How To Make UGLY Home Essentials Look Good 

I once visited my work colleague and she had beautiful ceramic designer bowls as her dog plate. The very same ones that people like to use when they have fancy party in my country. She just said "Well I'm gonna see them every day, so they could as well be very beautiful" It was so wonderful!

“I’m not cat person but I love that for you”. 😂😂😂 “I love that for you” has become my new go to phrase.

Ugly trash cans and poop brushes in the bathroom are my pet peeve 😆

Can we just agree that Garrett is giving us genius, he’s giving us no one has done this topic before so I’m going to do it and own it!

When we were building our house, I insisted on a “cat room” in our finished basement. It’s a 5’x6’ room carved out of the mechanical room (the contractor was cranky about this - too bad!). There is a drain in the floor, a strong exhaust fan, and the floor and 1/2 the walls are covered in ceramic tile. Janitor-style wall-mounted faucet/taps are handy. The cats are delighted, and the litter boxes have their own space that’s easy to clean and out of the way.

Decorator cat trees - I sense a start up…

11:06 I agree, companies totally need to upgrade their cat trees to something cool. After I watched this video, I searched for good looking ones on internet and actually found some on Etsy. There are a lot of handmade cat trees of wood. Some of them look really cool, kind of unique and useful and low maintenance ;). Maybe that is a way to fix that issue. 😻

Love that you addressed how staged rooms are edited!! So many people (myself included) get so frustrated because our homes don’t look model ready - maybe because we live in our spaces! Great video as always ♥️

Bet we'll see a flood of copycat you tubers talking about how to make essentials look good. You are one of the few who posts original, helpful and entertaining videos. Thank you!

My hubby’s CPAP machine is definitely worthy of a creative camouflage! 🌺🌺🇨🇦

One purpose of the cat tree is to redirect scratching, and cats don’t typically like the texture of velvet. So maybe don’t use velvet. But totally agree that there should be more options other than carpet over the whole thing! That was the one piece of cat furniture I just surrendered on when I still had a cat. One house, though, I was able to get a very minimalist basic looking one and set it next to a weird deep niche that I was able to turn into a mini cat lounge

Exposed cables and plugs are my design nemesis! They're like the "visible panty lines" and "exposed bra straps" of home decor - haaaaate! Hubby has every electronic gadget known to man, so the aesthetic struggle is real. I've really got to get some of those cable covers. We're currently using cable ties to control the mess - at least they keep the cords from becoming like a ball of spaghetti, but it's still not pretty in some areas. Thanks for the tip! xoxo

Ceiling fan trend is retractable blades!! It’s a chandelier until the fan is turned on, then the blades swing out. Love love love!!

Cat litter tray tip: I cut one side out of an IKEA Hol side table and put the tray inside. Its in my porch with a plant on top and the lid comes off so the tray is accessible.

"Animals enjoy slightly more closed spaces" - yep, my cat loves cardboard boxes and I am at a loss as to how to make them aesthetic lol. Loved this video, very helpful!

The reason you have cat trees is that cats like to scratch on things...and you'd rather them scratch on the designated cat tree than on your furniture (trust me on this one)

Covered trash cans in bathrooms are a must for me. My biggest design challenge is the big dog crate in my bedroom.

My favorite dog item I bought is a very large asian ironstone ginger jar with lid…plain and modern looking and it fits the really large dog food bag like 20 pounds. Nobody guesses its dog food. Its on the floor like decor

Re: cat trees. You are right, they never look good. Better to "catify" your house by putting in shelves and hammocks on walls that they can climb to. These can look awesome and fit in beautifully with your own furnishings. BTW, cats just like being safe above the crowd.

Loved that you addressed these topics, as many people drive themselves crazy trying recreate their own homes from what they see in stagedl/lit home interior images. When I had two 100lb. German Shepherds, I bought on Etsy, marine -quality cushions used on boats and they offered many color options and piping choices. Mine were gray, houndstooth check with white piping and seamlessly fit into our home.

There is a gentleman out on Vancouver Island who makes cat trees out of driftwood, of which I have one. Depending on the wood and the carpet he's used, the pieces can be quite lovely. His company is called Phoenix Feline Furniture, and he can be found online. He accepts custom orders. He also sells to Korna Pets in the G.V.R.D., so Vancouver people can check out their selection, in store.

That second tropical ceiling fan picture with the big mirror as a focal point was breathtakingly beautiful.

Thank you for promoting environmentally healthy living.

You are 100% right about ugly cat trees. I have ours in my bedroom just because it’s so ugly and I don’t want people to see it. They love it, so it’s not an option to get rid of it.

Catit, Vesper line is awesome. They did exactly what you said…we have three.

I have used command hooks placed upside down on a piece of furniture (against a wall) that has lamps on it so the cords can sit neatly behind it. In one home that I had built, all the electrical plugs were placed within substantial elevated baseboards. The placement made an amazing difference.

You have become my favorite interior designer on RU-vid… You touch on subjects others don’t. Plus your classy and entertaining!

I have collected metal trash cans from the 40's or 50's. The one in the living room has a lovely painting of parakeets on it. The one in my bedroom is painted with florals. I just love them. If they are too ugly, I decoupage something nice on it.

Garrett is lovable🥰 No snobbery! I’m so glad I found him:) He’s the best!

Our solution was to get cool looking fans. We have to have them because our primary heat source is a wood stove. We also have our conversation piece in the living room, the huge and manly eight bladed ceiling fan of death.

Thank you for taking about the "fandelier", because I dislike it too. I told my family that this is one thing they should not bring to the home.

Best video of yours so far. The stuff no one else will talk about on RU-vid!

“It’s mostly because he’s spiteful but that’s not the point of the video” Lmao💀 I have a bunny who’s generally so well behaved. Potty trained, doesn’t chew on everything, etc. but god does it feel like sometimes he’s naughty just to be naughty. We can’t help but love our fur babies though. His litter box we just hide in the corner and behind my wing chair. It’s perfect because I can just pull it out when I need to change his box but it‘s concealed most of the time. As far as cords, that’s what I’ve struggled with the most. My bun doesn’t chew on the walls, etc. but he becomes interested in exposed cords. I have cord covers but I still have to strategically place my lamps otherwise he’ll nibble on the cords which is of course dangerous for a bunny. I have yet to come up with the perfect solution to this issue. But it’s the things we put up with for our fur babies.

Those cushions are on another level.

Thanks for addressing the ceiling fan which is a definitely a need in Arizona. I was always struggling to work them into my decor.

If you are designing a room with wallpaper, you can create an acrilic "Catwalk" around the crown of the room instead of a cattree. It will blend in nicely.

I call them rubbish bins. Love you, Garrett❣️

So like Hollywoodcatco makes these beautiful mushroom, flower, and tree bark looking cat trees that look straight out of a fairytale! Also velvet is something cats don't like to claw at, it's why my seating furniture is covered in velvet.

I LOVE the "Love that for you" bc I think you mean it. And that's so refreshing.

I am learning so much from your videos. I just moved a bookcase that was slightly obstructing a doorway. The room feels so much larger and more inviting now. We are staging our home to sell it, so these types of changes could be more important than ever. Thank you!

Yes, sometimes cats have dedicated beds. Of course, everything belongs to them, so there's that.

My litter box is in a corner of my laundry room where guests never go. It’s surrounded by a 2’ tall, 3 panel folding screen. Can’t see it! I’m also a crafter so even in my craft room, laundry room and bathroom I’ve covered my waste baskets , all have some type of lid, ( to keep out the cat and dog ) with a coordinated contact paper for that room and I’ve also decoupaged the one in the bathroom. There are ways to pretty up a lot of not so pretty items. I have a small house. This is my favorite thing I’ve done. I have a small freezer. I found a decorative magnet that fits on the front that was advertised for a dishwasher. Looks decorative and not an eye sore.

This was another fun video from you! Regarding garbage containers. We live in a small house and space is a a premium so cabinet space for garbage cans isn't an option. I purchased an expensive, stainless steel, pedal garbage can and it has looked great for the past 20 years! It has an insert that bags fit in and the flip cover hides the unpleasantness. I've gotten so many compliments from both men and women for this bin. LOL In fact I bought a smaller one for the only bathroom we've got. I really recommend these types of containers because of the cover, sleekness, and ease of cleaning. And pet beds. I found what was called a dog crate but was made of wood. It has a door with spindles half way up and spindles surrounding two sides so the pet can look out. It is meant to be a piece of furniture and I picked out a wood grain that matches much of the wood in our living room. It's the height of a side table and is between two matching chairs and holds a small lamp and a low decor piece. No one realizes it's a dog crate until you tell them and it's so much nicer looking then the metal cages that are out there. Of course our present dog won't go near it, but a previous dog loved it!! :-) We took off the door and never used it as a crate, but that option was available if needed. I think you can find replacements for the necessities, that look nice, if you spend more. There are lots of options out there for many of the tacky things that live in our homes.

Garrett - My BFF is now subscribed to your channel. I have 5 ceiling fans in our condo, and I would love replace them one day. My husband is a fan of the ceiling fan. 😂 I would rather have cool light fixtures, but marriage requires compromise. Other ugly home essential for part 2 are toilet scrubbing brushes and plungers. I do not care to see those out in the bathroom even if they are in fancy containers.

Awesome video. Would love a kitchen edition. For example, I love the very useful, irreplaceable Vitamixer, but it is not great looking or easily tucked away. I’ve seen air-fryers or regular friers, crockpots, rice cookers, these are used daily but aesthetically pleasing they are not.

Omg now I truly love you. I have two of those dog cots for my very old dog. I can slide a dog pee pad under the cot, both for accident clean up and for the “bed bath.”

This is why I subscribed to your channel. The content "in keeping it real" or "how to fix it" design mistakes. The information you provide is useful. Although, what's new at Ikea and HomeGoods sometimes are interesting, they are just overdone. Keeping it real works great for your style. Suggestions for future- Ugly: -closet doors - shower doors (apartment style frosted glass type with aluminum frames) Necessities: - laundry baskets - fireplace tools (not pretty in any space). Thanks again

Oh kitchen bins. We have different bins for recycling compost ect. Thankyou for talking about these! Bins are something I have struggled with what to do about them.

Velvet wouldn’t work for a cat tree as they can’t get a proper grip on it with their claws, and they use the fabric elements on a cat tree to help shed their claw casing. But it does mean velvet furniture is not a bad idea for cat lovers. If you get something like linen with a cat it will be scratched and pilled almost immediately.

#1 My dog bed is under my grand piano big enough for German Shepherd. It keeps me from tripping over her( I've done that while carrying clean laundry) #2 My grandson is in a very small room so he has a bunk bed. The room gets no circulation and must have a fan. So an open blade fan is not an option. We found an enclosed fan with a built in light fixture. The overhead fan was necessary for that upper bunk. Floor space is at a premium so floor fan, no. Grandson said his fan looks like a space ship. It's cool looking for his room.

These tips are wonderful, Garrett! We DO have to have the essentials, so making them look as nice as possible really helps! At least until Architectural Digest come by and I hide them . . . . 😄 Thank you for bringing loveliness to the REAL way we live!!!

Love that red leather dog bed!!

In the PNW (seattle) some of the pet stores have cat trees made out of driftwood! They still have the carpet, but they’re a little more unique and have an artisan character

I am a cat lover. I purchase at PetSmart a litterbox with the opening on top to reduce the litter gravel everywhere...his litter is located in our bathroom which for me makes sense...our cat is important and needs a clean environment...I often ventilate the bathroom...litter is cleaned everyday. As for the pet bed, our cat never used it and prefer our leathered lazyboy chair for his snooze which has a little blanket that can be washed weekly. I also bought this nice antique style high table placed in front of our living room window for him to do birdwatching...I added a cute cat print blanket folded to make a nice comfy spot...so it hang just a bit and also covered the top with a small blanket (bought a few at dollarstore..this way I can change the top daily for weekly wash).

I was once a guest of someone who had a beautifully remodeled minimalist bathroom. I searched high and low, in and out, for a trash can in that room, but to no avail. Thank goodness I had packed a couple of plastic bags. I had to port my garbage out--just like a camper in a national park. I would certainly have preferred that they had an ugly receptacle in plain sight. The trauma lasts to this day. (I'm an introvert and would have died before asking.)

Really enjoyed this video. Another topic you might tackle is hiding things on walls, like fuse boxes, security system panels, thermostats, door bell mechanisms, stereo speakers, etc. Keep up the good work. BTW, carpet is used on cat trees because cats use their claws to climb the tree, destroying most fabrics with pulls or rips. The carpet hides that.

I love my Smart Home kitchen garbage can from Bed Bath and Beyond. It blends in with my stainless appliances, and it closes by itself. I love the foot pedal, and the fact that the replacement bags are housed inside the can. The bags are super sturdy! It's sooooo easy!

OMG! The way you invite people to hit the subscribe button! 😂🤣. You are informative AND entertaining!!!

Love the idea of dog cots easier to clean blankets etc., and my lab mix will like something to cuddle in. For cats have three trunks from WWII that I stack in front of a window with a cute rug on top and they just love it. Thanks for all the animal ideas!

I have 5 cats. Cheap sisal door mats placed in hidden areas work great to keep your cats from scratching furniture.

You hit all my “ugly things”! Great. We ended up building a Catio on the deck w shaving for them to look out and two litter boxes are there now. Way cleaner.

Garrette,I love that you share your great solutions with us! I removed a lower shelf in my pantry so the garbage can would fit in the space. I love it !

If there is anything else but empty paper rolls or old plastic packing going into your bathroom trash can.. you need one with a lid. And concering the cat furniture- I think double duty stuff is great, like a human sized stool with a hideout inside or a shelf with cat walkways and pillows and scratchers but also some cabinet cubbys with opaque or glass door for storage or decor.

This was remarkably helpful - I love the idea of lidded trash cans for bathrooms , cord covers, and alternatives to traditional dog pillows. I took notes! Our cats are outdoor ferals who adopted us, so fortunately no cat trees or litter boxes (technically they have 32 acres worth of trees and bathroom areas!) Ceiling fans are just a fact of life here in the South, but I did try to at least pick out interesting ones.

I hate seeing open top trash cans, finding an out of the way trash can is easy enough to do. Great video: thanks for sharing

The problem with cat trees is, you can buy a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing cat tree, but, your cats might hate it and ignore it.

This makes so much sense, I am lucky because both myself and my husband hate all those things and no way they would be in my decor plan, cables, recycling and garbage containers, all a no no for us, they all have their place from day one, my pets beds have the same color as the bedroom decoration and are changed every 3 days but their bed is on the side of the bedroom that only the two of us can see, our bed is all anyone can see from the bedroom entrance, all this is not a huge issue when planed before and is taking in consideration when you are decorating your home, my yorkies never had an issue with garbage ( but if anything falls to the kitchen floor...watch out, lol ), they are too small to reach anywhere but if people took a bit of time to plan the needs as they plan the wants life would be easier, thanks for another great video, kisses to the pups.

I have painted cords the same color as wall so it is not as visible as well

Thanks for always being authentic, constructive and helpful with real- life design issues and challenges we all share. Thank you for the tips and ideas, with environmentally awareness,too. We have both cats and dogs with very different needs regarding food and litter boxes. We have found that litter box use is best in quiet, out of high traffic areas. We keep ours in the laundry/ utility room under the countertop- that way we have access to clean them daily and kitties have a little privacy. ( watch out for dogs accessing litter boxes- gross, but reality). Regarding cat trees, carpet is great for claw sharpening. An alernative is corregated cardboard, sprinkled with catnip, is a great scratching station- corralled by a wooden tray. Your dog bed recommendations are loved buy our dogs,too- machine washable and soft/plush. 🐾🐾❤

I'm about ready to ditch the ceiling fan in my breakfast room. I'm the only one that ever uses it, and when I turn it on, people gripe and say it cools off their food too fast, or makes them cold or whatever. This gives me the fun excuse of looking for a new light fixture, too.

Loved this. It so needed to be done and so many YT hosts have ignored these needs. I hope you do a Part 2 and address what to do with the dreaded charging station on the kitchen counter. I have heard using a crock to contain the mess is an idea. Is there another idea? Please let me know. TY again for pulltiing these unanswered need together for us.

That clear fan was cool!!

I change out the lamp cord to match the wood or paint color. I also use a color coordinated thin zip tie to tie the cord to the backside of the table leg. It keeps the cord tidy and out of the way. Also I shorten cord if it is close to the outlet or I replace the cord with a longer piece if I need the length. I have a drawer full of cord and plug colors. I also use the lamp plugs that are low profile so they do not stick out. I also use wood outlet and switch plate covers because I can easily paint them to match the wall because it helps the plate to disappear. Same goes for floor registers or wall vents. Wood stained to match the wood floors. I have a large cold air return located at the floor right there in full view in my center hall . I bought a large wood vent cover and incorporated it into the tall base board. It is attached to the wall with long ugly screws so I counter sunk the hole to accommodate a wood cap plug. Now it looks like a custom trim piece and when it is painted it blends into the existing trim even though it is BIG.

I just started watching your channel and I love it. Your way to express everything is brilliant. Beautiful voice. Very classy and clean look. You also give good ideas, instead of sending people to buy new things, like other do.

I hate litter boxes and I absolutely refused to have a nasty pan in the middle of one of my rooms. I also refused to keep mine in the bathroom. So I found one on Amazon that is shaped like a pot for a house plant. I made it look cute with some white and gold spray paint ( it was only available in a nasty brown or bleak gray color) and bought some nice looking faux flowers from Michael's and voila my litter box is now a decor piece.

Oh Garrett, I just love you! You are such a treasure! Would you consider a video on holiday decor? I’d love to see you’re take on it. Ok, now to actually watch the video.

I love your dog bed ideas. We don’t have a dog right now, but we will in the future. Dog doors are another unsightly part of living with happy pets. Most people have them in the kitchen area and, no matter how often you clean them, they just look awful. In our former home we had a our dog door put in our walk-in closet. The dog run was on the other side of the wall.

Thank you for another great video- great topics & solutions that I will take & implement- I struggle with having ceiling fans but with Texas hot summers it keeps the rooms cooler - We are currently painting the interior of our home White & bought white fans to replace the old ones & I could not believe the difference it made in the bedrooms

You need to look up modern cat trees. They are made with wood and have unique designs. Some even stick on a wall if you have a blank space so they are off the floor:)

I have the self closing, foot pedal trash can in the kitchen and bathroom.. I hate seeing open trash..Simplehuman are the best. You always exceed my expectations. 😍

For pets esp dogs i love the dog room idea (under stairs or in laundry are my favs) with dog toys bed ect so pup has a space to go chill too.

What a fun video. Loved this advice. Many thanks. Also, I love that little door behind you. Regards from Australia. 💐

I'm a new subscriber and have been loving your videos! Thanks for your valuable tips. I just moved in to my newly built house and the contractor ripped us off and heaps of things needs to be done to fix it. I have been spending so much money , lesson of the story get a reputable contractor and always be there to check the progress of the construction. I love your inputs on making a home beautiful and elegant !

Rechargeable light bulbs! I had no idea these existed! Now I can go ahead and buy that wall sconce I've been fancying but can't get wired into the wall. Thank you!

Another video that educated and informed me so much! Ty ty ty! I am day one post move to new home & 😬 😔 😴 I can’t wait to see your color updates and where you choose to use color in your own home. Initially I thought oh no, you’ve made it so lush but I just noticed what you are talking about- in this sofa shot with the wonderful work y’all did on the stairs, it falls flat against the wall behind it, therefore losing that wonderful contrast you get from the black railing and white banisters. When you shot your home tour from the perspective of below the stairs, I loved it! Now I can see how it washes out if you don’t have that particular perspective. I’d love for you to educate us on how you choose your designs when it comes to this arena of perspective. I can’t wait to get out of 📦 👧🏻 📦 box world and start living in my new home to see what I start to see. I joined an old house owners forum (we bought a refurbished 1890-1900 home in our historic district and she’s lovely but now it’s time to make her mine and the forum people recommend living in your space for a few months and letting yourself get to know and feel out what your next move will be. Crossing my fingers. It’s the home when I was Zillow shopping I saved and called “Tara” that I fell in love with and wanted to just show my husband for the beauty of it- after a couple failed bids on homes, we noticed this home had dropped in price. And then we mentioned it to our realtor to add to the end of a day of shopping so we could tour it ONLY. Then he asked if we wanted to have him see if they were soft on the price- since it had already dropped- and we were able to negotiate another 35k down. 😯 it came into our range for budget and we had the inspection and I am living in my dream home as of last night! 😭 I am still pinching myself. (I had to add- just one day in it and I’m realising I have only ONE single thing I can hang because these enormous walls and windows swallow everything)

Hi Garett Love listening to you and picking up tips!!

Thank you for being reasonable and accepting of ceiling fans. I never understood the hate - they are sooooo necessary, and everyone has them, so it’s really not that big a deal. It’s like light switches and outlets - who even sees them?

Garrett always inspires with actionable ideas 💡 Love this channel 😀 some high end office buildings have outlets concealed in a hatch in the floor with matching carpet upholstery and cable management built in. I sooo wish homes had that.

Love your videos. They are so down to earth and so real to life. Thank you.

Couldn’t be more timely for me! I want to get a kitty in 2022 I’m planning ahead Garrett is my design buddy. Thanks Garrett, I couldn’t be more engaged.

I live in a slab house and the cable comes in the back of the house and the tv is in the front. It's also 2 story so running cable in the attic was out. I had cable running around the baseboards. Drove me crazy, I hated it. When I had some work down, including mounting the tv above the fireplace, I had them put in crown molding and run all the cables behind the crown molding and down the wall to the cable box and other components. Then conduit was run behind the wall in between the tv and the components. No more exposed cabling.

This is great!!! Now that it's cold I've been trying to figure out how to make my humidifier that looks like a spaceship work (or hide ) in my peaceful space.

Love all these helpful tips! We keep our cat tree tucked away in our guest bedroom by a window and just remove it when we have guests. But ya I’ve never seen one that I would feel comfortable leaving out in our main rooms. The cats like that carpet and rope to scratch on.

Loved your ideas! I bought blankets that matched the carpet and made new covers for the dog beds, so much better. I am so going to take that contractor grade carpet off and try velvet! My cat loves velvet.

Cats don't like to scratch on velvet. That is why. But there are beautiful designer cat towers.

Never heard of people disliking a ceiling fan. My mind is blown. One of the things I gotta have is a ceiling fan. That was one of the things I was so excited to pick out for my farm. I opted for A industrial farmhouse vibe Edison bulbs. I can’t wait to see it put in

I've been looking for a looong time to find an attractive cat tree! There is one elevated company I've found but I don't even find their expensive cat trees all that aesthetic. I also can't seem to find many diy options that I like other than the little cactus one, or the catwalk shelves, but we need a tall one that is more confined. I'm thinking of designing and building one using pvc, natural colored wood, sisal, cute woven carpet, concrete, and greenery. We have a scandi leaning house and I want it to look intentional and be in tune with the rest of it.

Cat trees - the carpet or sisal on the verticals is for them to sharpen their claws on, which is much better than, say, the couch... And litter boxes - it's even more os a challenge if you have more than one cat, as you'll then need more than one litter box...

Great video!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Great tip about the trash bags. It’s been hard for me to find quality bio ones