I like the giant art Jilly!

I like it, too, HU — I’m just teasing that it's always the go-to advice, no matter what.

Sometimes, though, it really is the best advice. :)

After I did that mock-up with some random wall and art I found via Google, I thought … Hmm, that art actually looks pretty good with that flooring. I ruined my own joke. 😆

Where is a good place to buy / order prints, Jilly?

Coffee Dude, for online, I’ve bought from Etsy, Ebay, and from the artist’s site directly.

Many here recommend Great Big Canvas and Fine Art America, too.

It can be overwhelming for me to just go to the sites to browse without an idea, so I always try to narrow it down to something specific. For example when I wanted a watercolor quail print for my guest bedroom and an actual antique page out of a book (I found one with horses) … I ordered from their respective sites directly. Or when I discover artists I like, I use them for search terms. In my guest room, I also wanted a serene southwestern print and found an artist on Etsy — DANGERDUST.

I collect very diverse art so am always searching out cool new-to-me art and artists! I have lots of classic art, too, I’ve collected over the years.

If you start an art thread, I’ll bet you’d gets lots of ideas! :)

I guess what most comes to mind is the lack of any logic or thought in the questions.

Not everyone can be a Rhodes scholar; we all understand that. But honestly, what seems logical when you have ANY problem or any questions about anything?

Have we devolved as a human race to the point where we don't even bother to use our brains? Is this a result of a vapid ask Siri society ? It should be noted here, that even Siri might respond:

"Siri does not understand your question". "Siri needs more information to HELP you!"

There are many days when I truly believe the next accidental thread click might be:

"What should I have for lunch?"

Or.......

"I found this really huuuuge pimple on my backside........................

should I be worried?" Hopefully, that one will not be accompanied by a picture, though I am certain Patricia will promptly opine:

"We need a picture for sure , DO NOT START ANOTHER POST

( little of that reply comment will be spelled correctly : )

Most importantly, it seems completely impossible we've gotten this darn dumb, this unthinking, so totally incurious . Sad to say, but a lot of these are just really dumb questions, and it is hard not to mutter to yourself, as you type ..

Mystery meat! No psychics reside here!

The worst? Nobody seems to mind that you've just implied that they are dumb, or incurious, or just plain lazy and we have to picture you sitting in a restaurant or diner simply musing, silently, on your "smartie pants" phone. LOL.....

I just started feeling ancient, yet again.....so answer this one, please

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6435717/build-a-good-football-pich#n=0

"smartie pants" phone!!! LOL!

"Bitchy" .....lol

Any idea how many have have posted threads on how to get the most help?

There is no "just" in design and any pro will tell you exactly that.

You may as well say...... "Gee, just get some furniture!" Scale? Someone posts a distorted real estate photo, a screen shot yet worse. then asks......." will a sectional fit in here?

Lighten up!! Even a remote shred of common sense would tell you you would need to know the size of the space, Also WHAT sectional, what size?

You shop for clothes? Do you not look at the tag and know that if you wear a ten, a size four is going to be a bit snug?

It's the same thing: )

But if you really want some great ideas, check out this post on Bored Panda:

https://www.boredpanda.com/home-design/interior/bad-interior-decorating/

I think part of it is that the attention span is dwindling down to nothing and people want effortless, instantaneous gratification.

This Old House used to be the only show if its kind and it took a whole season to see a result.

Now on design television, I have seen the trend where, not only do they finish the entire project in one episode, there are bits and pieces of other, smaller, or upcoming projects thrown in. 20 minutes is now too long to spend on an entire project (or 40 if the show is an hour).

And I see lots of online Reels now where you see a before, and they throw something at the camera or thrust their hand or foot at it and when they pull back the entire whatever is done. In seconds, whether it be a drag queen's makeup, or a room fully decorated.

So I guess my point is that a lot of people do not understand that there is a lot of Process behind getting good results. Because they never see the process, the process is really skipped.

And the design personalities on TV don't help either. They act as if every decision made on their show is completely spontaneous, pulled right out of their @55, or found by accident in the bottom of their designer tote.

65% of people believe they have above average intelligence.

But according to a medically reviewed article on IQs "Overall, about 98% of people have a score below 130. Only 2% of the population score above that and are considered above average. "

https://psychcentral.com/health/average-iq

@Diana Bier Interiors (so frustrating trying to link user names these days),

I was going to congratulate you on the new house ... and then was confused why you needed furniture layout advice! lol

Good points by Pal. Remember the show Designing for the Sexes? I think the host was Michael Payne? You really got to see a fair, but condensed representation of the design process. What was the other show where 3 designers "bid" on the same job? I thought that was a good one too.

The other show was "Designer's Challenge". I think the things that don't make for "good television" by today's standards were that Michael Payne and the designers on Challenge had to take into account both the client's budget, and the client's tastes. The shows now all allegedly have a budget, but they are never really realistic, and the designers churn out whatever is like the latest thing that you would see on Pinterest, or wherever, it's the designers mostly imposing a taste on the clients and letting the clients be surprised by it. On those shows sometimes the budget was pretty restricted and the client's taste was not the hottest trend of the moment.

And the hosts are not necessarily designers, but TV personalities. The real designing is done by pros behind the scenes.

How about the "Am I being too Fussy". My GC says it is fine. . .

Oh - yeah - I paid him in full.

Really Katie McFadden? But they DO expect you to do the entire layout. And the "bitchy" pro you referred to is always the one who posts several to-scale furniture plans FOR FREE!!!!

It's all here for the asking. Posters just need to ask.

If you want general pro tips, Houzz publishes hundreds, maybe thousands of articles per year on everything you need to know about design and decor. Just do a simple search (use the "Search Houzz" bar above) and you'll find out everything you need to know from how to position pillows to planning a kitchen or bath, to selecting colors, to landscaping, to home plans, I could go on and on.

thanks for this thread Diana!

I wonder if this will get worse as folks use ChatGPT more & more for help - (I teach college and 20-somethings are using this tool like crazy)

and people are getting trained to ask for help, receive it, and not say "thanks"

Actually, we can recall plenty of outright b - - - - y comments following a request for more info, or a suggestion that maybe.... just maybe.....that isn't the real problem in your space. What comes back?

"That is not what I asked!!"

Of course it isn't! Because you do not know what to ask. You haven't enough design experience under your belt to know. We know that and we can not help when experience leaks from a vein, and into a reply.

The real point is only one:

When you find a site with more helpful pro's and non pro's for the cost of some FREE virtual INK ? You let me know.

Re: the Bored Panda post:

Everybody should be able to figure out who owns the apartment pictured in #41, the number is just wrong.

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC, thanks for the Bored Panda link!

If anyone else here enjoys snarky design humor, I can recommend two links:

https://www.instagram.com/pleasehatethesethings/

https://mcmansionhell.com/

Oh, yes, Mcmansion hell is awesome! I'll have to check out the instragram link.

lala Girl, I teach college too, and I can always tell an AI response. You'd think they'd at least rephrase it. They can't even cheat very well....

At the college I teach at, we are allowed to prohibit the use of artificial intelligence in our course. At the university I work at they allow it if it is properly cited.

Unrelated to I.Q .......

It's well documented that there are different types of intelligence - seven, eight who really knows?

One look at the threads here, and you'd guess having strength in the spatial area might be somewhat rare. We could surmise that someone unable to even hazard a guess at an appropriate rug size, might be lacking spatial and math logistics, but can knock out a window with a ball and bat from a quarter mile or wow you at a piano?......................or it is equally possible, the knee jerk, "ask Siri" effect kicked in and pouf!!!! There's your new thread!?

You can rarely find a teen nowadays who can count change into your hand from a five dollar bill. Plenty of kids can't tell time sans a glance at a phone , so it seems the charm of a Mickey Mouse analog, or your first Timex long sailed !

Call it what you will. Common sense, horse sense....they're valuable commodities. Exercise that round object above your can: ) if you CAN, or the loss of its function will be anything but artificial.

Regarding ChatGPT, you wouldn't even get any sort of useful answer unless you provided more detail than some of these questions here.

Here's the response I got from ChatGPt after asking it the same question as this post's title:

"Of course! I'd be happy to help you furnish your new house. To get started, could you please provide some details about the style you prefer, the size of each room, any specific furniture pieces you already have or plan to keep, and any budget considerations? Additionally, if you have any color preferences or specific themes in mind, that would be helpful to know as well. Let me know, and I'll do my best to assist you in creating a comfortable and stylish living space! "