November 3, 2024 • 34 mins
When it comes to your home, details matter. Small things can make a BIG difference without breaking your budget. Paint, light fixtures, lamp replacement cords, flowers, cabinet pulls, area rugs, HVAC vents, even simple furniture changes can transform a room easily without costing you a lot of money. Callers asked Dean about converting a traditional fireplace to something that burns cleaner, like a pot bellied stove, and how big baseboards should be in a room with 18 foot ceilings.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app. I
Am Dean Sharp the House Whisper here with you live
like I am every weekend Saturday morning, six to eight
Pacific time, Sunday mornings nine to noon Pacific time. Welcome
(00:22):
to the show. Welcome to the second hour of our show.
We're talking about details that matter today. Hand in your pearls,
pearls of wisdom, about little things, little things that are
often overlooked in most houses, that you can change for
not a lot of denarro and ultimately make some really
(00:44):
big impact in your home. We're returning to that conversation
in just a bit, but as we do here on
the program, we also take calls live and talk to
you about what's going on with your home. It is
time to do that now, and so I want to
go to the phones. Let's talk to Carol. Hey, Carol,
welcome home. Hello, Hello Carol.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Hi, Dean. Is there something that I can put into
my fireplace, like a potbelly stove or whatever to burn cleaner.
I don't want to burn wood anymore because it's just
I mean out in the open. Because it just makes
such a city mass. And I don't want to go
gas because I'm trying to conserve. But is there, yeah,
(01:29):
is there something I can buy the insert in there?
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Okay, okay, I was about to answer that question when
you said that you don't want to burn wood and
you don't want to burn gas, because those are are
two options.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, I want to burn wood, but in an inserted cloth.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, now I'm with you right now. Yes, So the
answer is yes, yes, there is, and and you're you're
you're thinking along the right line. So here's all you
have to do is go online and start searching for
or go down to your local fireplace shop and you
(02:10):
can take a look at what they may have to offer.
But but there's so many to find. You want to
look for a wood burning wood stove insert, not pop
belly stove, but wood stove insert. There is an entire
branch of the fireplace industry that is all about inserts
(02:36):
into existing old masonry fireboxes that are essentially like what
you're thinking. They're they're cast iron, they're made just like
pot belly stoves. They insert in, they sit flush, and
then the nice thing is they also have their own
flu which runs up inside the existing chimney of the
(02:58):
fireplace and comes out and terminates out the top. And
now what you'll have is the power of essentially a
wood stove. That's what a potbelly stove is. It's a
wood stove. And a wood stove is so beautifully and
properly engineered to maximize the burn of wood. It will
throw more heat and make more wood last way way longer,
(03:23):
and it's a way to go now if you want
to even take another step in full efficiency forward, it's
not quite as beautifully attractive the burn itself. But there
are also wood stove inserts that use pellets that are
pellet stove inserts. They also produce a flame that you
just don't see the big log burning inside, and they
(03:47):
crank out a great amount of heat, and they are
the most efficient use of wood because these are hardwood pellets.
They're full legitimate wood. But it's less expensive and cleaner
burning and more efficient. But yeah, whenever Tina and I
go somewhere, and when we're ever going to spend an
extended amount of time in an area, instead of a hotel,
(04:07):
we will usually like airbnb or verbo a home and
we're always thrilled, especially when we travel in the winter months,
to find that the fireplace is actually a wood stove insert,
or that there's just a wood stove. And by the way,
that's also a possibility if you wanted just a wood
(04:28):
stove sitting on the hearth, Okay, then this is just
a little bit more involved. It means blocking off the
firebox and then letting that wood stove sit freely on
the hearth, letting its pipe its flu extend up, and
then at some point it would bust through the wall
into the existing chimney and then take off from there,
(04:50):
so you really have that full. The simplest, cleanest way
of doing it, without any construction whatsoever, is to buy
an insert into your existing fire blocks with its own
flu going up. And it's also something you know, I
just did a fireplace show yesterday, and I would have
loved to have had time to talk about all these things.
But it's also a great way if you find that
(05:13):
you have an old masonry chimney that just isn't up
to speck anymore. It's got cracks in it, it's not
falling apart, but you know, your local fireplace people are like, yeah,
we wouldn't recommend burning anything in it because of these cracks,
And you're like, I don't want to rebuild my entire
(05:33):
masonry chimney. Well, a wood stove insert gives you the
ability to utilize the fireplace again because it doesn't rely
on it only relies on the chimney as a chase
to run its own flu up inside until it comes out.
And so it's really kind of the best of both worlds.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Okay, so your first suggestion, I would ask for a
wood burning wood stove insert.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yes, okay, wood stove after drafter right there? Yep.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Do you have a supplier that you would suggest?
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You know what, just about every manufactured fireplace manufacturer has
their own line of wood stove inserts. So that's why
I say just go. And so, depending on the size
of your firebox you need to, you're gonna have to
shop around to get just the best optimal fit. But
(06:30):
they're out there and there are plenty of them, I promise.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Okay, thank you so much, Deine.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You're so welcome. Carol, thanks for that question. That was
a really good question because that's something that I did
not have the time to talk about yesterday. Woodstoves are.
They're just the best. I love woodstoves. Why because they're
so brilliantly engineered to maximize heat and the burn. And
they're beautiful, beautiful to watch, beautiful and easy to maintain,
(06:59):
so much easier than a fireplace. All right, more calls
when we return your Home with Dean Sharp the house Whisper.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Here we are talking about details that matter for your
home today. We're going to return to that conversation in
just a bit, but right now we're taking calls, and
I want to go back to the phones. I want
to talk to Rochelle. Rochelle, welcome home.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Thank you for taking my call. Dean. I have two
very short questions, short answers hopefully, and a design question
if you have the time. Live in a small condominium.
We want to refer that you mentioned two weeks ago
that would put that white epoxy on. We've researched it
and that's what we'd like to do as soon as possible.
(07:51):
Can you give me the name of the company recommended?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Okay, I'm sorry I lost track of you there. White
epoxy for what the roof. Oh, the flat roof, the
flat roof.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Right.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah, But you know what, when we're done with the call,
we're going to pop you on hold and I'm going
to get that information to Michelle.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I'd appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Before you hang up, So just just don't hang up
when we're done. I just don't have it at my
fingertips right now.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Okay, okay, I'd appreciate the other question. The other question
is I live in this small condom, Anu, and I
need a condominium. I'm on the second floor. The upstairs
you it is empty most of the time because it's
an out of town owner. You spoke of some contrivance
that could be put under the sink that could conserve
(08:39):
the cold water and bring the hot water sooner. Is
that is that our tank is on the roof. Is
that possible to put in a condo.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Oh? Yeah, it's possible to put anywhere. And what we're
talking about is a relatively inexpensive recirculation pump. Okay, it's
a little localized pump. It can be in some systems.
It can be placed on the water heater itself at
the location of the water heater. Other times, you can
(09:08):
put them under the sink at the final location of
where you want the hot water, wherever that may be.
And in combination with that little recirculation pump is a
little device called a bridge valve. A bridge valve is
what connects under the sink, not in the wall, but
under the sink. It will connect the hot water line
(09:31):
to the cold water line under the sink. But just when,
just when the pump is on driving hot water, pulling
hot water out of the hot water line and pushing
it into the cold water line. And that little brilliant
device and that little system. Number one, you don't waste
any water because it's still your water. You just have
(09:51):
it's over in the cold line. But what it does
is it draws out all of that hot water in
the hot water line that isn't actually hot stuff that
has cooled off in between users, and it pushes it
into the cold and as a result of that, it
brings the real hot water much much closer to the
(10:11):
faucet itself, so that you're waiting for hot water maybe
two or three seconds instead of two or three minutes.
And so it's a combination research pump, very small recirculation
pump and bridge valve and if you're not a DIY
oriented person, then you would then I would recommend you
(10:32):
would just call a plumber and say, hey, we just
want to research pump and a bridge valve because we
want hot water closer to market and think and and
they'll give you pricing on it.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
So I've been put one of my bathroom in one
of my kitchens, then.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Too, you could. But theoretically, okay, we most of the
time we put one in a home, depending on how
the plumbing is arranged in a home. What we do
is we will and to put the bridge valve in
the pump at the furthest sink away from the water
(11:06):
heater because guess what, as it pulls hot water towards
that far sink because of the branch system of normal plumbing,
it's also pulling hot water closer to all the sinks
along the way. So, yes, you could put one at
each location, but it's very likely you only need one
at the furthest sink and that's going to pull hot
(11:27):
water into most of the house lines sufficiently for all
the sinks.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Let's be wonderful, all right, Now you got to you've
got time for a design question real quick.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
You're here lay it on me.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
Okay, all right, it's my daughter's condominium. She lives in Condomni.
Her living room is thirty three seed long, eighteen seed
high and sixteen wide. There's a loft at one end
that she uses.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
As an office. She would like to put in a
new not crominal the baseboard, and you went up to
seven inches. You've mentioned it before. I didn't know if
there was a maximum or what would be good for
an eighteen high ceiling, eighteen foot high ceiling.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Anywhere, baseboard anywhere from eight to twelve inches.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Eight to twelve inches is the max.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
There's no sense in going over twelve. But the idea
is that most most everyone listening to my voice right now,
I mean, I'm like ninety eight percent of you listening
have baseboards that are undersized from a design perspective for
your home. An eight foot ceiling, an eight foot ceiling if.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
You use eighteen no no, no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
No, no, I understand, I understand what I'm just making
a point here. An eight foot ceiling the lowest normal
old ceiling, okay, can get can get away with a
six and a half or seven inch baseboard. Okay. So
that's the thing. And we don't use the proportion always
what we call the seven percent rule. The seven percent
(13:02):
of the height of the ceiling is the size of
the baseboard, because there's some point like an eighteen foot
ceiling for your daughter, in which that's like, what are
you suggesting a two foot tall baseboard? Dan, No, No,
I'm not. That's why I said, for that size of
a room, there is a cutoff point. And the cutoff
point is, you know, nothing is so ridiculously high that
(13:25):
you know you don't want to just look to your
left and see the baseboard staring you in the face
at five feet tall, just because you have a sixty
foot tall room. So there's a limit to it. But
the idea is, yes, taller baseboards, and in the case
of an eighteen foot ceiling, easily eight twelve inches, I
wouldn't go above twelve. I don't go above twelve no
(13:47):
matter how tall the room is that we're going. And
we work with sometimes room heights that are much taller
than eighteen feet and we max out right around twelve
because it just gets weird after that, but beautiful up
to that point. So eight to twelve inches, Rachelle I
got to run thank you so much for your questions.
You stay on the line because I'm going to get
(14:07):
that a Last America Compound brand to you, and I'm
gonna give it to producer Michelle so she can let
you know and for the rest of you. Right after
Eileen Gonzalez gives us the news, we are going to
jump back into details in your home that matter. Your
Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. I'm going
to take a couple of minutes here to remind you
that we if you are ever able or not able
to listen to the show live, and we are live
every Saturday morning from six to eight and Sunday mornings
from nine to noon Pacific time. If you can hear
the show live, or if you want to go back
(14:54):
and listen to it again or get details that you missed,
or it's something that you didn't weren't able to write down,
just go to the podcast. We are also a podcast.
About an hour after the show goes off the air.
You will find us in our little podcast Niche Every
(15:14):
episode I have ever done here on KFI in podcast form.
That's hundreds of episodes, all listed by topic, waiting for you. You
can listen day or night anywhere on planet Earth as
many times as you like, Whenever, wherever, however you want
to listen. That is Home with Dean Sharp. That's all
(15:38):
you have to do now. Of course, you can find
it on the free iHeartRadio app. You can also find
the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever your
favorite podcasts are found. Home with Dean Sharp boom, it's
there waiting for you. Okay, back to details that matter.
(15:58):
We've talked about outlets, chords, light switches, lamp chords. I
want to talk about HVAC vents, heating and air conditioning vents.
This is something I want to make two very very
distinct points here. Number One, if you have the opportunity
and you really are working your way through the house
(16:21):
doing details that matter, then for all the money that
you've spent on that remodel, or all the money that
you want to invest in changing the vibe of a room,
don't neglect changing out those cheap normal just like everybody
always gets basic ya, basic HVAC vents that came with
(16:44):
your system, they are really really boring, and so you
change them out, and you change them out to something nice. Now,
a couple of things. The other point that I want
to make Number one, they don't have to be I'm
not suggesting that you change them out to look antique,
although you can, Okay, you can make them look like
(17:06):
they're one hundred years old, like they're made out of
bronze or brass or cast iron or steel. So they
are a great way of just nudging an already kind
of historical vintage looking room right over the edge into
full on like, wow, everything was thought about in this room. However,
(17:31):
if you've got a post a modern home, a mid
century home, if you've got a super contemporary, cutting edge,
twenty first century, twenty twenty four home, you will find
hvac vents that match that motif as well. Okay, just
consider changing out the super cheap, super boring, super normal
(17:57):
vents that are running in the room that you are
trying to guj with maximum intensity. Okay. Now, the last
point that I want to make here is Dean is
also not suggesting that you necessarily make the vent something
that catches somebody's eye and you're like well, Dean, that's
all well and good, but I just want my HVAC
(18:20):
events to go away. Okay, I just wanted to go away. Well,
then pick a cool new vent that has a great
pattern to it, and go ahead and paint it with
the color of the ceiling or the wall. Okay, with
the exact same paint over that area. Let it match
the wall. I shouldn't say the exact same paint, the
exact same color. Okay, I want it to be a durable,
(18:43):
washable paint, but the exact same color. Let it blend
in with the wall. Because you know what, talk about
a detail that matters. Here is now a vent that
is not drawing attention to itself whatsoever. But when somebody
does look over it and notice it, they're like, Wow,
even that vent that I didn't even notice the first
(19:06):
ten times I was here, Even that vent looks great.
Ah ah, excuse me, there had something in my throat.
So yeah, eight VACE events. Last thing, let's talk about doors.
Interior doors specifically. We worry most of the time about
(19:28):
finding the right door knobs. Okay, and that's all well
and good man, my throat here, hang on a second.
The right doorknobs, but we tend to ignore number one
the doors themselves, your interior doors. Now this is a
little bit more of an investment, I get it, but
(19:49):
interior doors are so dang important to the vibe of
a home, not only making them solid core instead of
those flimsy, little hollow core doors that you've got that is,
you know, hold back about as much sound as a
sheet hanging in the doorway. But just the fact that
finding a door that reflects the style of your home
(20:12):
and placing it in these openings. And I'm not talking
about necessarily stained grade doors maybe or maybe they're paint
graye but just the right door in the right place
makes all the difference. The knob, of course, that's always
when you go to the hardware store, right up front
and center. Ooh, what should it be? This kind of
knob should be that kind of knob, But the door itself.
(20:33):
And here is the thing right on the edge of
the door, a detail that matters, the hinges. This when
it comes to a door assembly, is from a decre perspective,
the most neglected potential detail of any door is the hinge.
(20:56):
The hinge are very utilitarian. Obviously, that's what I always
talking talking about neglected utilitarian fixtures. Most hinges are. I
will tell you right now, what are the odds are
that your doors in your house are cut with three
or three and a half inch large round corner hinges
of no specific attractiveness at all. They're just there, simple
(21:21):
pined hinges. So what can you do? Well, Number one,
we'll give it in three layers here. Number one, you
can change out those hinges for a more attractive hinge.
You can find hinges of number one, the proper metal
that matches the finish of your door knobs. They could
(21:43):
be bronze, they could be brush stainless, they could be
brushed nickel, they could be whatever the case may be,
so you can change them out. You can also change
them out if you're going for an older vintage. Look
to cast hinges. And what I mean by that or
is would they look like they're cast or they're stamped.
They actually have detail and decor stamped into the face
(22:05):
of the hinge plate. And yeah, I know you think, well,
nobody ever sees those, Well that's not true, okay, no
one ever looks at your hinges right now, because they
just go away. Okay, And I get that, but of
course they do because most interior doors in most homes
are left open, and when they are left open, as
(22:26):
you walk into the room on one side of that doorway,
you see both sides of the hinge okay as you
walk in, so they're very much potentially on display. And
so this is an opportunity. Now, even if you don't
want to change out your hinges or you don't want
to replace that hinge body, you could change out the
hinge pin to one that has some kind of a
(22:50):
finial on it. A finial would be a little rounded
knob at the top and the bottom, or an elongated
piece so that when the door is closed there's a
little bit more de tail there hinges and hinge pins
and hinge faces. And if you really wanted to go
all the way and make every one of your interior
(23:11):
doors the ultimate touch of custom hinges, then you would
get rid of the round edge hinge that you've got, meaning,
you know, as it goes in, when it transitions from
the horizontal top of the hinge down to the vertical
part of the hinge plate, there's a big old rounded
edge there. You would transition from that to a complete
(23:33):
square edge hinge. Square edge hinges are the sharpest, nicest,
and also most effective and efficient hinges because that square
corner cutting into the door mortising into that hinge pocket
stays in place naturally by itself, better than the rounded edge.
The reason they're rounded edge hinges exist is because routers
(23:56):
in door companies are have around. You know, when they
make a turn, they have to round the edge. Of
the nature of how a router cuts through wood is
that when it makes a ninety degree turn, it leaves
a rounded edge on that ninety degree turn. So it
takes more effort to then, after you've routed out the
hinge pocket, to go back with a chisel and chisel
(24:19):
out the square corner. For a square hinge, AHA, more effort,
more craftsmanship, more detail, more caring. And this is why
square cut hinges always look better because they just communicate
all of that every time you look at them. All right,
so much more to go your home with. Oh, Tina
brought me some water, so like I heard you choking
(24:39):
from the other room. Here's some water. Thank you so much.
You're the best.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Forty Welcome home. We are talking about details that matter
in your home today. Why is that important? Well, because
they can make a big difference layer after layer of detail,
because they display the fact that somebody cares, and caring
(25:09):
is the sexiest thing in the world. Number Two, they
make a difference because details don't break the bank. By definition,
they are smaller things. You can take them in smaller chunks.
That doesn't mean that they're all cheap, but they're a
lot less expensive working on layers of detail than you know,
moving walls and doing a major remodel. And so I
(25:31):
led the idea of doing it all obviously, and I
insist to my clients that after we've done the major remodel,
we keep on designing until we've exhausted all the details
that they're willing to do, because at the end of
the day, man, that is what just seals the deal.
It really is. And we've talked about a lot, and
(25:53):
I'm going to move forward. However, a Tina has stepped
back into the studio and I want to talk about
the posts that you've made and where people can go
to find out about what's coming up. On November twenty fourth,
Do I get that right? I think I got that right.
November twenty fourth is a Sunday that is only one,
(26:16):
two three sundays away from now. On November twenty fourth,
we are going to be in the iHeart Studios up
on the fifth floor in the Helpful Lon Helpful Honda Theater,
the lounge up there. It seats about one hundred people
and that's all we can handle. But every year we
(26:37):
do our House Whisper Holiday Home Show sponsored by Aldick Home, Yes,
the Amazing, Wonderful Aldacombe, the Winter Wonderland Aldacombe. This year,
Aldick is not only providing a tree for the main
studio at KFI so that all the hosts can enjoy
(26:57):
the tree all through the chrisp season all the way
through to New Year, but also on the day of
the home show, we're going to decorate that tree. Their
expert decorators are going to decorate another tree on stage
and during the show, during the show live, and one
of our studio audience members is going to win that
(27:19):
tree and take it home. And that's unbelievable. That's just
an unbelievable I mean, that's just a great thing. So
that's coming up on this let's see three weeks from
now on Sunday, November twenty fourth, and afterwards we're all
going over to Aldacom to just hang out for a while. Yeah,
it's basically the Sunday just before Thanksgiving, the Sunday before
(27:39):
Thanksgiving November twenty fourth in Burbank at the iHeart Studios
in Burbank. Anyway, all of the details that you need
to know and how to enter to win a coveted
seat at the House Whisper Holiday Home Show are now
posted on social media ware.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
We're posted on Instagram and Facebook, and when you win,
we're going to be direct messaging you so that you'll
know that you won from either Instagram or Facebook, whichever
one you enter from.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
So instructions are there. Those instructions are there. It's very clear.
It's very clear, very clear, very simple. Don't send me
any questions. I sounded You're like, it's very clear. Oh no, no,
not what I meant. Hopefully it's clear. Okay.
Speaker 6 (28:30):
We just yeah, we just want to see you. We
want to meet you.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
We're excited.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
We had it was so much fun last year, and
the couple that we gave the tree to last year
were really sweet and ended up sending us video and
photos of the trees set up at their house.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It was really cool. Yeah, this is this is I
mean it's the tree and all of the decorations on it. Yes,
I mean it's full tree. Yeah, it's just amazing. It's amazing.
All right, enough of that, Just so you know, you
can run to our social media at Home with Dean
on Facebook and Instagram right now. That's where the contest
info is running and that's where you can enter. Okay,
(29:05):
back to the deats. Let's see here where am I at?
Door knobs? Door dem All right, I have this note here,
learn in practice the number one most important rule of lighting.
Do you know what that is? Well, let you think
about that for a second, the number one most important
(29:28):
rule of lighting design. And don't feel bad if you
do not know what this is or it doesn't spring
to mind immediately, because let me tell you, I asked
this question of electricians all the time, and very very
rarely does anybody actually get it right. This only illustrates
(29:49):
the point that I tell you a lot, which is,
contractors are not home designers. Electricians are not lighting designers.
They have different functions. Okay, that doesn't mean that your
electrician might not have a good idea, it's just not
what they are specially trained to do. So, as a
lighting designer, let me tell you what this is, and
(30:12):
I want you to embrace it and hold on to
it and never let it go. When it comes to
a home, it's very much like theater lighting. We do
not light rooms, We do not light spaces. We light things.
(30:32):
Did you hear that we don't light rooms? We light things?
The number one rule of lighting design? Now, how does
this apply to our conversation today of details that matter? Well,
this applies to you very likely if you have a
(30:54):
home that has had recess lighting, either built into it
originally or retro fit in to it after the fact.
And if a lighting designer wasn't used to lay out
that lighting, if you laid it out or your electrician
laid it out, then I am guessing if I walk
into your home and look up to the ceiling, I
will find the classic living room grid of six or
(31:19):
eight recess can lights beautifully symmetrically spread out all over
the ceiling in a nice organized grid for the room.
And you will look to me and say ah, and
I will look to you and say, uh, uh, Okay,
your living room does not need warehouse style lighting in it.
(31:41):
It does not need that. This is the worst lighting.
Direct down light into a space. It destroys shadows, it
flattens out textures. And I know you want it bright
in there. That's fine. I'm not talking about brightness. I'm
talking about the general position of those lights. So if
I was there to lay out the lighting for that room,
(32:02):
I might actually use the same number of recess can lights.
The difference would be I would be putting them closer
to walls, and I would center them on areas of
open wall where you are going to hang art or
have photos, or whatever the case may be. In other words,
the rule we light things, not rooms. Things not rooms.
(32:28):
Now how does this supply then to you? Well, there
are two parts to any recessed can light. There is
the housing. That's the part that's built into the ceiling.
And I'm not suggesting that you tear it out and
read drywall over and have an electrician movement. I mean,
if you want to do that, that's fine, That's not
what I'm suggesting. What I'm suggesting is that you work
(32:49):
not with that housing part, but with the second part,
which is the trim. The trim is what you actually
see when you look up. It's either a flat led
lens or there may be some kind of a baffle
that goes up into the ceiling a little bit and
may be black and maybe white, maybe it's silver, whatever
the case may be. And then the light source is
further up in there. That is the trim. You can
(33:12):
get on a step ladder or a ladder and reach
up there and grab the edges of that and carefully
pull it down and find the trim pops right out
of the housing because it's on a set of spring clips,
and then it's plugged into the housing and you can
undo the plug and now you are holding in your
hand the trim. For every major brand of recessed can lighting,
(33:36):
there are not one, not two, but tens, I mean
tens and tens of trims that can go into that
same housing that just plug right in. And the trims
are not that expensive, anywhere from fifteen to thirty five
or forty dollars for a trim. And what then can
(33:59):
we do if we decide to take your existing lighting
and replace the trims. Do I have you on the
edge of your seat, Well, stay there, because I will
tell you right after we come back from the news.
Your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper on KFI.
This has been Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper.
(34:20):
Tune into the live broadcast on KFI Am six forty
every Saturday morning from six to eight Pacific time and
every Sunday morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or
anytime on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The
House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app. I
Am Dean Sharp the House Whisper here with you live
like I am every weekend Saturday morning, six to eight
Pacific time, Sunday mornings nine to noon Pacific time. Welcome
(00:22):
to the show. Welcome to the second hour of our show.
We're talking about details that matter today. Hand in your pearls,
pearls of wisdom, about little things, little things that are
often overlooked in most houses, that you can change for
not a lot of denarro and ultimately make some really
(00:44):
big impact in your home. We're returning to that conversation
in just a bit, but as we do here on
the program, we also take calls live and talk to
you about what's going on with your home. It is
time to do that now, and so I want to
go to the phones. Let's talk to Carol. Hey, Carol,
welcome home. Hello, Hello Carol.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Hi, Dean. Is there something that I can put into
my fireplace, like a potbelly stove or whatever to burn cleaner.
I don't want to burn wood anymore because it's just
I mean out in the open. Because it just makes
such a city mass. And I don't want to go
gas because I'm trying to conserve. But is there, yeah,
(01:29):
is there something I can buy the insert in there?
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Okay, okay, I was about to answer that question when
you said that you don't want to burn wood and
you don't want to burn gas, because those are are
two options.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, I want to burn wood, but in an inserted cloth.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, now I'm with you right now. Yes, So the
answer is yes, yes, there is, and and you're you're
you're thinking along the right line. So here's all you
have to do is go online and start searching for
or go down to your local fireplace shop and you
(02:10):
can take a look at what they may have to offer.
But but there's so many to find. You want to
look for a wood burning wood stove insert, not pop
belly stove, but wood stove insert. There is an entire
branch of the fireplace industry that is all about inserts
(02:36):
into existing old masonry fireboxes that are essentially like what
you're thinking. They're they're cast iron, they're made just like
pot belly stoves. They insert in, they sit flush, and
then the nice thing is they also have their own
flu which runs up inside the existing chimney of the
(02:58):
fireplace and comes out and terminates out the top. And
now what you'll have is the power of essentially a
wood stove. That's what a potbelly stove is. It's a
wood stove. And a wood stove is so beautifully and
properly engineered to maximize the burn of wood. It will
throw more heat and make more wood last way way longer,
(03:23):
and it's a way to go now if you want
to even take another step in full efficiency forward, it's
not quite as beautifully attractive the burn itself. But there
are also wood stove inserts that use pellets that are
pellet stove inserts. They also produce a flame that you
just don't see the big log burning inside, and they
(03:47):
crank out a great amount of heat, and they are
the most efficient use of wood because these are hardwood pellets.
They're full legitimate wood. But it's less expensive and cleaner
burning and more efficient. But yeah, whenever Tina and I
go somewhere, and when we're ever going to spend an
extended amount of time in an area, instead of a hotel,
(04:07):
we will usually like airbnb or verbo a home and
we're always thrilled, especially when we travel in the winter months,
to find that the fireplace is actually a wood stove insert,
or that there's just a wood stove. And by the way,
that's also a possibility if you wanted just a wood
(04:28):
stove sitting on the hearth, Okay, then this is just
a little bit more involved. It means blocking off the
firebox and then letting that wood stove sit freely on
the hearth, letting its pipe its flu extend up, and
then at some point it would bust through the wall
into the existing chimney and then take off from there,
(04:50):
so you really have that full. The simplest, cleanest way
of doing it, without any construction whatsoever, is to buy
an insert into your existing fire blocks with its own
flu going up. And it's also something you know, I
just did a fireplace show yesterday, and I would have
loved to have had time to talk about all these things.
But it's also a great way if you find that
(05:13):
you have an old masonry chimney that just isn't up
to speck anymore. It's got cracks in it, it's not
falling apart, but you know, your local fireplace people are like, yeah,
we wouldn't recommend burning anything in it because of these cracks,
And you're like, I don't want to rebuild my entire
(05:33):
masonry chimney. Well, a wood stove insert gives you the
ability to utilize the fireplace again because it doesn't rely
on it only relies on the chimney as a chase
to run its own flu up inside until it comes out.
And so it's really kind of the best of both worlds.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Okay, so your first suggestion, I would ask for a
wood burning wood stove insert.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yes, okay, wood stove after drafter right there? Yep.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Do you have a supplier that you would suggest?
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You know what, just about every manufactured fireplace manufacturer has
their own line of wood stove inserts. So that's why
I say just go. And so, depending on the size
of your firebox you need to, you're gonna have to
shop around to get just the best optimal fit. But
(06:30):
they're out there and there are plenty of them, I promise.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Okay, thank you so much, Deine.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You're so welcome. Carol, thanks for that question. That was
a really good question because that's something that I did
not have the time to talk about yesterday. Woodstoves are.
They're just the best. I love woodstoves. Why because they're
so brilliantly engineered to maximize heat and the burn. And
they're beautiful, beautiful to watch, beautiful and easy to maintain,
(06:59):
so much easier than a fireplace. All right, more calls
when we return your Home with Dean Sharp the house Whisper.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Here we are talking about details that matter for your
home today. We're going to return to that conversation in
just a bit, but right now we're taking calls, and
I want to go back to the phones. I want
to talk to Rochelle. Rochelle, welcome home.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Thank you for taking my call. Dean. I have two
very short questions, short answers hopefully, and a design question
if you have the time. Live in a small condominium.
We want to refer that you mentioned two weeks ago
that would put that white epoxy on. We've researched it
and that's what we'd like to do as soon as possible.
(07:51):
Can you give me the name of the company recommended?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Okay, I'm sorry I lost track of you there. White
epoxy for what the roof. Oh, the flat roof, the
flat roof.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Right.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah, But you know what, when we're done with the call,
we're going to pop you on hold and I'm going
to get that information to Michelle.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I'd appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Before you hang up, So just just don't hang up
when we're done. I just don't have it at my
fingertips right now.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Okay, okay, I'd appreciate the other question. The other question
is I live in this small condom, Anu, and I
need a condominium. I'm on the second floor. The upstairs
you it is empty most of the time because it's
an out of town owner. You spoke of some contrivance
that could be put under the sink that could conserve
(08:39):
the cold water and bring the hot water sooner. Is
that is that our tank is on the roof. Is
that possible to put in a condo.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Oh? Yeah, it's possible to put anywhere. And what we're
talking about is a relatively inexpensive recirculation pump. Okay, it's
a little localized pump. It can be in some systems.
It can be placed on the water heater itself at
the location of the water heater. Other times, you can
(09:08):
put them under the sink at the final location of
where you want the hot water, wherever that may be.
And in combination with that little recirculation pump is a
little device called a bridge valve. A bridge valve is
what connects under the sink, not in the wall, but
under the sink. It will connect the hot water line
(09:31):
to the cold water line under the sink. But just when,
just when the pump is on driving hot water, pulling
hot water out of the hot water line and pushing
it into the cold water line. And that little brilliant
device and that little system. Number one, you don't waste
any water because it's still your water. You just have
(09:51):
it's over in the cold line. But what it does
is it draws out all of that hot water in
the hot water line that isn't actually hot stuff that
has cooled off in between users, and it pushes it
into the cold and as a result of that, it
brings the real hot water much much closer to the
(10:11):
faucet itself, so that you're waiting for hot water maybe
two or three seconds instead of two or three minutes.
And so it's a combination research pump, very small recirculation
pump and bridge valve and if you're not a DIY
oriented person, then you would then I would recommend you
(10:32):
would just call a plumber and say, hey, we just
want to research pump and a bridge valve because we
want hot water closer to market and think and and
they'll give you pricing on it.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
So I've been put one of my bathroom in one
of my kitchens, then.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Too, you could. But theoretically, okay, we most of the
time we put one in a home, depending on how
the plumbing is arranged in a home. What we do
is we will and to put the bridge valve in
the pump at the furthest sink away from the water
(11:06):
heater because guess what, as it pulls hot water towards
that far sink because of the branch system of normal plumbing,
it's also pulling hot water closer to all the sinks
along the way. So, yes, you could put one at
each location, but it's very likely you only need one
at the furthest sink and that's going to pull hot
(11:27):
water into most of the house lines sufficiently for all
the sinks.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Let's be wonderful, all right, Now you got to you've
got time for a design question real quick.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
You're here lay it on me.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
Okay, all right, it's my daughter's condominium. She lives in Condomni.
Her living room is thirty three seed long, eighteen seed
high and sixteen wide. There's a loft at one end
that she uses.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
As an office. She would like to put in a
new not crominal the baseboard, and you went up to
seven inches. You've mentioned it before. I didn't know if
there was a maximum or what would be good for
an eighteen high ceiling, eighteen foot high ceiling.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Anywhere, baseboard anywhere from eight to twelve inches.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Eight to twelve inches is the max.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
There's no sense in going over twelve. But the idea
is that most most everyone listening to my voice right now,
I mean, I'm like ninety eight percent of you listening
have baseboards that are undersized from a design perspective for
your home. An eight foot ceiling, an eight foot ceiling if.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
You use eighteen no no, no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
No, no, I understand, I understand what I'm just making
a point here. An eight foot ceiling the lowest normal
old ceiling, okay, can get can get away with a
six and a half or seven inch baseboard. Okay. So
that's the thing. And we don't use the proportion always
what we call the seven percent rule. The seven percent
(13:02):
of the height of the ceiling is the size of
the baseboard, because there's some point like an eighteen foot
ceiling for your daughter, in which that's like, what are
you suggesting a two foot tall baseboard? Dan, No, No,
I'm not. That's why I said, for that size of
a room, there is a cutoff point. And the cutoff
point is, you know, nothing is so ridiculously high that
(13:25):
you know you don't want to just look to your
left and see the baseboard staring you in the face
at five feet tall, just because you have a sixty
foot tall room. So there's a limit to it. But
the idea is, yes, taller baseboards, and in the case
of an eighteen foot ceiling, easily eight twelve inches, I
wouldn't go above twelve. I don't go above twelve no
(13:47):
matter how tall the room is that we're going. And
we work with sometimes room heights that are much taller
than eighteen feet and we max out right around twelve
because it just gets weird after that, but beautiful up
to that point. So eight to twelve inches, Rachelle I
got to run thank you so much for your questions.
You stay on the line because I'm going to get
(14:07):
that a Last America Compound brand to you, and I'm
gonna give it to producer Michelle so she can let
you know and for the rest of you. Right after
Eileen Gonzalez gives us the news, we are going to
jump back into details in your home that matter. Your
Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper. I'm going
to take a couple of minutes here to remind you
that we if you are ever able or not able
to listen to the show live, and we are live
every Saturday morning from six to eight and Sunday mornings
from nine to noon Pacific time. If you can hear
the show live, or if you want to go back
(14:54):
and listen to it again or get details that you missed,
or it's something that you didn't weren't able to write down,
just go to the podcast. We are also a podcast.
About an hour after the show goes off the air.
You will find us in our little podcast Niche Every
(15:14):
episode I have ever done here on KFI in podcast form.
That's hundreds of episodes, all listed by topic, waiting for you. You
can listen day or night anywhere on planet Earth as
many times as you like, Whenever, wherever, however you want
to listen. That is Home with Dean Sharp. That's all
(15:38):
you have to do now. Of course, you can find
it on the free iHeartRadio app. You can also find
the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever your
favorite podcasts are found. Home with Dean Sharp boom, it's
there waiting for you. Okay, back to details that matter.
(15:58):
We've talked about outlets, chords, light switches, lamp chords. I
want to talk about HVAC vents, heating and air conditioning vents.
This is something I want to make two very very
distinct points here. Number One, if you have the opportunity
and you really are working your way through the house
(16:21):
doing details that matter, then for all the money that
you've spent on that remodel, or all the money that
you want to invest in changing the vibe of a room,
don't neglect changing out those cheap normal just like everybody
always gets basic ya, basic HVAC vents that came with
(16:44):
your system, they are really really boring, and so you
change them out, and you change them out to something nice. Now,
a couple of things. The other point that I want
to make Number one, they don't have to be I'm
not suggesting that you change them out to look antique,
although you can, Okay, you can make them look like
(17:06):
they're one hundred years old, like they're made out of
bronze or brass or cast iron or steel. So they
are a great way of just nudging an already kind
of historical vintage looking room right over the edge into
full on like, wow, everything was thought about in this room. However,
(17:31):
if you've got a post a modern home, a mid
century home, if you've got a super contemporary, cutting edge,
twenty first century, twenty twenty four home, you will find
hvac vents that match that motif as well. Okay, just
consider changing out the super cheap, super boring, super normal
(17:57):
vents that are running in the room that you are
trying to guj with maximum intensity. Okay. Now, the last
point that I want to make here is Dean is
also not suggesting that you necessarily make the vent something
that catches somebody's eye and you're like well, Dean, that's
all well and good, but I just want my HVAC
(18:20):
events to go away. Okay, I just wanted to go away. Well,
then pick a cool new vent that has a great
pattern to it, and go ahead and paint it with
the color of the ceiling or the wall. Okay, with
the exact same paint over that area. Let it match
the wall. I shouldn't say the exact same paint, the
exact same color. Okay, I want it to be a durable,
(18:43):
washable paint, but the exact same color. Let it blend
in with the wall. Because you know what, talk about
a detail that matters. Here is now a vent that
is not drawing attention to itself whatsoever. But when somebody
does look over it and notice it, they're like, Wow,
even that vent that I didn't even notice the first
(19:06):
ten times I was here, Even that vent looks great.
Ah ah, excuse me, there had something in my throat.
So yeah, eight VACE events. Last thing, let's talk about doors.
Interior doors specifically. We worry most of the time about
(19:28):
finding the right door knobs. Okay, and that's all well
and good man, my throat here, hang on a second.
The right doorknobs, but we tend to ignore number one
the doors themselves, your interior doors. Now this is a
little bit more of an investment, I get it, but
(19:49):
interior doors are so dang important to the vibe of
a home, not only making them solid core instead of
those flimsy, little hollow core doors that you've got that is,
you know, hold back about as much sound as a
sheet hanging in the doorway. But just the fact that
finding a door that reflects the style of your home
(20:12):
and placing it in these openings. And I'm not talking
about necessarily stained grade doors maybe or maybe they're paint
graye but just the right door in the right place
makes all the difference. The knob, of course, that's always
when you go to the hardware store, right up front
and center. Ooh, what should it be? This kind of
knob should be that kind of knob, But the door itself.
(20:33):
And here is the thing right on the edge of
the door, a detail that matters, the hinges. This when
it comes to a door assembly, is from a decre perspective,
the most neglected potential detail of any door is the hinge.
(20:56):
The hinge are very utilitarian. Obviously, that's what I always
talking talking about neglected utilitarian fixtures. Most hinges are. I
will tell you right now, what are the odds are
that your doors in your house are cut with three
or three and a half inch large round corner hinges
of no specific attractiveness at all. They're just there, simple
(21:21):
pined hinges. So what can you do? Well, Number one,
we'll give it in three layers here. Number one, you
can change out those hinges for a more attractive hinge.
You can find hinges of number one, the proper metal
that matches the finish of your door knobs. They could
(21:43):
be bronze, they could be brush stainless, they could be
brushed nickel, they could be whatever the case may be,
so you can change them out. You can also change
them out if you're going for an older vintage. Look
to cast hinges. And what I mean by that or
is would they look like they're cast or they're stamped.
They actually have detail and decor stamped into the face
(22:05):
of the hinge plate. And yeah, I know you think, well,
nobody ever sees those, Well that's not true, okay, no
one ever looks at your hinges right now, because they
just go away. Okay, And I get that, but of
course they do because most interior doors in most homes
are left open, and when they are left open, as
(22:26):
you walk into the room on one side of that doorway,
you see both sides of the hinge okay as you
walk in, so they're very much potentially on display. And
so this is an opportunity. Now, even if you don't
want to change out your hinges or you don't want
to replace that hinge body, you could change out the
hinge pin to one that has some kind of a
(22:50):
finial on it. A finial would be a little rounded
knob at the top and the bottom, or an elongated
piece so that when the door is closed there's a
little bit more de tail there hinges and hinge pins
and hinge faces. And if you really wanted to go
all the way and make every one of your interior
(23:11):
doors the ultimate touch of custom hinges, then you would
get rid of the round edge hinge that you've got, meaning,
you know, as it goes in, when it transitions from
the horizontal top of the hinge down to the vertical
part of the hinge plate, there's a big old rounded
edge there. You would transition from that to a complete
(23:33):
square edge hinge. Square edge hinges are the sharpest, nicest,
and also most effective and efficient hinges because that square
corner cutting into the door mortising into that hinge pocket
stays in place naturally by itself, better than the rounded edge.
The reason they're rounded edge hinges exist is because routers
(23:56):
in door companies are have around. You know, when they
make a turn, they have to round the edge. Of
the nature of how a router cuts through wood is
that when it makes a ninety degree turn, it leaves
a rounded edge on that ninety degree turn. So it
takes more effort to then, after you've routed out the
hinge pocket, to go back with a chisel and chisel
(24:19):
out the square corner. For a square hinge, AHA, more effort,
more craftsmanship, more detail, more caring. And this is why
square cut hinges always look better because they just communicate
all of that every time you look at them. All right,
so much more to go your home with. Oh, Tina
brought me some water, so like I heard you choking
(24:39):
from the other room. Here's some water. Thank you so much.
You're the best.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Forty Welcome home. We are talking about details that matter
in your home today. Why is that important? Well, because
they can make a big difference layer after layer of detail,
because they display the fact that somebody cares, and caring
(25:09):
is the sexiest thing in the world. Number Two, they
make a difference because details don't break the bank. By definition,
they are smaller things. You can take them in smaller chunks.
That doesn't mean that they're all cheap, but they're a
lot less expensive working on layers of detail than you know,
moving walls and doing a major remodel. And so I
(25:31):
led the idea of doing it all obviously, and I
insist to my clients that after we've done the major remodel,
we keep on designing until we've exhausted all the details
that they're willing to do, because at the end of
the day, man, that is what just seals the deal.
It really is. And we've talked about a lot, and
(25:53):
I'm going to move forward. However, a Tina has stepped
back into the studio and I want to talk about
the posts that you've made and where people can go
to find out about what's coming up. On November twenty fourth,
Do I get that right? I think I got that right.
November twenty fourth is a Sunday that is only one,
(26:16):
two three sundays away from now. On November twenty fourth,
we are going to be in the iHeart Studios up
on the fifth floor in the Helpful Lon Helpful Honda Theater,
the lounge up there. It seats about one hundred people
and that's all we can handle. But every year we
(26:37):
do our House Whisper Holiday Home Show sponsored by Aldick Home, Yes,
the Amazing, Wonderful Aldacombe, the Winter Wonderland Aldacombe. This year,
Aldick is not only providing a tree for the main
studio at KFI so that all the hosts can enjoy
(26:57):
the tree all through the chrisp season all the way
through to New Year, but also on the day of
the home show, we're going to decorate that tree. Their
expert decorators are going to decorate another tree on stage
and during the show, during the show live, and one
of our studio audience members is going to win that
(27:19):
tree and take it home. And that's unbelievable. That's just
an unbelievable I mean, that's just a great thing. So
that's coming up on this let's see three weeks from
now on Sunday, November twenty fourth, and afterwards we're all
going over to Aldacom to just hang out for a while. Yeah,
it's basically the Sunday just before Thanksgiving, the Sunday before
(27:39):
Thanksgiving November twenty fourth in Burbank at the iHeart Studios
in Burbank. Anyway, all of the details that you need
to know and how to enter to win a coveted
seat at the House Whisper Holiday Home Show are now
posted on social media ware.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
We're posted on Instagram and Facebook, and when you win,
we're going to be direct messaging you so that you'll
know that you won from either Instagram or Facebook, whichever
one you enter from.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
So instructions are there. Those instructions are there. It's very clear.
It's very clear, very clear, very simple. Don't send me
any questions. I sounded You're like, it's very clear. Oh no, no,
not what I meant. Hopefully it's clear. Okay.
Speaker 6 (28:30):
We just yeah, we just want to see you. We
want to meet you.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
We're excited.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
We had it was so much fun last year, and
the couple that we gave the tree to last year
were really sweet and ended up sending us video and
photos of the trees set up at their house.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It was really cool. Yeah, this is this is I
mean it's the tree and all of the decorations on it. Yes,
I mean it's full tree. Yeah, it's just amazing. It's amazing.
All right, enough of that, Just so you know, you
can run to our social media at Home with Dean
on Facebook and Instagram right now. That's where the contest
info is running and that's where you can enter. Okay,
(29:05):
back to the deats. Let's see here where am I at?
Door knobs? Door dem All right, I have this note here,
learn in practice the number one most important rule of lighting.
Do you know what that is? Well, let you think
about that for a second, the number one most important
(29:28):
rule of lighting design. And don't feel bad if you
do not know what this is or it doesn't spring
to mind immediately, because let me tell you, I asked
this question of electricians all the time, and very very
rarely does anybody actually get it right. This only illustrates
(29:49):
the point that I tell you a lot, which is,
contractors are not home designers. Electricians are not lighting designers.
They have different functions. Okay, that doesn't mean that your
electrician might not have a good idea, it's just not
what they are specially trained to do. So, as a
lighting designer, let me tell you what this is, and
(30:12):
I want you to embrace it and hold on to
it and never let it go. When it comes to
a home, it's very much like theater lighting. We do
not light rooms, We do not light spaces. We light things.
(30:32):
Did you hear that we don't light rooms? We light things?
The number one rule of lighting design? Now, how does
this apply to our conversation today of details that matter? Well,
this applies to you very likely if you have a
(30:54):
home that has had recess lighting, either built into it
originally or retro fit in to it after the fact.
And if a lighting designer wasn't used to lay out
that lighting, if you laid it out or your electrician
laid it out, then I am guessing if I walk
into your home and look up to the ceiling, I
will find the classic living room grid of six or
(31:19):
eight recess can lights beautifully symmetrically spread out all over
the ceiling in a nice organized grid for the room.
And you will look to me and say ah, and
I will look to you and say, uh, uh, Okay,
your living room does not need warehouse style lighting in it.
(31:41):
It does not need that. This is the worst lighting.
Direct down light into a space. It destroys shadows, it
flattens out textures. And I know you want it bright
in there. That's fine. I'm not talking about brightness. I'm
talking about the general position of those lights. So if
I was there to lay out the lighting for that room,
(32:02):
I might actually use the same number of recess can lights.
The difference would be I would be putting them closer
to walls, and I would center them on areas of
open wall where you are going to hang art or
have photos, or whatever the case may be. In other words,
the rule we light things, not rooms. Things not rooms.
(32:28):
Now how does this supply then to you? Well, there
are two parts to any recessed can light. There is
the housing. That's the part that's built into the ceiling.
And I'm not suggesting that you tear it out and
read drywall over and have an electrician movement. I mean,
if you want to do that, that's fine, That's not
what I'm suggesting. What I'm suggesting is that you work
(32:49):
not with that housing part, but with the second part,
which is the trim. The trim is what you actually
see when you look up. It's either a flat led
lens or there may be some kind of a baffle
that goes up into the ceiling a little bit and
may be black and maybe white, maybe it's silver, whatever
the case may be. And then the light source is
further up in there. That is the trim. You can
(33:12):
get on a step ladder or a ladder and reach
up there and grab the edges of that and carefully
pull it down and find the trim pops right out
of the housing because it's on a set of spring clips,
and then it's plugged into the housing and you can
undo the plug and now you are holding in your
hand the trim. For every major brand of recessed can lighting,
(33:36):
there are not one, not two, but tens, I mean
tens and tens of trims that can go into that
same housing that just plug right in. And the trims
are not that expensive, anywhere from fifteen to thirty five
or forty dollars for a trim. And what then can
(33:59):
we do if we decide to take your existing lighting
and replace the trims. Do I have you on the
edge of your seat, Well, stay there, because I will
tell you right after we come back from the news.
Your Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper on KFI.
This has been Home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisper.
(34:20):
Tune into the live broadcast on KFI Am six forty
every Saturday morning from six to eight Pacific time and
every Sunday morning from nine to noon Pacific time, or
anytime on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
Home with Dean Sharp News
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