So Fresh and So Clean

Thank you so much for tuning in today and I think you are really going to love this episode. Today’s topic can get glossed over when we’re dreaming up big sexy Pinterest mood boards or drooling over a friend’s recent redecorating. It’s only when the dust settles and the excitement has died down, that this issue comes up again and again with my clients, friends, and family. We are talking cleaning and maintenance of your home. Now, not everyone has the same relationship to cleaning. Personally, I get into spontaneous clean fits about once a season, and I really have to make an effort to keep things tidy the rest of the time. My pattern of cleaning and organizing is “organic,” if you will. Other people, like for instance my partner, just absolutely love to clean - it’s like a major stress reliever. Come home after a long day? There’s no better way to blow off steam than cleaning and organizing. But, whichever mindset you fall into, most of us don’t really like to clean things that are difficult to clean. Even if you love cleaning, it’s way more satisfying to wipe down a dusty but smooth countertop and make it sparkle gain than it is to scrub a carpet that’s holding on to a stain like it’s going to bring it good luck. So today, we are going to cover all the design tricks and tips to create a home that is super easy to keep clean, without driving yourself batty. 

I spent many years working as a commercial interior designer, and the requirements for cleanability in public and semi-public spaces are often quite strict, understandably! When I’ve designed large offices for major corporations, they have entire facilities teams that work to keep spaces clean, and because that team is so boots-on-the-ground, they usually have a long list of do’s and don’ts for the interior design. And I have to admit there are times when facilities teams can feel like killjoys because I just want to bring a little glimmer and glamour into the space with maybe a highly textured fabric or shiny polished chrome sofa leg, and then facilities team will always spit out their chorus of “how is that supposed to get cleaned everyday?” But at the end of the day, they’re right. If something looks glam and fabulous on day one, but turns gray and shows every scuff mark after a year, it feels like a failure. 

Designing hospitals is a whole other thing, you’ve got legal requirements to meet there - you have be able to wipe every square inch down with bleach. Not to mention the space has to be designed under the assumption that every surface will be rammed head-on with supply carts, stretchers, and wheel chairs. So after well over a decade of designing these types of spaces, I’ve got a juicy list of tips for you to make your home practically bullet proof from dirt.

There’s really two big buckets that make up the concept of cleanability in interior design - materials and forms. I’m going to start with forms because these are some of the bigger picture ideas that can come in helpful when you are planning or choosing a home. The first line of defense is always prevention, so it pays off to have a designated decompression area at all entry points of your home. Mudrooms are quite popular but tend to be located at a side or back entrance of a house. Consider creating mini dirt traps at every entry in your home. These stations should include a tough, wire walk-off mat, a place to sit for shoe removal, coat hooks, hangers, wet umbrella storage and even a table with hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes. This helps you and anyone who comes into your home minimize the amount of dirt and debris that’s brought into your home, and also gives the subconscious message to guests that you care about keeping your home tidy. 

Then there is that basic concept of minimalism - less is more. This rings true on multiple levels. Firstly, and most frankly, you can consider getting a smaller home. On top of being more efficient and better for the environment, smaller homes are simply less square footage to clean. Less flooring, fewer windows, shorter walls. But on top of that, minimalism as a concept can be applied to furniture, lighting, cabinet design, hardware, faucets, and any other selections you may make. This means fewer nooks and crannies to hold dust and collect crumbles. The less intricacies in an item you have in your home; the more smooth, clean, wipeable surfaces it has, the better. This sometimes means saying no to objects of tremendous lavish beauty like crystal chandeliers, gorgeous woven surfaces like rattan, intricate wall moldings and edge details, ornamental door handles, even the the decoration on furniture. But if you feel committed to an easy-to-clean home, these end up being minor sacrifices in the long run. If you can’t decide if it’s minimalist enough or not, just visualize yourself cleaning it. Do you need to get out the Q-Tips and toothbrush to really get every angle, or will a simple cloth take care of it?

Visualizing yourself cleaning things can help in a lot of decision making - for instance, horizontal blinds have a lot of advantages, but cleanability is not one of them. Each blind acts as a shelf for your prized dust collection, and going line by line with a damp cloth, without bending or damaging the blind, can be time consuming. Instead, you have a few options - consider manual roller shades. These look exceptionally modern, they offer great privacy and sun protection, and require very little cleaning. On top of that, you can add a layer of curtains, just check to see that the material you choose can easily go in the washing machine.

One of my favorite easy-to-clean tips is to make sure all of your furniture is on legs,  being lifted up and creating space away from the floor, rather than a solid base that goes all the way to the floor. This allows you to sweep, vacuum, and dust directly under all of your furniture, without secret hiding spots for debris collection. I grew up with a sofa that was bulky and went all the way to floor, and every few months we would have to move the whole thing out just to vacuum underneath it - such an ordeal! When you are vacuuming and sweeping, one area that immediately becomes vulnerable is the lower section of the wall. It is so easy to ding the head of vacuum into the wall, over and over again if you’re like me. Choosing a high, straight wall base with a clean profile will provide the best protection from this. I’m a big fan of wall bases. I think I’ve mentioned it on the podcast before, and I have definitely lectured students about this. It can seem very modern, minimalist, and sleek to forgo wall bases. I understand the temptation. I’ve seen so many published projects in magazines and blogs that look so chic and simple with no wall bases in sight. But trust me, these spaces only look great on day one. Check in again on them in 6 months, and there are scratches, scuffs, and dents all over the walls. Now you may very wall scratch or dent your wall base, but it’s much easier to replace a section of wall base than it is to patch and repair a section of drywall without it being painfully noticeable. Think of wall bases as shoes for your wall. Yes, going barefoot can look nice for a photoshoot, but you wouldn’t walk down the street without shoes and expect your feet to stay protected.

These next few tips apply specifically to kitchens and bathrooms, which are probably the two spaces that need the most cleaning, in my option. Now even though in general I’m not a huge fan of upper cabinets, if you do have them, you’ve got to build them all the way to the ceiling. The cabinets I have in my apartment now are about 18” below the ceiling and we have all kind of knick knacks up there - vintage bottles from Dead Horse Bay, decorations from our wedding, and that’s all fun, but it is just another dust collector at the end of the day.   Adding even just a filler panel to connect the top of your cabinets to the ceiling eliminates that interstitial space and that means no more climbing up on a step stool to dust above the cabinets. It’s the same story with any open shelving - it looks nice and it can be a fun way to display you favorite treasures, but it’s open and available to collect dust. Minimize the items and objects you want to show off and try integrating them into other pieces of furniture like coffee tables, accent tables, and bookshelves.

Anywhere there is a counter, you’ll want to think about how easy you can make that counter to clean. Plenty of this is determined by  the material of the counter, but it also depends on how the counter is formed and detailed. While having a clean, crisp 90 degree edge on your counter can look exceptionally modern, it can make wiping down the counter and collecting crumbles a little bit of a clumsy task. And anything  with a fancy carved profile edge? Don’t even think about it. What makes a counter easier to clean is to go with a slightly eased or rounded top edge, this goes by all kinds of names - beveled, eased, demi-bullnose, or half-bullnose.  You’ll also want to make sure your cabinet maker builds the counter out to extend one to one and half inches past the face of your cabinets. This ensures that if a liquid gets spilled, it will run onto the floor, rather than running down the face of the cabinets and then on to the floor, which can happen if your counter edge is too close to the cabinets or if the underside of the counter edge is angled towards the cabinets. If you have tile anywhere in your space that ends mid-wall, you’ll want to make sure the exposed edge of the tile also has a rounded edge to it. If the tile you’re using doesn’t have a rounded edge option, then you’ll definitely want to provide a metal transition strip between the tile and the drywall.

When thinking about sinks, there are so many different styles to chose from, but the easiest to clean will always be an undermount style. That goes for kitchen and bathroom. An undermount sink is fastened to the underside of the countertop, so there isn’t that flange or rim around the sink for crumbs and liquids gather around. You can also consider getting a motion activated or touchless faucet. These are super sanitary and common in public spaces, but they can be great for homes too because the less you touch your faucet, the fewer finger prints there are to wipe away.

My last tip before we dive into materials is to consider putting storage in anything and everything. There are so many pieces of upholstered furniture today that have seats that lift up to reveal a small storage space, wall hung mirrors on hinges that have tiny shelves behind them, secret drawers, hidden doors, you name it. If you’re looking for a new piece of furniture, whether it’s a side table or a dining chair, try to find one with some hidden storage. This really allows you to have more places to put things.

If you live in a small space, an intentional storage strategy is critical. However, my philosophy on stuff, and storage in general is that our belongings are like turtles. I had a friend many years ago who loved turtles, and anytime we were together and saw a picture of a turtle or someone mentioned turtles, she would exclaim “turtles are so cool, they grow to the size of their environment!” Meaning, a turtle will grow to be as big as in can be in the tank you get for it, or in the body of water it lives in, which is why sea turtles grow to be so incredibly huge. For most of my clients, the same is true with their storage needs and belongings. Even if we have giant old farm houses in the country with endless rooms, if we stay there long enough, we will fill the shelves and the closets full of things. The more we can focus on integrating storage discreetly away in our furniture and other hidden areas, the smaller of a footprint we need, and the more of our homes we can actually use for living, not archives.

So let’s talk about the best types of materials for a low maintenance home. We need materials that are two things - easy to clean and durable. Let’s go from the bottom up - starting with the surface that gets the most wear and tear - the floor. If you follow me on instagram you know I’m obsessed with linoleum. Not only is this sheet good flooring made from sustainable linseed oil, it’s also incredibly easy to maintain. It’s strong and resilient, it can bounce back from a serious beating. It comes in a giant roll and gets glued down to the floor, meaning there are very few seams or places for dirt to get trapped. It’s easy to mop down and doesn’t require waxing or buffing to maintain. You can even vacuum linoleum if you’re dealing with a dry situation.  

If you want a more edgy look, consider concrete flooring - especially if you home happens to already have a concrete sub-flooring. You can simply stain, seal, or polish the sub-floor, and you’ve got a tough as nails material that looks ultra modern. Concrete is a poured flooring, so it’s doesn’t really have seams, but rather the occasional expansion joint here and there. This is another flooring choice that can be swept and mopped easily and won’t hold onto to stains when properly sealed.

If you choose a more industrial style flooring like concrete, a great way to warm it up is with carpeting. Even though I’ve seen a lot of machine washable area rugs on the market in that last few years, the best solution for a cleanable carpeted surface will always be carpet tile. You’ve heard me rave about Interface Flor products before, but I’m telling you, being able to simply lift up and clean a single square on the floor and then place it back down is so much easier then scrubbing on your hands and knees or trying to reposition your whole room to cover up a stain on an area rug. And if you really destroy a section of carpet tile, have a few extras tucked away and you can replace it very easily. I’ve had my carpet tile area rug for five years with two cats who love to use it as a scratching post and I’m not joking when I say it looks brand new. 

Tile can be a very durable flooring choice, and the less grout there is - the easier it is to clean.  Small tiles can be essential when slip resistivity is the priority - but all that grout in-between each tile means extra care and attention needs to be given to keep the floor looking clean. Try going with a medium to large size tile anywhere from a standard 12”x24” to a more large scale 36”x36.” This will give you fewer grout lines to scrub. One thing you won’t hear me recommend for its ease of cleaning is wood flooring, although it breaks my heart to say. Wood flooring, gorgeous as it is, creates a high maintenance relationship. I’m not saying it isn’t worth it, especially if you love wood and want to put the time and care into keeping the floors dry and in a low humidity climate, dry mopping, or hand cleaning surfaces as needed. But wood and water are not friends, and exposure to moisture can cause your beautifully laid floor planks to warp, shift, loosen, and discolor. These problems are true for wood laminate flooring as well, only rather than warping, the boards will be more likely to peel up at the edges, revealing their layers of faux wood imagery. Not to mention, plank flooring - depending on the installation, can have cervices between boards that trap crumbs and dust. If you love the look of wood, but want to maintain an easy to clean home, consider using wood-look porcelain floor tiles. These tiles come in huge planks, the average size is 4 inches wide by x 42 inches long,  with plenty of sizes smaller and larger. This tile is miraculous when it comes to providing a realistic, textured wood look, with all the durability of a regular floor tile. This flooring can get wet with ease, you can mop it, sweep it, and install it in any room of the house. The main downside is that it’s a little echoy, but this can be mitigate by a well planned acoustic strategy. But that’s for another episode.

One of my favorite design details when it comes to tile, whether its floor tile, wall tile, or on a backsplash - is to use as dark of a grout color as possible. White or light grout is basically a blank canvas for stains and discoloration. Using a dark grout will help hide these things. Of course, the best grout color selection is always dependent on the color of the tile you’re using. White tiles actually look extremely sophisticated and slightly antique with a jet black grout, and I don’t mean antique in the “I made this look antique” kind of way, I mean like “this tile is original to the building” kind of way. If you’re using a warm colored tile like cream or beige, chose a dark grey grout with a little bit of brown in it to keep it in the same color family, if you’re using a cool color tile like blue, go for a cool toned gray. If these words mean nothing to you, check on my episode called “She’s A Rainbow” where we talk all about color theory.

Speaking of colors, when in doubt, choose a medium toned color. Anything super light or super dark will showcase stains, dust, chips, and dents. So avoid black, white, cream, navy, ivory, pearl, graphite, hunter green, eggplant, pastels, and super light grays. Not that there is anything inherently bad about any of these colors, they just represent the extremes of the spectrum that will make you have to clean them more often. And this can be adjusted based on your specific living situation, for instance if you have a pet with black fur, you can totally have darker colors in your space, just avoid lights and whites.

On top of that, any material you chose for your home, should have a slight texture to it, even if it’s just a tiny speckle. Completely solid colors, especially when they are light, showcase dirt like it’s opening night on Broadway. Having a texture to any surface allows a lot more forgiveness for wear, tear, and messes.  This applies to everything, the finish of you coffee table, your countertop, bedding, upholstery fabrics - all of it.

It’s harder to apply this concept to something as monolithic as wall paint though, so in the case of walls, in addition to choosing a medium toned color, make sure the actual brand and type of paint you use is intended to washable, wipeable, and resistant. Major brands have plenty of products for this very purpose, look for Sherwin Williams Duration Home or Benjamin Moore Aura paints to give your walls that extra protection. It’s also worth noting that if you chose paint with a flat finish, as opposed to eggshell or satin, it will act like a sponge. So unless you never touch your walls or you enjoy the look of finger prints everywhere, steer clear of flat finish paint.

If you really want to give your walls some armor, consider a wall covering like wallpaper. Whether you use traditional wallpaper or the peel-and-stick variety, there are a lot of brands out there that have wall coverings that are meant to be wiped down. Plus, a good pattern serves as dirt camouflage for your walls.

When you’re thinking about counter top materials, a lot of the gorgeous stones and even quartzite materials tend to be somewhat porous and can hold on to stains. I don’t always mind the look of this, I think it kind of adds a beauty and patina to the counter, but if you looking for true cleanability you have to use a polymer based solid surface - brands like Corian, Everform, Hi-MACs, these are all manmade materials that are impenetrable to liquids, stains, and germs. They are also incredibly durable and resist chipping. For a super slick look, consider wrapping the same material up as your backsplash for a kitchen that cleans like a dream.

Here’s a few items to avoid in your low maintenance home - any metal that is polished or extremely reflective will show every finger print that touches it. Instead go for brushed or satin metals. Any time you have the option to have clear glass, whether it’s as a table top, a shower privacy screen, a cabinet door - don’t do it! Clear glass will dull as dust collects to it and unless you want to be squeegeeing those surface on a weekly basis, which some people do enjoy, avoid at all costs!

Lastly, let’s talk a little bit about textiles and fabric. When it comes to the upholstered pieces in our homes, we spend a large portion of our time on these items. They are heavily used and show wear so quickly. One of the best things I can recommend is having a slip cover for your sofas and chairs. There are great companies like Comfortworks that have lots of models of common soft seating in their slip cover catalogue online, or you can work with a local upholsterer to create something totally custom. And I’m not talking about the clear plastic covers that make sofas impossible to sit on, these are beautiful pieces made of fabrics just as gorgeous or better than what is on the actual sofa. Having a slip cover allows you to remove the textile from the sofa if it gets stained or damaged, without needing to replace the entire sofa. You can have the slip cover clean or repaired, and put it back on your favorite seat, like it never happened. And generally speaking, slip covers are less expensive then entire sofas, so if you need to replace the cover, it’s a little less expensive, but it also saves you the hassle of finding another sofa shape and size that works with your space.

Okay very last thing - the fabrics themselves. This might be controversial, but I am actually a huge proponent of vegan  leather alternatives like polyurethane and silicone. No one likes that cheap pleather feeling, so do your research and make sure the one you are getting a quality textile. Again, I like Comfortworks Vegan Leather, Designtex , Brentano, Kravet - all excellent options. If you want to use a fabric that is woven, like linen or tweed, consider different wipeable stain treatments for your fabrics. These have come a long way since the Scotchguard of our youth, and they don’t affect the way the fabric feels. Most manufacturers have a proprietary stain blocking finish or backing available for fabrics. It’s typically an up-charge, but it will help the piece you’re adding to your home last for decades to come.

Well that’s all I’ve got you today. I hope you take these tips and use them in your home so that you cut back on cleaning time and start enjoying your beautiful home. Bye!