White, and it's evil twin color black.

I thought painting the old beat up dressers in the bedroom snowball white would make them fabulous, but they're too stark and harsh and show every smudge and smear. The white grout on the floors throughout the house (!!!) the PO's installed is gorgeous when it's spotlessly clean, which only happens a few times a year. The white towels that I thought I could just bleach back to their virginity look dirty and stained no matter what I wash them with. The almost-white sofa slipcover? DH and the cats can dirty that up in an afternoon.

The black accessories show every bit of dust, lint, cat hair and debris that floats around in the house (we live in the country) and only seem to look really good for 10 seconds after they're dusted. The black background of the gorgeous rug in the living room is also a cat hair magnet. Two of the cats are black, but there's an assortment of other colors that live here, and they refuse to vaccuum up after themselves. The rug looks great for about a day after cleaning.

I'm all for being fashionable and stylish and fabulous, but only if it means LESS work for me.

I'm pretty good good about thinking out what might be before I buy it.....but the lovely Kentile slate look alike that was supposed to be easier care and easier on your feet than the real thing.....wasn't!!
And that lovely circular garden full of Hybrid teas?? Fogedabouddit!!...Plant shrub roses and Hosta!!!

The Kohler Kathryn biscuit-colored one-piece toilet installed by the previous owner which has only one replacement toilet seat to fit it that is made out of compressed wood with chrome hinges, costs $150 and has to be special ordered. If I ever build a house, I will have all white bathroom fixtures!

I hear you. It's Magnaverde's Rule Number 16 working at it's best.

White and creamy white baseboards, altho pretty much had to because I wanted the rest of the trim the same color. Either I dust it everyday or the dust and grime I swear works itself into the bead of caulk along the tops. ugh. Or I get impatient and run a damp rag across, making "dust mud" which clings even worse. I knew all this before I decided on painted woodwork but went forward anyway. Other than that, I like it.

Light gray board and batten hardi board on our exterior. We love the look, but up close it is so dirty! We have been having to have it pressure washed 3-4x a year!

White slipcovers. What was I thinking? Glad I refinished the dark office floor. That always showed dust, threads, etc. I have high ceilings and am vertically challenged so I can't really see the dust on the one chandelier. I'm just about finished painting my house pale yellow. Now I wish I'd gone with a darker tone so I don't see the bug debris, mud splashes and dirt.

LOL . . right there with you all! How about 2 sets of French doors between the dining room and the front foyer, 2 sets between the foyer and study, 2 sets between the dining room and the family room, one between the living room and the kitchen, a patio door wall in the family room, living room and MBR . . . along with one huge, wet-nosed dobie and one little wet-nosed Tibetan Spaniel that are drawn to every spot of clean glass in this house like magnets! Sounded like a good idea at the time we were designing this place, but now . . . .

Franksmom: yes! Same problem with those dark counters!

Linda: Me too! I just dug out the last of my tea rose bushes this summer and replaced them all with floribundas!

Sapphire: living out here in the mountains, we have hard well water and I can totally sympathize with you. No chandy here but I can imagine the nightmare cleaning yours must be!

Fun thread, BTW. As the old saying goes, "Misery loves company!"
Lynn

Someone left the cleaning lady out of all of these pictures we had in our minds! Lynninnewmexico, if I had a cleaning lady, I would ship her out to you to give you a break with cleaning all of those french doors!

Franksmom, I had an enormous white sofa and mirrored furniture once and I thought I was over my insanity. I managed to talk myself into lighter floors but, Chardie, I think my sofa might be the same color as your house. Not the most practical decision I've ever made but it looked so pretty in the showroom!

How about Berber carpeting with a dog ? What a mistake THAT was ! >:/

This reminds me of the cautions to ALWAYS live in a place before making changes...I shudder every time I see the full glass showers that are all the rage on HGTV right now. These people obviously do not clean them!! We moved into a 1070'S ranch. Avacado fixtures--toilet and total shower tub surround. I struggled for 13 years but finally did it anyway. We now have all white subway tiled shower, new tub and thrown. Now we wait. The hard well water we live with stained the basement toilet so severely I have yet to get it out...but I just couldn't stand the green another year!!

White, and it's evil twin color black.

Yes! Oh yes! Like this floor. Looks great, right? DON'T EVER DO IT. Absolutely EVERYTHING shows... dust, crumbs, animal hair, mysterious motes of muck... it's evil.

LOL mclarke - I have the same floor only in dark blue and white, and in a smaller area - my bathroom. I finally gave in and put a third throw rug down. Now I'm not tracking quite as much "mysterious motes of muck" across it. Looks fabulous when clean and polished, if only that lasted for more than a week.

Oh, I don't want to read this. Black and white checks are my dream flooring.

Dark floors everywhere.

The lovely almost-black slate in the bathroom shows every little bit of toilet-paper lint and hair, and don't even ask why we continued in into the shower itself. The dark-stained wood floors in the rest of the house highlight dust bunnies. Two days after a thorough dust and vacuum, there's a light layer of dust collecting in the corners. It wasn't noticeable in our last place with more golden-red floors, but here every.single.mote shows.

One of my daughters just moved into to her very first, grown-up apartment with expresso wood floors. OMG

Seriously, she can't go out and sit on her patio without expecting to dust mop the footprints when she comes in!

I can't imagine a large family living with those floors.

shudder

This tread cracks me up. It really made my day. I though I was the only one who looks at mags and display homes and things about the upkeep. As I have gotten older my key phrase has gotten to be" its beatiful but" .I have to admit I am still a sucker for dark wood floors though. I have put them in every home knowing the upkeep and every time I think I,m not going to do that again but when the time comes I cann,t seem to resist the temtation .

I always look at those show photos and the first thing I think about is dust! Upturned lights? Bowls of dust. Frou-frou all over everywhere? Dust catchers. And those all glass showers? We had to replace a shower door a couple of years ago and chose a translucent one. The installer was giving us the lecture about squeegying off the door after every use and I laughed. I looked him square in the eye and said, "Ain't gonna happen." He was a bit taken aback.

Years ago I had one of my sofas reupholstered in that 80's woven flame print fabric which made a great scratching post for the cat. After about 6 months my expensive upholstery was covered by a throw and the sofa sold before it's time. Now it's only good quality microfiber as upholstery.

One house we bought had white carpet throughout and I thought we'd change it but never did as it was in great condition. Instead I bought a rug cleaner and used it often. Really liked the white carpet as it was so obvious when it needed cleaning! Shoes off policy essential and wash the dogs' feet when they come in!

When we had this house built we thought the multiple windows that started one foot above the floor plus 2 full size glass doors were perfect to enjoy the amazing views (which they are). Never thought the cats and dogs would leave prints, not to mention the toddler Grandchildren.

More recently I decided that black kitchen appliances were the best choice never imagining that I'd actually be DUSTING the glass top of the stove every. single. morning!

I also chose fairly dark stained hardwood which I love. Next house I'll do something else... maybe.

The strange thing is that I loved/love every one of these choices, just not the required disappointment or maintenance. However I expect I'll probably make more of these unfortunate choices in the future as I'm not sure I learn by my 'mistakes'! LOL When in the moment of making choices the downside never seems so bad.

Fell in love with this bed. I had to have it. Now I do. See the way the legs flare out? I have bashed my toes on those things more times than I want to admit. The corners are sharp as all get out and I have gashed my legs on them almost as often as I have stubbed my toes. It is very pretty, though.

YES, LUCKYVAL! That black glass top stove was a must have. I try to remind myself of that as I'm dusting/scrubbing/polishing it on a regular basis.

Suzannesl, I thought I was able to be sensible like that when looking at those pictures but, apparently, I don't always hear the clue bird until it's too late!

Well dedtired, I would consider getting a regular metal bed frame and attaching the headboard to it.

As for the dark floors, thanks to everyone for letting me know what they are like to live with. I had my oak floors refinished in natural. Some stains did not come out with the sanding and I felt bad that I didn't choose a darker stain to hide the stains. You all make me feel better, LOL.

Dedtired, I looked at beds like that and loved them, too. I hate toe-bashing in the middle of the night or as the first thing that happens to you in the morning.

About 20 years ago, when I got my first apartment, I bought a set of white corelle dishes that I liked we'll enough, thinking, "they'll be great for a few years, until I save up enough money and find something I really love."

Those are still our everyday dishes. I think one stupid plate has broken during that time. What I should have done was buy something that is more prone to breaking so I'd have a reason to replace it. But these plates have been with me through countless moves and 3 different states.

EngineerChic thanks for the endorsement on white corelle dishes! ;) I am looking for new dishes, and want them. They are light weight, and the food should look pretty without the back ground interfering. :)

Moni

Oh, white Corelle dishes!!!

I bought a set after my heavy-handed husband broke three SETS of pretty china. That's three SETS, one pretty piece at a time.

The Corelle really is indestructible. They will be serving tuna noodle casserole on those plates after my funeral.

AND!!!

Continuing with the BLACK IS EVIL theme, we have moved into a rental which has gorgeous, expensive, black granite counters.

I hate them. Every single crumb shows. Make a piece of toast and the whole kitchen is filthy.

But they look good in photographs, I guess, right?

#&*&*&@! magazines.

Although I still love my dark, hand scraped wood floors, a dog and 2 cats can really have it's drawbacks! I swiffer everyday, and as i'm getting older, wondering if the animals will pass before I do, or all the cleaning after them will 'push me over the edge' first!! LOL

Franksmom, we also have white grout in the kitchen from the PO's. Stanley Steemer does a great job on it, but that's twice a year. I would love the B&W despite its problems, and it can't be worse than the white grout

gsciencechick: We do have black and white in the entry; I posted recently about removing it, but decided to keep it despite the upkeep because I love it. I clean it with vinegar & water.

In our bathroom, we have light gray grout that was looking pretty sad after only a year. After some serious internet research, I now use one of those rubbermaid fill-with-your-own-stuff mops and oxyclean and water. It's amazing how clean the grout now stays. Spray it on, let it set for a while, then rinse. (Confession: I don't usually rinse).

Sorry for the hijack.

Dee

OK here's another one . . .no, two.

I hated the SS appliances every decorator claimed you had to have. They showed every fingerprint and smudge. Couldn't wait to get rid of them when we had the kitchen gutted and redone. This time I got all black appliances that blended in so well with our dark distressed cherry cabs . . . and show every smudge and bit of dust, every crumb as well! Sometimes you can't win for losing!
Lynn

Gosh, we have SS appliances that are not smudged, dark granite counters that don't show anything, and white baseboards that always look white. Maybe I need better glasses!

I made a HUGE mistake once in Florida, with the assistance of a decorator. We chose two wallpapers for the MBR and adjoining study. The bedroom opened to the study through French doors, and that room opened to the lanai with a similar set of French doors. There was lots of woodwork, all in a sort of pale green/gray country French farmhouse color that did not play well with many colors. The paper in the bedroom was wonderful, but I had doubts about the sitting room/study. The work was done while I was out of town, and my friend stopped by to see it before I got home. She called me in a panic--- said the sitting room paper was so horrible she could not even describe it. I talked to the paperer and told him just to start taking it down. He had leftover paint from the vestibule and I told him to go ahead and paint the room before I got home. He did, and at least I didn't have to see it, but that remains one of my most embarrassing mistakes. I still cannot fathom why I didn't use the same paper in both rooms ---but it certainly seemed like a good idea at the time and I probably got it straight out of a glossy magazine!

Great thread! I'm learning to embrace reality as we finally, after 11 years, start to redo our house one room at a time.

Made a spare bedroom into a mini library, insisted on barrister bookcases so I don't have to dust all the books. Calling that one a win!

Tile in the bathroom is a mix of beiges and grays, hides everything. Almost too well! Got rid of the sliding plastic shower doors with the impossible to clean Petrie dish tracks and now have a lovely double curved shower rod with liner I can clean in the washer. Put the vent fan on a timer. I'd consider the whole thing a win if not for the espresso vanity/mirror/medicine cabinet. They look simple enough, until you see the dust accumulate and realize how many crevices and mini platforms the woodwork has. The kitchen cabinets will be very plain, lesson learned!

Now planning a kitchen. It will have cork floors. As much as I love tile, I know I won't put in the time to keep the grout clean. Dark, but not extremely dark, cabinets in a simple style. Lightish granite with lots of brown swirlies. Recessed lights. And no more popcorn ceiling! They are impossible to clean.

Williamsem- great point about the Petrie dish shower door tracks - I remember my mom was so opposed to "shower curtains that always get stained" and so proud of those dang shower doors. Personally, I can get a plain white liner at HomeGoods for $10 and love not having the icky wet, linty, disgusting tracks :). It took me a long time to stop hearing the voice of Mom commenting on "cheap shower curtains."

I want cork floors, I'm hoping that the PO's choice of laminate keeps warping and in a few years it will look awful enough that I'll replace it without feeling I'm throwing away a 'perfectly good floor'.

In the meantime, I did get luxury vinyl flooring in the bathrooms and love how easy it cleans and how it feels underfoot. And I still giggle at the concept of "luxury vinyl".

I have to admit that whitewashed furniture I had in the 80s showed no dust at all. The dark woods look like I haven't dusted in weeks after a few days.....

"impossible to clean Petrie dish tracks ..."

Hahahahaha... When I found myself cleaning them with Q-tips, I knew they had to go.

Cork floors? Do we like them or not?

I've made a lot of poor decorating decisions over the years but one that stands out in recent memory is the glossy black dining table I bought a few years ago. It was so trendy but it shows dust and smudges and crumbs horribly, which is not a good thing for a dining table.

I also just had to have a dark mahogany coffee table and side table set from Pottery Barn and have lived to regret it. They're a nice style but (1) they're huge and take up a lot of space; (2) they also show a lot of dust; and (3) PB "wood" furniture is crap. The finish is about as thick as half a layer of tissue paper so any little scuff or scratch removes the dark topcoat and is super obvious.

Oh, those tracks. The days I forgot to take my glasses of before hoping in the shower were hard. There's something to say for having to shower with 20/400 vision! Glad I can't do contacts.

Cork floors come up a decent amount over in Kitchens, they seem generally a plus. Guess I can report back when it goes in in May :-). So excited for the cork!

Also remembered another thing. When we had the yard regraded, instead of replacing the wood deck we put in a patio. No more paining! And that dust they sweep in that sets up almost like a grout is great, almost no weeds.

Plus windows that tip in to clean.

I'm determined to slowly turn the house into something we will enjoy, and cater to our avsion to high maintenance things. The last thing I want to do is clean and fuss with stuff. Even if it takes much longer to figure out how to do it than just replacing what's here. Looking forward to converting to a gas fireplace at some point.

One more lesson from the bathroom: if the painters offer to paint the door when they paint the rest of the room, just let them. I didn't think I needed to paint the door, but it looked blah next to the newly painted trim. So I painted it myself. It looks great! I even changed out the hinges and doorknob to match all the other fixtures. But now it doesn't close. Even after chiseling out the hinges to make them deeper. And it's my problem to fix. If the crew did it when they we here, it'd be their problem to fix, and they would have had the right tools!

My house is full of black furniture. Black leather headboard, check. Black lacquer and mirrored dining table and hutch, check. Black end tables, nightstands, shelving units, check. Black granite counters AND backsplash AND floor tile, check. WHITE dog that sheds like crazy, check. You can imagine how much time I spend cleaning...

I love black in moderation, but would NEVER do with such a vengence again...

I just thought of two more. Stainless steel appliances--love them but very hard to keep clean. Also--my tufted ottoman collects all kinds of junk in its nooks and crannies, and it's hard to clean.

I want wtw carpeting to come back in style. I also have a white dog who sheds all year on our dark wood floors. Not only that, the drool of two big dogs is impossible to keep clean! At first I thought it was the grandkids's sippee cups, then I realized it was my dog's. lol.

Did you know getting on your hands and knees is the only way to clean drool? I thought about hiring a housecleaner to come once a week to do the floors only, but that would be torture!

Magic Erasers are great on tiled backsplash and grout!

Maybe we should trade dogs? ( I have a white floor and a black shedding dog). I will just offer that aside from constantly sweeping, vacuuming, swiffering etc etc for the dog hair -- as far as drool(yes she does that too) I am delighted with a shark steam mop. I was constantly cleaning the floor and at least this actually does get the drool and most anything- and best of all dries very very quickly so she is not stepping in the wet and spreading footprints around.:)

I once saw a picture of navy Unglazed tile in the bathroom with white walls and fell in love. When we built a new home I could not wait to "do" that bathroom. I was a complete nightmare, almost impossible to keep clean.

I love reading this thread. Brings back sooooo many memories, er, nightmares!!

We had our kitchen island built to resemble a piece of furniture, rather than a cabinet, so there is no kick plate and it's open all the way. I love the look from the dining room and sunroom, but from the open stairway from the basement there is a clear view of every crumb. Shortly after remodeling the kitchen we acquired a puppy. Now we keep a yard stick close by, because his favorite game is to push his toy under the island, which requires us to get on the floor to retrieve it and that means play time. Plus, we have young grandchildren who are learning to eat on their own. Never again, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Love the dark hardwood we had put in this house. The almost white ceramic tile, not so much. Three kids and two black dogs, ugh! What was I thinking?

Moved into a house that I fell in love with because the whole backyard gate line were flower beds. My first year, with the help of an elderly neighbor who told me what to kill or to keep, I totally went haywire with planting. Now every spring, I break my back putting down mulch/fertilizer. Then I spend the rest of spring/summer pulling endless weeds and trying to keep pretty by watering in drought conditions. It is pretty in spring and I love taking pictures but after that it goes down hill. Maybe I should kill and plant grass (Naw I will keep breaking my back).

When I lived in old condo, I did everything in black/gold. Never again. When I moved to home, everything is done in light colors and accessorized with color. It is easier to clean and looks better during sunny months.

I normally reserve all of my stupidity for silk. I love silk. I have a silk fetish probably, but I also have a small child....

Silk covers on the dining chairs. We eat in there a lot. They looked awful in about a month.

Silk sofa in the family room. Gorgeous in pictures, but it's been barfed on, wet dogs and cats lay on it, spills of every type....it's gross frankly. I clean it regularly but still the stains just linger in their horrorific state.

Silk pillows for my son's room....ok what the hell was I thinking? Small boys, felt pens, greasy gold fish and silk...ya that made sense.

DId I mention I did his baby room in all ivory, gold and chocolate silk dupioni??? Major baby body brain fart there!!

I should also bring up the gorgeous fluffy sheep skin rugs I put in the living room...while pee training a puppy....enough said if ya'll have dogs!

As to the dark floors...mine are ebony in alaska. That was fine when we lived there, but I just visited recently after a long absense and I can see where DH walks regularly due to the footprints in the dust!!!! Never dark floors in a home that is not regularly cleaned by a professional!!!!!

Would this also be the place to discuss glass doors on cabinets???? :p

Ha, Valtorrez - black and gold! I will do you one better -- black lacquer, gold and MIRRORS! And did I mention I also had white furniture at the time? Made babysitting my infant godson a pure joy!

Glass doors on cabinets, Igloochic? Do tell!

I've mentioned it over in kitchens but I LOVE cork floors. Our 1st one lasted thru dogs, cats, kids and 2 messy adults. It even survivied barely being cleaned for 2 years after I had major surgery and DH wouldn't hire anyone to clean the house (Don't ask!).

In Sept, we had a water leak under the sink. Lost that floor- but it actually saved my hardwood right next to it. And we decided to replace it with more cork- a lighter color with more pattern. Even smarter, I went with a matte finish. PERFECT! Shows nothing. Also got rid of my black countertop- awful formica that we found out didn't even go back to the wall- the backsplash hid the gap- that lead to an additional mess we hadn't known about (mold on the wall, new drywall, etc).

How about white tile in 2 baths, and laundry room. Luckily the grout is a grayish color, but man does EVERYTHING show. I guess if the "dirt and dust" didn't show up, I'd probably never clean it :) One thing I have done right I guess is buy antiques. If they get a "new" scratch, I probably will never notice it:)