You Said It: Hot-Button Issues Fired Up the Comments This Week

This week the Comments section for one of my ideabooks took a familiar turn — it morphed into a discussion about a Comments section full of “wows!” versus the value of criticism. It got me thinking about hot-button topics on Houzz.

The Comments section is a huge and important part of the Houzz community, and I’m grateful for everyone’s participation. Though my opinion about what is constructive and what is rude is constantly evolving, I believe that designs and topics that prompt love-it-or-hate-it reactions are often the most interesting and thus generate the liveliest conversations.

A few stories this week touched on hot-button issues. Along with these, I’ve thrown in a feel-good rooftop garden, a guide for beautiful DIY holiday decorations and a little of my own family drama to round everything out. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Hot-Button Topic: The Commode

“Hello everyone with toilet concerns(!). The toilet isn’t visible from the entrance to the room and was for a client who lives alone and wanted a spacious open-plan feel. It’s part of a large en suite behind the headboard/divider. It certainly isn’t for every home but works well for this client.” — designer Evros Agathou, responding in the Comments section to concerns about the visibility of the toilet in this photo

In a great story about using texture, this toilet was what caught many readers’ eyes first. I have to admit, reading “toilet concerns” made me giggle out loud. Whoops, typing it just made me giggle again — I guess I love potty humor. Anyway, whether it’s the seat being up or down in a photo, a toilet’s being the first thing you see in the bathroom, or (gasp!) a toilet’s being open to another room (as seen here), the commode can inspire a lot of lively conversations. I think the only bathroom fixture that’s even more controversial on Houzz is the urinal.

Full story: Please Touch: Texture Makes Rooms Spring to Life


Hot-Button Topic: Dust

“This is so me! Yes, dusting can take loads of time and I have four cats so it’s furry dust. Am I about to go minimalist? Not hardly.” — Houzz user Patti Martin

Wow, this ideabook on creating a bohemian bedroom certainly started a conversation with some very strong opinions about keeping things clean! But whether it’s boho style, an intricate chandelier, a claw-foot bathtub, a collection or basically, any form of matter, people are always concerned about dust. Which reminds me, my ceiling fans desperately need a good Swiffering (if only I could find that extender thingy). How does so much dust collect on those blades when they are constantly in motion? Turning the fan off and seeing it is horrifying!

Full story: Gypsy in Your Soul: 10 Steps to a Bohemian Bedroom


Hot-Button Topic: Covering Up

“Bare windows are a matter of personal taste … I would rather spend money to add more windows to my house and upgrade the windows than on drapery.” — Houzz user lasa

To drape or not to drape? That is the question. Some love their bare windows — falling asleep viewing the stars, waking up with the sunrise. For others window treatments are a must-have for insulation and privacy. Would you dare to go bare?

Full story: How to Ditch the Drapes and Let Your Windows Shine


Hot-Button Topic: Changing Original Details in a Victorian-Era House

“These days modernizing a Victorian home is more about making it function well while still preserving its character.” — Joanna Simmons

I learned early on from one of the very first Houzz Tours I wrote that one of the hot-button issues is updating a Victorian-era home. On topics from whether original wood should ever see a coat of paint to adding a modern light fixture, opinions are very strong. Simmons’ gentle approach is just the answer, IMHO.

Full story: How to Gently Bring a Victorian Home Into the 21st Century


Hot-Button Topic: Contemporary Homes

“It’s Little House on the Prairie 21st-century style!” — Houzz user Christin Koel

Wait, strike that hot-button judgment about contemporary homes; those with a great design actually please even the most hard-line traditionalists. I thought such a striking contemporary home as this converted grain silo might have stirred up a little controversy, but I could not have been more wrong. Perhaps it’s the pleasing combination of the familiar rural vernacular form, the views and the bright and warm interiors. No matter what their usual style favorite, everyone seemed to love this home in Great Falls, Montana, and the story of how the owner is continuing her father’s legacy of revering this spectacular landscape.

Full story: Houzz Tour: Prairie Grain Bin Turned Bucolic Retirement Home


“Beautiful! What fun it would be to watch a movie up there; the atmosphere would make any movie perfect!” — Houzz user Judy

Yes, Judy, and I never would have thought viewing a film with Dabney Coleman in a dog collar attached to a garage door opener controlled by Lily, Dolly and Jane could be made any better, but viewing 9 to 5 in this beautiful place would. This story made us happy. A playful oasis on a city rooftop showed us that trees grow in Brooklyn, in the most unexpected places. Oh, and there’s even a concrete deer named Teshan and a resident squirrel called Mr. Fitness who enjoy it too. I loved this story.

Full story: Sit Back and Enjoy the View From This Brooklyn Garden


“Simple things are oftentimes the prettiest.” — Alethea Harampolis, coauthor with Jill Rizzo of The Wreath Recipe Book

These three simple and easy-to-make decorations could let even the biggest DIY-disaster-prone person pull off decor worthy of Martha Stewart. This sneak peek into Harampolis and Rizzo’s book sent me out to the yard to check out the supplies I have on hand, and made me add The Wreath Recipe Book to my wish list.

Full story: 3 Recipes for Foraged Holiday Table Decor


“Here are a few of my favorite ways to hang things on Sheetrock, wood and brick — without hurting your walls.” — Clark Harris

This story from the Houzz archive is annoying me all over again. Why? Because Clark is my brother, and after I had written approximately a zillion Houzz stories for a few years, he casually dropped by, told us how to hang stuff and got more Facebook “likes” in one fell swoop than probably all my stories put together. I’m never going to hear the end of this at Thanksgiving.

Seriously, though, Houzz reposts this story during wreath-hanging season for those who may have missed it because it is really helpful information. Good job, Clark-o (she writes begrudgingly).

Full story: A Contractor’s Secrets to Hanging Holiday Decor

URL: You Said It: Hot-Button Issues Fired Up the Comments This Week http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-25086.html