WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.040 KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp the 2 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:10.960 House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app Live with 3 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:15.359 you every Saturday and Sunday morning, and of course on 4 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:20.000 this very program. Also the House Whisper podcast that you 5 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:24.800 can listen to anytime, anywhere on demand. Hundreds of episodes, 6 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:30.160 all searchable by topic. Your home improvement reference library waiting 7 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:35.000 for you wherever your favorite podcasts are found. Thanks for 8 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:37.159 joining us on the program today. Here we are at 9 00:00:37.159 --> 00:00:40.439 the beginning of the third hour of our program today. 10 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:43.119 What are we talking about? Well, this is part three 11 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:46.119 of our three part series. It was this way when 12 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:49.759 we bought it, when you inherit somebody else's mistakes on 13 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:52.920 the place where you live and how to fix them. 14 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.119 And I want to get right back to that. Just 15 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.640 a quick reminder that we've got. Tina just walked in. 16 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.399 She gave me the look, gave me the eye. She's like, 17 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.319 did you remind them about the holiday home show. She's 18 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:08.760 very committed to this process. Next week, this very program 19 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.599 from nine to noon next week will be happening live 20 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:15.280 in front of a live studio audience right here at 21 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.599 the iHeart Studios in Burbank, the home of KFI and 22 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:23.200 the home of Home. We're gonna be here live. I'm 23 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:26.040 going to have some very special guests with me as well. 24 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:29.280 Al Dick Holme has sponsored the whole thing. They're going 25 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:33.280 to be decorating a seven and a half foot gorgeous 26 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:35.319 Christmas tree and then we're going to be giving it 27 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:38.640 away to one of our lucky audience members. Just a 28 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:42.680 ton of fun, refreshments, fun, It's just a great, great 29 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:45.040 time to spend together. And I get to spend three 30 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:48.680 plus hours with you just hanging out doing the show together. 31 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:50.879 You kind of see how the sausage is made, as 32 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:54.519 it were. It's a good old time. So if if 33 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.040 you would like to join us, all you have to 34 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:00.680 do is go to our Instagram or Facebook at Home 35 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:04.079 with Dean. That's it for both Home with Dean. You'll 36 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.280 find the Holiday Home Show post right at the top 37 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:09.479 of the page. All you have to do is comment 38 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:12.520 and say I would love to join you. Enter me 39 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:15.159 to win a seat, and then we will notify you 40 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:18.319 via direct message through Instagram and Facebook. And those of 41 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.159 you who have already entered you may have a message 42 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:24.439 waiting for you. Check your messages on Instagram and Facebook. 43 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:28.000 You may have a message waiting for you telling you 44 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.319 that you've already won. So today is the final day. 45 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.039 That's why I'm saying this so much. It is the 46 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:37.800 final day, and so you need to respond to your 47 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.639 message today to let us know to confirm your seat, 48 00:02:41.159 --> 00:02:44.680 or you need to get entered today bare minimum if 49 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:47.080 you want a chance to win one of the seats 50 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:51.599 that are left there, you go. Okay, back to the list. 51 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:54.719 I promised you when we left the topic that we 52 00:02:54.759 --> 00:02:59.439 return and we would talk about fireplaces fireplace. Now. I 53 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:02.199 did a fire place show just a couple three weeks ago, 54 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.840 so if you want more in depth detail about fireplaces 55 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:10.800 and such, then run back in the podcast and find 56 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:13.800 it there. I've done a ton of fireplace shows throughout 57 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:17.280 the years, this one specifically, though. What we're talking about 58 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:22.719 here is the problem fireplace. Fireplaces are tricky because they 59 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:27.280 are by nature kind of a vestigial holdover of an 60 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:30.520 earlier age, right, And what I mean by that is 61 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:35.599 that you know, you don't really need your fireplace in 62 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:39.080 the twenty first century to heat your home. That's what 63 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.840 they were originally all about. You don't need your fireplace 64 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.120 to cook your dinner, all right, But we love fireplaces. 65 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:49.439 I love fireplaces. I love the esthetic of open fire, 66 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:52.560 open flame in a home. And I don't want to 67 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:56.719 get rid of people's fireplaces, except when I want to 68 00:03:56.759 --> 00:03:59.759 get rid of people's fireplaces, and so let me clarify, 69 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:01.560 I don't want to get rid of your fireplace. But 70 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:06.159 sometimes the crazy designer comes in and makes a case 71 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:09.479 for moving a fireplace, or at least getting rid of 72 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:14.120 that thing on the fireplace or that kind of a thing, 73 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:16.120 because there are a lot of weird ones out there. 74 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:18.480 There are. Indeed, are you living with a weird one? 75 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.800 We were just let's see, not yesterday, but the day 76 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:25.360 before yesterday. We're on a consult with a wonderful new 77 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:31.360 clients and they have been living for decades with a 78 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:36.399 fireplace in the living room. Beautiful home, beautiful living with 79 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:40.279 a fireplace that was just well, how do you describe it? 80 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:45.399 Just weird weird. Not the fireplace itself, not the firebox 81 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:54.680 or the chimney outside this normal masonry chimney and beautiful firebox. 82 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:59.000 But on the inside wall all this stuff going on, 83 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:04.600 you know, weird angles and weird buildouts. And so here's 84 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:09.279 lesson one lesson one. If you have a real masonry 85 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:14.240 fireplace in your home. The lesson one is this, find 86 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:18.560 where the angled edges of the fire box itself, that's 87 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:21.319 where the flames are at in there. Find where those 88 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:25.160 weird angle edges come to an end and transition to 89 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:28.680 the facing material. Okay, where that comes to an end, 90 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:33.360 You're going to find nine hundred and ninety nine times 91 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:36.240 out of a thousand that the end of that firebox 92 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:40.160 is flush to the main wall that this fireplace is 93 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:44.680 sitting in. That, my friend, is the end of the 94 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:49.600 real fireplace, of the structural fireplace and chimney. It does 95 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:54.800 not intrude into the room any further than the inside 96 00:05:54.920 --> 00:06:00.240 face of the full wall. In most cases, of course, 97 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:03.560 there's exceptions to every rule, but chances are yours is 98 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.399 not right. That is where it ends, right there, at 99 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:14.759 the edge of the firebox. Everything after that everything is veneer. 100 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.759 And when I say veneer, I don't mean that it's 101 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.120 fake and little thin material. What I'm saying is that 102 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:26.240 it's it's a decorative application after that. Okay, So if 103 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.560 you have, for instance, stone build up on the inside 104 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:32.600 of your wall, or more bricks on the inside of 105 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:36.079 your wall, or whatever, however the mantle is configured and 106 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:41.199 all of this is all added stuff. And if that's stuff, 107 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:43.759 and nine times out of ten, it's that stuff that's 108 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.800 weird and that you just have had to live with 109 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:51.279 and you've sort of manipulated and fudged and done your 110 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:56.759 best with. It's that stuff that not unlike the lesson earlier, 111 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:02.360 learned about hard escape outside and little planter walls made 112 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:04.120 out of brick out in your yard that you can 113 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:07.639 just pop out relatively easily. Okay, it's a little bit 114 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:09.560 of a mess, but you just need to know that 115 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:13.519 that stuff can come off. It can come off in 116 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:17.800 a day, I mean literally a day, and you get 117 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.279 the chance to start over when it comes to your fireplace, 118 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:26.879 start over completely. So that's less than one on your fireplace. 119 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:31.319 Is just understanding that it's a lot more flexible than 120 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.959 you ever imagine. Now when we come back, we're going 121 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:37.959 to talk about it in a more serious sense, and 122 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:43.959 that is, what if it's just something beyond I think 123 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.000 the inside face of our fireplace is really weird and ugly. 124 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:52.600 What if it's maybe the fireplace shouldn't be there, or 125 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.160 our fireplace is damaged and we never use. 126 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:59.959 It you're listening to Home with Dean sharp on Dead 127 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:02.079 from KFI AM sixty. 128 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.040 We are talking about the things that you inherited from 129 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:12.160 the previous owners of your home that are wrong, the 130 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:15.639 kind of stuff that when you walk me through your house, 131 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:19.319 you you know you have to make that excuse it 132 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:21.439 was like this when we bought it. Don't blame us, 133 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:25.079 don't judge us, Dean, don't judge us. I don't judge you, 134 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:30.560 and never judge you. Just your house, just the house, 135 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:35.039 not you. Of course, there's nothing wrong with you anyway. 136 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:39.519 So I'm right in the middle of one of these items, 137 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:44.320 and a very important one, a very troublesome one. Fireplaces. 138 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:49.080 Fireplaces I love, I love fireplaces, but they have caused 139 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:53.159 so many problems in terms of twenty first century design. 140 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:56.440 And I don't mean because we're trying to transition to 141 00:08:56.519 --> 00:09:00.360 super contemporary stuff. No, no, no, no, no, I mean 142 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:05.759 even traditional in maintaining that classic traditional look. Here, here's 143 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.000 the problem with the fireplace. I don't know if you notice, 144 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.240 but they're they're huge, and they're made out of stone 145 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:15.039 or brick, and they're hard to move, or it seems 146 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:19.879 like they're they're hard to they're seemingly immovable, and they're 147 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:23.200 sometimes they look weird. We already address that before the break, 148 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:31.519 but more often than not, by today's priorities of design, 149 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:35.240 this is what I mean. A fireplace quite often is 150 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:39.200 just in a bad location, just a bad location. Okay, 151 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:42.919 not all. And if you are lucky enough to have 152 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:47.240 a fireplace in a good location, then please celebrate it, 153 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:52.000 celebrate it and maximize it in every way possible. But 154 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:58.000 so what do I mean by a bad location? Well, today, 155 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:01.960 in today's design prayer and rightly so, we want to 156 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:05.919 maximize light into a room. We want to maximize your view. 157 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:09.279 So I want you to have a beautiful backyard, a 158 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.480 beautiful front yard. I want you to have a veritable 159 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:15.720 garden habitat out there. And then when you're inside the house, 160 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.360 I want you to be able to gaze upon it. 161 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.279 I want it to be part of what you're enjoying. 162 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:24.960 You've gone to all this trouble to make it what 163 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:27.000 it is out there, but you still spend most of 164 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:29.240 your time indoors. So I want you to be able 165 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:33.799 to take it in now. A fireplace that was built 166 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:39.279 into a home fifty sixty, seventy or more years ago, fireplaces, 167 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:43.519 you know, they tend to draw the attention of the 168 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:48.320 living room towards them. They'res the central item. And very 169 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.279 rarely are they on the outside wall surrounded by windows 170 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:54.159 so that you can take in the fireplace and the 171 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:56.960 view at the same time. Quite often they're on an 172 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:02.279 interior wall and cawing your attention away from the windows. 173 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:04.600 And so this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. 174 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:08.080 When you sit in your living room to look at 175 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:11.720 the fireplace and these days, maybe quite possibly the flat 176 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:15.759 screen TV above it, are you doing so with your 177 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:21.320 back to the view. That's problematic, I mean I should 178 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:24.240 say this maybe not problematic is the right word. It's 179 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.200 not ideal. It's not as ideal as being able to 180 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.759 take it in all at once. And of course, now 181 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:35.480 somebody's saying, Dean, you're really nitpicking. Now you're suggesting that 182 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:38.240 everybody should move their fireplace. No, of course not. But 183 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:43.399 if you are planning or really thinking about transitioning a 184 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:47.559 room and really remodeling, then yeah, guess what. I also 185 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:51.840 want you to think about the possibility, just the possibility 186 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:58.000 maybe the fireplace is in this vestigial location where it 187 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:01.159 used to be, like, oh, look at us make it central, 188 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:07.080 but by today's priorities, maybe drawing your attention away from 189 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:10.320 the real show. And if we could move it, if 190 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:14.559 we could incorporate it and the view at the same time, fantastic. 191 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.000 Maybe the fireplace is literally on the best furniture wall 192 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:23.000 for viewing the rest of the interior space of your 193 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:25.879 home or that and the outside as well. So you 194 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:28.639 understand what I'm saying. I hope that I'm not pooh 195 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.039 pooing this whole idea like everybody should get rid of 196 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:34.559 their fireplace or move it because they're they're you know, 197 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:39.159 they're passe, they're done. Not at all, not at all. 198 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:44.240 It's just the one thing as a designer that I 199 00:12:44.279 --> 00:12:46.240 have the advantage of is that I walk into your 200 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:50.399 home knowing how it's built. As as a builder as well, 201 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:53.960 I walk into your home and everything is editable in 202 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:58.960 my mind, and not everything in your mind is editable. Now, 203 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:03.080 I'm not talking about budgets, Okay, it's irrelevant. We can 204 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:07.519 dream and plan and think without having to spend any money. 205 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.519 So my point is we should at least have the conversation, 206 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:14.159 even if we don't follow through with it. You should 207 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.159 have the conversation and you should dream the dream of 208 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.840 what's possible about any room in your home. So, yeah, 209 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:25.320 they can be a problem. And certain fireplaces, I will 210 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:29.720 tell you as the final punctuation to this argument, certain 211 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:34.720 fireplaces in southern California specifically do not deserve to live. 212 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:39.120 And what I mean by that is there's a kind 213 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:45.000 of fireplace out there that is known as a rampant 214 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:49.360 general fireplace. Okay, that's literally the company that produced them. 215 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:53.559 It was one of those so called bride ideas coming 216 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.840 out of the sixties into the early seventies. If you 217 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:01.000 live in southern California in attract development, there's a chance 218 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:05.080 that you have a rampart General fireplace. Now what are they? 219 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:10.799 These were pre cast fireplaces and chimneys all in one. 220 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:13.960 They literally this company, I mean, it's an interesting idea. 221 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.240 They're like, you know what we're going to do for 222 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:18.039 a major developer. We're going to make the fireplace in 223 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:21.679 the chimney. It's all poor in place concrete. We're going 224 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:24.120 to set a mold though, for the outside of it, 225 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.919 so that the chimney looks like it's made out of bricks, right, 226 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.240 but it's not. It's just a brick texture on the 227 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:35.960 outside of the fireplace. And these things were mass produced 228 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:40.200 in southern California and they were installed in developments from 229 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:43.200 let's say early seventy like seventy one, all the way 230 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:48.240 to nineteen eighty nine. Afterwards, they became so problematic, so 231 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:53.919 many lawsuits, so many cracks and irreparable repairs on these things. 232 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:56.039 And that's really the big problem with them, is that 233 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:00.519 if they crack, if the firebox cracks, if the if 234 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:05.759 the flu cracks, if the insulating shoulder cracks, there's no 235 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.720 fixing them. There's no fixing them properly, and so the 236 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:14.279 company's out of business. They're not around anymore because of lawsuits, 237 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:18.039 and yet the fireplaces are still standing. My in laws 238 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:22.080 had one attached to their home that Tina grew up in, 239 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:26.360 and Tina and I participated together in demoing it out 240 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:29.519 and getting rid of it because it was also cracked 241 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:34.240 and unusable, unsafe to use because you can't you can't 242 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:37.080 run a liner up inside them, you can't repair them 243 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:41.559 like you would a regular masonry fireplace. Most homeowners who 244 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.919 have them don't even realize they have one because on 245 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.480 the outside they look like brick, but to the untrained 246 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:51.919 eye they just assume they have a masonry fireplace outside, 247 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:55.480 when in reality they have this rampart fireplace. So how 248 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:58.679 can you identify it? Well, Number one, it's going to 249 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:01.559 be like an off white color unless it's been painted, 250 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:04.840 and you would assume that it looks like it's been painted. 251 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:06.919 It looks like bricks that have been painted sort of 252 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:10.840 off white. It hasn't been painted. That's actually the color 253 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:15.120 of the concrete that was used, a special kind of 254 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.840 concrete that was used. It's a calcium illuminate cement that 255 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:23.720 was used, so it's off white. It's got a heavy 256 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:27.720 brick texture, more texture than a normal brick fireplace, okay, 257 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:30.519 or a brick chimney like I mean, the bricks and 258 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:34.799 then the grout lines go way in and usually the 259 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:39.080 chimney itself very tall and skinny compared to the base, 260 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:43.600 like skinnier than you would expect most fireplace chimneys to be. 261 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.799 That's kind of a dead giveaway for a rampart tilt 262 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:51.360 up fireplace. The it was literally standing there before they 263 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.799 built the walls for your house. They tied the walls 264 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.639 to it. Anyway, I don't want to go exhaust the point, 265 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:02.320 but the point is on our list of things problems 266 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:07.720 you've inherited when you bought the house. Fireplaces can get 267 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:11.880 in the way sometimes of the optimal design for the 268 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.759 twenty first century lifestyle lived in your home. You should 269 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:20.039 not overlook them as a possibility, because honestly, a regular 270 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:24.440 masonry fireplace, again designed by demolition, does not take that 271 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:28.319 much to get rid of it, and then to install 272 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:31.200 a much more modular one in another location in the 273 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:35.119 same room a lot of options these days. Don't rule 274 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:38.880 it out. At least have the conversation and at bare minimum, 275 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:43.400 understand that the face of that fireplace can change a lot. 276 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:47.839 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 277 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:49.640 KFI AM six forty. 278 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.319 Your Home with Dean Sharp, the house Whisper. Thanks for 279 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:58.079 joining us on our fine little program. Today we are 280 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:02.880 finishing up part three of our three part series that 281 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:05.920 we've entitled it was this way when we bought it. 282 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:10.680 The mistakes, the errors, the flubs that you inherited from 283 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:14.680 previous homeowners or maybe just from the builder themselves when 284 00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:18.119 you bought your home, and most importantly, what to do 285 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.440 about them, how to get them fixed. What else is 286 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:27.960 on our magical list of weird terrible stuff that has 287 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:33.079 happened to your home. Is your home suffering from post 288 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:37.799 traumatic design disorder? It's quite possible that it is. Let's 289 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.240 see what else. How about this one? This is very 290 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:45.440 practical one. Too much molding above, not enough molding below. 291 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.599 What does that mean? Well, if you've listened to the 292 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:51.519 show long enough, you probably know what I'm about to say. 293 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:56.200 And if you haven't, well listen up. Because when it 294 00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:03.880 comes to homes with average old eight foot ceilings, and 295 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:07.119 I've got nothing against them, I live in one myself. 296 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:11.519 An eight foot ceiling by today's standards, not a high ceiling. 297 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:15.559 The standard, by the way, for new homes is nine feet, 298 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:19.000 which is lovely. And you know, if you can vault 299 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:22.319 and go taller, great, But if you don't. If you don't, 300 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:24.559 if you can't, if you've got an eight foot ceiling, 301 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:29.039 here's what you don't do. You don't overwhelm an eight 302 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:35.319 foot tall ceiling with reminders of how low the ceiling is. 303 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:40.559 And what is the number one reminder, Well, probably one 304 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.880 or two. Number one would be hanging a large light 305 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.920 fixture down in the middle of a room that's already 306 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.920 just at eight feet and now the light fixture is 307 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.680 hanging even lower not a good idea in your bedroom, 308 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:57.640 ceiling fan over the bed. You know, it's it's always acceptable, 309 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:02.599 or I should say more ple to hang a light 310 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:05.799 fixture over an object where you can't walk, like a 311 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:09.000 dining room table. It's always fine for the chandelier to 312 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:12.359 come lower. But if the table wasn't there, you know, 313 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:15.599 you might hit your head on it. So the same 314 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:17.720 with a bed. If you've got a pendant or a 315 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:22.160 little chandelier or a ceiling fan over your bed, okay, 316 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:26.279 but just no, even then, even then, something hanging down 317 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:30.400 from an eight foot ceiling will make the room feel smaller, 318 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:34.079 just will, just will. The other thing that is a 319 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.279 constant reminder of how low the ceiling is in a 320 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:40.440 room is if we've put a bunch of crown molding 321 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:44.000 and stuff up against the top. And I get it. 322 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:47.039 This falls in the category that I'm kind of using 323 00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:53.279 this segment four of aspirational decor. Aspirational decor is when 324 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:57.880 you try and decorate something in a way that says, 325 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:02.319 I really really always wanted to live in a bigger, 326 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:06.039 fancier house than this. And so what you're doing is 327 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:10.039 you're taking some of the elements from bigger, fancier houses, 328 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:14.960 shoving them into your smaller space. And I'm just sorry 329 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:17.720 to tell you it doesn't work. It doesn't fit, it 330 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:20.839 doesn't give you the payoff that you were hoping for. 331 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:25.640 Crown molding draws attention to itself, rightly, so it's beautiful. 332 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.160 And so to put crownd molding at the top of 333 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:33.319 an eight foot ceiling, especially a larger ground molding, what 334 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:36.039 you're literally doing is you're drawing attention to the top 335 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:39.240 of the wall. Now, if your wall is fourteen feet tall, 336 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:42.240 not only do you get to show off your ground molding, 337 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:46.160 but you're drawing attention to the fact that your wall 338 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:50.480 is fourteen feet tall. If your wall's just eight feet tall, 339 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:54.160 that's not something we're trying to overemphasize. If we want 340 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:57.319 a room to feel as tall and roomy as possible, 341 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:01.359 then we want to reduce the amount of molding that's 342 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:07.599 going on up high. I rarely, if ever, agree to 343 00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:11.680 crown molding on an eight foot ceiling. I just don't. 344 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:15.279 There are better ways of using Now, don't run off 345 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.000 and say Dean doesn't believe in putting molding in small 346 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:22.440 rooms and houses. It's not true. I actually want your baseboard, 347 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:26.200 which is very likely only maybe three inches tall if 348 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:29.680 you're lucky from the builder. I want that baseboard to 349 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.799 be two or three times that size. In an eight 350 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:36.680 foot room, seven inch baseboard, no problem. I'm all for 351 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:39.839 the bigger baseboards down at the floor. This actually makes 352 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:42.920 the room feel larger, makes the room feel more substantial. 353 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:46.440 So the lesson is as I said it at first, 354 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:49.880 and now you understand what I mean. Too much molding above, 355 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:53.799 not enough molding below, too big of a crown, molding 356 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:58.119 up at the ceiling, not enough baseboard down below. So 357 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:01.000 the good news about this is pull it off. You 358 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:03.200 can pull it off. If you're really thinking about remodeling 359 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:06.279 a room. We're not talking about structural stuff. We're talking 360 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:10.519 about stuff. There are applicats, essentially, they can be removed 361 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.880 and you can change the whole vibe of the space. Okay, 362 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:24.680 along those lines of aspirational decor style elements, Okay that 363 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:30.519 the house just can't justify. I have a certain in 364 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:36.480 law who asked me years and years ago, who's always 365 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:40.759 wanted to live in a castle, big manor house. This 366 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:43.440 is my mother in law, and I love her to pieces. 367 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:47.119 She asked me years ago, Dean, we want to do 368 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:49.799 a major remodel on the house. You're going to be 369 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:53.680 the one to do it. Can you transform my house 370 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:58.400 into a castle? And my answer was very simple, Yes 371 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:04.319 I can, and I will not, because number one, you 372 00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:09.279 live in a what is essentially in nineteen early nineteen 373 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:14.079 seventies ranch style Brady Bunch house. That house is not 374 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:18.359 easily turning into a castle. Number Two, you are surrounded 375 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:22.920 in a lovely neighborhood of the same houses. Your neighbors 376 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.880 will hate you. They will hate you if we do 377 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:31.359 such a thing. And number three, castles do not sit 378 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:37.200 twenty feet away from sidewalks in suburban neighborhoods. They do not. 379 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:41.559 And so what we did instead was we made this 380 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:47.119 a gorgeous, upscale English cottage. And she ended up being 381 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:50.160 very very happy with the results, but not a castle. 382 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:53.559 I wish I was around to give that advice to 383 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:56.759 so many other homeowners in our town and all across 384 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:01.039 southern California, because you know, you can call it gaudy, 385 00:25:01.240 --> 00:25:05.880 you can call it misplaced. I call it aspirational decor. 386 00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:11.359 And it never works, and so nothing says I'm desperately 387 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:15.359 insecure about my house and really wanna be something else, 388 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:19.960 like a small house with pedestals and lions out in 389 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:24.279 front of it. Yes, I live right around the corner 390 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:31.039 from one. Uh little ranch house and big steps out 391 00:25:31.079 --> 00:25:35.559 front at the mailbox and lions like like it was 392 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:39.519 the New York Metropolitan Library that where like like it 393 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:45.240 was you know, the A Rockefeller Residence in in uh, 394 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:51.279 you know, in in Providence, Rhode Island. Right, Uh, just no, no, 395 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:53.559 just no, all right. 396 00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:54.359 No. 397 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:59.119 I want you to embrace your home for what it is, 398 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:03.480 and I want you to bring it to the level 399 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.839 that it can and should be brought to any home. 400 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:17.880 Any home can be extraordinary, gorgeous, cozy, warm, okay, but 401 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:23.400