The title of this post is one of my mantras, and it applies perfectly to kitchen and bath design, as well as to life in general.

Let me give you the childhood example that helped inspire this long-held philosophy, and that will perfectly illustrate my point. My grandmother had a friend with more money than taste. (You can make much bigger mistakes on a big design budget than you can on a small one!)

This flamboyant friend carpeted the living room of her Upper East Side, New York City condo with wall-to-wall plush royal purple carpet… Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!

Save saturated drama for paint, not carpeting!
(Photo Courtesy:  Behr)

This life lesson keeps cropping up on social media, too, where (mostly) young people post about their bodies, bosses or bad habits (and sometimes get fired for it), and where civic leaders do foolish things very publicly, (and often get voted out of office or resign in disgrace afterward).

But this principle most particularly applies to residential interiors, the primary focus of this blog.  Here’s an example from my own design career. A client wanted Black Galaxy granite countertops in her kitchen. That was not the issue, as they coordinated very nicely with her Cabernet Cherry cabinet finish.

I advised the homeowner to place a trivet near her new range for moving pots and pans off a hot burner.  As I explained to her, heat shock can damage even the hardiest surfaces, like granite or engineered stone. She scoffed at me, sharing that she’d been putting hot pots on granite tops for 20 years and never had a problem.

Well, the first week her new counters were [...]

Folks who know me well know of my distaste for cheap plastic products — and of my utter delight in lovely decorative details.

For whatever odd reason, I was thinking about toilet tank levers this morning, and how so many of the mass-produced models on the market today have cheap, ugly plastic  or very basic chrome handles.  (These will not look good in a bathroom remodel with oil rubbed bronze or brushed nickel finishes everywhere else!)

When I’m working on a reno that reuses an existing toilet — and there have been a few of these in recent years — I always replace the existing handle with one that matches  the new faucets and accessories.   (Most of the major decorative plumbing company brands sell coordinating decorative toilet tank levers.)   There are now options that personalize this humble lever to your personal interests, too, in many of the popular finishes.  I can see these being fun in a kids’ bath, game room bath, fishing cabin or vacation home bathroom, but there are also styles featuring flowers and scrolls that would nicely enhance a ma’am cave or powder room.

Here are a few that made me smile, along with a video link from HomeAdditionPlus.com on how to replace them on your own.  It should be noted that I’m not a DIY gal myself.  I’m a hire a pro type.

Fish tank

Bowl in one!

Loo wave

Rocking the Bowl!

(All Photos [...]