Bad Home Advice Dished Out On Restored By The Fords

Based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Steve and Leanne Ford are a brother-sister duo who star on the popular HGTV show "Restored by the Fords." The show, which aired in 2016, follows the Fords as Leanne redesigns entire homes and her brother Steve, a licensed contractor, brings her visions to life. If you want to have your home on the show, you must live within 60 miles of Pittsburgh, which is how Steve himself wound up redesigning his house on his very own show.

According to HGTV, Steve worked with his team to turn his sterile bachelor warehouse into a home that he could both live and work in. While the redesign carries a few hallmarks of the Fords' favorite design elements (like white paint and plenty of concrete), Steve has been living in it and loving it ever since. However, due to the pair's unique sense of taste, there has been plenty of decorating advice dished out on "Restored by the Fords" that might not be everyone's cup of tea. Here are a few of the things you should take with a grain of salt.

One of the most trademark things about "Restored by the Fords" is the sibling's enthusiasm to get things started and rush into demolition day without completing their due diligence on the space. Whether or not these moments are genuine or produced for more interesting TV is up for debate. However, one thing is for certain: If you are remodeling, always check for HVAC systems (and plumbing and electrical, too) before you start knocking things down. Unless you want to end up like the Fords, who were already halfway through tearing down a wall before they discovered what was inside, it is causing them a lot more work.

According to Richmond's Air, there is a small caveat around protecting your current HVAC system. Depending on how old it is, replacing it during your remodel might end up saving you up to 20% on your monthly electric bill. However, if you don't have a new HVAC system in the budget, then it's best to follow the advice from Angi and close your vents to avoid dust building up during construction.

We honestly think that Leanne Ford's favorite color is white. While watching the show, it's easy to notice she adores staging the homes she restores with her brother with stark white walls and crisp white linens. However, when the TV magic fades, the reality of an all-white house can sometimes be not as cozy. According to Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy, white walls can work well, but need a little bit of maintenance. If your home doesn't have a lot of natural light, white walls can easily begin to look dreary. It's the same if you don't decorate your rooms with fun accents: white looks sterile.

Maria Killiam adds that white rooms don't ever look as nice in real life as they do on Instagram and TV. This is because, as we could all probably guess, white is a very easy color to edit. So, when you see your favorite influencer post their white living room, and it looks bright and cheery, it's likely the lighting has been heavily edited. But don't lose all hope. You can help recreate this bright white in real life by using lamps to alleviate shadows throughout your home.

We already know that Leanne loves painting things white. In fact, she loves painting things white so much that she was seen in an episode painting directly onto a wooden wall without any sort of prep. She said it was because she was so excited to see how things would look, but viewers would be wise to take things a bit slower and paint things properly. According to PaintRite Pros, using primer can help avoid more work down the line. This is because it covers imperfections and any color on the surface. So, if you paint without primer, you might have to use way more coats of paint than you want to get the perfect amount of coverage.

Sharper Impression Painting adds that porous surfaces (like the wooden wall Leanne was painting) always need to be primed before painting. If it's not primed, you might likely end up with a lumpy final product. Primer also works well to stave away bad smells, like a wet pet odor or smoking residue from a previous owner.

Leanne's kitchen design choices might confuse some viewers, as they don't always seem to be the most functional. Case in point: She installs a microwave at the lowest point in her client's kitchen. Microwave placement is a lot more important than you might think. Rather than placing the microwave down low (where you will constantly be bending to place and retrieve food), consider a more functional kitchen by placing it at least around waist height.

According to Multi Trade Building Services, one of the most efficient things you can do for your kitchen is organize everything around the work triangle. The "triangle" is the sink, the fridge, and the stove. This way, sourcing your food, cooking it, and cleaning up after yourself all work together in a natural workflow. You won't have to backtrack or double over on yourself while working in your kitchen. And while the microwave is often considered secondary to the oven, placing it out of the way and at an awkward height will easily make you miserable in the long run.

Sometimes, artful design choices end up looking like mistakes. A great example of this in "Restored by the Fords" is when Leanne and Steve decided to paint the stairs black on the home they were renovating, only to add splashes of white paint. This makes the final product look like there was a paint spill and wasn't intentional. If you want to go bold when redoing your home, there are better ways to do it.

According to Michael Helwig Interiors, some of the best ways to go bold in interior design are to make sure to use the 60/30/10 color ratio in each room. That is, the main color is 60% of the room (typically a more neutral shade,) then your accent color is 30%, and the boldest elements are 10%. You can also consider using larger crown molding to liven up a space or use floor-to-ceiling wallpaper in tiny areas (like a closet or powder room) to make them feel brighter and more cheerful.

In contrast to the rest of the home, which Leanne typically likes to paint bright white, the Ford siblings also love to include at least one dark room when doing a redesign. However, this doesn't mean you should, too. In fact, you should be careful using dark colors when painting living spaces. According to Martha Stewart, there is a right and wrong way to incorporate darker colors into your home. If you aren't sure, take a small step forward by testing the color in a more compact space, like a utility or powder room. Country Living adds that when painting these smaller spaces, the real test of the design is how you choose to accent the deeper color.

If the room doesn't get much natural light, then going for a deeper, darker color might be a great choice to add depth and dimension. However, if you aren't sure about creating a space like this, you can consider painting just the trim, so you still get the effect to some degree.

Any plants in your home should add to the space, not overpower it. We are all plant lovers, but you need to think of stylish ways to display your collection. According to Apartment Therapy, using a backless bookcase is a great way to get more bang for your buck. That is, display even more plants. You use it as a sort of room divider or simply as a way to show off your succulents. Plants can also be hung from the ceiling, wrapped around clothing racks, or even join you in the shower, depending on their type. However, as Modsy reminds us, plants should complement your space, and even if they are the main focus, you don't want to feel crowded.

The plants we see on "Restored by the Fords" seem to overpower not only the furniture they're placed on, but also the rest of the surrounding space. They burst from it like a waterfall of green, making it hard to focus on anything else.