That IS interior design. How many stupid kitchens are out there with beautiful finishes but no where to put the trash can? Or mud rooms with shoe racks that no one ever uses because they’re a pain so there’s just a pile? Interior design that doesn’t consider function is bad design.

Re: drying rack op I think they always look terrible so I just use the dishwasher. I put pots and pans that I hand wash on the stove to dry and put them away in the morning.

Re sponge, I like a metal basket that suctions to the side of the sink.

Anonymous wrote:
Does anyone have recommendations for everyday interior design? Like where to put my dish sponge and ways to make the drying rack not look terrible and where do you keep your paper towels?

That’s not interior design. You want a lifestyle or mom blog. To me, they are totally uninspiring (Young House Love, for example) and boring. Those everyday blogs have Amazon affiliate links all over them. The blogger never writes down what something they bought is, they make you click on an ad that puts a cookie on your device. Then, for 30 days or so, they get a commission if you buy anything from that site, even if you don’t buy the their thing.

I didn’t realize people actually wanted to know where to put a sponge or paper towels. I guess these bloggers fill a niche after all, even though they put me to sleep.

Unf*ck your habitat

Young House Love, stay off basically any professional designer blogs or Instagram. No Houzz.

On Time, Under Budget, With Love . . . extremely practical podcast

Also a fan of Emily Henderson, she has practical advice and budget picks.

1. I put my dish sponge ... I got a little plastic holder thingie with suction cups and I suctioned it on the side (inside) of my kitchen sink. Then I have Dawn on the back right of the sink and hand soap on the back left of the sink.

2. I just use a dish towel rather than a drying rack (no dishwasher). It just looks awful, and I had to accept that. I could do what my grandparents did, which was to dry everything by hand and put it away, but I'm lazy. So of my two tiny kitchen counters, one almost always has stuff drying (or dried) on it.

3. My paper towels are on a multi-tiered rack thing to the right of the kitchen sink. It goes from left to right: 1 square foot counter, kitchen sink, 1 square foot counter, then multi-tiered thing. I think I got the thing at Container Store? BB&B? It's black and industrial and I hate it, but it's where all my mixing bowls, frying pans, Ziplock, and pyrex and such go. It's not a great spot, but it's such a terribly laid out kitchen that there IS no good spot for anything.

Anonymous wrote:https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/blog/

Is anyone else having trouble with her podcasts? I am streaming on my iPad and they cut out in the middle of every episode.

-NP

Emily Henderson, Domino, Hunker

This is so true! Most of the ones I see have gorgeous homes anyway, so that goes a long way towards their aesthetic.

Apartment therapy

I started following some of the blogs and instagram accounts from a previous thread, but most of the homes were ridiculously huge and in beautiful locations. Yeah, they were pretty, but it's hard to relate to my house and my potential renovations when we have a small (by DCUM standards) modest house. No mudroom, no vaulted ceilings, no butler's pantry (dear god I *wish*). Not to mention they all seemed to be peddling their own online stores with pillows that cost more than my recliner.

Does anyone have recommendations for everyday interior design? Like where to put my dish sponge and ways to make the drying rack not look terrible and where do you keep your paper towels?