In this episode, I answer questions about wallpaper murals, living room changes, and exploring different flooring options.
If you have questions for me, make sure to submit them here.
[Music] You don’t need a high-end designer or a lot of money to get a luxe look. Be your own interior designer. This is Affordable Interior Design the podcast. Here’s your host, Betsy Helmet. Hi all. My kids have been back in school for exactly one week and they’re already sick. Ah, school days. I hope you’re having a great week. I hope your back to school is going a bit more smoothly than ours. We now have a high schooler, a middle schooler, and a not yet inschooler. Lots going on. Never a dull moment. And now our middle schooler is sick. She just told me, “Yeah, mom, I’ve been coughing ever since the second day of school.” I’m like, “What?” Anyway, uh, lots of exciting stuff in the mailbag. And then later in the second half of the show, I’m going to be recapping, the interesting, the compelling, the I don’t know. I watch every season whether or not it’s any good. Love is Blind this time, UK edition. Okay, first things first. Into the mailbag we hop. And we’re going to help Shelly today. Shellyley is from Chua, Washington. I hope I’m saying that right.
And she writes, “Hi, Betsy. I wanted to thank you so much for answering my question around July 15th about the flooring in my mountain home and in the Inland Pacific Northwest in Washington State.” Oh my gosh, you gave me a lot to think about. It’s hard to look at the house with fresh eyes after 20 years of living here. And you’re right. We have no plans to move anytime soon, but eventually the upkeep on the property will be a lot and we’ll probably sell then. My big takeaway was your comments to find a new two-word phrase because relaxed mountain lodge was pretty redundant. I noodled around and landed on fresh heritage. I still want to be inspired by the grand lodges of our national parks, but maybe blend natural materials and patterns such as our soapstone kitchen counters, oak cabinets, Pendleton wood patterns, antler sheds, etc. with light choices that keep the space feeling airy and current. Do you think that phrase works better? Thanks to your thoughts, I think that radiant heated slate floors on the entire level is the way to go. My next dilemma is what to do with the oak built-in entertainment center area. Remove the whole thing and put a console for the sound system and mount the TV above it or just put bookcases there with other furniture. We don’t have a TV in this room. We have another place to watch TV. Thank you so much for your time and advice. Best Shelly.
Okay, here we go. Let’s first look at the pictures. And while we’re looking at the pictures, I’m going to weigh in and I’m going to tell you that yes, I think Fresh Heritage is a much better, less redundant two-word phrase than relaxed mountain lodge. Now, heritage doesn’t move in on me as a style, but I think it does move in on you as a style, and that’s what counts, guys. I really want you to be clear that this two-word phrase needs to fully resonate with you. You need to understand it. You need to be able to walk in a store and say that is heritage and that is not heritage. And if that’s clear for you, then you have a winning two-word phrase as long as the words are somewhat disperate. Like I said, it is redundant to say like soft transitional. Transitional has curved lines. Transitional is not too bold or dramatic. You know, the more we can make our feeling word and our style word opposite, the more intriguing the space will be, the more pushpull, the more balance the space will have versus feeling like a theme room. And I think relaxed mountain lodge could start to feel like sort of a theme space if you don’t add some kind of dissonance in there. So I think fresh if you’re thinking of it as like modern takes, new things, not so rustic. You know, the way you described it in the email sounded perfect. And I think you’re on the right path, especially in an older style space or maybe a darker style space where the style doesn’t inherently feel all that fresh. I have a home and downstairs, even though it has high ceilings and even though um it’s got a lot of windows, one side of the house does not get all that much natural light and it doesn’t necessarily feel fresh. It could feel a little dated. it could feel a little too old and antique.
So, I need to make sure with my choices, I’m bringing in vibrant colors. I’m making sure that it’s well illuminated. I need to be thinking of those things even if I don’t use the style word as fresh, which I certainly could have and it would have been appropriate and even good for that space. Okay, let’s look at this space. Now, when you’re talking about this particular room, I’m not seeing built-ins. So, let me just see here. I remember your other room did have built-ins, but let’s see here. My next dilemma is what to do with the oak built-in entertainment center area. I’m wondering h not seeing built-ins here. But I can just speak to other things. How about that? I think there’s enough to speak to outside of that. So, one thing I don’t love in this space, it does feel kind of rustic mountain lodgy. It’s got painted wood paneling. It’s got a nice big window with a stuffed deer head on one side. That definitely says Mountain Lodge to me. As we move around the room, we have a wall that’s partially sheetrocked. Then it indents about 8 in. And then the rest is the paneling. It’s all painted the same color which makes it feel more cohesive and less like maybe an extension or like a different texture. As we circle around the room, there is an opening to say a playroom or something like that. And then there’s a partial wall that shares the wall with the staircase going to the second level. And that’s got the TV with a TV stand, but there’s no built-in in sight. So, I’m wondering if perhaps you’re referencing a different question or a different set of photos, excuse me, with your question. The opening to the kitchen is there on that same kind of plane. And then there appears to be a coat closet. On the wall next to that, there is the main entryway. Now, this may not be the main entryway to the house. I can’t deduce that, even though there’s hooks for coats, which makes me feel like people are coming and going this way. And then there’s two large windows. uh and they’re somewhat divided by a partial wall that’s maybe about 2 to three feet wide and that partial wall has a piano on the other side fully blocking the window. Typically, that’s not ideal for a piano to be in front of a window because the heat and the cold causes the tuning to get a little bit off. So, I’m questioning that placement. The other placement I’m really questioning is the main sofa. Right now, you’ve got the main sofa floating in front of the large windows. Now, I see why you’re doing that in theory because on the longest unbroken wall, which happens to be panled, there is a huge black radiator. I mean, this radiator is between 3 and 4t long, and it is really taking up a lot of prime real estate. I’m wondering if there’s something else you could do there. maybe a baseboard heater or something like that. So that you can use this very sizable wall for that main sofa rather than having it block those beautiful panoramic windows. And then you’ve also got a love seat and a recliner in this space. What I would do is put the love seat in front of the panoramic windows so that it’s opposite the TV. That way you can still see the TV some from some primary seating. And certainly if you lay on the sofa as more of a chase experience, you could see the TV, but that way the sofa, which is the longest piece in the room, feels most anchored on the longest unbroken wall. And that way we don’t have the love seats with its back to the main point of access to the entry door which to me feels uninviting and is of course bad funue because having somebody walking in and out behind you makes you feel vulnerable, makes you feel less in command of the space and just isn’t a very cozy way to live. Then we have the recliner. I mean there’s a lot of seating in this room. So, you know, the next thing that I might want to solve before I think about this recliner is fixing the piano placement. Now, you do have a bit of wall between the two windows that are side by side with the entry door and that panoramic window. I’m wondering if we could move the piano to that wall now that the love seat is going to be adjacent to it rather than the long sofa. I think that would not only look better, it might slightly help the tuning situation. And then we’d keep the TV where it is. Now, again, I really don’t think you were asking me if you should do a built-in on this wall. And I don’t think you should. I think the TV stand is working, but that TV is really high in relationship to the stand. Typically, I want the TV hung between four and 6 in above the TV stand and of course centered on the TV stand. And this one is a good 12 to 18 in from the top of the TV stand to the bottom of the TV. I would definitely want to lower that, especially because you don’t have higher than normal ceilings and you don’t have a lot of depth in this room. So, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to have that kind of movie theater experience. You just want some decent eyele TV viewing. Well, that’s a lot of changes right there between that and my previous list. I hope it’s given you some tasks to get started on. Let me just see if I have any other thoughts. H it does leave us with an interesting situation for this black leather recliner. I do think we’ve got a lot of seating in this room, but I think the black leather recliner could be angled towards the TV and be somewhat in front of that first window. After you come in the entry door, there is that partial 2 to 3ft wall there that again sort of divides the panled side of the room from the sheetrocked side of the room. Maybe that’s an extension as I was referencing before. So, I think putting it there makes it feel like it has a bit of a nook. It also makes it very easy to watch TV from that placement and potentially to take your shoes on or take them off, excuse me, or put them on when you come in. And I think that distributes the different seating well around the room while not blocking the pathways like you have done with this love seat currently that’s somewhat floating as is the recliner in the middle of the space. Lots to think about Shelly. Lots to go on. Keep me posted. Let me know what ultimately happens here because I want you to have a great vantage point to take that remote and turn on Love is Blind. How do you like that segue? Everybody, in this next part of the episode, we’re going to be talking all about Love is Blind UK edition on Netflix now. Okay, let’s get into it. First of all, Love is Blind is a fascinating show. I have watched all the UK seasons and all the United States seasons. I do prefer the United States seasons. Typically, UK and Australian versions of uh reality TV shows feel so fake to me. They feel over the top. There’s like extra infused drama. Typically, I don’t like them as much. Somehow, American versions feel more real, quote unquote. I know none of it’s real, but just work with me here, okay? Uh, I tend to believe some of it’s real and I go along for the ride and it’s harder for me to go along on the ride. Typically with UK and Australia, they just get like so crazy. They’re putting all these scenarios. I I just feel like the producers work too hard to make it entertaining when I think just watching people eat dinner is quite entertaining. Okay, that being said, season two, Love is Blind UK, was so boring. It was like watching paint dry. I don’t know why I stuck with it. Well, actually, I do. There’s like nothing else on TV right now. You know, we’re waiting for the fall lineup. Summer is petering out. Yes, I’m watching Project Runway. Yes, I’m watching 90day Fiance. Yes, I’m watching, you know, those. But welcome to Plaville. That one’s good. Actually, that one is really getting hot. Skip all the previous seasons. Just lock in on season 7. You will not be disappointed. But here I am. Season 2, Love is Blind UK edition. All right. So, first of all, there wasn’t a lot of drama about finding the person. Yes, there were a couple of couples who were like, “Oh, I’m interested in this guy and I’m interested in this guy. I don’t know how to choose. But it all felt inflated. It didn’t really feel like it was that big of a decision. Everybody kind of seemed to know which way they were going. And I’m here for the drama in the pods as well as the drama in the women’s apartment and the men’s apartment. I love hearing behind the scenes, you know. Oh my gosh. Did, you know, did Billy say he’s also into Megan? Whoa. Um, did I hear, you know, Barta say that Kieran’s going to propose to whatever? You know, I like that kind of gossipy level or the people wondering or becoming insecure because they don’t know what’s going on with the guys that they’re interested in the pods or vice versa, the girls. There wasn’t a lot of that and there just wasn’t a lot of suspense. We immediately got down to business. These people almost immediately partnered up in the pods and I thought it was so clear they were doing it for TV. I was like these people are just desperate to find a connection so that they can take it to the next level on this show. And I think that happens on all the seasons frankly especially as the show has gone on and people realize what a platform it is. But I definitely thought that was happening here like Billy and Ashley. Billy is military. He’s a military trainer. Ashley is former military who now works um cabin crew as they call it or as a flight attendant for an airline. So, I definitely thought they were just trying to lock this in. I felt no chemistry. I felt no vibe. And of course, they had not seen each other. So, if you’re not familiar with the premise, all these people date in these separate pods without ever seeing each other. and they really shouldn’t ask too much about looks or physical appearance or even background of the person. So that way they really are going in quote unquote blind and then once they decide they want to propose once they decide that I want to get engaged to this person and yes that’s the level you have to get to in order to move to the next phase of this show which seems crazy like can’t we just say we’re going to be committed? Can’t we just say I want to be in a relationship with you? No, you’ve got to be willing to get down on one knee. Then they get to see each other for the first time. And then that kind of main piece of the show opens up where they move to apartments together. Well, first they go on a honeymoon or like a preh honeymoon. They go on like a tropical thing with all the other couples. Then they move into apartments and start quote unquote real life. And then they decide if a few weeks later they’re going to get married. like they meet each other’s families. They kind of discuss the pros and cons and then at the altar after they’ve purchased dresses and tuxes and all the decor is there and everything’s moving forward at the altar they decide what’s happening. Okay. So, I thought out of the five couples they featured, I was sure one couple, Jed and Barta were going to move forward. Now, this has a lot of spoilers, so just letting you know. I was sure they were going to move forward. They were such a cultural fit. They both come from similar backgrounds. They almost immediately had this connection. They both seemed to not be very successful dating in their real life. So, this felt like kismmet in so many ways. And I was like, “Yes, this is the one that’s going to make it. This is the one that would have made it in real life.” Billy and Ashley, army and steartis, or I guess not steartis, flight attendant, excuse me. He came in saying that his ex-wife was a flight attendant and he never wanted to be in a relationship with a flight attendant again because the schedules are so erratic they could never be together. His schedule involves some travel as well and he really wants somebody who’s just ready to settle down and make babies and will not leave their family for their career. So I was like, well, I don’t know how this is going to go. And he was like that, too. And she was head over heels. And I was like, honey, get out. I do not know what this man brings to the table. That was my feeling. Then there was Megan, a professional dancer, and Kieran, and he’s really hot. She’s really hot. They seem to have good chemistry. I thought it was going to be all physical for them and not all that emotional. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, she’s never been in love before, and she was finally able to be vulnerable with him. Apparently, she was able to unlock a lot of things he wasn’t able to bring forward in other relationships emotionally. So they were a perfect couple that I didn’t see coming. Now speaking of not seeing coming, Sarro and Call. Call is Pakistani. Sarro is Indian. And their two cultures clash. Typically the parents would not be on board with these different cultures. Marrying the mom seemed to be very resistant. At least that’s what the producers would lead you believe. But she seemed totally on board and was easily won over. So, I just think that whole storyline was bunk. I did not think he was attracted to her when he saw her outside the pods. When they had that first connection, when he was going to get down on one knee, he did not seem to be surprised in a good way. And I thought he was just a pretty boy looking for a Barbie doll. And she’s beautiful. I mean, all these people are beautiful. That’s the other thing about this show. Like, in Love is Blind, everybody’s freaking beautiful. you know, you’re going to get somebody amazingly attractive. There’s no people um who are not hot hot hot, who are not like eight out of 10, nine out of 10 on this show. You’re fine. You’re in good hands. They’re not going to put unfortunately normal people in these pods. So, um you’re going to be placed with a hottie. That’s another thing that gives me pause about this show is like, sure, you’re blind, but you know, there’s like a threshold here. Anyway, I was so shocked, spoiler alert, when they did say I do at the altar. So, they said I do. Megan and Kieran, the woman who’d never said I love you before, they said I do. I was shocked that they were ready for that, but fine. Billy and Ashley, army guy. He only eats like protein. He’s very restrictive with his diet. She’s a bean pole who can’t gain weight and loves to eat sugary snacks. I I just don’t see what the attraction is. I am shocked that they both said I do. I mean, Red Flag City, what the heck? But she was so into him. And like I said, I really wondered what he brought to the table. Jed and Barta, the ones who shared the similar background, Middle Eastern backgrounds, who had a lot of cultural connection, who seemed to be as happy as could be. They did not move forward. She said she does ultimately want to marry him. It’s just too soon. And they’ve been having a lot of arguments. We were not privy to any of those arguments on the show, which I think is highly problematic. First of all, that’s where the drama is. Second of all, were they keeping all these arguments off camera because bad production value? And we need a preview that there was some kind of trouble in Paradise because it came out of nowhere. And meanwhile, she’s saying, “We’ve been squabbbling a lot like when where over what?” Anyway, and then there was another couple who didn’t even make it to the altar. Katisha and Javin and they were bad together and they were just desperate to um go to the pod go beyond the pods, excuse me, and go on the tropical vacation and that was clear. Uh so anyway, it was not an interesting season. You just heard the recaps and the finales. You can skip this one. But what I do want this to inspire you to do is go back to season 1 if you have not of the USA version of Love is Blind. So delicious. And you know, I’m going to be here if Love is Blind UK edition season 2 has a reunion. I will be there. But uh I will be doing other things. I will be multitasking. I will be picking out client pillows, picking out voses, maybe online shopping for myself, putting some toilet paper in the subscribe and save section of my Amazon cart. But I will not be giving this my full attention because snoozefest. All right, guys. You’ve been hearing alerts, which I’m sorry. I don’t know why those notifications were coming up during my podcast, but you know what they’re notifications for? I am doing recordings with a couple of my interior designers who work for me. Upcoming episodes are going to feature my designers. I’m going to be telling you a little bit more about them, their backgrounds, their preferences, just a deeper dive into the people who work for me, what a day in their life looks like. I think you’ll find it interesting. I know I find them endlessly inspiring. So, that’s coming up. And that notification was a notification saying Betsy, you have an interview with Shannon coming right up after this. So, you won’t want to miss that next week, guys. Until then, bye. A big thank you to our amazing producer Katherine Heler, to Eton and the MCR house band, and to Affordable Interior Design, the sponsor of this podcast, and the premier place to get an amazing look on a budget. Check out affordable interioresign.com. If you guys love the show, the very best way to support us is by spreading the word. Tell your friends or write us an awesome review on iTunes. So until next week guys, thanks so much for joining us and I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.
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