Shining A Light on Light Fixtures for Ease of Cleaning

We all need light. We don't need extra house cleaning chores. Before falling head over heels in love with the design of a light fixture, step back and look at it carefully. Does this light fixture take standard bulbs? How will I change the bulbs? How do I clean this light fixture? Will I need to dismantle it in order to clean it? What room of the home am I thinking of putting this in? Is this a room such as a kitchen or bathroom that gets dirty easily? How much time are you willing to spend cleaning it so it looks good, two hours a week, a month, a year? If  its too much work you will grow to hate it. If you choose only based on looks, it may be equivalent of purchasing a race horse to plow your fields. It may look good but it is not very practical.  Examine these two fixtures .

A chandelier requires disassembling in order to clean it. Once a month you will need to remove all the crystals and wash them one by one, so as to not break them. This will take an hour or two of cleaning, then you will need to dry them and then reassembling the chandelier.

A school house light will require dusting with an extendable Swiffer type wand or climbing on a ladder with a dust cloth. Overall it will take less than 5 minutes to clean. Choose a light fixtures that you like with full awareness of the time and effort it will take to clean and maintain it. Sometimes in our quest to have an easy to clean home we must make compromises between what is easy to clean and what is attractive to us. I love old homes and while I am willing to compromise on many things to make my home easier to clean I am not willing to replace my vintage 5 panel doors with slab doors even though they are easier to clean. It is the same for lighting, you must chose what appeals to you, with the full knowledge of what it will cost you in terms of cleaning and maintenance.As Don Aslet and his daughter Laura suggest in Make Your House do the Housework.  Some tips for light fixture buying include taking a cloth with you and run it over the light fixture as if you were cleaning it to see where it snags. Here are some additional tips:

Choose fixtures whose globe is either completely closed or if open point downward.

1. This will prevent dust and dead insects from collecting inside. 
2. A glass or metal globe or shade instead of one made of fabric simplifies cleaning.

   

                    

Faucet Design for Ease of Cleaning and Maintenance

Choosing the Right Faucet Can Save Hours of Cleaning 

Graff Faucet

When looking at faucets to purchase imagine cleaning the faucet with a sponge. Keep in mind that every curve, bend and little band is one more place for crud to collect on the faucet. For a faucet that is easy to clean choose a single-lever faucet that can easily be wiped down and has few nooks and crannies. Which of the two faucets would you rather clean?

Kohler Faucet

Keep in mind the new technology such as washerless faucets, fewer parts to break, as well as finishes that don't show water marks. Also keep in mind choosing faucets that are ADA compatible making it easier for folks of all abilities to turn the faucet on and off. For more examples of easy to clean faucets check out my pinterest page Tenant Proof.

Tenant Proof Design Basics for Easy to Clean and Maintain Homes

From Apartment Therapy.com

A beautiful, comfortable, home that you love and is also easy to clean is possible. You can do it with just a little awareness. Suddenly magazines, shows and websites with their beautiful images of perfectly organized and color-coordinated rooms with all the latest "it" items will be seen for what they really are--- the drug dealers of the design world. Decorators don't care how much of your time it will take to clean and maintain the look.They are business people trying to fill their bank account. Spoon feeding the newest "it" thing to sell you:, sun mirrors, ceramic antlers, poufs and garden stools,anyone? Everyone?  Suddenly these things are every where. You start to look at your place, it doesn't look like that, you start feeling it looks dated, inadequate, inferior and some how lacking, you need it the latest thing. This is done so subtly and with such beautiful images that you think I want instead of critically examining the cost, stress and time that will be needed to clean and maintain .

Using Don Aslett and Laura Aslett Simons book Make Your House Do The Housework published in 1986 as a guide I offer updated and timeless design solutions that significantly reduce cleaning, maintenance and replacement costs on your home and rental properties.

The Basic Principles of Maintenance Freedom  According to Don Aslett and Laura Aslett Simons are:

1. Start by simplifying
2. Avoid high-maintenance materials
3. Multiple surfaces multiply the work
4. Camouflage wherever you can
5. Concentrate the cleaning
6. Take convenience into account.
7. Keep things compatible

Simplifying means taking out what is extra and unnecessary for you. For me, this means no more than two framed pieces of art hung on a wall in a room as opposed to twenty framed pieces of art. I am not willing to spend any more time dusting framed art work. I know the trend is a wall of framed artwork from magazines and websites but I am not willing to spend my time maintaining the look.

Avoid high-maintenance materials especially in kitchens and bathrooms where most of the cleaning is required. Things in these rooms have to durable and easy to clean and maintain. For me, this means solid surface instead of marble or granite countertops.

Multiple surfaces multiply the work in kitchens and bathroom especially with different surfaces abutting up against one another such as tile floors, wood baseboards, tile half walls and painted sheet rock. Multiple surfaces not only adds to cleaning costs and time it also adds to visual clutter making things appear dirty even when they are not.

Camouflage wherever you can to improve the appearance of things until you can get to clean them and to prevent wear and tear from being as obvious. Examples of this include choosing carpets or curtains with a colorful random pattern instead of a solid color.

Concentrate the cleaning so the mess is concentrated in one area instead of little areas all over a room or home. Coats, boots and bags are a good example of how you can concentrate cleaning. If you provide one area for folks to remove and store their coats, boots and bags it means they won't be dropped all over the house.

Take convenience into account when trying to concentrate the cleaning. People will put things down anywhere that is convenient not necessarily where you wish them to. So it you have an antique table in your entryway that you don't want people to put things down on you should find another place for it.

Keep things compatible to ease your cleaning and maintenance. Choose light fixtures that use the same type of light bulb base throughout your home so you only need to buy one type of bulb. Choose the same faucets for all your bathrooms, the same door knobs and locks for your doors.
       

Why You Should Not Install an Island With Seating

From This Old House Web Article

It seems to be the trend these days to install islands with seating, personally I don't like them. I hate eating at them because I can't see the people I am eating with and it doesn't facilitate conversation. I feel like an animal at a feeding trough.  Even if I put aside my own particular prejudices against islands and the seating around them their are still many reasons to dislike islands. For example young children find it very difficult to climb up to island height chairs regardless of whether they are counter height or bar height as do women wearing the typical skirted business suits, the elderly,as well as those in wheelchairs or using crutches.

A better and more useful solution to the island is a large table that you sit at that functions as a work space and seating for guests so that you can chat with them as you work. This is an old fashioned concept but one that works with all individuals despite their height, age and mobility. A highchair can be brought up to the table, a wheelchair rolled up to the table, an individual with a cane or balance issues can easily get in and out of chairs and be part of the conversation.

Tenant Proof Bath Tub and Shower Design

For a tenant proof  bath tub/ shower area, tile the entire wall including the ceilings. This will prevent water damage to the shower ceiling from broken shower nozzles or aggressive shower cleaning. If you can afford to do so I recommend also tiling the ceiling a foot or two past the shower ceiling or even better the whole bathroom ceiling.

Tiling the ceiling wall of the shower or even the entire bathroom ceiling was typically done in 1930's bathroom such as the one pictured above. Later on this very practical tiling practice was abandoned, most likely due to builder costs. Leaving homeowners with the odious task of repainting and replacing the shower ceiling every few years. If have your very own pink and green 1930's vintage shower as pictured above be sure to keep it. You can of course create your own 30's inspired shower using black and white subway tile with gray grout. This color scheme will appeal to the greatest number of tenants. The initial cost will be more but you won't need to ever paint or repair the walls due to a broken shower nozzle. I also recommend taking the opportunity to add a support bar attached to the stud walls at this time.

 Here is another tiled shower/tub combinations.

Timeless Kitchen Design Part 3 Hardware

Timeless Kitchen Cabinetry Hardware Part 3

Simple hardware, unadorned knobs and pulls enhancing the functionality of this kitchen. The practicality of the old fashioned drawer pulls and glass knobs is such that they have become classics used in a variety of applications far beyond kitchens and bathrooms. For a variety of classic knobs. pulls and hardware check out Rejuvenation Classic American Lighting and House Parts.

This kitchen has 1 1/4 inch black hexagonal glass knobs in black and hexagonal glass pull.

1-1/4in. Hexagonal Glass Knob

Tenant Proof Kitchen Sinks and Surrounds

The best kitchen sinks for your home and rental that are useful and easy to maintain are seamless double drainboard sinks with an integral countertop and backsplash. These sinks were either wall mounted or came with legs. They came with a low apron and because of the lack of an extra hole next to the faucet to provide an air gap dishwashers cannot be installed underneath them. However, portable dishwashers than you roll up and hook up to the sink can be used. Portable dishwashers come with a finished top, side and back as well as being on wheels to make their wheeling up to the sink much easier.They are more expensive then built in dishwasher but also easier to replace if something breaks and can't be fixed. They tend to last a long time we are still using ours built in the 1980's.

Another option is the porcelain sink with integral backsplash and double drainboards with the metal base cabinet that were available in the 1930's to 1950's. Many of these are still available.

These double drainboard integral sinks in either a single or double sink model have a deck mounted faucet and a lower backsplash. The deck mounted faucet will make your plumber smile but you will grimace at cleaning the water gunk that collects around them. The low backsplash will not protect your walls as much as a taller backsplash, however you will have lots of storage for things under the sink and if you like you will be able to install a built in dishwasher.

Another option for a seamless double drainboard sink is the Elkay Gourmet Lustertone stainlesss steel double drainboard sinks. They come in single or double sink version in a variety of sizes.They are very difficult to find on Elkay's website unless you have the code to plug in.

Elkay Gourmet Lustertone single sink with double drainboards are as follows

S5419
S5019
S7219

Elkay Gourmet Lustertone double sinks with double drainboards are as follows:

D6029
D6629
D7234
D8434



There is a rumor that Elkay has an option to customize this sink by adjusting the backsplash height and the side splash heights but I have not been able to find this and in general it is extremely difficult to find any of these sinks by Elkay on their website without the codes. I love the option of stainless steel but I really miss the rounded, bulbous shape of the porcelain over cast iron sinks with their 8 to 12 inch backsplash and their backsplash mounted faucets that prevent crude from collecting behind the deck mounted faucet and backsplash.