I understand! :)

I can imagine it sounds confusing to anyone who doesn’t regularly read at those boards anymore.

I’ve been yelled at, belittled, mocked, and reported. 😬😆

Ya know, that sink guy is from old GW and used a pseudonym back then. Why would someone use a real name when they refer to customers that way?

On the other hand, even many wonderful kindly people here on THIS forum strongly objected to the banning of someone who I found to be much worse, so I'm probably a poor judge of character. :)

Fori, I don’t remember him on GW. Did his handle rhyme with basshole?

As for myself, I’m sure someone could do a good parody bingo card on me, too. I probably deserve it. 😅

I do sometimes post on those boards and have seen all the stuff mentioned here, however I noticed calling out the pro's that are the offenders seems to have no effect except derailing a thread unfortunately. So I now have a list of people whose responses I ignore. I scan the poster names and just scroll on by and do not read them. Better for my blood pressure and peace of mind. I do agree with Jinx that I've seen some very rude posters too and with those I tend to leave the thread as again not worth my time.

Unfortunately I know exactly who you are talking about with some of these people and one in particular when he first started posting on GW was very helpful to people, but seems to have completely spiraled away and fallen off a cliff at this point, and now claiming to be an expert in so many other areas of building which seems to have no correlation to the area where he claims to perform work.

I do very much appreciate this side as for the most part it is a very kind and welcoming place.

Yes, the Pros on the other side often strike me as insufferable. I also genuinely do not understand why they would spend copious time here, if they are truly Pros. But to me a Pro means you do this for a living and so you would be spending your time either working with clients or getting clients. Maybe they mean something else. Perhaps one could say they are honing their craft, but the nature of the advice is so repetitive, that doesn't seem logical.

I also have an issue with the posters. I think original posters should endeavor to reply to suggestions and ideas, or at least thank the person (esp now that that is so easy to do). That does not seem to happen the way it used to. Moreover, I am accustomed to posters sharing before and after photos, which also seems no longer de rigeur. Lastly, many of the projects are not that interesting to me. Very repetitive. Sometimes the homes that are posted confuse me. They simply do not seem to be homes where any interest in design is apparent (and no I am not referring to budget or talent).

I get the impression that most "pros" are semi-retired.

Lyfia, I agree that Sinkguy has "spiraled". That's a really good term. I think many of us (me certainly) get cranky as we age. Some of us started cranky (also me) so when we spiral, we get really bad.

Hahaha Fori! You and David Gerrold approach things in the same way!

@Fori - I think that is probably true for most of us as we get older, we put up with less of whatever it is.

@Jilly - what is the thread that was referred to? I want to see the floors. I'm looking for floor inspiration at the moment.

Sorry for slightly derailing the thread.

Lyfia, I just tried to find it again, but don’t see it. I’m sorry! I didn’t post on it, so can’t look it up that way. If I see it, I’ll come back and post the link. :)

I don’t know what topic is being discussed. Is it kitchens? What is the name of the ‘dark side.’ I guess I’m really in the dark!

I think the sink guy used to let off a lot of steam in the Hot Topics, and since that no longer exists it escapes elsewhere.

Lastly, many of the projects are not that interesting to me. Very repetitive. Sometimes the homes that are posted confuse me. They simply do not seem to be homes where any interest in design is apparent (and no I am not referring to budget or talent).

There are many disconnects in the different forums. Much of the Building A Home forum seems to be populated with people who can't fathom living on less than 50 acres or having less than 12 foot ceilings.

In the Design Dilemmas (which people seem to have trouble spelling even though it's in the title) more than once I have read a query about "I do not understand what this odd space is at one side of the kitchen/ between the kitchen and living room/ in an L shape with the living room" --as if they have been transferred from another planet and have never seen an eat in kitchen or formal dining area

And yes, lots of questions regarding rooms where it seems like there is little interest in actual decorating: furniture lined along the walls in a nearly bare room with questions about how to make it lighter (floor or table lamps seem to have disappeared from the collective consciousness) or why it looks so boring (well, no art, no window treatments, no accessories, no rug) --and lots of questions about how to make walls more "interesting" because a smooth plain wall seems to have fallen out of favor and Art seems to have disappeared from the collective consciousness as well. Even the most non-decorated male dorm rooms seemed to have posters on the wall when I was in school.

@jane__ny, it's mostly decorating, with spillover to kitchens, bathrooms, design dilemma, building...don't get me started on landscape design....

I'm sure we would all get along--even with the apparent crankiest of cranks--in person, but some people don't come across well in writing. (Like me. I do offend! Bwahahahaha!)

I had a pro account at Houzz before they combined with GW, and I already had an account at GW, and so I eventually ended up with two Houzz accounts - one (pro) that I used at work (as a furniture designer) and one at home, which I used mainly to participate on the Cooking Forum.

When I opened the pro account on Houzz, someone from Houzz called me at work to confirm that I was definitely a design pro. I joined Houzz because I wanted to view furniture photos, and I had some issues with that before I joined - I think I could only see small previews of the photos.

Anyway, I had little interest in giving advice or asking for any with regards to design, and people on Houzz were not potential clients for my furniture designs either.

I have not used my pro account since I retired, and I certainly don't need it anymore.

Even the most non-decorated male dorm rooms seemed to have posters on the wall when I was in school.

My son has an apartment on campus w 2 roomies and, as a practical matter, one of their GF's. Their common LR has nothing in it that the school did not provide. Sofa, coffee table, table and chairs. Nothing else. It kills me. Then again when we were moving him in, the kid across the hall had a giant sculpture made from beer boxes. So...

----P.S. I do happen to like that damn brick house with the green trim.

Especially if it prevents Romabio

@DLM2000-GW I am so sorry someone "over there" would treat you that way. You are always so kind. And @Jilly mock you? Belittle you? That's awful!

Why would anyone want to go there, or post there?

I like that damn brick house with the green trim, too. It’s a lovely home. But it’s used as an example for every brick house posted and I don’t think that’s helpful. Plus it’s a custom color … just seems lazy to post it ad nauseam.

Can someone post that damn green house? :)

I look at those mean forums to see photos of REAL houses, not staged ones. I have not yet seen anything that helps me but you know what they say about hope...

It's always nice when someone shows their own room as an example (instead of something from a lifeless photoshoot). Wow! A room someone lives in! A real room. Sometimes with toys on the floor.

Fori, this is the picture always posted:

It was featured on a Houzz page years ago.

ETA: Funny, I never noticed before how the little tree is secured to the house.

I've never seen that picture, but I love that little inset with the bench and the stones. A fountain would look lovely there too (remove the bench). Is that the only picture ever shared of the house?

Is the "tree" wisteria? And is that an old school desk? Hmmm I have one in the basement but the Mr. would probably choke if I put it outside! HA!

THANKS JINX! Now I'm getting interesting in the "other side" house!

Oh, wisteria! I’ll bet you’re right, I didn’t think of that!

Tina and Fori, here are more pictures:

https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/poppleton-park-birmingham-mi-exterior-makeover-pj-vj~339047

Love this angle:

Not my fave brick (i'm very picky about brick) but what is supposedly so awful about that that is speaks for itself as a warning?

Well, that one photo looks like a stripmall in any number of local oldtimey downtowns. I'm thinking Livermore. Wisteria does great there.

The house itself looks well done. But that one shot...yeah there's an antique shop in that garage.

Wow. I am really negative. I actually SHOULD be banned!

Mtn, no, it’s a house always posted when an OP is asking about what trim colors to use with brick. One pro always posts it as an example no matter what the OP’s house looks like.

I’m just being silly with my bingo card.

So it's a good example or bad example?

Good. :)

I don't think it matters so much that it's a custom color; a photo of a color in certain light is not really the color of the associate paint swatch anyway.

I went through a lot of trouble to find the name of the color paint used in a decor magazine. Their DR reminded me of mine, with a slate floor and walls of muntined windows. I just needed to know the name of that pale grey green paint they used on the window trim.

The designer's staff was kind enough to get back to me The name of the paint was ...white. The reflections from the greenery made it appear to be a green hue.

Anyway, the specific paint color used is rarely helpful for 2 different projects, it's more of a direction. : )

Yes, there was a good thread a while back in which nearly all of us participating were seeing very different colors on our monitors (of a paint color posted). The majority of pros do emphasize that, which is helpful, because a lot of OPs want to copy Joanna Gaines or whoever is the TV Decorator du Jour, and waste money on the wrong paint.

And I’m always so glad to see pro Lori/Funcolors on a color (or any) thread. She’s amazing! We used to post on the HGTV boards a trillion years ago.

Well I think the green trim house came about because virtually every red brick house posted currently has white trim (for relatively strong reasons) ....and virtually every poster wants to know what their house will look like with black windows...no matter what their house looks like.

Not every house in America needs to look like it was built last year. My sashes are black because I put I what the architect originally intended (although he wanted steel...too $$$) and I almost regret it, since it's now the 2020s cliche.

On my old block about half the houses were neglected for about 100 years and half were "modernized" to some degree...and every one of the houses that were painted or covered with modern materials were subsequently turned back into their former selves. That should tell people something, but it doesn't.

Black windows are now a cliché? They sure look good on the homes around here.

Do they, or do they look good like an avocado bathtub looked good in 1967?

Time will tell. And a cliche doesn't really relate to whether it looks good or not just the commonness of the choice, good or not.

I love black windows. I also love plain white subway tile, white marble, and oak floors. Trends come and go, but I think these things will always look good.

Well I agree with the sentiment, but not the uniform application. Those things will always look great in the houses they look great in and are appropriate to. There are houses in which white subway tile and marble are inappropriate and it's not noticeable now because it's relatively on trend. A freestanding tub and white marble... beautiful and classic. Okay how about in a Levittown rancher? How about Fallingwater?

palimpsest I agree with that too.

I went back over there. Some contributors really do go the extra mile.

"Should I change my TV wall?"

"Yes, and you should take those photos from the other wall and that chair you didn't ask about to your bedroom where they belong."

Oh jeez, Fori, I almost just posted the same thing. Apparently slipper chairs feel more "at home" in bedrooms.

What's been trendy in my neighborhood for the past couple of years (especially with flippers) is white stucco houses with black trim, and I believe also black roofs.

What we do not have in my neighborhood is brick houses, as they do not perform well during earthquakes. I don't remember seeing many brick houses when I was growing up either (most were stucco or had wood or limestone siding), and so I associate brick with remote (from me) parts of the country.

I haven't visited the Home Deco forum much, partly because of the people there, partly because I find it boring, and finally because I do not need advice from there or want to give any. My taste is very different from that of most of the people there, and so it just does not seem like a compatible place for me to be.

I always enjoy seeing pictures of your houses, yards, and projects, Lars. Your creativity and design skills are inspiring and enjoyable to look at. Your life stories, too!

I understand what you mean about it not feeling like a compatible place. I almost always feel like I’m swimming against the tide, and it’s probably time to hang up my spurs (regarding those boards).

I still enjoy helping OPs with something specific they saw but don’t know how to find. I’m a good searcher. :)

Do people not like that green house? I think it's charming!

Yes, it’s very loved by all. :)

My bingo was referring to a pro who uses it as an example for every single brick house she sees, no matter if it has any relevance at all. It’s posted on a daily basis. I wonder if the owners have any idea it’s so famous. :D

(I removed my dumb bingo card. It was confusing except to a few of us who read the design boards often.)

Jinx, please do not vacate ’the other side’. you, and several others, manage to say something both useful and kind. but do keep all the silliest comments here bc we enjoy them so.

Jinx, you are the champion searcher for the seekers! But I sometimes wonder if people even know how to use google or are they just lazy?

Thanks, ladies! ❤️

Thanks, Jinx!

There are certain people who do like my designs, but at least from a furniture perspective, they have mostly been in New York, which is where my designs have sold the best, but also Chicago, to some extent.

When I was doing fashion design in San Francisco, I sold mostly in NYC but also in L.A. I really should have moved to Manhattan from SF when my business partners moved there, but I chose to go back to university and change careers. I'm glad I did that. I really could not handle winters in NY and hated it when I had to go there then, although I always loved the people there and felt very compatible with them - just not with the weather.

I seriously think you need to write a book! With lots of photos included. :)

I mostly lurk here because I remembered this forum (and many of you!) from GW, which I first joined 10 or 12 years ago. I posted then about fixing up a tiny kitchen and I think it was Marcolo who quickly made me realize I was clueless.

Since the Houzz switch, I post practical questions mostly on the other side, especially when we were doing a big project over the past two years. I found that the narrower questions seem to generate more constructive input. Some of the 'pros' over there are completely insufferable - I've been laughing along with the references in this thread and I'll never ever ask advice again about a sectional or even furniture brands generally.

I did want to say that those of you who do go over to the 'dark side,' your advice truly stands out and is appreciated. I'm pretty sure some of the best decisions we made during our reno came about through posts from people on this side of Houzz, sometimes just inspiration from your own beautiful photos and sometimes your answers to questions. I believe that we owe our beloved screen porch to good advice from @User and a few other elements to @Jilly, among others. So thank you all, and please keep sharing your great advice!

That is so sweet, thank you, smalloldhouse! ❤️

@smalloldhouse_gw thank you! its a pleasure to participate on this ” light filled side”. ❤️

Generally speaking, this is the only Houzz forum I visit. Because of this thread I visited a couple of threads on Home Dec. Honestly, they were mostly exhausting and a waste of my time. I think the advice offered here on design topics is far better.