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Dearest Gwendolyn, It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this correspondence from the desk in the middle of the study so as not to stain the dark countertops in the kitchen with my tears. We are sadly one less on the dining bench after a series of unfortunate events. After falling off the side of our armless sofa my dear papa went to take a warm shower to soothe his aches and pains. Sadly he slipped on the large format tiles due to the lack of foot gripping grout and hit his head and died. I cannot bear to walk past his open nightstand with his dentures in their container sitting on the shelf next to his opened package of foam earplugs.
@@annbrookens945 It certainly helped that I had such great material from Nick to piggyback off of😄 All his videos are funny but this was especially so!
Fun fact: In Germany, a stool without a back is not a Stuhl. It has a different name: Hocker. The name comes from "hocken" which means squat. So, we have "uncomfortable" built into the name of armless chairs. 😂
I think Nicks advice is for the everyday person who happens to love home decor. A lot of the things we see on the apps and magazines are beautiful and aspirational but truly not how us mere mortals live
This is why I love his channel. I have an interior engineer / designer friend who is always suggesting I make huge and expensive changes like knocking down walls and who sells her furniture and buys new stuff far too often and pushes me to do the same. I just can't afford that. I need my stuff to be practical and nice looking.
"Are they writing their correspondence‽" "Get a new family!" "they're just missing half the piece of furniture, and I'm expected to not say anything about it‽" I love when you're causticly funny.
My favorite "...that's what happens when you have an open shelf. You fill the shelf and you fill it with ugly things." 🤣🤣🤣 That's our Nick. Brutally honest 😁
FINALLY!!!! Someone called the faux office, I was beginning to think I was the only one still plugging things in. And backless seating is just a form of torture.
My mom put me on a piano bench for a meal with guests when I was 16. Someone said something funny, I started laughing and fell right off the back of the bench. I was never so embarrassed in all my life - especially because everyone thought it was hysterical.
My last house had in-floor outlets in multiple rooms, and it was really a game-changer. Being able to plug lamps and things in the floor with a small channel cut into the rug pad really makes for an elegant room with "floating" lamps and not a cord in sight. If I build a place in the future, I'm definitely putting some in.
Be careful about hiding mains wires under a rug, if they are going to get walked on. Over time the cable may get damaged and short out. Use floor cord covers to protect them. Also be aware that extension cords produce heat, which is now trapped under the carpet. With a single lamp you should be fine, but if you have a desk with lights and computers hooked up to it, maybe not so much.
When Hubby & I designed our home, I knew sofa and accent chairs would be floating away from walls in Great Room. So, we had to have a few in-floor outlets installed. There we were, at the plywood and stud stage with our four camping chairs and cardboard boxes, figuring out our furniture layout and therefore outlet locations. Success!
@@kaasmeester5903 - this is definitely a good word of caution, and one I should have put in my reply. When I do run cords under rugs, I will only do it if the entire run is also under a piece of furniture (like a coffee table or sofa) - and even then, I'll get a bit of conduit or cord protector the same thickness as the rug pad and run it through that. Walking over cords beneath rugs is just asking for wear, shorts, and fire risk!
in defense of dining benches: including me there are 4 siblings and we grew up with them. They were super handy bc you could pack 4 or 5 small children on one bench, and my mom liked having friends over. now for people who live mostly in adult settings, benches kind of suck, but if you need extra seats and dont have storage space for extra chairs, there's nothing wrong with the bench. especially if it's all children sitting on them.
I like the bench because all adults that come to visit me slam the back of the white chair into the dark blue wall and damage the paint. The bench has fixed this problem 🤣😂
@@SuperDrLisa It reminded me of the friends episode where Ross yells at rachel for being late to some award banquet for him and she changes into sweats and sits at the table and says she’s staying home to catch up on her correspondence. Yours is much better haha
I pictured someone in the 17th century writing a letter and using wax to seal it then sending it off by their servant who would deliver the letter by horseback. 😂
What I learned- if you have a family that never cleans up after themselves, you should get large format tile so that in time the problem just fixes itself 😂
"Don't kill your family" absolutely took me out Thanks for sharing these videos Nick, they've been a godsend while I've been furnishing my new apartment
Can I possibly give you two thumbs up today Nick?? One for the good content and one for the laughs!! And thanks for looking out for us … and our dead families!! Cheers from Deb x
As a mom of 6 kids who are all adults now, and while I'm sure I traumatized them in all sorts of ways, the dining bench has never come up. I needed a way to squeeze a lot of butts around the table for dinner every day, and that's how it worked. As soon as we had the space, the bench was replaced by chairs. With backs. 😂 It's just for a season...😂 Thanks for another snarky, fun video.
Same for us. We have lots of little butts around here and the dining bench was really the only practical option. I will say though, that as soon as its practical to get rid of them, we definietly will be. They are not my style at all.
I was a nanny for a family that has a bench and the amount of times that the toddlers fell off the back was inmense! It was good to keep the 3 kids there but at the same time all the times they hit their head because of it convinced me not to have a bench
He is truly gifted with the way he combines excellent design advice with sarcasm and wit. He’s the ultimate smart ass; aka the Bill Murray of designers. Love you, Nick!
My roommates and I got a little one-seat backless bench for our "dining room" because we really only had a small alcove to fit our table, and was actually perfect! We put it against the wall so if anyone did sit there, support was available and it was the first time I didn't hate bench seating. And then we moved, and now I'm back to hating benches because it's inconvenient, lol. It's 2023, and I did not live through a global pandemic to not give myself the support I deserve.
Benches are a hard sell made trendy, imho. My cynical mind tells me that it is far cheaper, by cost of equipment, to just add a bench instead of the chairs required by the table. I see a lot of that approach in products these days, trending up an otherwise cheaply made product. Take, for instance, the so-called "caged" lighting fixtures that appear to be nothing more than wire frames around bare bulbs. It looks incomplete and certainly cheaply made, but they have been trended-up in all the published interiors.
I love your advice to get a new family if they don't clean up. I must say it's very tempting.... But the old boy's been around for 46 years, so I think I'll keep him.
My husband did this 😂 There MAY have been other reasons he moved along and we found each other, but their lack of cleanliness and order was part of it.
I love when you make videos about impractical designs and decor. Thank you for saving us from wasting our time by pointing out problems we might have missed.
I redid my kitchen at the end of 2020 and got cabinets that are the same color as the ones at 10:14. I wanted matte black countertops like in the picture but due to limited stock and the fact that they were so pricy, I went with white quartz and felt like a basic b. Thank you for this video because now I can tell myself I made the wise, Nick Lewis-approved choice!
Your reference to middle seats brought back a memory. I had two siblings growing up--3 kids total. Yes, we fought over the window seats in the car--and, of course, someone always got that undesirable center seat. I have two kids now--each can have a window seat, right?? They fight over the center seat. There's always something...
".....give me an arm, give me a back!" This video is hilarious, top to bottom. You were on it today, Nick!!!! Some of your one-liners were so quick I had to hit pause and go back to really catch what you said. Really good!
I have black countertops, and I love them!! By the time one gets to be my age you’ve had it all. I don’t mind cleaning and that might be why I don’t mind having them. I think they’re beautiful and so worth it . Just my two cents. Love your videos Nick! 😊
Me, too! I have Stellar Night Silestone (quartz) and they are beautiful and gorgeous and I love the way they look with my white cabinets. They are actually very easy to keep clean. Micro fiber cloths shine them to perfection with very litlle effort.🌸
Me, too. I had high-end granite with a lot of movement and when I'd wipe it off, omg, yuck. It hid everything. I finally have soapstone and I'm happy to wipe it down twice a day. Not gonna lie...
Thank you. I was planning on installing slate countertops in my soon to be built home and was crushed when I heard Nick comment about black countertops. Slate has so many pros, I really want to go that route. Your comment restore my decision.
Yes! I am installing soapstone counters surrounding a honed charcoal granite island (for Invisacook range), and cannot wait to have them. I just ripped out green laminate that showed everything the same as black, but the new kitchen will have minimal counter clutter, for quick full wiping down and ease on eyes, so I can have that clean counter feeling KNOWING they are clean, with a quick wipe being all it takes. Honed will make it slightly less obvious, but I love clean counters in a kitchen. My kitchen is right at french doors with a mountain outside (and thus dust), so having white means I live in filth and don't even know it!! I used to have chocolate brown granite with all the fleck colors. They hid EVERYTHING. And to my horror whenever I looked eye to counter level, they were REVOLTINGLY dirty!!! They were constantly disgusting, until I realized I needed to wipe them daily. And then I could not see if I missed stuff, and I always did! YUCK! Instead I will clean black soapstone and honed granite charcoal counters and will be beaming love at my stone everyday!
Me too. After 10 years of beige builder grade formica, I used a countertop paint in black marble to see if I could live with black. Three years later, I could afford new countertops and got black recycled glass. Yes, I see water marks and crumbs and, guess what, I clean them up. Why would anyone want a kitchen surface that "hides the dirt"? A quick wipe down with an ammonia-free glass cleaner once a day keeps them clean and shiny. And the surface reflects the under cabinet lights beautifully. Nick, you're my favorite and I'm doing me!
Nick, when do you do your stand-up tour? You're better than half the 'pros' out there. All you need is that honesty and your dry observations of life and your a hit!! 😅
Excellent! Put the armless furniture in the room you want people to leave sooner than later. They won't know why, but those slipper chairs/armless sofas will make them uncomfortable and they are out of there! Glad you got to vent! "Get a new family"! Lol! 😂😂😂
hmmm, quite the opposite in my experience, because you can't get off this armless sofas easily, so guests, especially those with mobility issues would stay. Forever😈
You're the highlight of my Saturdays, Nick. I live in my little 2 bed, 1 bath in the middle of Sask with my big, fluffy, white dog and my Ikea furniture and my shelves of books and items from travels around the world. It's way too late for me to attempt to be sophisticated in any way (although I'm very proud of my deep red leather couch and chair), but I love your videos and they're very much a must watch for me. Thanks for making them!
I have almost black stone countertops, and I LOVE them. Yes, you will have to clean them daily, but they are very easy to clean and so beautiful. I actually would recommend!
Great tips! One thing I see differently is that a desk in the middle of the room can work if you have every electronic device plugged into an extension cord and all the cables are tied and organized nicely (unlike the cables at 5:58). That's how I have it in my room. If you're worried about the cable from the extension cord along the floor to the socket, you can put a carpet over it. The main benefit of this setup is that you can have an extra bookshelf. In my room, the alternative is for the desk to be directly in front of the window, but with the desk in the middle of the room, I can have a bookshelf instead of the desk in front of the window.
THANK YOU for mentioning that desk situation! It’s so hard trying to find a nice looking desk that isn’t a desk made for people that seem to do nothing other than writing the occasional letter on them! Like, can I have something that looks nice, where I can store my massive pc tower out of sight (not everybody can make do with a laptop). Major peeve of mine at the moment!
I agree strongly with every single one of those. Thanks for pointing out that all of those are sometimes trendy, but never functional. And sometimes unsafe!
I agree about the backless benches and stools. The benches give a picnic table vibe. And who wants that indoors in their home? Not to mention how uncomfortable they are after just a few minutes. And yes, the middle seat is the pits!
Here’s a backless stool that’s fully practical: a saddle rolling stool. They’re not attractive but great in the kitchen and also as an artist’s stool, as they’re comfortable and naturally having you sitting straight.
My sister has black countertops and hates them, she's constantly cleaning them. Don't need to be doing that at 80. My nightstands are a mishmash of stuff, cpap, gallon water jug for said cpap, water, must have at least 16oz water, clock, tablet, phone, kindle (if it makes it there) headphones, meds, and the most important, cat treats!
I agree with every item you spoke of! I detest backless stools & dining benches!!! Also, another strong dislike (hate) is booth seating in the kitchen… everyone crawling over everyone else to get in & out! One other of my biggest dislikes is sofas with low backs, so you can’t lean your head back & if you doze off, you have serious neck problems! Thanks for this video… I do design, decor & staging & I always warn clients about these impractical & uncomfortable choices. I also agree with your opinion about tile in the bathroom. Actually, shiny, slick floors are dangerous everywhere. There are ways to obtain the look without “killing your family”!
Tiles don’t depend of the grout but the slip resistance. It actually it’s better performance specifically in long term the less grout you have as the grout is not as waterproof material as porcelain or ceramic
You are hilarious. I could not control my laughter when you ranted about the suburban mom with her whitewashed 14 kids (or was it the photos that were whiteashed?) Looking super gorgeous in their dining benches. It was therapy for me too.
Reading the comments on your videos is always great. One commenter mentioned the armless sofas and desks in the middle of the room had a public space vibe, and that clarified for me how I feel about them: they kind of seem like a power move, a manipulation. The person who does this wants you to feel uncomfortable, like you are invading their space. They want you to know they control the environment. There are exceptions, and times when these design ideas may be practical ( like the armless sofa in the corner - it takes less room/ fits the space better) but usually not. Dark countertops: if the lighting is bad, they hide the dirt, but the second the light changes angles, you see EVERYTHING. My dark green countertops that came with the house are not as hard to keep looking clean as that d@mn "stainless steel sink" we installed in our last home to update the look before selling - you couldn't breathe near it without it spotting up. As someone whose enjoyment of 99% of all interior design dream photos I see pop up on Facebook is ruined by my brain immediately thinking, "how do you clean that???" I find this series my favorite. After watching TLC/HGTV for years, I've come to conclusion that the only just hell for interior designers is to live in their creations.
Countertops and I've had em all - the best are butcher block and stainless steel like in an industrial/restaurant kitchen. Never trendy, never not - just is - the zen kitchen.
I had a black and hated it for the reason you said. I loved my white. My nightstand is so full of stuff that I need and it goes in the top drawer. I can open it the middle of the night and get what I wand in the dark. All of your ideas today are spot On.
i live in a loft that has no dedicated spaces or storage. stuck a solid wood executive desk off FB market away from the walls as a way to start defining the space that wasn't my sleeping area and worked from there. i'm a researcher, so having a massive executive desk and lots of space to spread out dozens of journals and papers is an absolute luxury that i've always dreamed of having. it cracks me up when people say things like "what work are you even doing with set ups like these??". usually those people answer emails and calls all day for their jobs, or are "influencers" like yourself. my brother is a contractor and he loves a large desk away from the walls for the same reason. there are lots of "white collar" jobs out there besides your average office worker, nick. (;
If it's not comfortable, forget it. Adirondack chairs - you can get in but you can't get out. And thank you, Nick, for speaking out against dark countertops! I never liked them. In my opinion, they never look clean AND they make your kitchen a dark hole. Things on open shelves get dusty - never understood why people wanted to keep their dishes on them. Benches and backless stools are miserable on backs; they are just mean. Nick rocks!
Totally agree, great video! I was the youngest of 4 and always forced into the middle seat in the back of the car, hated it, so give us your trauma Nick, I am right with you for it all! Tears of laughter running down my face now!
Thank you Nick, your videos helped me design and remodel a completely safe, gorgeous, and highly practical modern bathroom for my disabled husband. You are 100 percent correct about using small format tiles on the floor (we chose a wonderful 2-inch natural marble hex) and put the large format tile on the shower walls. I adore the contrast between the “busy” hex floor tile and large format white gloss, large format wall tiles, The wall tiles mean less grout to clean, and it’s super easy to squeegee them off after a shower. Adore you and your channel, keep up the great work!
I also have to comment on dark countertops. I have dark gray/black soapstone countertops, and while they scratch unbelievably easily, there's no more of a problem showing dirt and crumbs than anything else. It has a matte finish with white swirls. Maybe it's different with high gloss black granite. But soapstone doesn't need to be photoshopped to look good.
Hi!! We have black stone countertops (with a bit of flecks and veining). They really work for us. You're not wrong about them showing absolutely everything, but there's always messes and crumbs in a kitchen regardless, so we just wipe them down once or twice a day. Our kitchen is small, so that makes it a lot easier. We might feel differently if we had a large kitchen with a lot of counter space! We also like the contrast between the dark counters and light cabinets. We need light wood cabinets because my hubby is in a wheelchair and the light wood really hides the bumps and scratches (trust me). Thanks so much for your informative/entertaining videos!, Nick!! Always enjoy your content!! ❤
OR... you can take a shower using sandals! In Brazil is very usual for prevent a eletrical shock for example IF the shower has an eletrical problem! So, to prevent, falling and other bad things, we usually use sandals during the shower! Because, even the bath soap can make you fall or the shampoo... Works very well! No big deal at all!!! 👍💕
I detest armless upholstered furniture. I am 74 and need arms. I like practicality far more than trying to impress people. Large format tiles are dangerous. I need grab bars in the bathroom as well. Baths with big tiles don’t age along with you. It’s like concrete floors, a big nono. I do like cork, it’s far more durable than you realize. I like light countertops. You’re right white is great! I am too messy to have open shelves. You are hitting every spot that drives me crazy. Hate dining benches and backless 15:29 chairs, as well as chairs with arms that slope downwards. Old people need something to grip! You nailed my pet peeves!!!
I barely discovered you channel about a month ago and you are now my favourite thing on yt (and I'm on yt a LOT). I've been under a lot of stress these last few week, and here I am now, exercising while watching you, laughing in tears and feeling the best I've felt in weeks. Thank you. You are an absolute gem. I used to dream about a desk in the middle of the room, but your comment on writing the correspondence at your silly desk just killed me (and convinced me that they are stupid). I can also vouch that black countertops are gross and a pain. I hate mine with a passion for exactly the reasons you listed here.
I was real concerned about my black marble quartz countertops. I LOVE em! Especially with my hickory cabinets. I do keep them pretty clean. I cook everyday. 😅
Dark countertops i also nominate black sinks. We thought that would look so good with our dark green granite and it looked beautiful for about a day... then all the hard water spots ... oh my goodness we absolutely cannot keep the sink clean unless we polish it dry after each use.
Wow, you are right on point with everything!! Unfortunately I learnt alot of them these impractical items the hard way. I literally know of someone who slipped on their marble flooring in the bathroom and became paralyzed...not just impractical but super dangerous!! I unfortunately have a black kitchen granite countertop. Yes agree with everything you said about it's impracticality, ,but one thing good about it is that it did withstand the test of time, no stain like white countertops and still looks classy (unlike other granite tops).
My goal in flooring (even in the shower) is LESS grout. I've had to regrout the tile in my shower twice now, bc it wears down. I am going to replace it with large format tile and just put clear no-slip strips on the tile. I have used those in the past and they are invisible when applied. Just another option for ya. 😊
I definitely agree with you on this. Tiles have grip ratings anyway, so all you need to do is pick one that has plenty of grip and you'll be fine. Regular shower pans don't have grout lines either and they are deemed safe as well.
As a tall young adult sleeping often on couches, I'm happy if your couch doesn't have arms, cause then my feet can hang of easier! But I'm a visitor, not a constant, so....get yourself a better couch. A desk in the middle of the room is not a desk, it's a cutting table for sewing. Works great for a craft room! As does the black top! Great for finding pins on, or for lab rooms where seeing whether somethings been sterilized is important. As for open shelving, there are two wolves inside, the one who knows open shelving means my adhd will be able to use my shelves and put things away, and the one that knows that is anxiety inducingly visually busy and hates it
I do agree with your rant. Sitting on a bench seat may be ok if you are at a park. Chairs are met to have arms and sofas without them are futons. Totally agree.
You are right about the black surfaces! (And the rest impractical furniture) I bought a beautiful matte black faucet for my bathroom and every time I wash my hands, it ends up splashed with water and when it dries it remains stained and you can see it from afar. To avoid this, you must dry the surface very well each time after using it! Very impractical!
My house was fashioned after an old miners cabin and is wood on the outside painted black, with a red brick colored, wraparound porch and black railing. The kitchen and bathroom countertops were black Formica, and believe it or not, were the best and easiest countertops I’ve ever had to take care of. I don’t think black marble or granite would be quite as easy because you’re right, they are shiny and show every little crumb. The Formica, on the other hand, was virtually indestructible, and so easy to keep clean. It really worked. So, tempering your comment about Black, not working or dark not working, it really depends on the material being used, and the overall look, the designer is attempting to achieve. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I grew up with dining benches, and honestly I feel more weird if it's a separate dining chairs situation. xD It feels more formal. Benches feel more like being with family. Then again, I do in fact live on a farm, so sadly I might be a lost cause anyways. Please keep the decor with writing on it very far away, though. If I want to label any jars, I take a marker or a piece of paper and some tape. Or with teas just leave them unlabelled. I know them by scent anyways, and the confusion of my guests is a joy to behold. ;D
You are so right about dark countertops. Bought my house with dark granite countertops and Loved them immediately. I didn’t know that they look beautiful for about 5 minutes after you’ve examined your cleaning job at eye level to see if there are any streaks, spots, etc. As a bonus if you live with anyone you are guaranteed to have the gift of their crumbs and/or fingerprints the minute you leave the room. Looking forward to updating to something else in the future (the counters not the family)😂
Skimming through so many replies, when I got to "Looking forward to updating to something else in the future" I misread it as "Looking forward to _dating someone else_ in the future"--presumably someone who didn't leave crumbs! LOL
I had black counter tops and it drove me crazy. I used glass cleaning cloths to clean them because everything else left streaks. Even finger marks showed on them.
I used to want black appliances and counters. Hahaha. Not anymore. Guys, Nick is right. EVERY. LITTLE. THING. is visible. Every water spot, every crumb, every smudge, every streak. All of it. Especially on appliances. Even after you clean it, it still doesn't look 100% clean. Never again will I have black appliances. Or stainless steel, for that matter. Fingerprint resistant my azz...
Agree, I have a stainless stove with a black top. I loathe it for the reasons you stated. The stainless itself is great, don’t have a problem with cleaning it. (But I also don’t have little kids)
@@katie7748 Huh that would be annoying, glad I don’t seem to have that problem. But stainless if you do have to clean it is so much easier. As the person above said with black, it’s almost impossible to get it streak free. Drives me nuts!
I owned one black car and never again …… 10 white cars later ! Same with dark countertops! Once and never again ! BLACK SHOWS EVERYTHING! He is so correct !
Our house has dark gray countertops and I hate them! I have two teenagers and a messy husband and I'm constantly set off when I walk into the room and see every little crumb and drop of water. One day I'll get rid of them, but for now, it's just an everyday annoyance.
