to show off. As Russia is pretty dark, Russians also generally adore shiny things.
Until you find a replacement, there are clear bumpers typically marketed towards parents that help prevent you from getting hurt by the sharp corners. They aren’t expensive typically either. They also make them for sharp edges not just sharp corners too
@@MizJilly no problem ^^ my furniture likes stabbing me too (I went on a trip recently and was rushing, managed to hit my thigh on the dining room table and had a giant thigh bruise for the entire trip 😂 ), luckily there are a lot of really great ways to help prevent injury from furniture
Our former house came with two chandeliers in 1971. About once a year we would take all the crystals off, wash them in dish detergent, polish them dry with a lint-free dish towel, and re-hang them. It was actually such a satisfying job because the result was so nice!
Yes it must be so satisfying to see it sparkle!!! We used to do it with items made of copper when I was a kid. Always before Christmas. I loved doing it with my mother and loved when we were done.
Maybe you can sit down an talk while doing it, or listen to RUclips or a book or something. I mean making it a nice moment, like a tradition. We even had some special Christmas drink and cookies I remember. Really nice moments and like a tradition to make everything clean for the Holidays.
I have an old vintage chandeler with only fifteen big prismas. Half of them are in a smoky brown colour and half of them clear. That is also a tip if someone loves them and don't have much energy. Some old ones has just a few but very ornamented prismas (at least in Sweden). The smoky color is also a more forgiving color than clear.
Had a crystal chandelier, a smaller one, and it would just get washed in the bathtub, allowed to dry, and then put back up and reassembled. We NEVER polished each crystal because we never felt the need. Sparkle is great until you have to live with it in your eyes every day.
Sounds like a fun Christmas or holiday season activity
More power to you. I find them a pain
@@HosCreates pro cleaners spray them with something and it's basically done.
Many years ago I bought a house from a woman who owned an upscale lighting shop. Needless to say, the chandeliers in that house were beyond spectacular. Luckily, that woman taught me how to clean chandeliers the way they do in those stores. There is a spray you can buy from upscale living shops. You put a couple of towels down on your table or floor… With a couple of sheets of newspaper about that. Then, simply spray on the cleaning fluid and let it drip off. No need to wait. And it shines!
My grandmother used a special cleanser but I don’t remember a spray. Please share 🥹
@@mkedee824 She brought it from her own lighting store. She said it was available at any upscale lighting shop. I no longer have chandeliers so I really don’t know where to get it anymore.
That’s great to know
Yup super stuff been doing it for 40 years works like magic!!!!!
@@bawillard2578what is it called?
I think an open nightstand (with adequate shelving) *can* be good if you need to prioritize seeing where items are over aesthetic vision. I know some folks with ADHD who love open shelving because it's easier for them to notice things they would otherwise forget.
I feel so vindicated! I have ADHD I tell my parents that this is what I need to do. They just keep complaining that it looks messy. I live in my own apartment now, so I don't have to listen to their complaining every day thankfully.
I soooo agree. I don't really like nightstands for storage anyway, so I have like my glasses, phone, and a book and that's it and those leave with me every day so I prefer my open "nightstand" (put in quotes because my shelves are built into my headboard).
Yeah, I wanted to skim this video and picked this part first. Already very niche advice that applies to the creator and people who might be like the creator, not so much for my ADHD brain. Also disagree with the "nobody wants to see your intimate items" bit. Your bedroom is LITERALLY your own private recluse. I know some people who collect certain kinds of toys because of the sculptural design some people come up with and has a whole cabinet. That's what makes them happy in /their/ private space, so who cares what's on display there?
Funny to say something is very niche followed by not adapted to my ADHD brain. While you all like to identify yourself with your ADHD in order to recognize one another, you're actually generally the minority. It's good that you know your needs and how to deal with them, but you don't have to come scream about your specific ADHD on a video about a tip that just concerns most of the rest of the population.
@rosered5485 totally agree 😂 I cover table tops with alllll the things but a basket to dump things in randomly is always nice 😊
A crystal chandelier is *VERY EASY TO CLEAN* . All you need is an old umbrella and a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol. You *hang* the umbrella opened upside down under the chandelier and then use the spray to _"rinse"_ each crystal in situ and allow it to drip into the umbrella.
Tom's wife Pam
Am going to try this.
One must strive to protect Toms wife Pam
thank you Tom's wife Pam, you are truly the backbone of our society
I already got rid of the chandelier because it was a hassle to clean. I wish I had seen this valuable piece of information earlier. Thank you Tom’s wife Pam.
Tom’s wife, I want a glass coffee table. Help me! 😢
Regarding the matte cabinets, I have matte kitchen cabinets with an anti fingerprint layer, and that makes them super easy to maintain. I didn't ask for it, it was standard.
I didn't know that was a thing!
Or you could just get a satin or semigloss and save yourself the trouble of scrubbing so hard
@@HosCreatesif you’re proper scrubbing a matte finish, eventually it is going to become a gloss. Typically the matte is caused by a very fine texture, which is also what causes it to catch dust and the like so easily.
Do you know the name of the layer? Assuming it is a liquid hat was painted on?
Idk what she's talking about. I work part time in a cabinet shop. We order large sheets of plywood laminated with a matte sheet of mica, then apply a gloss layer as an option if the client wants it. The base laminate doesn't leave any fingerprints. The gloss layer does. Its been like this in every house i've been in- gloss is worse.
As someone who has had 80% of these at some point, I can only say that you are correct on all of them.
The only one I would add is bathroom furniture made out of plywood/chipboard (which is super common unfortunately). The slightest bit of damage will cause the whole thing to swell up in that area and it will look awful, and there's no way to repair it
Old wood furniture made into sink stand with all the stored things in the linen closet instead is lovely
And the pipes showing is just fine in my opinion. I use metal there, not pvc pipe tho lol
Put some baskets to hold towels or hair stuff if u want
exactly!! my mother has her sink made of plywood (more like the place where the sink is, idk the name) and it looks so bad! it looks like it'll suddenly break, 0/10 ownkdnkd
The paint is flaking off the bathroom drawers under the sink because it's been swelling. It came with the apartment, but it suuuucks
Glass furniture is generally the pain she indicates, but in darker spaces (spaces without direct sunlight) AND spaces not frequently used, it is actually helpful. Its sparkle actually brightens up a dark area. The dust doesn’t really show, and if it’s not frequently touched, it’s fine. I have a dining room with no direct sunlight-north facing window, that is used, at most, once a week and during the winter months only, so it the fingerprints don’t need to be cleaned any more often than that. That glass table, reflecting the ceiling lamps and chandelier, save the space.
So true! Also great for smaller spaces because they don't take up the same amount of visual room.
Yes, that. I used to have a round, glass dining room table, because I didn't actually have a dining room and there was only a somewhat awkward corner space without direct sunlight in the living room to put it. Because I wanted the nice spot at the window for my sofa.
It was fine. I would mostly eat on the sofa anyway (lol), but the table was nice to have for the occasional guests and it would look really, really, nice with appropriate lighting/candles. Looked much better, than a wooden table.
i agree. we have a big dining table because we have a big family but we don't have a big area for said table, so it being glass actually makes it look smaller and the room looks less cluttered.
@@raraavis7782In my mother's house she have a glass table but its always covered with a table cloth. We never appreciate the reflection, and it look so fragile without protection.
I think wood tables are more beautiful.
I clean my kitchen table every day, so glass isn't extra work
SUCH excellent "pain to maintain" items! I might add upturned glass or frosted glass shades on light fixtures, due to their unhappy tendency to showcase how many insects met an untimely end in them recently. 🤢 Also have never understood bed frames with sharp corners or platforms that extend past the mattress- ouch!
it’s handy, i can place my electronics on the rim. i never stubbed my toe or anything
Beds with frames that extend well beyond the mattress are awful! We just stayed at an AirBnB that had one and now we both have bruises on our shins from the bed frame.
@@pholliez lmao wtf were you doing? i have never had any bruises in 20 years.
@@BlondeQtie Some people are more prone to hit their feet , toes or shins on furniture or objects than others. I rarely hit myself on anything but my husband hits something all the time. I wish I knew why he is like that. I have to be careful about the furniture I choose and the room I have to put it in. I dont know if you noticed but many couches have a fit leg to support the middle but they now place it far from the edge to prevent people hitting themselves.
@@BlondeQtie some of us are clumsy and iron deficient lmao
I'm adding a #12 to the list with cloud couches! Such a pain with the constant fluffing of every cushion, sometimes pilling depending on the fabric 😅
To buy inserts made of featherd for decor pillows can help decor pillows to keep them fluffy (if they have synthetis inserts). It also can help to have and insert one size bigger than the cover, to get the cushion fluff out by itself. Maybe it's possible to fill out that cloud sofa with something inside? Like a fluffy duvet or something else to fluff it out? Or maybe with some foam rubber? Im actually thinking about foam rubber for the cushions we sit on on our sofa. They tend to get wrinkles. I just need to find a wide enough foam rubber, and if I can'tI will buy a matress of thst material and cut it in the right size. 😊
@@stinaljungstrom8691 feathers get so dusty though and are bad for allergies. not to talk about the animal rights ethics of it.
@@josefinarivia I know, we have allergic and vegan family members. The dust depends much on the quality of the covers the feathers are in, if they are woven tightly enough. At least we did not have that problem except from one very old pillow from maybe 40 years ago. Otherwise there are extra insert covers to prevent that. There also are certified down pillow and duvets, at least in Sweden. I don't think it's even allowed here if its not. This with the down/ feathers picked from living animals was reported much here some years ago. After that I have only seen certified. Taking feathers from animals we eat is at leaat better than throwing them away, in my opinion. Vegan is big here and a movement. But I think it's a long way until everybody are vegan... I don't think it will happen.
@@stinaljungstrom8691 Haha oj, visste inte att du va svensk. Men jag sa inget om veganism, och det är inte relevant. Djurrätt och etik är en diskussion helt oberoende av veganism. Plockning av dun från levande djur försiggår ju fortfarande i stora delar av Europa och övriga världen, speciellt i Kina där största verksamheten finns. Certifiering som finns för dun och fjädrar är gjort av industrin och upprätthålls av samma industri, alltså är den ganska opålitlig. Det många väljer är att istället köpa andra material och varför affärer som Jysk erbjuder "down-feel" som ska likna känslan av dun.
Dun och fjäder är också två helt olika saker, och det hemska är att ifall du plockar fjädrar av en levande fågel så växer dunet tillbaka (som är under fjädrarna) och det är därför det fortfarande händer.
Dun och fjädrar är också en drivande faktor för att slakta gäss och ankor (som dun och fjädrar för fyllning kommer från), så det är inte frågan om "det är bättre att det används än slängs" det är ju en drivande faktor för slakt.
So glad I didn’t fall for that one. My furniture is from RH but said “nope” to the cloud couch.
i LOVE that you help us think of stuff like this!! i also love that you openly admit to having a few of the items on this list bc sometimes the hassle is worth the design but i appreciate you giving us the knowledge to make informed choices :)
Aww, I’m so glad!!! I definitely make mistakes and even intentionally choose impractical things. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants 🤣. My job is to keep you informed and give you ALL of the info so that you can get the most out of your hard earned money!
Yes this was extremely helpful! We’re hoping to buy a house in the next year and I am old enough to care more about maintenance than aesthetics ❤😊
I loved this! It's so easy to get swayed to buy something without even thinking of maintenance. I'm a low- maintenance girl but also a sucker for aesthetic. I have to be careful when I shop 😅
I’m so glad this was helpful!!! I’m right there with you regarding aesthetics.
I have a chronic illness so I have planned my entire house around low maintence, highly aesthetically pleasing things. Best choices I’ve ever made. I’ve definately made a few mistakes along the way and learned a lot from my previous house (dark floors are a no for me bc it’s like you have to dust them every single day)
I’m still learning but we’re building the dream home right now 🙏🏻
Starting with NO DECK! A stamped concrete patio so we can just power wash it and be done 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Same!
@@ThatDataLadyI have semi dark floors and a robot vacuum cleaner. That thing is a lifesaver. I don't have to vacuum ever anymore.
@@ThatDataLadyYOU need to do a video!
Just a comment about the open nightstands... I have had these twice and both times they were the style with a drawer at the top and then a shelf beneath this. As long as the space between the bottom of the drawer and the shelf is big enough, you can use a nice basket (or similar) for loose storage, but I recommend getting a basket that's tall enough for its contents to be hidden until you slide the basket out. But this is literally the only way I will have an open nightstand... my life is not a photo shoot!!!
at that point arent you just buying the bottom draw separately
Exactly! Also, I like to change up the baskets once in a while. Cheap way to update the look.
Hi KB! I have three crystal chandeliers in my home and find that maintaining them is very easy when I use a drip dry chandelier cleaner, several Brands available on Amazon. All I have to do is lay some towels or large piece of plastic underneath the chandelier and then spray it with the solution. You can then either just let it drip dry on its own or take a microfiber cloth to wipe down the crystals. I don't have to dust in between but I live in the suburbs where less dust gets kicked up then in the city. Love your videos, thanks so much for creating them!
WOAH! Diana, you may be changing the game for us! I’ll place an order rn.
Years ago I read a tip from Heloise to hang an umbrella upside down from the chandelier to catch the drips when you clean. I love my crystal chandeliers and would get more if I had somewhere to put them!
Yes, this is the best way to clean!
This is such brilliant info, I desperately want a chandelier for our dining room and the thought of cleaning it - big Nope. This changes EVERYTHING 😮
@@claremiller9979 I'm so glad you can get your beautiful chandelier now! I learned this from the store where I purchased it in PA. That's how they clean all their display chandeliers! Enjoy!
The open night stands - yes! Stay away from them! We have semi-open night stands I guess, they have a tiny drawer and then a shelf underneath. They drive me insane. I SO wish I had ones with huge drawers for actual storage. You can never have too much (hidden) storage!
I bought solid wood filing cabinets to use as nightstands so I could have lots of storage.
Same here!! One or two beautiful boxes under hopefully can save the situation.
@@stinaljungstrom8691 If they're available in your area, you can try to buy one of those fabric-covered storage bins from IKEA that usually comes with their Kalax shelves (the shelves with the cube-shaped holes in them for storage).
It’s interesting that matte cabinets are hard to maintain-I was told not to buy gloss for the exact same reason. I ended up with cherrywood, love it.
Open cabinets are a mistake in any room, not just for the visual, but because you’re increasing the amount of dusting that you’ll be doing.
A friend broke her hip going over an ottoman, think that through….
You need to calendar quarterly polishing of brass (monthly would be better). If you wait longer than a quarter it gets much harder to clean.
If you accept fingerprints on glass as a delightful patina you’ll be much happier.
Solid black or white anything is just much harder to keep pristine. If you like pristine buy something with a pattern to it.
Welcome to middle age, my dear. When we’re young will happily accept the extra work for the beauty. When we’re older and don’t have live in help, anything that requires extra work ends up “decluttered.”
I have a lifelong injury (it never healed correctly) from hitting the corner of a very sturdy blanket chest 😅 sometimes the furniture is dangerous, sometimes our clumsiness or circumstances make them dangerous. But I would say anything relatively low needs to be in an area where it’s exceptionally difficult to miss that it’s there
My flat came with a kitchen that has white shinny cabinets that have no handles. You can see the fingerprints when entering the kitchen because of the way that light hits on them. Now add a partner that likes to open the spices drawer or the plates cabinet while cooking. 😭
@@dianaandreia you can get stick on handles, maybe that would help you
Ok, was wanting a footstool/ottoman- trip over everything- you have saved a life!❤
Yeah, I was thinking… high gloss cabinets will definitely show fingerprints! So what are we left with? Semi-gloss paint, or maybe wood grain? We gotta have something, because otherwise we have the dreaded open shelving, and in a kitchen that is THE WORST! I’ll take fingerprints over greasy dust any day!
Finally a decorator who gets it. One gets to an age where what is old is new again so these impractical designers means I would never feel good hiring a decorator to help me. However I would enjoy working with KB. Love this video!
Thanks so much!!
I’m surprised you didn’t mention wall to wall carpet!?
I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent scrubbing out spots in my carpeting and I’m over it!
Hard floors all the way!
Also- for crystal chandeliers there’s a spray that you can use to clean them and it just drips off-
No ladder- no cleaning individual crystals-
Great channel! Thanks for sharing!
Wall-to-wall carpet isn't a current trend that people are installing now, so that might be why! I hate it too.
Carpeting for the win
I love my kids getting down on it to play vs bare floor. It’s warmer too. Kids can vacuum by age 6. They do it daily in living room. Mom does it weekly to get corners and edge it
@@YeshuaKingMessiahI have kids too and I have carpet in the playroom and bedrooms and that's it! I do have a rug for living room. But when it's cold out, just wear slippers. Hardwood is so much nicer, I want them in the bedrooms
@@laurent1144 I do like hard in entryways, hallways, baths, kitchen & dining but bedrms, living & family/playrooms carpet always
Rugs mean u have 2 surfaces to clean now. That strip all the way around the rug. UHUH
KB, you are SO right about these things! Designers get caught up in the look and forget about the function. Kitchens, in particular are the worst and I have one more to add to your list: open shelving. Kitchens are not magically impervious to dust. But when you add steam and grease from cooking, it creates a special cleaning nightmare that a damp cloth doesn't fix. Open shelving is the dumbest idea in the world of dumb ideas. Example: my friend told me about an acquaintance who renovated a home to rent out as an AirBNB. He ignored the advice for closed cabinetry in favor of the all too trendy open shelving. He subsequently heard from disgruntled guests that they had to wash everything before they could use any dishes, glassware, etc. because were covered in dust. He eventually replaced the open shelves with closed cabinets because he was losing renters. Kitchens can be beautiful AND functional, so my advice is to ditch the open shelving and save artistic displays for other rooms.
big this!!!! its one thing to have SOME open shelving mixed in with the cabinets. personally, i have two metal grate shelves i keep my pots and pans on that has hooks to hang cooking utensils on that is extremely useful, and i have it AWAY from the stove!
Agree, I love the look of open shelves an Reno shows, but would never use them, need to hide all my junk
You just got SO MUCH CRED for being honest about the cabinets. I remember when you revealed your beautiful kitchen and loved every bit of it and so did I. I might have made the same design decision had it not been for your honesty in sharing your maintenance experience. You didn't pretend to be a know-it-all but instead one of us, trying to make our best decisions in the hopes that it works out as we think it will. Very cool KB! After finishing watching this video all I can say is our lil girl has grown up!! OMG your advice was on point and from the perspective of maturity and common sense. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
My parents bought a chandelier back in 1969. Once a year, usually around Easter, my father would take down all the crystals and wash them. I must say, when it was clean, it looked fantastic.
I don't have a chandelier.
Super fun video, you really are having a good time.
@pjg6019 I bet the chandelier was beautiful. Cool that it seemed like it was a [holiday] ritual or tradition for your dad. Reflections of these childhood memories make me smile. Greetings from Chicago 🪴
YES! Part of my buying decision is always the maintenance part.
Yess!! 👏🏽👏🏽
In an effort to prevent myself from collecting clutter/junk, I switched from a bedside set of drawers, to a simple table. I quickly learned that there are some items that need to be at my bedside, and after a few months it got annoying to have a random selection of stuff on view. Last week I purchased a small wooden box, which now corrals and hides my kindle, notebook, pen etc. (which would otherwise have been in a drawer). Lesson learned.
I totally understand this! I’m glad that you picked up the box ☺️.
I have nightstands with drawers, but I purposely put oversized lamps on them to prevent myself from cluttering the surface lol
I have a shelf and drawer and still manage to clutter the top surface. Cat toys, treats, brushes and scratchers take up an inordinate amount of nightstand space!😂
@@AndrogynaryLol, that is soooo me 😊
@@emiliebovaI totally feel this as a mom of two furry purries. It’s never just one bag of cat treats!
the open nightstand thing is HUGE. My husband and I are getting up there in age and both of us have a 'kit' that we need nearby the bed. On his side, the CPAP was an eyesore, but he kind of needs that to live, so I found a solution. I couldn't find a CPAP nightstand that looked good and no regular nightstand would work with all the cords and tubes. I found a nightstand that was close, then rebuilt it to fit the CPAP setup. I used pics of a CPAP specific nightstand so I'd get the function right. I bought these handle inserts I could countersink into the sides of the new nightstand to keep the look neat. A big hole in the back, two holes on the side, some paint, and thar ya go. A custom CPAP nightstand that fits in with the art nouveau look of the room perfectly.
As a professional house cleaner, thank you for bringing up glass furniture and certain light fixtures
Another surface that shows dust almost immediately is (black) metal. I have a coffee table with a black metal top and a black Ikea Olivblad plant stand, and both show dust really quickly after cleaning.
OMG, I just found you, and I love you. Another pain to maintain are drapes that pool on the floor. Holy moly, your Roomba and your drapes will be toast. Open shelving in the kitchen. What was I thinking? I live on a gravel road in a rural area. What? Was? I? Thinking?
Glass table! Haha! I had one. My Rottweiler was constantly walking under it and looking up. Doggie snot on the underside of the glass was definitely hard to clean.
I’ve learned to love the kitty footprints, especially on the mirrored floor level of my glass coffee table.
I think I really hit the ottoman jackpot because I inherited an ottoman that is ultra comfy. It’s on wheels too so it’s super easy to push around the living room for different settings. Whenever there’s people in my living room, it’s almost always in use either as a footrest or a seat. I love it so much and I really hope to have it for the rest of my life haha
I was a bit thrown by the ottoman thing if I'm being honest. Without fail, my family has only ever purchased ottomans that are ultra comfy and soft for seating/foot resting without danger, or for glorious hidden storage. We basically treat ours like chests that we can still move fairly easily.
Yes, I am older but I learned a long time ago that people trip over ottomans from The Dick Van Dyke show. Dick tripped over one at the opening of every episode.😊😉I'm also happy that I don't like glass furniture, never have. I think it's cold looking and I'm all about warm furniture.
🤣
Wow! How refreshing. We’ve gotta be real and PRACTICAL about design. Personally, I would never ever have a kitchen with open shelving. Can’t believe it’s a thing right now. 🤣
Great topic, Kiva! Thank you. Not hard to maintain, but putting knobs on lower kitchen and bathroom cabinets. I think my bathroom cabinet doors are on a mission to pull my hairdryer from my hands and to rip all of my pockets off. Love the look, but won’t make that mistake again in the future.
Oh my hairdryer catching on the knobs drives me crazy!
I'm about to get a new kitchen fitted and I went around the showroom looking at handles judging them on how likely me or my dog are likely to get caught on them. I literally had to replace the drawer handle on my hall table because my dog was catching his collar on it every few days, and I'm just as bad on door handles. Sleeves, pockets, belt loops, I catch everything on everything.
Door knobs are my pet hate and mixing knobs with pulls, makes my eyes twitch every time I see that look. My kitchen cabinetry has long fold over pulls.
Wish I had known about this before getting knobs on my kitchen cabinets. They are a pain 😢
Omg I’m so glad you mentioned the curved lamp. I became obsessed with them because you! Lol. I finally got one 2 years ago and I keep hitting my head on it. But it’s so beautiful so we are keeping it.
no matte cabinets EVER! who knew? thanks for the tip.:)
Ever!!! Of course ☺️
I did my kitchen as a "no cracks" kitchen - no tile/ grout. slab cabinets, etc to make it easy to keep clean. I love the look of fluted cabinets and furniture but I know my limits and that would never work for me!
I'm genuinely curious - what did you do for the walls around the sink / prep / cooking areas if you have no tile? Asking because I'm putting a space together on a super-tight budget and it seems like kitchens must have tiles, but the tiles I find appealing where I am cost a fortune. It would be a huge win if I could skip tiles altogether and still wind up with a great kitchen that is easy to keep clean.
@@user-kpkxgtj Just paint - I have soapstone and did a 2” (vs the more traditional 4”) backsplash to protect from spills an stuff - bc it is black it disappears and looks more like shadow than backsplash. I am working on finding a photo to have printed in metal to behind the range, but my range is freestanding with the back controls so it’s not that exposed right now. You can also get tempered glass pictures to hang behind the range. 99% of prep is done on my island.
@@GretchenSchaefer thanks for replying. I guess some kind of waterproof / epoxy-type paint would be worth a try in my case.
@@user-kpkxgtj I agree! Just use scrubbable paint, like that used in bathrooms/kids rooms.
In the words of DJ Khaled, "Another One"...lol...Great video, Kiva! I always learn so much from you...the brass "impractical" was a good one for me! And thanks for the chuckle this morning!
Sharp corners:
Half of the furniture in my apartment is still from soviet era, and everything is so damn sharp, even beds. I often bump into stuff, so if i don't have at least one bruise - it means that i wasn't home for a while 😅
I LOVE Glam but it's not my style because I need something low maintenance so for me it's ~industrial + antiques~ my vibe is gothic vampire collecting antiques that lives in an industrial loft.
I absolutely love that!! 💕
I want to be your neighbor and go thrifting together.❤❤❤
I appreciate that you started this video without a really drawn out intro. Sometimes I just wanna hear the list
A trend I find a pain to maintain is the giant centerpiece in the middle of your dining table!! Like yah it looks nice, but I find it annoying to remove it when I actually sit down to eat so I can see the person on the other side of the table.
I love your realistic and practical advice. Thank you!
Thanks for watching!!! 💕
I love how considerate you are when thinking about all the people that could be impacted by not receiving the health care your wife provides because of an injury to her head that could be caused by the curved lamp you positioned in the wrong spot at your house ❤ butterfly effect 🦋 it’s funny but also it’s true 😊 we should be mindful with everything we do
I'm going to argue for glass table tops they are so much easier to clean than wood. Like everything just comes off with a quick wipe. No staining, no water rings a bit of windex and a rag and like new.
Its why I love circular tables.
Always consider your region when organizing your home. We live down dusty country roads, so my bare kitchen countertops and lack of dustable surfaces aren't a minimalist design, it's practicality. Great video.
YES! Market in the bathroom is so overrated! One of my best friends is from a family where let’s just say they don’t have to worry about money. When she moved into her house the master bathroom was all done in marble. Girlfriend ripped it all out immediately and replaced it with tile for this very reason. It’s way too much to deal with.
I would add free standing tubs, especially when they're close to the wall. You're asking for mold buildup.
Grout. Scarlett O'Hara style " I shall NEVAH live with tile floors outside of a bathroom again!" Seriously loved this video, you are too funny! Oh and it was lovely to remember the minute in my twenties when I had a beautiful white couch with amazing overstuffed rolled arms and a glass coffee table from the Bombay company. So pretty. Then I had kids.
“Then I had kids.” 🤣🤣🤣
Huh? I have tile floor in half my apartment. Much less pain than the wooden floor in the other half. I need to scrub them once a year in the kitchen, because they are textured and accumulate grease drops with time. Otherwise, no problem. They don't take damage from computer chair wheels, which -destroys- wood and laminate. They don't absorb stains, aren't afraid of water. We're making almost all tiles in our future house.
My two living room ottomans come in very handy. I never thought about them altering or varying my line of sight. But it’s true, they do.
One ottoman came with a chair. The other I got for three reasons: to add color, extra seating, and so I or someone else can put our feet up when more than one person is on the sofa and there’s no room to lay down or curl up.
Neither of my ottomans is difficult to maintain or showing more wear than anything else.
Agreed! I have a well padded, chesterfield style ottoman in my living room with wheels, that I use as a coffee table/foot rest & I ABSOLUTELY adore it! No hassle maintaining it at all, and no worries about hurting my shins🤣😂
You are so right about the glass table. I’ve been refusing to admit it to myself bc I spent money on it but it genuinely pisses me off how often it needs to be cleaned 😂
We use tables every day so don't we have to clean em anyway??
@@JishinimaTidehoshiExactly. I've had wood and glass. The maintenance is the same bc I eat at my table and I wipe it down after each meal. I personally love a glass kitchen table.
I loved your list! You always make so much sense. Thank you.
Fuzzy rugs are a pain to maintain. You know the ones that look matted and dirty quickly. The ones with the long nap that crushes under your feet and your vacuum eats up as you attempt to get rid of the crumbs that fall down into the fuzz, and the strands of hair wrap around those long shaggy things...
Another thing that I made the mistake on is oiling my butcher block countertops in my bathrooms. The oil isn't waterproof, so I'm having to constantly monitor myself and my guests to prevent water from sitting on the counters or seeping under the soap dish. Even with constant monitoring & maintenance, in the 6 months I've had them, they've accumulated water stains AND the oil attracts dust so the counters have gone from a beautiful warm natural tone to a dull gray. I'm procrastinating about having to sand them down or to treat them with mineral spirits to get the oil off so I can seal them with polyurethane. I originally went for the oil because it's "natural", but hey, I don't lick the counters in my bathroom. If they were in my kitchen, I'd definitely go for polyurethane and I'd be using a cutting board.
Yes, and those carpets can trouble for the whole room. We had one and I had to dust the livingroom
so often. One hour after dusting it was so much dust all over the furniture again. I'm also thinking it can't be good for the lungs.
We also had the problem with that kind of oil and stains, but we had it in the kitchen.
I learned so much from reading your comment!! Last night I was piling some cooking utensils with “boos block miracle oil” and it says you can use it on unfinished wood counters too. I was intrigued by the idea, even though I don’t have counters like that, but here I am now learning from your experience that sealing something like that for real is definitely worth it. Thank you!
I’m less than 20 seconds into this video. THANK YOU for not wasting my time.
I always skip to 1-2 (sometimes even 5) minutes into videos to get the content I clicked for and you just jump right in. I had to go back to see where your content starts.
This is my first time seeing your content but I’m subscribing now!
I do have white matt kitchen cabinets. Was particularly asking my designer if they were difficult to maintain. She promised I won’t regret and she was right. I think it depends on the color, material and the mattness itself.
Love these Kiva! I also don't get the wall to wall marble, especially on floors like an entryway or God-forbid, a bathroom. Talk about slippery when wet! It's an accident waiting to happen. Same with the glass furniture, in my opinion. I'd be afraid of breaking it & then it's cut central. I'd also include things like the cloud sofa & other such furniture. I don't want to spend tons of time fluffing pillows. :D
There's a spray cleaner for crystal chandeliers that does a good job. I've lived with the same chandelier for decades, and the only part I have to dust by hand is the bowl-shaped bits under the faux candles. Otherwise, I put a painter's drop sheet under the chandelier, make sure it's turned off, give it a good spraying, and let it drip-dry. The cleaner is called "Sparkle Plenty", which is kinda tacky - but it works!
I sooo agree with the night stand. I need storage!
Yess!! 👏🏽
For stainless steel appliances that show fingerprints, take a small amount of baby oil on some paper towel and wipe the surfaces down. Then, take another piece of paper towel and lightly buff the surface. For some reason, this keeps fingerprints from showing. 😊
Will try righ away! Thanks.
Oooh, I’ll have to try that! Our rental kitchen has a bunch of stainless steel, and it always looks dirty.
My guess would be that fingerprints are basically oil. On a shiny and un-oiled surface the fingerprint oil sticks together and remains intact, clearly showing the "finger's print". When you put baby oil on it and buff it you're leaving a thin layer of oil all over the surface. This means when you leave a finger print the oil on your finger immediately dissolves into the thin surface layer because oils dissolve in other oils. Et voila, no finger prints.
I like this explanation because I'm always curious and when I read the original comment I was puzzling over why that was so. Thank You! lol@@IshtarNike
Congrats on the partnership with Rugs USA! I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos 💗
Thank you so much!!
Yes to all. The other two on every decor video are lighting candles under the greenery, and having a bench at the end of the bed with books, throw, greenery, vase and candle. Does all that stuff get moved at night so the bed linen doesn’t push them onto the floor? Where do all the pillows and cushions from the bed go at night? Surely not on the floor and then gets put back on the bed in the morning.
Absolutely agree. A little tip if you have glass furniture (also works on windows and mirrors): Don't use ammonia cleaners or windex. I take a gentle sponge with soap over it, then a rinse. Then, a final wipe with a coffee filter. Leaves no streaks and no lint. You can also take a preventive step and coat it with Rain-X or some type of car wax. Don't wax a table top! lol
Love this topic! I hate anything that is too high maintenance.
Ain't Nobody Got Time for That! We also need an episode with people with allergies. The dust accumulating furniture that’s hard to clean is just a nightmare for people with allergies. I would love a wicker bed frame but ugh .the little crevices that gather dust right by my head, no thank you.
Yes! Wicker does that. It's truly annoying.
I think all furniture should be slip covered so it can be washed and refreshed. It is difficult to find slip covered furniture that isn't shabby chic, something modern and slip covered is rare. I have found a couple ikea chairs that are square and modern and have washable covers but I would like something higher quality for a sofa, can't find it without spending $20 0000!
@@nancyneyedly4587I’m debating sewing slip covers for furniture for ease of cleaning and dust prevention but that’s also a pain. I’m sure you could take them to a professional upholsterer or something and get some custom covers to fit. Probably not for cheap, but probably not designer prices either.
Thanks for talking about this! People I live with look at me funny when I mention "Oh, that's beautiful, but that's a pain to clean!" I absolutely love glass tables, but I refuse to get one until I can afford live-in help. Every time I think of getting matte walls, I stop and consider how much time I would spend having to clean them...
My favorite, since our house is all people with ADHD, is anything that is not dishwasher safe. Someone is gonna come along and stick it in the dishwasher, and then it'll be ruined and someone will be sad.
My housemate and I bought some furniture when we moved in during the pandemic. We took the glass top coffee table with the other stuff. THAT was a mistake. That table NEVER looks good. Like, EVER.
“You have to quit your job and just clean!” I laughed so much with this! I love your videos! ❤
Thank you!! :)
Omg I love these videos! Please keep it up, editing, talking just everything ok!
Omg thank you!! 💕
Love the vibe and transparency of this channel! Honestly this is so important, keep up the good work.
I appreciate that!! Thank you :)
Dick Van Dyke tried to warn us about ottoman hazards 60 years ago! Great list, and appreciate your humor and honesty!
I love glass coffee tables in small spaces because you can see through it and it gives the allusion of more space. Cleaning the top is not that arduous, honestly.
My dad had a curved lamp in our house for years in the 90s and I ALWAYS hit my head on the lamp 😂 your rugs are CUTE!!
I'm soooo with you on the busy aesthetic of wall to wall marble and with the chandelier. Chandeliers are only attractive in public spaces like hotels (where they are somebody else's problem) or for people who have a cleaning person who is VERY meticulous, understands how much they cost, and how nearly impossibleit is to find replacement pieces. When one piece brakes, and it will, because of the cleaning process, your chandelier will sit there like a toothless wonder, except it won't be as cute as a 6 year old. I remember as a child, my mom and our cleaning lady up on a ladder, 4 times a year, with a bucket of soapy water, washing the crystal pieces one by one. The process used to take 2 days because there was more than 1 chandelier, the rest the house also needed to be cleaned, and there were meals to be made. This is not how I want to spend my free time, thank you. 😅
Tips:
1. Buy replacement crystals before they brake. Especially if its a new chandelier, stock up while its still in production.
2. Resist the urge to swiffer using an extension. The pieces will clink against each other and create nicks or worse: get knocked off. Get on a ladder, cup them in one hand, and dust with the other.
Or you can just use a spray and drip clean product. Also in the internet age, replacement parts are not as difficult to source as they might have been in the past. The higher end pieces are even easier to source. I agree that it is good to have some replacement crystals on hand, but most retailers will supply with a few replacement parts when you purchase I bought mine on CL and the seller still had the original paperwork, original receipt and some replacement crystals as well. She even had an extra center round ball. I love my bargain chandelier. I clean with a spray and drip cleaner I buy by the gallon- literally.
@@pippadawg7037 For newer model chandeliers maybe it's easier to find replacement parts but for vintage chandeliers, especially couture one-of-a-kind ones, even the internet wouldn't help much in finding replacement parts unless it was just for a screw or a hook.
@@_Just_Another_Guy My Schonbek Strass chandelier is vintage- obviously. A couture one-of-a-kind chandelier would be made from components which are replaceable. Actually a Baccarat or Waterford factory made "model" would be more difficult (though still easier than the past with Replacements selling Waterford) to source than a couture one-of-a-kind chandelier. Maison Bagues is about as couture as it comes and they used readily available bohemian crystal and their rock crystal sconces and chandeliers aren't really "crystal chandeliers" per say but the rosettes and hanging prisms are easy enough to replace anyway. Murano glass chandeliers aren't what people typically think of when you say "crystal chandelier" i.e with hanging trimmings, but even those parts are available online and much easier to replace than in the past.
Also many online vendors specialize in hand cut and bronze cut glass replacement parts for antique chandeliers. So vintage, antique, or new replacement parts from trimmings to bobeches and even arms and columns can be sourced online.
I love vintage lighting because it scares people which keeps the prices down. People don't realize how easily and inexpensively vintage lighting (lamps to chandeliers) can be rewired and restored and how easy it is to source parts.
@@pippadawg7037 I'm with you on the price and craftsmanship of vintage chandeliers. But it has been my experience that after the internet purchased pieces arrive, they don't exactly match. I'd have to keep searching and making 1 or 2 more purchases for my mother until we found the right ones.
In response to your previous comment:
Yes, all chandeliers come with extra crystals (they always have,) but my recommendation to buy extra pieces is because they are never enough, especially if you have a "helpful" cleaning person.
I'm not criticizing your choice to buy a chandelier. I certainly see the appeal. I personally prefer to have my things work for me, not the other way around.
My recommendation is just that, a recommendation. People are free to follow it, or not.
Oh im with you with the sharp edged furniture. We stayed in a hotel but couldn't relax because of the evil sharp edged glass coffee table that got us everytime we walked past!
You are a hoot! I love how you describe things in this " pain to maintain" video, especially regarding the arc lamps!
Thanks for watching!! So happy you enjoyed it :)
Omg my first video of yours and you are so likeable and enjoyable and informative!!! ❤ the sweet way you talk about your wife !!
Hello Keva, you’ve knocked it out the park! Like literally I’m shopping around for some these high maintenance products! Guuuuurrlll thank you! Timely and wisely 😮
Sending you greetings from Barbados 🇧🇧 peace 😊
What are ya shopping for? I’m so glad this was helpful!!! Love to you in Barbados!! 💕
Thank you, so refreshing to hear the voice of reason.
Thanks for watching!!
Newly renovated my home and bought a Swarovski chandelier for the 2 story foyer entrance and I have no regrets. It’s STUNNINGLY Beautiful. We also had to install an electric key to control the height of the chandelier and be able to bring it down to clean. It was worth it to us bc we have a fairly smallish house compared to our neighbors but the foyer gives big time illusion.
What a clever idea. I think that for any two story lighting, the 'lift' should be a default installation - for cleaning and for light bulb replacement.
Wow! You are so great! We've all made one or more of these discoveries the hard way... and often the reason we made them was because we saw the item or items in a RUclips video and thought they looked nice.
"Form follows function" is often ignored by designers on RUclips, and rich people can hire an army of people to maintain their homes - but the rest of us are hoping for some beauty but with low maintenance. The myth that has been pushed on an unsuspecting public is that fine materials are necessary for a beautiful, peaceful home - but that simply is not the case. Yes, such high quality items goes a long way, but only if they look pristine (which they almost never do).
Some high-maintenance things that should be obvious are light-colored rugs and glass furniture, but people don't think about maintenance before buying. Other less obvious high-maintenance pains in the neck are stainless steel appliances (unless you already learned about them from working in a restaurant) and any real marble on any horizontal, frequently used surface.
Beyond "items" is building design itself: tall walls and high ceilings often mean hiring expensive painters to paint them and higher energy bills for heating/cooling unused space, real wood floors require more than just mopping to maintain, and light-colored floor grout usually looks nice only when new (sealing offers little protection) and can never be restored to "like new."
Your comedy game was on fire in this one❤ and I love that you have a line of washable rugs
Thank you so much!!! ❤️
Glass furniture helps fool the eye that there is space. It's beautiful and light!🎉🎉🎉
“STOP THE GLAM HATE”
- Agreed!!! I recently heard another RUclips content creator describe traditional home interiors as “fancy” - which I believe was her nice way of saying “pretentious.” But I hopped on to say that fancy suits me just fine!
I’m always thrown when people trash talk glam, sophisticated and high-end traditional design - as though the owner is putting on airs or getting too big for their britches. Luxury gives me a sense of well-being ...it makes me feel pampered and serene. Why are others so uncomfortable with it?
Are they afraid they don’t deserve the finer things in life - or of being judged by others? I don’t know. But it’s time people realize that everyone should be at liberty to feather their nest in whatever style brings them joy and peace. I’d go bonkers living in a seaside or a farmhouse themed decor - but I think they’re quaint and I’ve enjoyed staying in those places from time to time.
People’s design preferences are likely shaped by their past - their fondest memories or, conversely, as a reaction to their upbringing. If you had a parent that wouldn’t let you sit on the nice furniture - then as a grown up you opt for very casual decor; if your parents had no sense of style, then you crave being surrounded by beauty as an adult...🤷🏻♀️🤷🏽♀️🤷🏼♀️
I will point out, some people associate what all you've described here with Retro, as in overly exaggerated/intricate/or cliche, which is a very "love it or hate it" design philosophy. Some people need their spaces to be straight forward to relax. Retro 70s and 80s were... Not that, and those are rapidly becoming the main decades people think of first when thinking retro, rather than the 50s and 60s with their cold war and space blob design trends.
I'm not sure if it's glam hate. The older you are and the less help you have available, the more maintenance will be a pain.
You are so fun that I will watch more videos despite not having any thoughts of interior decor (or a place to decorate much)
I've had a few but the dark wood (that got bumped and scuffed) and glass coffee and end tables with toddlers was the worst 🤦🏾♀️ Such a great list, glam is so pretty but def high maintenance👌🏾❤🙏🏾
My little brother ended up shattering the family's glass table when he was around 10 years old.
He was having zoomies and backflipped off the back of the sofa, missed the seat landing, and instead landed straight onto the glass table.
No more glass coffee tables after that. The family only use wood coffee tables now.
@@_Just_Another_Guy 😳Hope he was okay! That would have done it for me too😉
I clean Airbnbs and found out that diluted vinegar in a spray bottle does really well with taking all the fingerprints and streaks off a fridge. Worth noting that for the best maintenance, you'd also be treating the surface with something like an odorless oil after cleaning
It helps me because streaks are a huge pain that look terrible on the fridge
These are all accurate. The all marble bathroom would be a nightmare….putting on makeup would be so stressful
I have a glass table with sharp edges, and I love it. Surely it isn't always looking spotless but when I've cleaned the house it looks so beautiful and elegant. One day when I get children, I'll just replace the table with something else. Meanwhile, I will cherish it😊
Thank you KB for this informative video bc I agree with all that you’ve mentioned. Another to add is cloth sofa that pills! Omg! I am a first time homebuyer and sofa buyer and didn’t realize this is a thing! I literally have to razor slice to remove them annoying pills once a month or even more often than that. Can’t wait to invest in a high quality sofa soon.
I know your comment is a month old and I'm late, but.. you can get a little handheld pill shaver for like $5 that will make your life so much easier! Just make sure the fabric isn't wrinkled when you shave it cause then the wrinkles will catch and you'll make a hole 😂
As a CPAP user, I will say that for all I do like a nightstand to have a drawer, I ALSO want it to have an open shelf that's not the floor beneath it, so I can put my CPAP there.
Excellent video! Maintenance is so important, so these are great points.
Thanks so much, Elizabeth!
I like your glasses so much! They are ome of those glasses that you look at in the store and can't decide are wether they are a baaad fail or an EPIC succes, but when the right person wears them all top-notch high fashion vibe stylish and you feel horrible for ever doubting them.
I love your advice. You educate and make it fun and always remind us to keep us in our chioces.
I appreciate that!
I love your attitude. So real. You go girl
Thanks, Christine!!
You are hilarious! I love your content!❤
Thank you so much!!
Kiva rants Good ! I never miss a post.
omg i love that my algorithm put this on my feed! Instantly subscribed! i love your energy and content!
Welcome!! Thank you so much :)
I'm glad you mentioned glass tables and Arc lamps. I have never understood the trend from day one. My niece has a glass coffee table and 3 kids. Her table is filthy with fingerprints and dust that just jumps out at you. I constantly bang my head on her huge floor lamp that arches over her couch.. Totally impractical .
I love your combination of style and practicality. It's nice to hear advice geared toward real people living in real homes. So much of the content I see assumes that the audience lives in a huge house with enormous rooms and super high ceilings; no dust, dirt, children or pets; and an unlimited supply of time and money. I just want to live my life in a house that reflects my personality and doesn't need a team of stylists and maintenance staff to keep it looking good.
Yes! This has been my issue with the design videos. I want to live simple and most of the design videos are keeping up with high maintenance trends for homes that are borderline mansions. I think most people just want to share their design aesthetic versus help others to live simply. Gotta be careful what we let influence us.
@@Talia_IceCreamPaints "Gotta be careful what we let influence us." That's it exactly. I think a lot of people get caught in the idea that we should be trying to follow unrealistic advice to achieve unrealistic results or risk being seen as hopelessly without style and taste. Influencers are often good at giving us that impression, whether they intend to or not. I like that I don't get that here.
Another wonderful video, Kiva.
I have to say, Ottomans are purely a footrest and are not designed to be sat on. This is why they are not as comfortable as a chair.
This was awesome! Thanks for going through the pain to maintain so we don't have to! ❤️
Thank you for the light colored rug reminder. I have a grey rug (and various shades of grey furniture) and every once in a while start thinking I want a “brighter” one (i.e. white) once in a while. This video shut me THEE hell up 😂
Omg i've never been this early to one of your videos
Hi!!!
@@KivaBrent ahhhh hi!!!
Lol. Dust loves cherry stained furniture too. 😆I agree with all of these. I only have 1 piece of cherry but it's a magnet for any dust, cat dander, anything. I decided a long time ago I wasn't ever buying a crystal lamp/chandelier unless I was rich enough to have someone else clean it. Metal is way easier!
I have 2 of your culprits, and you're absolutely right!! I'm sick and tired of the fingerprints covering my fridge. I'm about to give up and say that it is my version of modern art or something... The other one is the light-colored carpet. And we have 4 big dogs. And live in the country. And have horses and chickens (no, they do not come into the house, but we do, after working with them). What the heck was I thinking!?!?
Thank you for the funny, wise and witty views!
I despise the excessive exotic marble trend. Usually owned by the same people who will lecture you about gas stoves. Hard pass. That said, I have a glass coffee table that I love, but not nearly as much as it loves reaching out and stabbing me in the shin three times a week. Been searching hard for something else.
I’m sorry that your coffee table is so violent towards you 😅
The people who have marble you described seem to be greatly influenced by the media. Soo... You can accuse them of being the like of a Russian oligarch. Point out It's actually late Empire/Regency circa 1915 a.k.a "Russian" style. Especially if they have something which is satin, velvet, fur, dark expensive wood, crystal glass, golden or red nearby. Affluent Russians love to showcase the richness of natural goods of Russia, so expensive natural materials are put all over the place if they want to show off. As Russia is pretty dark, Russians also generally adore shiny things.
Until you find a replacement, there are clear bumpers typically marketed towards parents that help prevent you from getting hurt by the sharp corners. They aren’t expensive typically either. They also make them for sharp edges not just sharp corners too
@@JacquelineUnderwood thank you!
@@MizJilly no problem ^^ my furniture likes stabbing me too (I went on a trip recently and was rushing, managed to hit my thigh on the dining room table and had a giant thigh bruise for the entire trip 😂 ), luckily there are a lot of really great ways to help prevent injury from furniture