Matt Fox and Shari Hiller 5/31/2002

HGTV: Welcome to HGTV's hosted chat room. Today we are excited to have Matt Fox and Shari Hiller, hosts of Room by Room, back in our chat room. Hello, Matt and Shari!

Shari Hiller: Good morning, everyone. Are you enjoying this warm summer weather?
Matt Fox: It's hard to believe that June is tomorrow! But we're ready to go, so let's do it!

Question: I would like to have a marble-topped baking table in my kitchen, but wonder how you clean it, so that it stays beautiful???
Matt: You know there are a couple different methods. One of them is actually to use mineral oil as a cleaner, and then wipe it clean with a soft rag. But the best bet is to go to your supplier and ask them. There may be many new products out there that we're not aware of.

Q: Any suggestions for updating an old brick fireplace?
Matt: First off, if you're willing to paint it, of course you could do that.
Shari: We've heard a watered down sponging technique looks great on brick.
Matt: Of course you can also update it by adding a mantle or changing the existing mantle, and even the use of art on the fireplace can give it a quick facelift.

Q: Hi! I have a question about small rooms. Do you think that painting it a color will make it look smaller?
Shari: I guess it depends what color -- whites, off-whites and cooler white pastels make rooms look larger. However, you can also paint it whatever color you like and just accept the fact that it's a small room.

Q: Hi, Matt and Shari! I love your program and use a lot of your ides -- branches on walls, vertical borders, etc., etc., etc. When will your new season of shows start? Also, what kind of "accessories" can I use on my deck?
Matt: First of all, thanks for watching and trying our ideas. That makes us feel great! The new 1500 series starts airing in July on Tuesday nights at 9:00.
Shari: Try visiting a local garden center. They have grown immensely to include garden accessories. today people decorate outside just as much as they do inside, so have a ball!
Matt: A cooler and plastic chairs work great!

Q: To Matt and Shari: What do you do if a border has been removed from the walls, and it has removed paint and some wallboard? I sanded and primed, but it is still pocked.
Matt: You can smooth that out with a flush spackle. It can still be lightly sanded with a 220-grit sandpaper, then spot-primed and you're good to go. Most home center stores carry flush spackle.

Q: Love your show....how do you choose your project homes?
Shari: Most of the homes we use our near our homes in Cleveland. Go to the HGTV website and click on "be on hgtv" and our producer will announce when we are looking for homes.

Q: I have a 23x13 room that I need to find a way to put a divider or wall so you can't see the entry door. The ceilings and wall meet with a curve.
Shari: In the past, we have made room dividers out of luan hollow core closet doors by either painting or fabric covering them. Since they're the same height as most doorways, that might be a nice way to hide yours without building anything permanent.

Q: Hi, I love your show and never miss it. My question is I painted my walls a light sage green and would like to do a color wash over them. What color would work well over the sage green? And do you ever come to Wisconsin?
Matt: We do come to Wisconsin, usually in February for the Milwaukee Home & Garden Show. We may be there this year.
Shari: And about the washing technique, you have a couple options. White always works or you could try soft neutrals, but if you want to use color stay close to your original hue. You might go into the blue family or slightly into the yellow family since you have a green that should give you the best result. Good luck!

Q: Hi, Shari and Matt. I always watch your program, and I like it very much. I have a question for you, where can I find different varieties of stencils and stamps? I live in Durham, NC. Can you please tell me where to buy them? I will be thankful to you people.
Shari: We always shop at Joann's etc. because they have great stencils and stamps. Or we have ordered them from the back of many design and decorating magazines. OR you could call a local craft store they may be able to give you the name of specific stores.

Q: I'm a new comer to HGTV and my name is Tom. I've been an avid viewer of Room by Room and must say I enjoy the show a great deal.
Shari: That's wonderful!
Matt: Tom, thank you so much! I think you will enjoy many of the programs on HGTV, but don't forget we're on Tuesday nights and Saturday nights.

Q: Hi, Matt and Shari. We want to add to our home a new kitchen and dining room. Who should we contact for design ideas and plans? Thanks!
Matt: Well certainly starting with local architects is a good idea. Most builders now have design centers where you can get a lot of good ideas, or you can even purchase a computer-aided design program and you can design your own.

Q: How do you do the pickling technique? And when painting kitchen cabinets, what kind of sealer do we use?
Matt: Well, we use a pickling stain, and it's so simple--the directions are right on the can. Once you're done you can seal it with a water-based polyurethane that won't yellow. I recommend at least 2 to 3 coats.

Q: I have suspended ceilings with woodtone grids, which I hate, how can I paint them? And do accessories all have to have the same theme? I collect several things and would like to display them throughout my living room and dining rooms, which are adjoined.
Matt: The best way is to remove the panels and lay them flat on a tarp. You can purchase or rent a cup sprayer and spray with a primer first followed by your finished coat. You could roll the paint on but the finish won't look as professional.
Shari: When you display all the same themed items together they have greater impact than when they're mixed with other things. However, if the color and the general feeling are similar they can work used together. I want to make sure you guys understand that decorating is all about personal preference, so even thought I may suggest a thing or two, if you like it, what could be better?

Q: My sister and I copied your white to wonderful kitchen with the Italian/Tuscan theme. The problem is the eating area opens up to the living room area. How can coordinate this room with the eating area without using the same colors as the kitchen. Also, What is the proper way to window treat french doors? And I love your show...watch it faithfully and wish you could come to California and do my whole house!
Shari: We wish we could come to California, too. If you really want the rooms to coordinate, the colors need to be similar that's what ties rooms together. And for your French doors you can use a variety of treatments on just the glass portion of the doors from sheer to shades to small valences. If you prefer a heavier treatment, just make sure it can be stacked far enough off the doors to allow them to work. Hope that helps!

Q: Hi, Matt and Shari. I have marlite paneling in my bathroom. It is bright white, and I want to paint on it from the chair rail to the floor. What do I do to prep the wall to paint, and what kind of paint do I use? I thought maybe of painting it and then wipe it off
Matt: The best thing to do is clean the area with warm water and soap and use a bonding primer followed by your painting technique. The bonding primer is a good primer that will even adhere to glass. I found the type I like to use at Sherwin-Williams

Q: Matt and Shari, are you married to each other? I think you make a great couple.
Shari: We make a great couple of nuts...
Matt: ...because we are not married.

Q: Shari, I saw a show where you made a balloon valance by sewing a strip of small rings along the back of the valance that were gathered in a ring. Can you tell me how to get instructions for that valance?
Shari: Just like most people that sew I use patterns. I don't recall the brand of that pattern but nearly everyone has a balloon shade and the ring tape is very common. You should have no trouble finding the information.

Q: I would like to paint over a formica bathroom countertop. Can this be done and what kind of paint do I use
Matt: Bonding primer is a good starting point. Whatever paint you choose I would suggest that you seal it with polyurethane. And just a word of caution: paint is not as durable as relaminating the counter top.

Q: I have a corner fireplace in my doublewide mobile home living room. Since the walls are done in 80s paneling, I want to paint the "fake" brick a light ivory. Is this a bad or good idea to lighten up the room?
Matt: It's a great idea that fake brick will paint easily with a latex paint
Shari: The more it blends in the wall the larger the room will look.

Q: Matt, you faux painted a wall with chamois pieces. How do you make the corners and edges match?
Matt: That was probably my chamois roller. I stapled chamois to a roller and used a small square of chamois, 4" x 4" and dabbed into the corner where the roller couldn't reach

Q: I mix all types of wood in a room--walnut, oak--is this weird? My daughter says so.
Matt: I think it is wonderful, but Shari is of course going to correct me.
Shari: hahahaha! Certainly combining woods is very popular today, but some woods combine better than others. It's best not to have more than one large-grain wood in a room, but one large-grain blends well with small-closed grain woods--that's just a tip

Q: How did you get your show started? I have an idea for a show and haven't the faintest idea of what to do or who to see. Did you create an outline or something, and to whom did you show it? Again, thanks.
Matt: Find a large cliff... and get ready to take a large leap of faith. We did write a prospectus of the show and presented it to a bazillion people. Luckily, we were able to present it to HGTV years ago, and they believed in us. A good place to start it in you local viewing market. Good luck, and hopefully you won't take our time slot some day!

Q: Hi Shari and Matt. My neighbor remodeled her bathroom with beautiful nautical themed hand-formed tiles , and she gave the leftover tiles to me!! Could I use these in my kitchen instead of the bath--wall tiles, 3 dimensional seashells, sea horses, etc.
Matt: NO, send them go me--they sound cool!
Shari: Of course you can--that would make a lovely kitchen you will feel like you're at the beach all the time.
Matt: Or send them to me.

Q: Any suggestions for updating a tile fireplace?
Matt: They do have tile stencils that you can find in a variety of themes. You don't want to stencil every tile, but an interesting arrangement of random stencils would really be interesting. Tile is a tough product to change, but the stencils will certainly enhance it.

Q: I would like to consider adding some crown molding to my home (dining area and living room combined), but I have a brick wall in my eating area. (Brick finish) Is that too casual for crown molding?
Shari: No, actually that sounds lovely. Maybe keep the design of the molding simple but not too ornate, so that the brick will stand out. Good luck!

Q: Matt, on one of the shows you made a wall out of some kind of board and covered it with material and then you could use it as a bulletin board. What is the name of that board you used? I love your show watch it every show.
Matt: Thanks for watching--that was a fun project. That type of board is called Homasote, available at most lumberyards. The phone # for the Homasote company is 800-257-9491, and the website is homasote.com. Someone there can help you find a local dealer.

Q: My home burned recently, and I hear you refer to work sheets all the time. I don't know where to begin now that I have to start all over. Would this be the best place to start?
Matt: We are so sorry to hear about that, and we hope that everyone is OK.
Shari: Decorating worksheets are a great way to get started with step-by-step instruction, but at the same time, think how exciting it is to start over! Grab all sorts of decorating magazines and just rip out pages of things you like. when you're done, try to figure out why you chose those pictures. And when you have the answer, you're ready to go.

Q: I am interested in buying the tape for the episode about a Colonial Williamsburg redecoration.
Shari: There are no tapes available, but the show number is 413, so keep an eye on hgtv.com for the airdate. You can go to williamsburg.com and you might find the information you need there.

Q: I have a 16 foot stairwell, that looks terrible. I've painted it several times, but it's a nightmare to get that high to paint or keep the cobwebs down. It has two windows, one about two feet from the floor and the other about one foot from the ceiling... Any suggestions?
Matt: As far as keeping it clean, you can purchase an extension poles to which you can attach a feather duster. But sometimes you have to choose your battles, and a large area like that may need to be professionally painted. Why take that kind of risk? There are plenty of bathrooms and kitchens to paint.

Q: How do you remove a painted border paper without damaging the faux paint finish underneath?
Matt: You could use a wallpaper remover that shouldn't harm the painting surface--just make sure to wipe the walls down with warm water.

Q: I have blue carpet (1993) throughout my home. What color of wall would work besides white or off-white?
Matt: Red--then you could be patriotic--especially for the fourth of July.
Shari: OR, check out some of the fabrics in your home. They probably have some blue and some other colors. Pull one of those out to give your room some pizzazz.

Q: Would you put a window treatment over a roman blind?
Shari: I've seen panels of draperies over Roman shades. It's a very pretty layered look--so go ahead.

Q: I have an L-shaped living room with two radiators and 5 windows. Any ideas on how to arrange the furniture?
Shari: with an L-shaped room you need to define separate functional areas. Parts may need to be for games, dining or studying with another area for entertaining or conversation. This may help make furniture arrangement easier, and for more information, find a furniture arrangement online at www.lhj.com--click on link labeled "Arrange-a-Room."

HGTV: Well, everyone, our chat hour has ended. Thanks for joining us today. And thank you, Matt and Shari, for spending your morning with us.

Shari Hiller: Thanks for the great questions! We had so much fun today. Join us next time, and we'll decorate together...
Shari and Matt: Room by Room!
Matt Fox: Don't forget to use sunscreen!