😎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 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.

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"

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.

Absolutely. Same here, and I miss WNTW! Always good for a howl.

I miss that show so much! I thought it was great advice

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

It is the wise homemaker who takes the wants and needs of family into account. :)

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

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!

A wood floor on a perimeter foundation is bouncier than a wood floor on a concrete slab. Both are easier on the feet than tile!

@@katebowers8107😊

I inherited a MCM bedroom set from the 50s. It's beautiful and very high quality and solid wood. Every piece matches. It's in my guest bedroom. Never getting rid of it. My primary bedroom is more eclectic. The matchy matchy MCM furniture in the guest bedroom creates a very calm space. Normally I don't like matching sets but somehow the MCM bedroom works and is beautiful. ❤

I bought a bedroom set from West elm a while back and the continuity allows me to be adventurous with colors and patterns in the rest the of room. While I agree with Nick, I also see attempts to mix different furniture at times go haywire in such a restful environment.

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.

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!

So take what you like, and use less of it, to make more of the space. Less is more

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.

I think minimalism often ends up looking like a hotel room or a commercial office suite. Cold, boring, and without heart.

For my part, minimalism to extreme makes me feel like I'm in a liminal space. I can never quite relax in those spots.

Yes, extremes are rarely good. My grandmother was a minimalist and my mother hoarded everything and now I as an adult have to fight the desire to have nothing in the house (because I hated the clutter) so that my kid doesn't have to grow up with the same extremes.

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!

As a redhead…. That sentence makes me cringe every time…. I can’t even hear the words drapes and match in the vicinity of eachother….lol

I've always wondered why manufacturers don't have designers put sets together of bed linens, drapes, and fabric for cushions that mixes different coordinating prints for you. Seems like a winner to me.

​@@stacy-raedosman8716just gagged a little after reading your comment lol. I didn't know that was something people actually say irl

@@zvezdoblyat, oh, they say it. If you're a redhead you'll definitely hear it. Blech! That's EXACTLY the kind of man I avoid.

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").

Brainwashed?? Quite the slam. A design will never be popular if it doesn't speak to people. Clearly farmhouse evoked a past time they associated with pleasure. What's wrong with that? I'll bet your decor is chosen because it gives you pleasure, too. I would be happy if we could ever see an era as creative as the late 1800s/early 1900s but so far we are just creating variations on the same themes.

@@653j521 im not saying farmhouse was bad as I actually love farmhouse cottagey design but it was very trendy and easily replicable. I think when things can be easily replicated and cheaply made at a mass market scale then it wont hold in value or style over time (most of the time).

I think that in the past, certainly the 80, 90s the idea was that decor was something that was re done regularly. Slowly, we are getting past this mentality that furniture is a disposable item. The idea of an entire aesthetic being replaced regularly has taken a long time to get past! Retail!

I hate farmhouse. Most of it looks cheap and tacky. Don’t hate me!

Yes!

That's what homeowner's insurance is for. I had wood floors in my kitchen for decades. Yes, life is a gamble.

Engineered hardwood is not your family's old solid hardwood flooring. . WAY less prone to warping or cupping from seasonal changes

Me, too! Engineered wood throughout, except tile in bathroom.

When we bought our house the previous owners had installed engineered oak flooring throughout in a slightly orange hue. First thing we did was get some reclaimed parquet (from an old church and community hall and relaid over the heated flooring ducting). It brought so much to the downstairs as the house was built in 1840.

What you are talking about does not qualify for "matchy matchy" at all. Not one bit! Matchy- matchy is buying all of the pieces in a single room from the same identical manufactured line of furniture - just as if it came from what used to be the Sears or JC Penny catalogs. What you are doing is what truly NEEDS to happen in order to establish a sense of coherence thruout your home. Repeating similar colors and styles from room to room forms a cohesive look that allows a home's aesthetic to flow seamlessly.

I total agree all this white on white matchy glass hard surfaces it’s SUPPER SUPER TACKY. But it has to be complimentary! So tired of the Wayfair houses.

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. 😂

Yup... I have tile in my kitchen and while I do agree that having one type of flooring throughout looks so much more beautiful, even things like drops of water after washing dishes are gonna fall on the floor, and unless you wanna take a mop to your kitchen multiple times a day, the wood will wear in those specific places (eg around the sink) at some point. Not sure if beauty trumps practicality in this instance for me

Toss a runner in front of the sink. I have old vinyl that I'm replacing but have always kept one in front of the sink. Standing on a hard floor for any length of time isn't a good thing either.

@@Bisera95, beauty should definitely not trump practicality. Form Follows Function. Pretty is secondary. Besides, pretty is the easy part.

@@r-e_mii I have concrete floors (heated) and I have a couple of those foam work mats in the places I stand a lot. Waterproof, ergonomic and look decent.

There is a reason why tiles and vinyl flooring exists. It is utter madness to put a wood product in wet areas such as the kitchen or bathroom.

Yes this! It’s not the humidity that’s the problem in the kitchen, it’s plumbing problems or your dishwasher overflowing.

@@eattherich9215 Or utility room.

Yes, after remodeling my kitchen, my brand new state of the art refrigerator leaked due to a small tube freezing, a very minor repair. Unfortunately, I was on vacation and the wood floors in the kitchen were ruined. I replaced them with tile and will never have wood in a kitchen again.

@@eattherich9215 boats, barrels and saunas saying "Hi there!"

Yeah I think that's the reason most people don't put hardwood in their kitchens and baths: the risk of having a dishwasher and the refrigerator leak water and then ruin your beautiful hardwood floor.

I've been reading about porcelain tiles. They seem like the best of all worlds to me. Completely waterproof, non-toxic, and they last forever. You can buy porcelain tiles now that look like hardwood! And they're gorgeous!

Amen. I have solid 3/4” oak and the floor people failed to mention swelling, shrinking, cupping etc. After 18 years, it has reduced but they still change some with the seasons. I grew up in a house with solid strip flooring, but it was narrow and old, so much more stable. My new 4” and 5” planks have been much more affected.

It might've been due to your installation. My installer delivered the wood several weeks before the installation so it would have time to adjust to my home's humidity. I haven't had the problems you mentioned.@@anitas5817

Living on a 70 acre farm with two dogs. I don’t own a rug that I cannot toss in the washer.

It probably stems from being a lot harder (read: more expensive) to do, especially if your main tool of execution is buying things. That suckers you into very limited product options which can and must then overcharge for satisfying more obscure and specific needs. More expensive means over represented in association with wealthier (read: humble-bragging douche) demographics. But on the other hand, I think people who achieve a tight minimalist aesthetic by leveraging their own expertise with DIY renovations, building their own furniture, replacing upholstery to match, etc. actually have a legitimate reason to be proud and get respect rather than (just) the dubious virtue of winning the rat race. Have you ever framed a bathroom wall so that the embedded medicine cabinet's baseline lines up with the faceplates of your electrical outlets which symmetrically flank it? How about also spacing them so they're centered in the margins of vanity flanking the mirror too? That shit is tight and when all of the geometry in a space is that cohesive, most people won't even notice. But they will sense that something just feels right and satisfying. And your typical contractor won't even try, because between shimming/leveling the medicine cabinet, laying out the _rough_ framing itself, and handling all the marginal offsets (with fixtures/hardware you have to be able to measure in advance) across different professions is properly hard. They'll instead try to talk you into less accuracy-sensitive approaches. Doing it anyway isn't superiority or social flexing - it's that purely internal satisfaction that comes from taking pride in your work. Ain't a lick of pride to be had in spending money and just demonstrating that you can afford to hire professionals that take pride in _their_ work. Like congratulations, you picked a product. Have a cookie.

A good hardwood floor contractor can match almost any wood.

@@idalily3810 finding a good contractor is another challenge in itself

@@tinasung3814 Work of mouth is usually the best way.

I'm not Nick, neither am I an interior designer, but if you like it, who cars what anyone else thinks? Just make it your place, with your things - whatever furnishings and fabrics make it cosy for you. Matching wood can be lovely, especially if you don't also match the fabrics and the furniture - but at the end of the day, it's your space and as long you're happy with it, that's the important thing.

Lol chill I am just making a joke comment. All i care about is that I feel comfy in my own home.

We bought a very small house after our daughter went to college. Didn't want to clean the 2500 sq ft house anymore. The house we bought had been updated. The man was incredibly proud of the countertops he built himself. They are made of pine. He was right. They were beautiful. But they are impractical. We had a few other updates, but are putting in new ones this year.

My kitchen floor, 70+ year old solid pine, turned WAVY after our dishwasher flooded the kitchen. Stains can be sanded off, but a wavy wooden floor is something entirely different.

I love wood floors in the kitchen, but please, no wood on the countertop. A countertop is wiped multiple times a day and soon takes off the finish. Also, it is too porous to be sanitary. I had a redwood shower enclosure once, which was beautiful when new but acquired a soap scum that never came off.@@christines2787

Tile grout in the kitchen is more gross than wood floors. 🤢

The risk is the plumbing and plumbing connections and a leak will be ver very expensive and you will need to pull up and replace it

A homeowner near Louisville, KY, had a dishwasher flood and insurance paid for the floor. That same year her house got hit by a tornado. Her insurance cancelled. It was reported in the news that companies were even cancelling if there were "too many" claims in a neighborhood! Something to think about.

How interesting. I've seen many examples of non matching sets that look incredible to the point where a matching set looks boring as fuck

Yeah I don't really agree with "minimalism = no personality." There are many countries around the world who have a more minimal approach to interiors/life etc, and that phrase almost feels ignorant. For example Japanese interior design is very minimal but it has purpose, history, it's cozy and I'd say it has a ton of personality.

Nah, he is totally right. I would get depressed in the minimalist spaces of self-proclaimed minimalists.

@@mirabella2154 Yea that's why YOU don't decorate your house that way. Not everyone is the same. Sometimes that lifestyle makes sense for people.

@@mirabella2154 Also I don't think mine or OP's comment was in disagreement with what Nick was saying, but rather furthering his point of being intentional. And I definitely agree with bringing in different textures when going minimal. My criticism was aimed more towards people who see a neutral colour palette and immediately go "ew boring! no personality!!" cuz that pov is pretty rampant rn.

Yeah, minimalism "the aesthetic" is annoying and I feel like it hijacked the true intentions of the lifestyle.

i love to do that too! for example i have a table lamp in my bedroom and a floor lamp from the same collection in another room. same with other furniture that came in sets (i inherited a lot of sets from family members)