The Hottest  Discussion Topics of 2012

The Hottest Discussion Topics of 2012

The Discussions segment took on a big life of its own in 2012. subscribers, contributors and professionals chimed in like crazy to assist other ers solve their design problems. On peak of the record were conversations about kitchen remodeling, paint, color, staging homes for resale and if not to mount a TV above a fireplace. Additionally, everyone was simply having fun talking about home design, embracing polls and creating new online friends. Here are the hottest themes of 2012.

To paint or not to paint kitchen cabinets? user smythtracy believed her kitchen was too dim and that painting the cabinets white may help. The consensus:

She shouldn’t paint her cabinets but can improve the light, wall color and other accessories. This picture was shot and published middiscussion, after she’d painted the walls a lighter color.

She is still searching for light fixtures, intending to put in undercabinet light and looking for dishes to install the glass cabinet, but the kitchen is a lot lighter, and she managed to keep her lovely wood cabinets. See the discussion

Brownhouse Design, Los Altos, CA

Should I Set the TV over the fireplace? er westave has been preparing to break ground in a new home and wondered whether using two focal points in one room would be an issue. Additional ers chimed in with remarks about eye-level height, different wall mounts, TV dimensions, cabinetry, wires, warmth, cover-ups and more.

See the discussion

When to seek the services of a color consultant and, more important, did ers agree with the consultant’s choices? user ninjabetic first wondered why the color consultant she had been hiring had such fair prices, along with the talk of her paint colours, their sheens, professionals and their qualifications removed from there. Lots of you pitched in to help her figure out it with sketches, swatches, advice about changing light, inspiration photographs, links to ideabooks and information.

This is the last paint color choice for her dining room, and she’s thrilled with the results. I really like it when the first asker works up with all the following shot. It is so satisfying to see how it all works out.

See the discussion

The best way to stage a dark living room for resale. After failing to sell her home, sarahcecilia called outside to ers to help to make her living room more appealing to potential buyers.

It was a joy to watch her get as much help from the community and to watch her take the guidance, including things like table lamps along with a local rug, rearranging furniture and sharing her photographs as she made advancement. This is one of those threads where you really feel like you’re glancing at fresh friendships forming.

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It all began with the weird fireplace … lpisg8 needed information about how to address this stainless steel –flanked fireplace but ended up getting information regarding all sorts of spaces throughout the remodel. In particular, Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design got down to business on graph paper. The fireplace is now covered in Metallica Black tile in Eleganza, in Albert-Kincl’s proposal, and the rest of lpisg8’s home is coming along well.

See the discussion

Should she paint the brick fireplace? user jennlehr inquired, “Would you paint this fireplace white? I am searching for information before I take the plunge!”

Suggestions included glazing the brick using a whitewash; dry cleaning it grey; covering it with drywall, rock veneer, tile or slate; simply cleaning and glossing it ; including cabinetry and more. The ayes for painting outnumbered the nays by a bit.

See the discussion

Harrell Remodeling, Inc..

What are the trendiest new must-haves? I enjoyed this question from MelissaL and everybody’s smart suggestions so far, I swiped this conversation and flipped it into a series of home must-haves. There was much debate about the gap between a must-have and excess. Personally, I’m firmly planted in camp pot filler. Who knew an extra faucet can cause such controversy?

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Show us following play! community manager Emily Hurley called for striking transformations, and tons of you responded with photographs. It is satisfying to see your hard work pay off. Please keep them coming.

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Real versus faux Christmas trees. staff writer Cathy Lara asked in a survey, “Are you getting a real Christmas tree or artificial tree this season?” Over 1,400 of you have voted, and it is a tight race so far, with actual trees winning outside. Lara used the survey as part of her research; learn more about your tree options in this ideabook.

And see exactly the results for yourself. In case you haven’t voted yet, the survey remains open.

Holy smoke! If you think this one, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Aja Mazin pulled a couple of legs when she submitted the next quandry. I will post her words exactly, because it couldn’t be funnier:

NEED HELP WITH CHOOSING NEW CHANDELIER
I simply purchased a chapel in Italy that I would like to convert into a summer villa.

The chandelier doesn’t fit my style.
I will have the ceiling painted in Benjamin Moore holy smoke.
Can anybody suggest something more modern.

The amusing thing is, the conversation meandered on for over 100 comments, in the first joke to nursery style to the crib bumper controversy to I don’t know exactly what, but it is fun to follow.

See the discussion

Whether to paint a front door. user foci88 wondered whether or not to paint the front entrance of this Florida beach house in Benjamin Moore’s Terra Cotta Tile, along with other ers chimed in. (This is the following picture; foci88 wound up moving with Benjamin Moore’s Baked Clay.) The consensus was to go to it, with reasons such as matching it into the brick in line with the principles of feng shui.

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Just how much can I do with $10,000 from the kitchen? user lyare l withdrew the funding on a garden remodel and had to know just how far $10,000 would put her into a kitchen remodel.

Thanks to some help on the boards, the above image is a later shot. She replaced the floors, painted, picked for granite countertops to save money, and also added a chandelier in the skillet and pendant lights over the staircase.

To find the earlier shots, information, inspiration images and process, see the entire discussion.

It starts with needing a coffee table … Tabitha Dyson cried out, “PLEASE assist! I’m a decorating tragedy” After taking these pictures to solicit java table information, she realized that she needed some all-over assistance.

One thing evident from this thread is that sometimes the best advice is to stop shopping and get some assistance from a pro. In the meantime, ers pitched with programs, Photoshopped suggestions, potential products and plenty of information.

See the discussion

Whether the “fiscal cliff” will bring your home improvement strategies to a stop. This survey had interesting consequences. With over 1,100 of you participating, the “No Impact” and “Big Impact” options were almost tied, while “Some Effect” lagged behind.

Yup, this thread got political, moved a bit off the rails and came back … one person even scolded for “initiating a discussion that would predictably turn political.” Look, I really could write an ideabook about pillows down, and there are particular types who’d allow it to be political.

We’re not likely to steer clear of home-related issues simply because there is a chance they can get political. However, you have every right not to read discussions you call will acquire political. I am able to identify the remarks I want to bypass by spying just one or two key words when skimming, or seeing long-winded the article is or whether or not the poster uses all capitals for emphasis. I suggest you all do exactly the same.

Skim this talk

I ordered a gorgeous pond, and all I got was this lousy mud pit! user Iyare I (who desired kitchen assistance above) was so over it that she needed to take a deep breath before she even began to deal with her water feature debacle. Then if she was ready to deal, she came over to . What’s so great about this thread is that she published plenty of pictures since progress has been made using a new builder.

ers had plenty of great information about how to deal with the pond as well as about circulation as well as West Nile virus. (ers are thorough!) They also had suggestions for locating the very best contractor and how to work well with her or him to get the wanted benefits. Thanks so much to lyrae I for sticking with the thread and sharing all the fun after shots of her yard!

See the discussion

Which design do you like better? Fabiola includes a living room that works two ways but wanted to gauge how people preferred. The answers reveal that “sofa facing fireplace” is the preferred appearance, as well as course viewers couldn’t help but add other tips that are rough, which is always part of the fun.

Here’s my unsolicited tip, because I can’t help myself either: Organize the room with the fireplace in mind during months when it’s going to be lit (for either the opinion or proximity to its heat), then switch up things during warmer months. Both designs work really well, an issue plenty of ers wish they had!

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To paint or preserve? One can very accurately forecast the range of answers to a question about painting old wood beams in a church-turned-apartment building in London. Even though a rough quote has the “No! Don’t paint them” answers winning outside, the soundest solution is to move in, live with it for a month or two and then decide what to do.

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What to do about dining room chairs that disappoint? user carlyabbey had already obtained a lot of assistance in the Discussions board to get her dining room redecorating, but was very displeased with the way her chairs turned out. She began a new conversation to get some help.

What’s so much fun about this thread is the friendship and camaraderie. People pitched in using Photoshopped options on request, as well as some other suggestions. Everything worked out well: A change in the wall color helped carlyabbey love how the entire room worked, she hosted a fabulously successful Thanksgiving dinner, along with the discussion still goes on.

See the entire thread

I need help tying my home’s exterior together. user lindamarie1 had turned into the Discussions board to get assistance with her 1910 home’s facade before. She came back to get some help with enhancing the color flow, for example, color of the foundation and front doorway. As the conversation evolved, ers chimed not only with particular paint colours but with ideas on just where to use them, Photoshopped mock-ups, ideas for shutters, historic precedents, lighting information, landscape options, thoughts on awnings and more. The conversation is filled with great ideas for curb appeal.

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Carlyn And Company Interiors + Design

What you thought of the color predictions for 2013. Over 1,100 of you voted, and Sherwin-Williams’ Aloe squeaked ahead of “whatever” as the favourite prediction for 2013. With opinions on whether or not Pantone’s Emerald looked like a legitimate emerald, the predicting methods themselves and what the predictions will imply for products in 2013, the survey was heaps of fun for me personally to follow — and it was that the first poll I’d ever put together. Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

See the entire conversation

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