DBTFH: Placemats

Here is another question.  Why would someone buy non-washable placemats?

You know what I am talking about.  The bamboo placemats with all those little crevices just waiting for gunk.  Or fancy cloth placemats that can't be washed.  This is the penultimate example of form over function.  Isn't it?  I did a very brief search of placemat history and I can't figure out where they originated from.  I assume it was to protect the table from food and scratches, you know, when they used to build things to last so we took care of them.  So if my assumption is correct then the placemat is designed to catch food spills, so shouldn't it be washable? 

Down with non-washable placemats!!!

DBTFH: Halogen lights over your mirrors

Oh my goodness.  Never, never, never do this.  By "this" I mean put halogen lights over or pointing at your mirrors.  That is unless you like perpetually dirty looking mirrors.

Mirrors are not perfect.  They have imperfections, especially low-quality mirrors.  They are cloudy, sometimes scratched, marred.  You often can't tell unless you have a halogen light pointing directly at them.  The worst part is when you try to clean the halogen-lit mirror.  Every little fibre from your cloth shows up, every little smudge - spray as much cleaner as you want, nothing helps.

This again reinforces my point that many designers don't think about maintenance during the design phase.

Don't buy these for your home...