Twitter Chat with John Gidding, and a HUGE Giveaway!

Katie

My furniture is all “doll furniture” very low to the ground. I’d like to graduate to larger furniture but can’t afford to do it all at once. I’d like my next piece to be a much needed coffee table… Are there rules about mixing tall and petite furniture? Is there a way to do it with style?

Andrea

Good afternoon,
My question relates to tackling furniture renovation projects when one lives in an apartment. I have a lovely dresser from right around 1920. Somehow this piece survived the rigors of belonging to a military family and I have been lucky enough to acquire it from my parents. The unlucky part is that my dad painted it with some faux wood finish paint in the 1970s. I would love to strip and re-finish, but alas, I live in a studio apartment in Boston. I could move furniture around to make enough space to do the work, BUT, according to good ole Dad, the stripping process would emit toxic fumes too strong for an enclosed apartment…even with all the windows open and fans, etc.

SO–is there any possible suggestion about how to re-finish this lovely dresser within the confines of my 4th floor studio walk-up? Or, is my only hope to make friends with someone in the burbs who might have an empty garage for me to use for this project.

Thanks so much.
My best, Andrea

LF

We skim coated and painted our apartment a little over a year ago. We have a toddler at home and have developed the usual nicks and scratches throughout our apartment. I would love to fix them but don’t have time to repaint entire walls. Any suggestions about how to do spot fixes?

Jennifer

What are your favorite affordable art resources?

Briana

I have questions about how to handle paint transitions from one room to the next. Specifically, there are places in my house that have an open doorway with no molding around it, like from the living room into the dining room, and from the dining room to the family room.
Which color should I paint the strip that is on the doorway? Which room should it match?
Thanks!
Briana

LizMN

My boyfriend and I are moving in together- all of his furniture is that dark dark wood from Crate & Barrel, and very masculine brown suede, but I love the bright whimsey of Jonathan Adler… Any suggestions on how to merge the two styles?

Lori

We had a flood in our basement and had to take up the carpet. What is the best solution for covering basement floors on a budget? We are considering concrete paint, carpet tiles, laminate flooring… Flooding isn’t likely again but since it is a basement, it is always possible. Thanks so much!

Ahime Ornelas

Greetings John!! I am a single 30 year old teacher that bought her first home about 2 years ago. It was the scariest decision ever, but I am glad I invested in my future. I have been working on in every room in my house, and I am fairly pleased with the results. (I will twitt you my pics) I have furnished and decorated my living room using a contemporary style and a color scheme: beige, expresso, and gray blue. I really liked how it turned out, but I have a MASSIVE problem. It is my 15 X 12 beige wall!! It is a blank canvas!! I have been watching HGTV for 2 years looking for ideas, and I’ve been unsuccessful. I am nervous to do something with it, because I’m afraid I won’t like it. John, I totally admire your work. I TOTALLY trust you!!I would be tickled if you would consider my blank canvas wall to leave an imprint of your talent!!!

Ahime
Baytown, TX

Camala

I notice on Curb Appeal (I love, love, love your show), you seem to always paint the brick. My husband always comments that brick shouldn’t be painted. I love the look of painted brick, but is there an instance where you would leave the brick alone?

brianna h

My husband and I live in 800 sq. ft apartment and are seriously having some issues with storage. What, aside from bookshelves, are some ideas for increasing our storage space?

Pam

We would like to pull up the carpet in our den, which is an addition to our house with a crawl space under it, not a basement.

We would like wood floors and aren’t sure if we should use actual wood or engineered wood flooring.

Amy C.

My boyfriend just spent A LOT of money putting up vertical blinds with sheers in our living room. We want to do something nice in the bedroom (Bed Bath and Beyond curtains right now), but I cannot justify spending another grand on window coverings. The bedroom is small and we want to block out light at night, but have it feel open and airy during the day. Any window covering (blinds/curtains/etc) suggestions that are DIY or at the very least under $1000?

Missy

What size outdoor rug do I need for a 12×12 deck? I am so ready to make a great space for the fall! Thanks!

Phoebe

My parents have been trying to sell my childhood home for more than 2 years now. There’s nothing wrong with it — in fact I’d be overjoyed to have a house like that. However, they’ve already moved, and I think the culprit is that the house is standing empty without furniture. What are some things they can do to make the house a better sell?

Elizabeth

I need advice on buying a new couch – I have two kids, a dog and a cat, and a husband who’s also not the neatest. I want something that is easy to keep clean and that requires very little up keep, but I can never decide if I should look for something covered in leather, microfiber, washable fabric, or some other miracle fabric? The couch I have right now is covered in a dark nubbly material that attracts every piece of lint around, and I really hate having to vacuum it off all the time. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Janny A.

I have 2 dressers in my bedroom that I have bought at flea markets. Should I paint them both the same color to unify or not?
Also do you prefer carpet or wood floors in a house?

Geri

I’d like to know what colors are good to paint in a kitchen? What colors to avoid and how to work with a rental that has those cheap brown cabinets and a faux wood laminate counter? Right now our kitchen is orange!

Mary

I’m questioning whether I should remain a (lifelong) hobbyist interior decorator (of my own spaces and some solicited advice), or make the leap and try to be a career designer. I’m 25, a couple of years out of college at an office job I don’t love, and wary of making the move, especially in this economy. You haven’t seen anything I’ve done, so I know you can’t advise in that way…but do you have some general advice on how you knew you should be a professional?

Thanks!
Mary

Austin-ite

I’m so over mid-century and want my home to be more forward thinking. What are the new trends for the next decade?

lori

My fiance and I are currently living in his 2 bedroom condo with our 6 week old son. Though we’ve transformed his former office and “shoe room” into a nursery, every other part of the house still resembles a bachelor pad. How can I begin a transformation of his place to make it more suitable for the whole family without sending him into total shock? And how should I prioritize since I can’t furnish the entire place at once?

Ashley

We are about to move into a rental property and I am wondering, what are some simple ways you can make something that does not belong to you “your own”?

Laura F.

Do the floors need to match the woodwork in a room exactly? We live in a 1920’s four square farm house, and we recently pulled up the carpet in the dining room and living room to find that the center of each room had never been finished. We don’t plan to paint our woodwork, but I am concerned that we will be unable to match it exactly. What might you advise? Thanks!

Julie Anne

My question is about color: Is there such a thing as too much? I’ve seen some very color saturated homes – bright walls, colorful prints, painted furniture – featured occasionally in shelter magazines and blogs, but I just don’t know how I would get that look without looking like I lived in a perpetual rummage sale.

Are these folks editing their colors secretly, or is there some formula for making a “house of many colors” work?

Cheryl W.

I am desperate to know if we are remodeling a home, with an upstair bathroom, would we be able to get a new tub in and our old tub out? Surely there has to be a way. We desperately need a new tub. What are my options other than knocking out walls and the stair well?

Karen

My house is dark so I am looking for window treatments that do not keep out the light but provide some privacy in the evening. I love shutters but are these a dated idea?

Jenn

What are the best looking window darkening treatments for kids rooms?

Gina

My husband is a musician and owns a lot of instruments and recording equipment. We live in a 1 bedroom apt. and his music equipment is spread out all over the place. Are there creative storage solutions for musicians to stores their guitars, cords, mics and little accessories/instruments?

Bridget

Hi! I have a flooring dilemma. Our 1950’s house has the original parquet flooring in the entry/living room, which flows into a kitchen with horrible peel and stick vinyl that is begging to be replaced with…something. Just not sure what! Should we tile or try to do a parquet-type floor in the kitchen? (Budget won’t allow for new flooring throughout.) Thanks, guys!

ClistyB

•*•*•*•please replace the word
‘disgusting’ with ‘dusty’ in the above comment. Whoa, thank you iPhone auto-correct, so embarassing. Sorry.

Danielle

This is kinda crazy, but we have an organ in our guest room (it’s a long story). Is there any way to make it look less obvious? We’re trying to sell our house and we don’t want potential buyers put off by it.

thanks!

TD

I love the large scale artwork in Nicole’s living room. Is there any way to create such large scale art without so much expense? My budget is really tight, but I just can’t get over how awesome a room looks with large art pieces in it.
Thanks for the giveaway, Nicole! Love your blog.

allison

i need help hanging pictures. i don’t know where to start. i only have a few already framed, and i’m not sure where to put them. dining room, living room, hall? my walls look terrible bare.

Heather

We recently just purchased a twin home, and now I admit I’m a little lost as to what to do outside. We’re part of an HOA and they’re incredibly picky about what you can and can’t put outside. Upstairs we have a 10′ x12′ deck, where we’re going to put our new red grill, but what else can I do? I love gardening, so how can I do this in pots so it looks nice and how do I decorate – everything has to be unattached to keep the HOA happy. Then there’s the slab of concrete outside of our lower level sliding glass door. It’s not very larg at all, but it’s an eyesore, as are the concrete pillars in the grassy area that hold up the upstairs deck. HELP!!! Oh, and if you have any ideas on how to make the upstairs deck cat friendly, that would be superb!! I need a stylish way to keep my cats safe, and I’m stuck on that too.