Nick: "You don't have to be matchy matchy with everything." Me, from my house furnished completely with stuff I found on the side of the road, "See? I'm doing it right."
Some of the most amazing homes I've ever seen are almost entirely stuff found on the side of the road, or thrifted, or gifted from friends/family. Cheap/free does not = looks like crap
Yes all my stuff is from "Allston Christmas" (Leases in Boston all turn over in September and people leave things on the curb the last few days of August)
I had foot problems until I moved back to New England and returned to living in spaces with 100+-year-old bouncy wood floors. Yes! My kitchen has an old wood floor! It doesn't look pristine, but it has character and is ideal for standing while cooking and cleaning!
I just moved from a 97 year old house to a brand new house (both primarily hardwood floors, yes even in the kitchen!), and my feet are SORE. It’s crazy what a difference the “bounciest” makes.
@@Erin-tk5jw My friends with newer houses use those thick foam kitchen mats. Doesn’t solve the problem elsewhere, but in front of the sink am prep areas of the kitchen, where they stand for longer periods, it helps! Best of luck!
To me, mixing wood tones gives your home a sense of history. It feels like these are items you have collected over the years or pieces you may have inherited from family members.
The history of my home rn is that the previous tenant chose all cool grey wood for the kitchen cabinetry (floor and wallpaper also in grey) and I moved in with my oak and other warm wood tones furniture 😂😭
For someone who absolutely struggles when there is improper disorder I love starting off with matchy-matchy stuff. I have pillows that match artwork that match accents on furniture. It is too much? Yes, I see that now, but for a starting point as a broke college student and who wanted some semblance of order it was a good start. Now I'm working on expanding different pieces that still fit in the order.
I haven't done matchy-matchy since at least the 80s'. I recall having a three seater sofa, armchair and matching curtains in a floral fabric. I loved it then.
As a broke student, that's honestly a good place to start... and now you can add different things, and have some of the older stuff on rotation, or in a different room (maybe the cushions will work well on the guest bed, for instance).
If your pieces are good quality, keep them! Especially if you love them. I have a matching bedroom set (two dressers, a vanity and I'm hoping my sister will give up the bed frame) and I put them in different rooms. One dresser is in the bedroom and I use it to full effect, the other dresser is in the kitchen as you enter my apartment. The vanity is in the living room and I currently use it to put plants on. I'm thinking of moving it away from the window to face the window and will put a piece of sculpture on it. I think the matchy-matchy becomes problematic when the quality of the pieces isn't there but when you are starting out, it's to be expected that you can't afford the good stuff. Splitting them up into different rooms gives cohesiveness instead of matchy-matchy vibes. Good luck!
You are right! I have a oiled teak floor in the bathroom AND in the toilets too and it works extremly well: did you know that oiled teak floors (not sealed!) have an antibacterial effect where bacterias cannot grow? AND you can mop the OILED teak floor very wet like tiles. I have my teak floor over 15 years and he looks great as on its first day. I love it! In the kitchen I have a hardwood floor from the american walnut, sealed. This floor does have a few dents from dropped pots, but since it's dark wood, you can't see these marks. I can wash the floor slightly damp and vacuuming it thoroughly is usually enough. I highley recommend it! Especially for kitchen-living rooms where you also sit and eat. The floor makes it very warm and cozy.
Who doesn’t miss a Laura Ashley bedroom where ever piece that had fabric matched. It went well with your Thomas Kincaid painting. Your advice is great, you’re just reminding me of the past and how bad matching chintz sofas were.
@@juliemulie1805 In our '80s bedroom, we had the bedding, curtains, Austrian blinds, wallpaper, pillow shams on a curtain pole (instead of a headboard), lamps, vase and bin all matching. I also bought a dress in the same pattern and when I sat in the room, my husband couldn't see me. 😂
I bought a 1955 mid mod ranch that had hardwood floors and mahogany walls throughout (including kitchen and bath). After all those years - they still look great.
My entire main floor (entry, hall, kitchen, dining, and living room, stairs to second level and to basement are done in the same darker toned hardwood which makes the space cohesive. However, the one thing I would do differently, is choose a lighter tone of wood as dark wood (espresso) shows absolutely everything including dust, water drops, and all things light in colour.
Love your advice. I agree with more is more can look great! I have been watching different high end designers videos and sometimes they go all out with collections and beautiful objects and they create incredible spaces!
Oh Nick...after watching several of your videos and always agreeing with you....and me doing everything right according to you....I have now failed! All of my furniture matches! And I honestly love it! But I can understand what you are saying.......it could possibly look outdated...however mine does not...yet.....P.S. I just bought a faux deer head to put in my living room. Lol! Thx again for a wonderful video!
Seeing you in your sweater reminds me of how seasonally out of touch us Floridians are. Still 91 degrees here. Went to the beach on Tuesday and got sunburnt. Ugh! Florida seems to be the tile capital of the world. Those huge 18 x 18 white tiles are everywhere -in every room of so many homes. Cannot stand it. So stark. Everything matching is the lazy person's way out. You allow the furniture stores to do all the work. Where is the personality? In CT where I was born and raised you see a lot of heavy floral drapery that matches furniture. It feels as if you are suffocating when you walk into the room-especially in a smaller sized room. I believe in More is More. I know what I like and I like it to be all around me. I do not go for minimalism. Makes me nervous-what are they up to? You get no clues-very troublesome.
I've paused you on your first sentence because, well, the sweater! You've switched out of your uniform and you look great. You're preaching style and now you're wearing style. Keep it up!
Happy weekend, Nick. Thank you for a great start to mine! Demanding anything be matchy-matchy can be frustrating and expensive, so thank you for dismissing that advice. If one is sourcing from various outlets, trying to make a cohesive look on a budget and not able to start fresh with a whole set, well, it's good to have options and not be hemmed in to one wood, one color, etc.
I was never into minimalism. It’s sterile & cold to me. I’ve always been a more is more type 😅. Over the years I’ve had a lot of fun curating my style and pieces I’ve collected & inherited. It always feels cozy & just like home ❤️. I also mix woods and it feels earthy & traditional which is my vibe.
I put down real wood in my kitchen in New Jersey (as opposed to engineered). Craftsmen nailed it down plank by plank and then stained it to match the adjoining family room with a border/transition area stained in a slightly darker color. I never had any problems with it, despite entertaining frequently, and loving to cook big meals.
I so agree Nick. I have had wood floors in my kitchen for the past 25 years. Love em...easy maintenance. And matchy-matchy is really dull. I fell victim to it 20 years ago or so. Once I broke up the set and actually bought cohesive but different pieces, I upped my decor score considerably both in living and bedroom areas. I had luck in choosing subtle ribbon striped drapery and then choosing rugs and accessories which played off of the colors. Again upped my decor score. Lots of compliments ensued. Again thank you for your insight and advice. Invaluable.
I’ll be checking my HO policy. I had a leaky fridge, destroyed vinyl (old 80s) in the kitchen and engineered wood in dining/ living room just because of where the fridge was. I had no issues with insurance and have a new kitchen and the same wood in kitchen,dining, front room and off kitchen tv area. However our bathroom/ laundry has the old wood floor. If those areas are redone, I will be some tile. The wood around the toilet base is not great.
My house was built in 1988 with the old-fashioned piece by piece oak which was sanded and finished in the dining room and foyer/hallway and both were connected to the tilled kitchen. My hardwood installers were able to match the 33 year old hardwood with the new hardwood in the kitchen, great room and hallway. Furthermore it was the era of carpet bin the vanity area. The only solution was more hardwood but I used the pre-finished in that vanity area and bedrooms. Everything is a 99.9% match and looks totally seamless. I vote hardwood all of the way!! Love your channel.
I much prefer a mix of woods rather than matchy matchy. I love the warmth a mix of woods and Timbers gives the space. I feel it creates a space that is inviting, welcoming and comfortable. I love watching your videos and hear your advice and views.
About wooden kitchen floor, some house insurances told me it's a fire hazard and illegal... 🙄 Told them the whole neighborhood is very old and everyone had wooden kitchen floors.
After my new cabinets go in, I'm having engineered hardwood laid in my kitchen. And a new dishwasher since my old one is the reason why I'm getting new cabinets!
We have a rather bossy real estate agent trying to sell our house. At her direction, we are being excruciatingly ‘minimalist’ and most of our furniture and rugs have been taken off to storage. It’s driving us absolutely mad and I’m not at all sure the buying public likes the look of our house, either. After all, it hasn’t SOLD! When I look online for our next house, I can see that it’s what they all seem to do - as well as paint everything white. Honestly, I am so turned off by this trend! Bring back warmth!
have hardwood in my kitchen and I love how it looks seamless to rest of the living area… also easy to upkeep so don’t know what the big deal is about 😂
Our furniture is a collection of free, thrifted or inherited pieces. Lots of mixed woods! How I make it all work is by sticking to a colour palette. Seems to work for us. Also our house has the original wood floors, they are pine so they are soft but have held up for over 130 years including the kitchen.
I had a friend comment that she did not like my dining room because the chairs did not match the table, as in, a set. Having a matching set is so last century. You can do it in very traditional settings, and others as well, but you should consider if it would look better NOT to match. Sometimes, you need that interest, that tension, of contrasting pieces.
"If you want to live in an insane asylum, fine, go for it!" - LOL, my thoughts exactly. I don't like overly-busy decor either, but the extreme minimalism look is definitely not for me! I will say if I had to pick between "ultra minimalist" and "ultra cluttered" for a hotel room, I'd pick the minimal design just so I wouldn't have to worry as much about losing my own stuff in the clutter. ;) But for my own home, ... I dunno man, I look at those photos and I'm like "BIG BLANK WHITE WALL, WHY?!"
@@Moon-Vincit.Omnia.Veritas. Yes ! Design is purely personal & involves so many factors - geographic location , big city vs. small rural town , lifestyles such as kids / no kids / pets , etc. & the variables go on 'n on ... We just need to adhere to " you be you " & garner bits of Nick's insight & enjoy his humor . 🥰
My room is all black and white, super clean lines, super minimal artwork. My fashion is also almost completely grayscale, including my pajamas! I DO pack color onto my eyeshadow though. Why? Because I can't see it myself. Color of any kind is distracting and disorienting to me, so my minimalism is actually an accessibility feature, but I would NEVER want the entire world to look that way! It WOULD be boring lol
Are people really that afraid of being "ecclectic" and their own selves? Like, my entire GOAL is to make my house look like it shows my personality, I mean, it's MY living space, isn't it? Also, I do subscribe to the old saying "my home is my castle" XD We have wood in the kitchen but only the countertops and cupboards, and it is actually doing us a lot of a headache because it wasn't sealed properly. But we are saving for a new (and also better designed space-wise) kitchen, so... Advice from 20-30 years ago isn't even something I would count as "traditional", and yeah, it ABSOLUTELY is because the furniture store wants to sell you an ENTIRE new room, NOT JUST the single one item that you are actually looking for. Which is especially funny when one of these stores' slogan IS "wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon?" (are you residing or are you LIVING?)
A home should definitely reflect the people who live there - not the designer or the furniture sales person . Eclectic & curated , items w/ history & backstory - fr. the inherited dining table w/ mismatched chairs to the original painting you got on vacation this month ... " you be you " ! 🥰
Nick, engineered hardwoods were a disappointment in a kitchen I had (under fridge water source sespecially)and then again in a entry/living room/dinning area of a condo. I went with LVP throughout in our home. No sweat w kids and dogs. Still have no regrets.
OMG - There is OG real hardwood floors in my kitchen that are at least 25 years old, and could be much older given the age of the house. There is even a tiny knot hole missing that you can see light shining through if you look up from the basement below. I am kind of afraid to find out what is under there if I pulled it up.
I've always had hardwood in the kitchen. I'd rather deal with the (minimal) wear and tear there than have to look at a separate tile area. Now that's tacky.
Another disadvantage of matching sets (of course depending on the characteristics) is also that they are sometimes not worn down the same way for all pieces and then it looks disturbing - like it should match, but it doesn't, and I find that way more annoying that deliberately having different thing that even worn down looks just as an individual. (My parents have a sofa with matching chairs, it's like a wooden carved frame and some kind of velour cushions, it looks ok from a distance, but then one of the chairs is under the window, so the colour is different after all the years, the wood is also lighter in the more exposed/used spots... it can be certainly fixed, but it's like too minor to bother when they have different work to be done.)
We've had REAL wood .. two different kinds.. in the kitchen for like 20 Years now.. Love it Love it Love it. ❤️ In the dining room .. a dark maple floor with walnut dining set... stunning. 😊 I'm totally on board with Nick's take here.
Hi Nick - I love your channel! Just wondering...Why is your clock in the background stuck on 12:17? Is this a design thing, or do you just need new batteries? 😃 I love the look of your space and really enjoy your content!
those super minimal spaces depress me. Does anyone even live here??? 😅 I'm glad to hear that my maximalist mix of furnishing and wall art is actually doing everything right. Lots of texture, different materials, color and interesting little things that reflect us and our life. The only room that is toned down in white, gray and gold is our bedroom. I think it's more relaxing to sleep in. No big distractions.
Hardwood in the kitchen risk is appliance break like sink, dishwasher or fridge then there is water everywhere. If this happen while you’re away, it will ruin the wood. Our ice machine breaks suddenly & the flooring around the fridge is covered in water. Bye bye expensive wood.
I agree with most of the comments except the one about minimalist rooms lacking personality. If a person hates clutter and is a minimalist then a minimalist room is a perfect representation of their personality
Great advice Nick. We always had hardwood in the kitchen, I had no idea it was discouraged. Matchy matchy makes me nervous! Please break it up, my eyes, my eyes...
I love the hardwoods in the kitchen of our 1930s home, they happen to be oak and our cabinets maple, so there we have committed 2 errors in advice! Have you ever considered stand up comedy Nick?
Definitely no wood in the kitchen. It isn’t the occasional spill, it is the slow leaky fridge, dishwasher, sink that you don’t catch for a while. We had 3/4” hardwood in our last home and we had two leaks (fridge and dishwasher) that happened back in the cabinet and went through the wood into the crawlspace. The wood warped and entire kitchen floor needed redone after the second leak. Not worth the expense.
I get very annoyed when someone says "Less is more". Not necessarily. As long as things are chosen and placed intentionally rather than just being piled up, then more can actually work.
Sending this to my old flatmate who frustratedly proclaimed about my furniture, "but nothing in here matches!" Good, I'm not going for the middle aged mother who only buys things from Dunelm look in here.
NICK! Please Help! Long story but I need to replace a window and apparently it's not simple! So many choices!? It's a teeny stretch for interior design (but IS it?) but could you consider a Window 101 because do I trust a salesman on commission? Nope. Do I trust you? 100%! (No offense intended to the morally and ethically on point sales people, sales is BRUTAL)
No wood in the kitchen is not outdated. And I can tell you from experience. You're going to have a lot of water (water per sq) near the sink or your dishwasher (when you or take out dishes). The water gets between the planks and below and often times the wood (which in most cases, the flooring isn't even "pure wood") starts to swallow. And you can't have tiles below and near your sink cabinet and wood elsewhere
I love these quotes ❤ - “less is more is boring and sad. And sometimes people like to have things”. - “If you want to live in insane asylum go for it. But I personally like to have stuff in my home”.
I think the “less is more” in design comes from trying to remove clutter which always detracts from a design. I like the look of maximalism in others’ spaces but it’s not something I could personally live with daily. We have engineered wood in our kitchen and it’s actually been better than tile for us because we have a “tapping” cat (always taps things off of surfaces) and it’s prevented several cups and jars from being broken due to her antics.
I see a lot of You Tube videos where the minimalist is the mother in the family. I just realized, she us probably usually going for that bland look in irder to be a Diplomat in her household and try not to bother anybody. I live solo, so don't have that role to play of being a peacekeeper and Diplomat!
I like matchy. A couple of different tones is plenty, or it begins to look disorganized and like a color palette threw up in your space. Sorry, the way you’re talking about matching things, it’s obvious you’re using it as a put down and making an insult out of it. I just don’t agree. I do like maybe 2 matching sofas and a couple of chairs that blend but not exactly matching. So, it looks interesting, but not a disorganized and uncomfortable mess. But then, I like clean lines and simple decor. I despise maximalism or anything that leans in that direction. I will avoid going to someone’s home, if it is maximalist, no matter how much I like them.
More is almost always more. Not necessarily better though. Less is, well, less. Great if you like less. (I do.) But "less is more"? No. Imagine ice cream and try to argue that without a failure of logic. It's not. Find ways to do more where more is better. Do less where less is best.
I'm not gonna lie. I don't care that much about interior design. I just be watching for Nick and his personality. He's easy to listen to/ watch. No drama.. no cringe attitude... and every once in a while I learn something that I can use in my home design that is practical. Love his videos. Would LOVE some holiday themed episodes! Keep up the great work!
@youbetcha108 ya'll... I'm telling you right now. Old school blow molds are BACK and they are AMAZING. I used to love my inflatables but they were lack luster during the day time and I needed extra lights to illuminate them at night. I still think they're cute AND I LOVE TO SEE THEM IN PPLS DECOR! but I have turned my.focus on BLOW MOLDS Also... if it rained or snowed I had to turn them off. WALMART - has some cute Christmas blow molds that are small and affordable for apartment folks. Their bigger ones are ok.. not knock me down gotta get them all.. but I know folks that like them just fine. Yes they light up. The small ones are battery operated big ones are classic plug ins. Decorate a desk or office with the small ones.. .. very affordable LOWES - They are great.. they had a huge Christmas gift stack last year that was really cute and they offered a few more. BIG LOTS - Has a super cute dog with reindeer antlers and christmas lights. They offer a few others as well HOME DEPOT - they stole the show. They have some of the most detailed and adorable blow mold light up Christmas statues... I want to buy them all. They are ALSO ONLY AROUND $40!! Or at least they were last year. They have an EXCELLENT SELECTION.
The thing about really traditional is that it's not matchy at all .Anyone going for that look needs to remember that people used to inherit grandma's side board ,get given great aunt Julie's table when she got a new one and spend years replacing old chairs and sofas one at a time ,or just get one recovered when it got too ratty looking .I suppose that's why non matchy is more homely looking ,because it actually looks like a real home ,not a page from a catalogue .
You have just described my living room and dining room LOL a mix of inherited pieces and contemporary ones, some in need of re-upholstery and some brand new. Not much matchy matchy going on at all but it all works together so nicely and feels like home 🥰
Agreed - and my inheritance is so much more important than anything matching. I’m so grateful to have an inheritance in things passed down. I feel sad for those who have a home full of matching things that were bought from some mass produced stores and that have no meaning since they’re the same things in thousands of other homes. Inheritance means the world to me. I’m thankful for the privilege of being someone who inherited. So thankful.
And might I add, I’ve had the great, tremendous and very weighty honor of inheriting pieces from generations before me and it’s not that similar pieces are not now available to this generation to inherit but that this generation does not want them. Let me speak from experience. The quality of what is made in this era will never equal or surpass the quality of what you might have inherited so please think long and hard about forgoing your inheritance in favor of having something “contemporary.” Your parents and grandparents not only worked very hard to acquire what they had for their homes but the quality of those things is most likely not to be found in ahything you will acquire for yourself today. Think about it.
I agree. My house has original real hard wood in the kitchen and is probably about 30 years old. The floors are still absolutely beautiful. I just clean up any water that I dribble or cooking spills quickly and it is fine. The stain gives them a little bit of protection, so drops of water from doing the dishes really aren't a problem
That's great for you but for me it was a headache. The previous owners had it in the laundry, the powder and the kitchen. Always felt panicked trying to keep it dry. We replaced it all with a light colored porcelain and it was glorious.
One thing I hate about minimalism (other than the virtuous attitude 😂) is that one "out of place" object can totally ruin the aesthetic. Like a cell phone or purse on the table or a dog toy randomly on the floor. It is just not practical for real life and setting oneself up for becoming very obsessive about it looking perfect at all times. I love a cozy, lived in living room because it's where I actually spend time!
Agreed. It's not yielding enough to look "normal" when there are ordinary household things like the day's mail or a hairbrush or a bag of take-out burritos on it. It only has two speeds: "Camera ready" or "compete bomb-crater disaster." The other thing I don't like about minimalism is that it looks like the office. I don't want my home to look like the office, or be cold or institutional in any way.
I lost everything in a fire.. I bought a matching bedroom set all at once because I needed it immediately, I was overwhelmed with replacing everything I needed all at once, and I loved the look of the headboard. No one will be in my room but me and it turns out that the “boring” matchy-matchy set is calming, exactly what I want in a bedroom. I love it.
As someone who could only buy few pieces of furniture at a time after leaving my family home, it was impossible to find the exact same tones every time anyway. So I leaned into it, inherited some pieces, and purposefully mixed as many tones as possible, and also love it!
It's so funny that you said matching furniture sets is "90s" --- it was done a lot in the 50s, and my mom still has her matched bedroom and dining room sets. And the drapes and bedspread match. I think it was an easy way for new homeowners after the war to achieve harmony when they lacked confidence. Also, post-war houses were tiny and matchy-matchy doesn't crowd the visual landscape.
Agree on the confidence point. It usually takes good taste/good sense and a flair for decorating to pull assorted pieces together and if you have no stuff/no taste/no interest then at least it won’t look hideous if you buy a matching sofa and chairs and match some cushions with the drapes. My parents got married in the 50s and for them, inherited pieces from the family farm signified they were low class. My mum was not confident in her own style yet and my dads favourite colour was brown. They hung a big mirror over the couch and that’s what their living room looked like for 20 years. So yes, I see it as a 50s thing. I have mismatched stuff in my own home (some of it from my grandparents) and agree that it’s more homey, more eclectic and showcases our personalities.
Yep, my white French Provincial canopy bed, chest of drawers and vanity table (with gold accents) from the JCPenney catalog was part of a high falutin' matching furniture set back in 1968!
Depending on WHERE we are talking about after the war, there was a whole ‘nother layer of cultural connotations / trauma attached to how much furniture set mixing was “correct!” Matchy-matchy homes you could literally date most of the furniture and contents of to a particular year or two, if not belonging to obvious newlyweds, “told their own story” in Britain / Europe of that same era! :(
Oh thank god. Some of us like to have our STUFF. IT MAKES US HAPPY. I worked in a healthcare setting, where there was nothing, anywhere, ever, and dang it, i want my collections of droll little antique toys, quilts, bright whatnots. Curated: yes. Arranged: yes, but so tired or a lifetime of staring at beige and griege and non art art of land scapey things. Its my HOUSE, not an office or waiting room or hospital room or “ insane asylum”😅
Ditto! I get enough minimalism at work; I don't want it at home too! Plus a lot of knickknacks come from my holidays abroad when I had the time to travel. I look at them and remember good times.
🎨❤️ Minimalist painter here. Just chiming in to say don’t be afraid of creating a home with warmth, texture, and belongings for yourself. That’s what makes it your home. The artists and sculptors who inspired this movement live and work in spaces with stuff. Lots of stuff. It informs the work and compliments it
I have taken "More is More" to the extreme - and I love it! I just converted our dark, depressing den into a Tiki Lounge. Raucous colors, teal, red, blue, chartreuse, orange (and it somehow works!). Mixed woods. Mismatched furniture pieces (that all speak MCM). And Tiki/Nautical tchotchkes tucked into every nook and cranny. I have no doubt that Nick would hate it - but it brings me so much joy! ❤️🗿🧡🗿💛🗿💚🗿💙🗿💜
My friends and I were at a tiki bar in Athens Greece last month. The decor was so much fun. Very eclectic. There were some antique looking tiki pieces in the bar. Your tiki bar sounds fun. Enjoy!
As a person with hoarder tendencies (and an impulsive shopper), i try to practice minimalism as much as possible. It ends up looking like a typical cluttered home. Lol
I have the opposite of what you have. I moved into my home 2 months ago and still don't have a sofa or a TV stand. The thought of buying things that I have to manage just bothers me so much. I have to get some stuff at some point though
@@imenehaddad2860 I'm sorry you have to suffer such anxiety from that :/ you should take your time and only get pieces that you do your research on and are easy to manage! I might not have that anxiety, but I dread anything that requires too much maintenance - I hate cleaning too frequently. So I go for easy-to-clean materials and colors (for example: my dog's fur is white, so dark furniture is bound to show it faster), simple lines... and you can have ONLY what you really need and like by slowly observing your daily needs and getting ONLY the pieces which really speak to you! *Obs.: about the TV stand -- a good alternative is using a floating stand; those you can attach to the wall. That way, there is no space behind it for dust and dirt to accumulate, nor any legs to hinder your cleaning the floor! TV panels work, but then you gotta clean atop of them as well, and they dominate the space.
@@imenehaddad2860 Idk, if you don't need it, you don't need it. I've lived without a TV for 10 years now, and it has never bothered me that I don't have a TV. Quite the opposite, I've been able to use the space the TV would have taken up for other things (and non-things, because having a little extra open space where a TV would have been does make a difference). It seems a little silly to get certain items because "everyone is supposed to have this".
I live in a house that all of the rotted wood in the kitchen area needed to be replaced due to water damage caused by small leaks throughout the years. We saved as many as the original planks as possible (1946), and now have vinyl planks replacing the others.
Sounds like you need a new dishwasher. Good appliances seem to be hard to find as the years go by. I was concerned about leaks as well when we moved 15 years ago into our 1936 year old house that has wood floors everywhere but the bathrooms. We’ve been lucky throughout the years (knock on wood) no problems thank goodness. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself 😆
My friend has oak floors in whole house for 33 years. There were kids , dog , sisters , cousins staying for 6 -12 months in college times. Everything looks great.
I find that unless you built the house yourself some one before you will have failed to care for that wood flooring and any little thing once it's damaged is compounded. For us both kitchen and one bath that have with wood are not how they should be from years of damage and lack of TLC.
I've had two Bosch dishwashers. No leaks, even when one had a cracked hose (after many years of service). If we weren't moving in a few months, I would have had it repaired, but old appliances apparently won't sell.
The style that is right for you, consists of the colors that draw you, the fabric that you love to touch, the shapes that interest you, and the decor that says that this is MY home. Keep it until it isn't "you" any more.
Silliness aside, the wood contrast should not be such an issue. I have a Sears Craftsman home, the wooden floors are maple and the wood trim is dark oak. From 1930 when they gave wood treatments based on natural hue. I wouldn’t ever change the historical features of my home and feel the wood differences are beautiful, and yes, both in warm tones.
RE wood in kitchen- I’ve had both real and engineered wood in my kitchen and in both, had major problems. Appliances fail- this is part of life. When they do, they often leak which translates to large amounts of water flooding your wood floor. Both my dishwasher and fridge have ruined my floor in two spectate instances- I am currently living in my home with no functioning kitchen as a result. Thanks to the insurance company, it’s been 4 months of living this way and there’s no end in sight. I really would urge people to think twice about their kitchen floor choice.
Maybe it is an appliance choice. I will never have an ice maker in the fridge -- heard too many expensive horror stories. Also, consider a new dishwasher professionally installed, not just by the guys from a big box store. Sorry you've had problems.
Yeah. The problem is, companies don't build appliances like they used to. There is this thing called "planned obsolescence". If you are sleeping/away when it decides to break, you are in deep sh!t.
Nick: "You don't have to be matchy matchy with everything."
Me, from my house furnished completely with stuff I found on the side of the road, "See? I'm doing it right."
😎we are rocking that poor people look, and we're doing it well
Some of the most amazing homes I've ever seen are almost entirely stuff found on the side of the road, or thrifted, or gifted from friends/family. Cheap/free does not = looks like crap
Yes all my stuff is from "Allston Christmas" (Leases in Boston all turn over in September and people leave things on the curb the last few days of August)
Hobo Deco?
@@GodessSirisame! it tends to create the most interesting and cozy looking spaces in my opinion.
I had foot problems until I moved back to New England and returned to living in spaces with 100+-year-old bouncy wood floors. Yes! My kitchen has an old wood floor! It doesn't look pristine, but it has character and is ideal for standing while cooking and cleaning!
I just moved from a 97 year old house to a brand new house (both primarily hardwood floors, yes even in the kitchen!), and my feet are SORE. It’s crazy what a difference the “bounciest” makes.
@@Erin-tk5jw
My friends with newer houses use those thick foam kitchen mats. Doesn’t solve the problem elsewhere, but in front of the sink am prep areas of the kitchen, where they stand for longer periods, it helps! Best of luck!
@@katebowers8107😊
To me, mixing wood tones gives your home a sense of history. It feels like these are items you have collected over the years or pieces you may have inherited from family members.
I agree. I have a few pieces I inherited from my grandparents that are really beautiful.
Pick two wood tones imo
Yes!
The history of my home rn is that the previous tenant chose all cool grey wood for the kitchen cabinetry (floor and wallpaper also in grey) and I moved in with my oak and other warm wood tones furniture 😂😭
If there is mahogany or the washed out/limed oak in that mix its a definite no-no. typically no more than 3 different wood tones in in aspect.
For someone who absolutely struggles when there is improper disorder I love starting off with matchy-matchy stuff. I have pillows that match artwork that match accents on furniture. It is too much? Yes, I see that now, but for a starting point as a broke college student and who wanted some semblance of order it was a good start. Now I'm working on expanding different pieces that still fit in the order.
I haven't done matchy-matchy since at least the 80s'. I recall having a three seater sofa, armchair and matching curtains in a floral fabric. I loved it then.
Its ok to start with what makes you comfortable, and then move forward! Thats how life goes!
As a broke student, that's honestly a good place to start... and now you can add different things, and have some of the older stuff on rotation, or in a different room (maybe the cushions will work well on the guest bed, for instance).
Always remember it needs to bring YOU joy. If matching everything os what you need in life, just go for it.
If your pieces are good quality, keep them! Especially if you love them. I have a matching bedroom set (two dressers, a vanity and I'm hoping my sister will give up the bed frame) and I put them in different rooms. One dresser is in the bedroom and I use it to full effect, the other dresser is in the kitchen as you enter my apartment. The vanity is in the living room and I currently use it to put plants on. I'm thinking of moving it away from the window to face the window and will put a piece of sculpture on it. I think the matchy-matchy becomes problematic when the quality of the pieces isn't there but when you are starting out, it's to be expected that you can't afford the good stuff. Splitting them up into different rooms gives cohesiveness instead of matchy-matchy vibes. Good luck!
You are right! I have a oiled teak floor in the bathroom AND in the toilets too and it works extremly well: did you know that oiled teak floors (not sealed!) have an antibacterial effect where bacterias cannot grow? AND you can mop the OILED teak floor very wet like tiles. I have my teak floor over 15 years and he looks great as on its first day. I love it! In the kitchen I have a hardwood floor from the american walnut, sealed.
This floor does have a few dents from dropped pots, but since it's dark wood, you can't see these marks. I can wash the floor slightly damp and vacuuming it thoroughly is usually enough. I highley recommend it! Especially for kitchen-living rooms where you also sit and eat. The floor makes it very warm and cozy.
Who doesn’t miss a Laura Ashley bedroom where ever piece that had fabric matched. It went well with your Thomas Kincaid painting. Your advice is great, you’re just reminding me of the past and how bad matching chintz sofas were.
Lol.
😂 love it! Remember when the drapery, bedding and wallpaper were the same pattern! Like Laura Ashley camouflage!
@@juliemulie1805 not even full wallpaper but this wallpaper borders😹
@@juliemulie1805 In our '80s bedroom, we had the bedding, curtains, Austrian blinds, wallpaper, pillow shams on a curtain pole (instead of a headboard), lamps, vase and bin all matching. I also bought a dress in the same pattern and when I sat in the room, my husband couldn't see me. 😂
I bought a 1955 mid mod ranch that had hardwood floors and mahogany walls throughout (including kitchen and bath). After all those years - they still look great.
My entire main floor (entry, hall, kitchen, dining, and living room, stairs to second level and to basement are done in the same darker toned hardwood which makes the space cohesive. However, the one thing I would do differently, is choose a lighter tone of wood as dark wood (espresso) shows absolutely everything including dust, water drops, and all things light in colour.
Love your advice. I agree with more is more can look great! I have been watching different high end designers videos and sometimes they go all out with collections and beautiful objects and they create incredible spaces!
Oh Nick...after watching several of your videos and always agreeing with you....and me doing everything right according to you....I have now failed! All of my furniture matches! And I honestly love it! But I can understand what you are saying.......it could possibly look outdated...however mine does not...yet.....P.S. I just bought a faux deer head to put in my living room. Lol! Thx again for a wonderful video!
Seeing you in your sweater reminds me of how seasonally out of touch us Floridians are. Still 91 degrees here. Went to the beach on Tuesday and got sunburnt. Ugh! Florida seems to be the tile capital of the world. Those huge 18 x 18 white tiles are everywhere -in every room of so many homes. Cannot stand it. So stark. Everything matching is the lazy person's way out. You allow the furniture stores to do all the work. Where is the personality? In CT where I was born and raised you see a lot of heavy floral drapery that matches furniture. It feels as if you are suffocating when you walk into the room-especially in a smaller sized room. I believe in More is More. I know what I like and I like it to be all around me. I do not go for minimalism. Makes me nervous-what are they up to? You get no clues-very troublesome.
This one was my favorite! So much good advice. Love how Nick suggests to “do what you like” in color and furniture colors!
I've paused you on your first sentence because, well, the sweater! You've switched out of your uniform and you look great. You're preaching style and now you're wearing style. Keep it up!
Happy weekend, Nick. Thank you for a great start to mine!
Demanding anything be matchy-matchy can be frustrating and expensive, so thank you for dismissing that advice. If one is sourcing from various outlets, trying to make a cohesive look on a budget and not able to start fresh with a whole set, well, it's good to have options and not be hemmed in to one wood, one color, etc.
Your thoroughness and brevity is unmatched.
You da best Nick!
I was never into minimalism. It’s sterile & cold to me. I’ve always been a more is more type 😅. Over the years I’ve had a lot of fun curating my style and pieces I’ve collected & inherited. It always feels cozy & just like home ❤️. I also mix woods and it feels earthy & traditional which is my vibe.
My diswasher leaked once while I was away for many hours so I would be reticent to have wood floors in the kitchen. But it looks awesome.
I put down real wood in my kitchen in New Jersey (as opposed to engineered). Craftsmen nailed it down plank by plank and then stained it to match the adjoining family room with a border/transition area stained in a slightly darker color. I never had any problems with it, despite entertaining frequently, and loving to cook big meals.
Yeah, for hardwoods in the kitchen. Once its sealed its fine. So smart and practical.
I had real hardwood in a bathroom. It actually held up pretty well. I felt like the worst wear was in the entry hall. But they can be refinished.
I so agree Nick. I have had wood floors in my kitchen for the past 25 years. Love em...easy maintenance. And matchy-matchy is really dull. I fell victim to it 20 years ago or so. Once I broke up the set and actually bought cohesive but different pieces, I upped my decor score considerably both in living and bedroom areas. I had luck in choosing subtle ribbon striped drapery and then choosing rugs and accessories which played off of the colors. Again upped my decor score. Lots of compliments ensued. Again thank you for your insight and advice. Invaluable.
That’s what my sister thought until her dishwasher overflowed, they weren’t able to find the same wood, open floor plan. Well after a $70 reno later.
I’ll be checking my HO policy. I had a leaky fridge, destroyed vinyl (old 80s) in the kitchen and engineered wood in dining/ living room just because of where the fridge was. I had no issues with insurance and have a new kitchen and the same wood in kitchen,dining, front room and off kitchen tv area. However our bathroom/ laundry has the old wood floor. If those areas are redone, I will be some tile. The wood around the toilet base is not great.
My house was built in 1988 with the old-fashioned piece by piece oak which was sanded and finished in the dining room and foyer/hallway and both were connected to the tilled kitchen. My hardwood installers were able to match the 33 year old hardwood with the new hardwood in the kitchen, great room and hallway. Furthermore it was the era of carpet bin the vanity area. The only solution was more hardwood but I used the pre-finished in that vanity area and bedrooms. Everything is a 99.9% match and looks totally seamless. I vote hardwood all of the way!! Love your channel.
I much prefer a mix of woods rather than matchy matchy. I love the warmth a mix of woods and Timbers gives the space. I feel it creates a space that is inviting, welcoming and comfortable. I love watching your videos and hear your advice and views.
About wooden kitchen floor, some house insurances told me it's a fire hazard and illegal... 🙄
Told them the whole neighborhood is very old and everyone had wooden kitchen floors.
After my new cabinets go in, I'm having engineered hardwood laid in my kitchen. And a new dishwasher since my old one is the reason why I'm getting new cabinets!
We have a rather bossy real estate agent trying to sell our house. At her direction, we are being excruciatingly ‘minimalist’ and most of our furniture and rugs have been taken off to storage. It’s driving us absolutely mad and I’m not at all sure the buying public likes the look of our house, either. After all, it hasn’t SOLD! When I look online for our next house, I can see that it’s what they all seem to do - as well as paint everything white. Honestly, I am so turned off by this trend! Bring back warmth!
have hardwood in my kitchen and I love how it looks seamless to rest of the living area… also easy to upkeep so don’t know what the big deal is about 😂
When your dishwasher leaks and ruins the hardwood and the entire space has to be refinished in order to match.
Our furniture is a collection of free, thrifted or inherited pieces. Lots of mixed woods! How I make it all work is by sticking to a colour palette. Seems to work for us. Also our house has the original wood floors, they are pine so they are soft but have held up for over 130 years including the kitchen.
I had a friend comment that she did not like my dining room because the chairs did not match the table, as in, a set. Having a matching set is so last century. You can do it in very traditional settings, and others as well, but you should consider if it would look better NOT to match. Sometimes, you need that interest, that tension, of contrasting pieces.
"If you want to live in an insane asylum, fine, go for it!" - LOL, my thoughts exactly. I don't like overly-busy decor either, but the extreme minimalism look is definitely not for me! I will say if I had to pick between "ultra minimalist" and "ultra cluttered" for a hotel room, I'd pick the minimal design just so I wouldn't have to worry as much about losing my own stuff in the clutter. ;) But for my own home, ... I dunno man, I look at those photos and I'm like "BIG BLANK WHITE WALL, WHY?!"
I look at my vintage wicker bedroom set I love and feel you cringe Nick 😂❤ Love that sweater on you!
Lol, I can also see him torn between his love for wicker and dislike of the set. ;) Glad you love what you have though!
@@Moon-Vincit.Omnia.Veritas. Yes ! Design is purely personal & involves so many factors - geographic location , big city vs. small rural town , lifestyles such as kids / no kids / pets , etc. & the variables go on 'n on ... We just need to adhere to " you be you " & garner bits of Nick's insight & enjoy his humor . 🥰
My room is all black and white, super clean lines, super minimal artwork. My fashion is also almost completely grayscale, including my pajamas! I DO pack color onto my eyeshadow though. Why? Because I can't see it myself. Color of any kind is distracting and disorienting to me, so my minimalism is actually an accessibility feature, but I would NEVER want the entire world to look that way! It WOULD be boring lol
I like your new little lamp in the background! So cozy!
Are people really that afraid of being "ecclectic" and their own selves? Like, my entire GOAL is to make my house look like it shows my personality, I mean, it's MY living space, isn't it?
Also, I do subscribe to the old saying "my home is my castle" XD
We have wood in the kitchen but only the countertops and cupboards, and it is actually doing us a lot of a headache because it wasn't sealed properly. But we are saving for a new (and also better designed space-wise) kitchen, so...
Advice from 20-30 years ago isn't even something I would count as "traditional", and yeah, it ABSOLUTELY is because the furniture store wants to sell you an ENTIRE new room, NOT JUST the single one item that you are actually looking for.
Which is especially funny when one of these stores' slogan IS "wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon?" (are you residing or are you LIVING?)
A home should definitely reflect the people who live there - not the designer or the furniture sales person . Eclectic & curated , items w/ history & backstory - fr. the inherited dining table w/ mismatched chairs to the original painting you got on vacation this month ... " you be you " ! 🥰
Nick, engineered hardwoods were a disappointment in a kitchen I had (under fridge water source sespecially)and then again in a entry/living room/dinning area of a condo. I went with LVP throughout in our home. No sweat w kids and dogs. Still have no regrets.
OMG - There is OG real hardwood floors in my kitchen that are at least 25 years old, and could be much older given the age of the house. There is even a tiny knot hole missing that you can see light shining through if you look up from the basement below. I am kind of afraid to find out what is under there if I pulled it up.
I've always had hardwood in the kitchen. I'd rather deal with the (minimal) wear and tear there than have to look at a separate tile area. Now that's tacky.
Another disadvantage of matching sets (of course depending on the characteristics) is also that they are sometimes not worn down the same way for all pieces and then it looks disturbing - like it should match, but it doesn't, and I find that way more annoying that deliberately having different thing that even worn down looks just as an individual.
(My parents have a sofa with matching chairs, it's like a wooden carved frame and some kind of velour cushions, it looks ok from a distance, but then one of the chairs is under the window, so the colour is different after all the years, the wood is also lighter in the more exposed/used spots... it can be certainly fixed, but it's like too minor to bother when they have different work to be done.)
I live in a 30 yr old log home in the south eastern us(think humidity). I have never had wood issues.
We've had REAL wood .. two different kinds.. in the kitchen for like 20 Years now.. Love it Love it Love it. ❤️
In the dining room .. a dark maple floor with walnut dining set... stunning. 😊
I'm totally on board with Nick's take here.
I agree Nick, however my kitchen has the large ceramic tiles…much easier for me to steam clean my floors. Great advice!
Hi Nick - I love your channel! Just wondering...Why is your clock in the background stuck on 12:17? Is this a design thing, or do you just need new batteries? 😃 I love the look of your space and really enjoy your content!
Thrown together is my style.
Also, I love the name "chest of drawers".
For wood tones, id say you don't want them to be too similar, then it just looks like you tried to match but forgot which wood you have already
those super minimal spaces depress me. Does anyone even live here??? 😅 I'm glad to hear that my maximalist mix of furnishing and wall art is actually doing everything right. Lots of texture, different materials, color and interesting little things that reflect us and our life. The only room that is toned down in white, gray and gold is our bedroom. I think it's more relaxing to sleep in. No big distractions.
I like the sweater on you. Very flattering
The stuff about matching everything feels like advice from my mom, who thought color coordination was making everything exactly the same shade
Hardwood in the kitchen risk is appliance break like sink, dishwasher or fridge then there is water everywhere. If this happen while you’re away, it will ruin the wood. Our ice machine breaks suddenly & the flooring around the fridge is covered in water. Bye bye expensive wood.
I agree with most of the comments except the one about minimalist rooms lacking personality.
If a person hates clutter and is a minimalist then a minimalist room is a perfect representation of their personality
Great advice Nick. We always had hardwood in the kitchen, I had no idea it was discouraged. Matchy matchy makes me nervous! Please break it up, my eyes, my eyes...
Wow! That sweater looks fabulous on you.
I love the hardwoods in the kitchen of our 1930s home, they happen to be oak and our cabinets maple, so there we have committed 2 errors in advice! Have you ever considered stand up comedy Nick?
Definitely no wood in the kitchen. It isn’t the occasional spill, it is the slow leaky fridge, dishwasher, sink that you don’t catch for a while. We had 3/4” hardwood in our last home and we had two leaks (fridge and dishwasher) that happened back in the cabinet and went through the wood into the crawlspace. The wood warped and entire kitchen floor needed redone after the second leak. Not worth the expense.
I get very annoyed when someone says "Less is more". Not necessarily. As long as things are chosen and placed intentionally rather than just being piled up, then more can actually work.
I am definitely a more is more person. I have things that I have collected over my life time and I want to see them in my home
Sending this to my old flatmate who frustratedly proclaimed about my furniture, "but nothing in here matches!" Good, I'm not going for the middle aged mother who only buys things from Dunelm look in here.
I love your videos Nick. Thank you for honest constructive advice ❤
I really appreciate the phrase “copy/paste design”
NICK! Please Help! Long story but I need to replace a window and apparently it's not simple! So many choices!? It's a teeny stretch for interior design (but IS it?) but could you consider a Window 101 because do I trust a salesman on commission? Nope. Do I trust you? 100%! (No offense intended to the morally and ethically on point sales people, sales is BRUTAL)
Nick, the matched bedroom sets are from the 40s, they didn't start in the 90s
Great info. Yes yes and YES!
sweater weather started playing in my head
Nick … what happen to your charcoal accent wall 😢… the new white is ok, but the charcoal anchored the room
No wood in the kitchen is not outdated. And I can tell you from experience. You're going to have a lot of water (water per sq) near the sink or your dishwasher (when you or take out dishes). The water gets between the planks and below and often times the wood (which in most cases, the flooring isn't even "pure wood") starts to swallow. And you can't have tiles below and near your sink cabinet and wood elsewhere
I love these quotes ❤
- “less is more is boring and sad. And sometimes people like to have things”.
- “If you want to live in insane asylum go for it. But I personally like to have stuff in my home”.
100% have hardwood in my kitchen and powder room. Not mad about it.
Yes.
This video could be called Interior Design Advice my mom insists on giving me and has to stop!!
I just need Nick to come and design my house for me.
"If you like to live in an insane asylum, go for it" 😂😂
The furniture “suite” goes all the way back to the 50s or farther. It feels kind of sad to me as if you have no family heirlooms or history.
i love your content ❤
I wish that whoever created our kitchen had used HARD wood. The floor gouges if you look at it sideways. Can't wait to tile it.
Did you design the studio you are using for your back ground?
That is his house and yes, he did design the decoration.
I think the “less is more” in design comes from trying to remove clutter which always detracts from a design. I like the look of maximalism in others’ spaces but it’s not something I could personally live with daily. We have engineered wood in our kitchen and it’s actually been better than tile for us because we have a “tapping” cat (always taps things off of surfaces) and it’s prevented several cups and jars from being broken due to her antics.
I see a lot of You Tube videos where the minimalist is the mother in the family. I just realized, she us probably usually going for that bland look in irder to be a Diplomat in her household and try not to bother anybody. I live solo, so don't have that role to play of being a peacekeeper and Diplomat!
I like matchy. A couple of different tones is plenty, or it begins to look disorganized and like a color palette threw up in your space. Sorry, the way you’re talking about matching things, it’s obvious you’re using it as a put down and making an insult out of it. I just don’t agree. I do like maybe 2 matching sofas and a couple of chairs that blend but not exactly matching. So, it looks interesting, but not a disorganized and uncomfortable mess. But then, I like clean lines and simple decor. I despise maximalism or anything that leans in that direction. I will avoid going to someone’s home, if it is maximalist, no matter how much I like them.
More is almost always more. Not necessarily better though. Less is, well, less. Great if you like less. (I do.) But "less is more"? No. Imagine ice cream and try to argue that without a failure of logic. It's not. Find ways to do more where more is better. Do less where less is best.
“You can live in an insane asylum if you want to”…. 😂
Hehe. Livingroom-in-a-bag. 😉
Real hardwood works just fine in the kitchen.
I'm not gonna lie. I don't care that much about interior design. I just be watching for Nick and his personality. He's easy to listen to/ watch. No drama.. no cringe attitude... and every once in a while I learn something that I can use in my home design that is practical. Love his videos.
Would LOVE some holiday themed episodes! Keep up the great work!
Nick would tell you to have suggestions of holiday at those times but no inflatables. I don’t listen to that part. I’m a holiday decor addict!
@@youbetcha108lol. I love my inflatables. My whole intent is to be tacky. I heard a neighbor didn't like my dragon inflatable so I bought more lol.
@@xiabelle I have 2 dragon inflatables! I like the gargoyle ones too! But I don’t have the room! 🙁🎃🎃
@youbetcha108
ya'll... I'm telling you right now. Old school blow molds are BACK and they are AMAZING.
I used to love my inflatables but they were lack luster during the day time and I needed extra lights to illuminate them at night.
I still think they're cute AND I LOVE TO SEE THEM IN PPLS DECOR! but I have turned my.focus on BLOW MOLDS
Also... if it rained or snowed I had to turn them off.
WALMART - has some cute Christmas blow molds that are small and affordable for apartment folks.
Their bigger ones are ok.. not knock me down gotta get them all.. but I know folks that like them just fine.
Yes they light up. The small ones are battery operated big ones are classic plug ins. Decorate a desk or office with the small ones.. .. very affordable
LOWES - They are great.. they had a huge Christmas gift stack last year that was really cute and they offered a few more.
BIG LOTS - Has a super cute dog with reindeer antlers and christmas lights. They offer a few others as well
HOME DEPOT - they stole the show. They have some of the most detailed and adorable blow mold light up Christmas statues... I want to buy them all. They are ALSO ONLY AROUND $40!! Or at least they were last year. They have an EXCELLENT SELECTION.
I was like, he said it! "Matchy-matchy"
The thing about really traditional is that it's not matchy at all .Anyone going for that look needs to remember that people used to inherit grandma's side board ,get given great aunt Julie's table when she got a new one and spend years replacing old chairs and sofas one at a time ,or just get one recovered when it got too ratty looking .I suppose that's why non matchy is more homely looking ,because it actually looks like a real home ,not a page from a catalogue .
You have just described my living room and dining room LOL a mix of inherited pieces and contemporary ones, some in need of re-upholstery and some brand new. Not much matchy matchy going on at all but it all works together so nicely and feels like home 🥰
Agreed - and my inheritance is so much more important than anything matching. I’m so grateful to have an inheritance in things passed down. I feel sad for those who have a home full of matching things that were bought from some mass produced stores and that have no meaning since they’re the same things in thousands of other homes. Inheritance means the world to me. I’m thankful for the privilege of being someone who inherited. So thankful.
And might I add, I’ve had the great, tremendous and very weighty honor of inheriting pieces from generations before me and it’s not that similar pieces are not now available to this generation to inherit but that this generation does not want them.
Let me speak from experience.
The quality of what is made in this era will never equal or surpass the quality of what you might have inherited
so please think long and hard about forgoing your inheritance in favor of having something “contemporary.”
Your parents and grandparents not only worked very hard to acquire what they had for their homes but the quality of those things is most likely not to be found in ahything you will acquire for yourself today. Think about it.
Wendy, you just described my house! Wouldn't have it any other way.
Well said! My parents home was so eclectic, filled with inherited pieces. It felt homely and welcoming.
I've had beautiful "real" hardwood in my kitchen, pantry, mudroom for 39 years. Still absolutely gorgeous . Keep it clean and it will serve you well.
I agree. My house has original real hard wood in the kitchen and is probably about 30 years old. The floors are still absolutely beautiful. I just clean up any water that I dribble or cooking spills quickly and it is fine. The stain gives them a little bit of protection, so drops of water from doing the dishes really aren't a problem
That's great for you but for me it was a headache. The previous owners had it in the laundry, the powder and the kitchen. Always felt panicked trying to keep it dry. We replaced it all with a light colored porcelain and it was glorious.
I agree. Wood is just THE BEST.
love wood but I'd probably not put it in a kitchen because I grew up in a house that had numerous floods from leaking dishwashers. Just a nightmare.
Yes! I grew up with real hardwood in the kitchen. Today I have engineered all through the house. Easy to care for and warms up my white kitchen.
I remember Stacey London saying (about clothes) that they don't have to match, they just have to go together. Seems like good advice for design!
Absolutely. Same here, and I miss WNTW! Always good for a howl.
I miss that show so much! I thought it was great advice
“They just want to sell you 5 furniture pieces instead of 1.” Spot on, Nick! 👍👍
One thing I hate about minimalism (other than the virtuous attitude 😂) is that one "out of place" object can totally ruin the aesthetic. Like a cell phone or purse on the table or a dog toy randomly on the floor. It is just not practical for real life and setting oneself up for becoming very obsessive about it looking perfect at all times. I love a cozy, lived in living room because it's where I actually spend time!
Agreed. It's not yielding enough to look "normal" when there are ordinary household things like the day's mail or a hairbrush or a bag of take-out burritos on it. It only has two speeds: "Camera ready" or "compete bomb-crater disaster." The other thing I don't like about minimalism is that it looks like the office. I don't want my home to look like the office, or be cold or institutional in any way.
No dog toys! Sad beige dogs!
I lost everything in a fire.. I bought a matching bedroom set all at once because I needed it immediately, I was overwhelmed with replacing everything I needed all at once, and I loved the look of the headboard. No one will be in my room but me and it turns out that the “boring” matchy-matchy set is calming, exactly what I want in a bedroom. I love it.
As someone who has inherited several pieces of wood furniture, everything from cedar to maple, I love the mixture.
As someone who could only buy few pieces of furniture at a time after leaving my family home, it was impossible to find the exact same tones every time anyway. So I leaned into it, inherited some pieces, and purposefully mixed as many tones as possible, and also love it!
It's so funny that you said matching furniture sets is "90s" --- it was done a lot in the 50s, and my mom still has her matched bedroom and dining room sets. And the drapes and bedspread match. I think it was an easy way for new homeowners after the war to achieve harmony when they lacked confidence. Also, post-war houses were tiny and matchy-matchy doesn't crowd the visual landscape.
Agree on the confidence point. It usually takes good taste/good sense and a flair for decorating to pull assorted pieces together and if you have no stuff/no taste/no interest then at least it won’t look hideous if you buy a matching sofa and chairs and match some cushions with the drapes.
My parents got married in the 50s and for them, inherited pieces from the family farm signified they were low class. My mum was not confident in her own style yet and my dads favourite colour was brown. They hung a big mirror over the couch and that’s what their living room looked like for 20 years.
So yes, I see it as a 50s thing.
I have mismatched stuff in my own home (some of it from my grandparents) and agree that it’s more homey, more eclectic and showcases our personalities.
Yep, my white French Provincial canopy bed, chest of drawers and vanity table (with gold accents) from the JCPenney catalog was part of a high falutin' matching furniture set back in 1968!
@@kimedge7493 I had an Early American walnut bedroom set from Montgomery Wards, same vintage!
Depending on WHERE we are talking about after the war, there was a whole ‘nother layer of cultural connotations / trauma attached to how much furniture set mixing was “correct!” Matchy-matchy homes you could literally date most of the furniture and contents of to a particular year or two, if not belonging to obvious newlyweds, “told their own story” in Britain / Europe of that same era! :(
I think they sewed many of their curtains and sheets back then and it was easy to pick out one print.
Oh thank god. Some of us like to have our STUFF. IT MAKES US HAPPY. I worked in a healthcare setting, where there was nothing, anywhere, ever, and dang it, i want my collections of droll little antique toys, quilts, bright whatnots. Curated: yes. Arranged: yes, but so tired or a lifetime of staring at beige and griege and non art art of land scapey things. Its my HOUSE, not an office or waiting room or hospital room or “ insane asylum”😅
Ditto! I get enough minimalism at work; I don't want it at home too! Plus a lot of knickknacks come from my holidays abroad when I had the time to travel. I look at them and remember good times.
I love minimalism, I don't have many possessions but I do have artwork that I love on the walls. Its just what suits me, it's not for everyone
🎨❤️ Minimalist painter here. Just chiming in to say don’t be afraid of creating a home with warmth, texture, and belongings for yourself. That’s what makes it your home. The artists and sculptors who inspired this movement live and work in spaces with stuff. Lots of stuff. It informs the work and compliments it
Exactly! Minimalist does not have to mean austere.
@@LQOTW I do so agree! ❤️ Walls always look so sad without art-and the same for shelves without beautiful things like art books and small treasures.
I have taken "More is More" to the extreme - and I love it!
I just converted our dark, depressing den into a Tiki Lounge. Raucous colors, teal, red, blue, chartreuse, orange (and it somehow works!). Mixed woods. Mismatched furniture pieces (that all speak MCM). And Tiki/Nautical tchotchkes tucked into every nook and cranny.
I have no doubt that Nick would hate it - but it brings me so much joy! ❤️🗿🧡🗿💛🗿💚🗿💙🗿💜
I have a log cabin style guest room, an underwater fish guest room and an Antarctic penguin 🐧 bathroom. Themed rooms are fun !
It sounds like a really fun place to sit and chat or have a party! 🙂
From one tiki-phile to another…..go for it!
My friends and I were at a tiki bar in Athens Greece last month. The decor was so much fun. Very eclectic. There were some antique looking tiki pieces in the bar. Your tiki bar sounds fun. Enjoy!
Sounds like a nice place to visit!
As a person with hoarder tendencies (and an impulsive shopper), i try to practice minimalism as much as possible. It ends up looking like a typical cluttered home. Lol
I have the opposite of what you have. I moved into my home 2 months ago and still don't have a sofa or a TV stand. The thought of buying things that I have to manage just bothers me so much. I have to get some stuff at some point though
@@imenehaddad2860 I'm sorry you have to suffer such anxiety from that :/ you should take your time and only get pieces that you do your research on and are easy to manage! I might not have that anxiety, but I dread anything that requires too much maintenance - I hate cleaning too frequently. So I go for easy-to-clean materials and colors (for example: my dog's fur is white, so dark furniture is bound to show it faster), simple lines... and you can have ONLY what you really need and like by slowly observing your daily needs and getting ONLY the pieces which really speak to you!
*Obs.: about the TV stand -- a good alternative is using a floating stand; those you can attach to the wall. That way, there is no space behind it for dust and dirt to accumulate, nor any legs to hinder your cleaning the floor! TV panels work, but then you gotta clean atop of them as well, and they dominate the space.
trying is great, and it gives you peace of mind when you dont have too much
Things are things - only objects
@@imenehaddad2860 Idk, if you don't need it, you don't need it. I've lived without a TV for 10 years now, and it has never bothered me that I don't have a TV. Quite the opposite, I've been able to use the space the TV would have taken up for other things (and non-things, because having a little extra open space where a TV would have been does make a difference). It seems a little silly to get certain items because "everyone is supposed to have this".
I want to believe hardwood is ok in a kitchen, but our dishwasher has leaked too many times.
I live in a house that all of the rotted wood in the kitchen area needed to be replaced due to water damage caused by small leaks throughout the years. We saved as many as the original planks as possible (1946), and now have vinyl planks replacing the others.
Sounds like you need a new dishwasher. Good appliances seem to be hard to find as the years go by. I was concerned about leaks as well when we moved 15 years ago into our 1936 year old house that has wood floors everywhere but the bathrooms. We’ve been lucky throughout the years (knock on wood) no problems thank goodness. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself 😆
My friend has oak floors in whole house for 33 years. There were kids , dog , sisters , cousins staying for 6 -12 months in college times. Everything looks great.
I find that unless you built the house yourself some one before you will have failed to care for that wood flooring and any little thing once it's damaged is compounded. For us both kitchen and one bath that have with wood are not how they should be from years of damage and lack of TLC.
I've had two Bosch dishwashers. No leaks, even when one had a cracked hose (after many years of service). If we weren't moving in a few months, I would have had it repaired, but old appliances apparently won't sell.
The style that is right for you, consists of the colors that draw you, the fabric that you love to touch, the shapes that interest you, and the decor that says that this is MY home. Keep it until it isn't "you" any more.
Hooray for you!
Silliness aside, the wood contrast should not be such an issue. I have a Sears Craftsman home, the wooden floors are maple and the wood trim is dark oak. From 1930 when they gave wood treatments based on natural hue. I wouldn’t ever change the historical features of my home and feel the wood differences are beautiful, and yes, both in warm tones.
A Sears home kit house? I am jealous! They are gorgeous.
The "99% Invisible" podcast episode on these Sears homes was one of the most interesting (called "the house that came in the mail").
RE wood in kitchen- I’ve had both real and engineered wood in my kitchen and in both, had major problems. Appliances fail- this is part of life. When they do, they often leak which translates to large amounts of water flooding your wood floor. Both my dishwasher and fridge have ruined my floor in two spectate instances- I am currently living in my home with no functioning kitchen as a result. Thanks to the insurance company, it’s been 4 months of living this way and there’s no end in sight. I really would urge people to think twice about their kitchen floor choice.
Ceramic tiles in my kitchen. I wouldn't even consider any other material.
Maybe it is an appliance choice. I will never have an ice maker in the fridge -- heard too many expensive horror stories. Also, consider a new dishwasher professionally installed, not just by the guys from a big box store. Sorry you've had problems.
Yeah. The problem is, companies don't build appliances like they used to. There is this thing called "planned obsolescence". If you are sleeping/away when it decides to break, you are in deep sh!t.
This is why moisture sensors were invented: to spot leaks immediately. They work pretty well.
@@idalily3810But are totally useless when you're away. I don't start the dishwasher until I go for work. I just hate the noise.