We are known for the most beautiful homes on the block – here's who we call to help us maintain the homes and yards we love.
Favorite place to buy window treatments
Winner: Budget Blinds, Birmingham
Runners-up: The Blind Spot, Southfield
Come on out of that closet but cover those windows! Just remember, don't judge anyone else, even if you live in a glass house!
Favorite landscape artist, lawn service provider
Winner: Gee Farms, Stockbridge
Runners-up: Urban Scapes, Royal Oak
Studies show that LGBT people spend more on their beautiful yards than any other group of people. Is the gay gene really the green thumb gene? Many nominees here and the race was close but many of our readers like the longish drive for the fantastic selection at Gee Farms. Wake up and smell the roses!
Favorite plumber
Winner: Triangle Plumbing, Ann Arbor
Runners-up: B&L Plumbing, Royal Oak
You don't give it a lot of thought until it doesn't work – then it means everything. These are the men of water that we call in an emergency, and who come to the rescue. It's always good to have a friend with a pipe wrench!
Favorite place to find carpeting/flooring
Winner: Woods of the World, Birmingham
Runners-up: J&R Flooring, Farmington
What's below the shoes matters, and we aren't afraid to spend the big bucks for the best in flooring for our homes. Wood floors and exquisite carpeting makes the home, and we know all about the best in home styles.
Favorite store to buy home furnishings
Winner: Ikea, Chicago
Runner-up: Art Van, multiple locations
Although the closest locations are in Toronto and Chicago, ever-stylish and affordable Ikea garnered the most votes. Sure, many of us have spent wads of cash at Art Van, but did you know that its owner is rumored to be a major supporter of contributor to a certain Republican president of the United States? Not that there's anything wrong with that…
Favorite store to buy unique furniture items
Winner: Ital Moda, Royal Oak
Runner-up: Jules Furniture, Ann Arbor
Finding that special, one-of-a-kind piece can be like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack. Our readers have found a few special places to get that oh-so-special sofa or table.
Favorite store to buy antiques
Winner: Silver Quill Antiques, Warren
Runner-up: Antiques on Main, Royal Oak
Exquisite antiques are in so many homes of LGBT people that it's almost a clichŽ. They're beautiful and rare, and so are the people who buy them.
Favorite gallery to buy a painting
Winner: Avenue, Birmingham
Runner-up: Revolution, Ferndale
The visual arts reflect our lives and loves, and without LGBT customers there would be no art galleries! We've all been in the homes that look like museums, and it usually sets off the gaydar – right?
Favorite gallery to buy glass artwork
Winner: Ariana Gallery, Royal Oak
Runner-up: Penniman Gallery, Plymouth
There are beautiful glass renditions of just about every imaginable subject – some wonderful and some hideous. These are the best and most discriminating, according to the sense of our readers. Take their advice! They've screened it already.
Favorite store to buy hardware/garden supplies
Winner: Home Depot
Runner-up: Lowes
Homo Depot… er, that is…Home Depot again takes first place with 51 percent of the vote! No surprise there, eh? And three times as many people voted for Royal Oak's best-kept secret, Frentz Hardware, this year than last. (Okay, so they got only three votes, but that's where die-hard hardware aficionados shop!)
