CHALLENGING ARVIN OLANO | Q & A | COLLAB | 2021

Hi guys and welcome back to my channel. If you are new, welcome. My name is Hannah and I'm a mom of muscle. And in today's video, nobody asked, but my good friend Arvin Alano is going to be joining me and we are going to be going over some really fun home decor trends and topics. So if this is something that you're interested in watching, just keep on watching. But if you haven't already, be sure to like, comment and subscribe. Make sure to hit that bell button for every time I upload a video. And if you are already following me on Instagram, be sure to follow me at mom with muscle and be sure to be following Arvin at Arvin Alano on Instagram without further ado, let's get into this video. All right. So Arvin sent me five questions and I sent him five questions and my questions are challenging Arvin on his kind of most recent controversial video on trends that need to go or kind of like stop doing this in your house. So I'm kind of challenging him on those, but my first question for Arvin, which is how would you make or your best advice on making the modern farm style timeless? Cause I feel like modern farm gets a really bad reputation. Totally. And I feel like I talk about it a lot on my channel, not to like be shady or anything like that. I think I'm just trying to actually give advice to how to make it timeless. And I think with the modern farm, you have to listen to the architecture of your home and where you live. Right? Like if you don't live in a farmhouse style, it doesn't make sense for you to have, to me anyway, it doesn't make sense for you to have that style. But if you do live like in a farm style home or traditional home, you can absolutely do modern farmhouse. And I think you want to think about like the 80 20 rule, which when I say rule, it's really just like a guideline, right? So if you live in a modern contemporary home, think about 80% of your furnishings, your decor should be modern, traditional, contemporary, and 20% can be modern farm. So which actually it's what I first gravitated to when I first got into interiors. I was like, I was like modern farm bohemian. So I think it's just about balance, right? Like when something is so themed, I think it becomes kind of like cheapy. Are you talking about like the farmhouse, like the style kitchen and the signs in the, are you talking about that? And like the Magnolia home? Right. Which I, again, kind of gets a bad rep, but I don't hate it. It's just like, not for me. And I think it doesn't make sense to have like all the signs. I think it doesn't take like a genius to be like, okay, I'm in like a modern farm home. And to answer your question, it feels more timeless when it's not like so, you know, kitschy and all over the place. I mean, that's it. That's how you do it. Arvin's turn. Okay. So first question. So for your home, dining table or chairs, which would you invest in and which would you save on and why? Okay. Dining table. Dining table I would invest in because I feel like dining chairs. I feel like the trends are constantly changing. That's an easy thing to change out and change the entire look because as we know, trends are constantly changing, evolving. So I feel like if you bought a staple dining table and maybe went a little bit less expensive on chairs in two or three years, when that style is maybe dated, that's an easy thing to switch out and then change the entire look of the table or the whole collection itself. Absolutely. You are so right. Did I nail that? Yeah. I mean, I totally agree. I think if you get like classic table, especially if it's a wooden table or marble and you're right. Chairs are so trendy. And I think chairs can change the look of a table entirely. Absolutely. You're good to go with the chairs. You can change it up. Okay. I would totally save on chairs too. Yeah. Okay. I'm glad we're on. I'm glad we're right here. I love that. I'm glad we're doing this video. I mean, I feel like this is so easy. Yeah. Good. I'm glad it's easy. We see eye to eye. We see right here. Next question. Okay. Top three items worth spending and investing in your home. So like top three items, like furniture, whatever it might be that you must invest in. I feel like I have a good answer for this one. So first one would be flooring. The difference it makes to a room and the feeling of a room and the warmth that it brings. Money well spent because it's, again, going back to the foundation of your space. If you have a good base, the rest of your room will follow suit. Two, a big ass mirror because we all want that selfie moment. We want to bring in that as much light as possible. And I think when I see a big mirror, I instantly think like, this is a luxury home. This feels luxurious. But a big mirror, you guys, it's like, you know, especially if you're social media, it's iconic. Um, I actually just got a mirror from Hannah. Thank you. By the way. Frickin love it. Um, and that thing is insane. Can I just say, okay. I don't know how, so he bought the Louie guilt mirror and the largest size that they make for our age, which is 10 feet tall. And he drove down from Las Vegas, which I don't know if you guys have kind of put two and two together. I'm in Las Vegas on vacation. Part of my vacation was to visit this beautiful person, but he drove from Vegas to San Diego to come get this mirror. And then they, I don't know how they got it home. It was Hank. Was it hanging at the back of your truck? It was hanging at the back of my truck. I, I actually didn't realize how big it was. Truth be told. I just like, I was like, Oh yeah, 10 foot. Didn't Andrew bring out twine? Did he not? He pulled out twine from the truck to tie it down. Yellow twine from like the craft store. And he was like, yeah, this is going to be great. Oh, I can't that's. But yeah. Big mirror. Third would have to be bedding. So those would be. You guys, if you don't follow me, by the way, I am foolish. I laugh at myself. I love it though. I can't. I'm dead. Yeah. Those are my three. Sorry. I'm just making you laugh. I love it. Okay. Those are my three. I need a drink. Christ. I, we even put the AC down 60 degrees for this guy. I get hot flashes. Do you see my ears? They're turning red. My question is what home decor trend are you sick and tired of seeing and keep it real. Tell me the tea. Okay. First off, if whatever your home style is, which you express this on your channel to whatever your home style is, and that makes you happy. Go for it. Like there is no right or wrong way. Obviously there's trends and people like to stick with the trends and be relevant to the time. But if whatever makes you happy, makes you happy, go for it. But the trend that I'm like really overseeing is studio McGee. I'm sorry. Yes. Okay. Yes. Give me the tea. I just feel like it's very cookie cutter. And I know you could say that with a lot of different trends. I'm sure people could come after RH for that. They could go after Z gallery, pottery barn, all that stuff. But I just feel like it's, there's nothing about her style that, or at least when I see it replicated in people's homes that make it seem like a home. And you've talked about that on your channel as well. Like, I don't know. That's just me. I just feel like it's just very cookie cutter. It's not, there's no personality. It's just. Right. I know. This is good. And it's not, and it's not that I can't appreciate it at all or the design or what they've, what she's done. I just feel like it's just, everybody's doing it right now. And I think I'm going to agree. I'm going to agree. I think because we live in this digital age, I think we talked about this earlier. It's like, we see everything all the time and content is pushed to us all the time. And it's hard not to get inspired by a designer or a certain style. And I think you said it like, you hit it like right on the head. It was like when you try to copy a designer or like a style and just copy it blatantly. It's a copy paste. Copy and paste. I think that's when it becomes like, it's not interesting anymore, right? Like Studio Mickey has her own style, which is awesome. It's amazing. But I think when you, if you want to get inspired by that, like do it in your own way, do it in your own twist. And like. I feel like you could take elements from Shea because obviously she is a very, very talented designer. She has done an incredible job, but taking element. Can you turn off your phone? I know. I'm so rude. Sorry. Taking elements and different design ideas from Shea, but being able to make it your own and making your home, your home and have personality that you've put in it instead of it just being a copy and paste. So no shame out to anybody that loves Studio Mickey or have, have the whole collection from Studio Mickey or the threshold. Obviously I own items. I know you do too, but yeah, that's, that's my tea. Absolutely. I totally agree. That's okay. We got to keep it real. I don't talk to you. My channel. We got to spill a little bit of tea sometime. It's okay. Sound off down below. What do you guys think is a trend that is like kind of, yeah, let us know. Let us know if you agree with Hannah, if you agree with me. Sound off. Let's hear it. Absolutely. Your question. Matchy matchy furniture. Okay. So he talked about this in his video and I was like, it's coming for me because I have matchy matchy in my bedroom. I have the herringbone dresser with the herringbone nightstands for someone that maybe goes into a showroom and they want that. How can you execute a matchy matchy in a tasteful way? Yes. Matchy matchy furniture. I feel like, I think it can be done tastefully. I think when it goes all wrong, when you buy like a set of furniture and then the rest of the room is completely separated from the design of that furniture piece. So for example, your dressers are from RH. So if you were to buy the RH dresser and then you design the room in a mid-century way, I think to me it's, it feels completely disjointed. You want to think about the whole picture and not just the furniture. Take your time. Cause I've been there. Yes. I've been there. Last year I bought, I bought a bunch of sets from Target. From Target. I'll make sure to link those videos down below for you. From Target and Studio McGee, you guys. And even though they were like affordable pieces, it's like. We've all, no, we've all been there. We've all made our like regretful purchases. Right. And at the end you, you, you waste so much more money. Yes. Instead of just buying the one piece that makes you happy, it might be a little bit more than Ashley Furniture. Yeah. But at least you're getting what you wanted. Yes. Um, I think at the end of the day it's like, take your time. And if you like the matchy look, it's fine. But take your time. Make sure it's going to be like, that, that's it. What's the next piece you are buying for your home? This is a good one. Okay. So obviously pregnant with baby number two, her room is almost done. So that will be a video that I'll be bringing for you guys. But we are in the process of our backyard and landscaping. So we actually, my husband and I just went to the restoration Harbor gallery and got a lot of inspiration for outdoor furniture and creating like a beautiful outdoor space. So I think that is going to be the next thing that we are going to be investing in. It's just really good quality outdoor pieces. So yeah, that's going to be the next pieces that we're going to be investing in. All right. Here's another question that I'm challenging you on said, in your opinion, is there a way to style a home? Well, when influenced heavily by a certain brand example, crate and barrel, pottery barn, studio McGee restoration hardware, how can you make it feel homey without it feeling like a showroom? Right. And I think we kind of touched on this earlier is to put your own spin and your own style in it. Like you obviously have the most amazing RH pieces, but like when I see your house, I don't think of a gallery. I think of it's a modern farm. Now why don't you because you actually mix the pieces like going back to your rustic wood piece and then your dining table is like a completely slightly different vibe. It's like you mix the styles well enough to like interpret your modern farm style rather than, okay, this is like an RH showroom. And I think, I think if I see like another RH Duke video, I might like vomit because Shut up! I'm not, no, not, not like, no, no, no, no, no, not like, not, not duping the furniture, but like duping the design room itself. Got it. Like. I'm just about to get out of here. She's like, go. Sorry, I'm leaving. He goes, done. No, no, no. I mean like, I just mean like when you think of the gallery, you know, you know exactly what you see. Right. You'll see the cloud sofa. You might see like the big gilt mirror. You'll see the abstract art. Like those are very RH in design. And I think, I think when you try to dupe a room completely, it's never going to be RH. And I think just not, not to like throw anyone under the bus. I think it's like, if you love the style, I think, yeah, get the sofa, get the mirror and you can, maybe you do have a home that, you know, is very inspired by a gallery. It could be beautiful. I don't know. But to me, it's like, can you do it tastefully? Yes. Put your own spin, make some unexpected changes, maybe get the cloud sofa and like a really crazy table. I don't know. But when you replicate it, when you replicate it, I don't know. I think you said it best. Like put a spin on it. If you're going to do it, put a spin on it. Make it your own. Make it your own style. Make it feel like home. Make it feel like your home. Not just walking into a gallery because even though the gallery was beautiful, it is also very cold. It is. You know? It is. Honestly, it really is. It doesn't feel like people actually live there. It just, it's meant to be like an experience. You're supposed to get inspired. And I feel like that was a lot of word vomit while I was like, if you can only keep one item in your home and the rest you have to start over from scratch, just one item, would you keep? Well, I know which item I would keep. It's hard because nobody knows what it looks like, but you know, it's my new, it's my new dining table. They don't, you guys don't know what it looks like, but I'm this close to being finished with my dining room update. And it was just a P it's either the dining room or the beam console is, those are just pieces that just, I don't know. They warm my heart. They just make me feel whole. I absolutely love them. But yes, I would say my dining table is the one item that, cause it's very unique when you guys see it. It's very different. It's rustic. It's got character. Yeah. And it's all wood, right? It's all wood. Have you seen it? No, I saw it. Yes, I did. I sent you a picture. Did you? Okay. We're going to have to, we're going to have to get a little sneak peek out for this video. I'll show you. So my last question for Arvin, he talked about rugs. If you guys don't know, Arvin is like rug queen, his rug dances, he, I've learned a lot from you when it comes to rugs and purchasing rugs because rugs can be very expensive. Absolutely. He stated something about no ruggables. So, which I hear you, I hear you, but what about, but what about, my question is, what about for the people that have pets or kids and they don't want to invest a bunch of money into it? Like people get ruggable because they can throw it into the wash and clean it. So what's your advice on a rug that's good for cleaning, doesn't break the bank, but still looks luxe. So I feel like in my video, I didn't want to come off like I hated the brand. It's not that. I think I just hate- You were like ruggable. And people were either dying when I did that or they were like, oh my gosh, no, I have like pets and stuff. I think my issue with the rugs is like, it's, it's literally plastic. And if you have issues, again, like an old dog, kids, whatever, I think it's fine. It's cool. I'm not coming for you. But if you don't have any of those things, you don't need a plastic rug. And instead of, you know, spending a lot of money on wool rugs that are super expensive, go for rugs that are made of polypropylene, which is a man-made material. And a lot of different brands actually create power loomed rugs. And what are some rugs brands that you would recommend for someone? So actually, Lalloy and Ruggable have power loomed rugs, and they may be a little bit more expensive online, but girl, you can find them at HomeGoods. What's expensive? I think online, an 8x10 will be like $800, which I feel like it's expensive. But if you go to HomeGoods, you'll find it for $300, $350. I feel like it's standard at HomeGoods, $299, you can find a pretty good power loomed rug. Yeah. Let's have a conversation. I wanted to keep it lighthearted. I didn't want to challenge you on some stuff, but is that all of our questions? I think that was it. Okay. Fun? I had a lot of fun. I hope you guys had fun. We had fun. We spilled some tea. Yeah, we did. I was like, oh, Studio McGee. I knew it. That was good. I was thinking about that last night. I'm like, oh, this is going to be... That's why I'm like, you always say it best in your videos. This is a lighthearted, this is just an opinion. If you love Studio McGee or if you love the things that we already talked about, more power to you. Yeah. Nothing wrong with it. All right, you guys. So we'll end the video here. I hope you guys enjoyed coming along for this kind of, I would just say Q&A with Mr. Arvin Alano. And again, if you guys are not following him, please be sure to go check him out on his channel. He does some pretty amazing and funny lighthearted videos. So yeah, that's it. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. Oh, don't forget to head on over to my video next because we are going to be doing a really fun video for my channel as well. So if you want to laugh and have a great time, I'll see you there. Okay. Bye.