What house trends do you hate?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My pet peeve is obviously expensive houses with stupidly laid out kitchens. Whoever built them paid zero effort to understanding how people actually cook. The sad thing is that it would not have been more expensive to put in the kitchen that would actually work. It's like they learned three things that they insist on implementing no matter what. "Sink must be by the window!" and by god, it will be by the window even if it makes the REST of the kitchen close to unusable. So sad.

Yes. This is the worst.

A friend of ours has a beautiful house that’s around 3500 sqf The kitchen is big but it’s layed out so terribly that they have less counter space than our much smaller house. It’s shocking how poorly planned some new constructions are.

Yes! Just saw a house that sold for over 9 million in another state and you have to walk around a huge kitchen island to get from the stove to the main sink (which is under a window, of course). There is a tiny bartenders sink on the island and that's it.

Our neighbors just built a beautiful and obviously expensive house. The kitchen is big and white but SO badly laid out. It's a U shape with a square island. The sink, of course, is on the perimeter by the window. The fridge is across the island from the sink, so the poor lady has to walk around the island to get to the sink. But that's not all. On the island across from the sink, there are cutouts for the bar stools. Across from the sink!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Busy patterned back splashes......makes my brain hurt and dates a kitchen....

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you don't like gray walls, then what color would you suggest instead? Doesn't it pretty much have to be either beige or gray for much of the home?

Why would it have to be those colors? There's a whole spectrum out there - what do *you* like?

But you need to have a neutral backdrop for most of the house, right? Or are you the one who paints the dining room red and the living room blue and the kitchen green?

If you don't like gray, then what color do you like to see in homes?

I do like gray! In fact, I just repainted the formal living/dining room (and the damn ceilings) -- previously they were a dusty green kind of like scrubs. Yes, the ceiling was green too. I painted that white and the walls gray.

Heh, well, if you LIKE grey then use it! Yes, we have a more colorful house. We painted one room a sort of whitish grey and I wish we'd painted that one something more cheerful, too. Our style is more tropical/eclectic than Pottery Barn so we weren't looking for a neutral backdrop. I think there are options beyond our bright tropical colors and plain grey, though - there are other more neutral colors you could use if you wanted.

But it's not like the builder can read your mind, can he. Bright colors are great but they are pretty taste specific. So builders put in neutral colors that appeal to the majority or at least don't interfere with individual taste. You can always repaint once you bought.

I find it strange that some builders don't offer the option to paint different colours. Seems like easy up charge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate the trend of pretending you like small rooms, rooms with no flow, and houses that smell like old people and cats.

AMEN!!!!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Easily fixable, but nothing makes me giggle more than McMansions with two big pointy topiaries in huge urns in front, framing the door.

Usually the McMansions are "Italianate."

Wow, do you say that about other countries? That's racist.

Interesting.

NP. Yes, Italianate architecture is very interesting. Go troll elsewhere.

I believe PP is referring to the Tuscan look that was popular in the 1990’s . Those houses did not age well.

The previous commenter was responding to the "racist" comment regarding the reference to Italianate architecture.

[Anonymous]

Vessel sinks. I hate them and they're so impractical. As a short person, I have to lift my arms way over the bowl. Also, my kids would need a ladder to use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My pet peeve is obviously expensive houses with stupidly laid out kitchens. Whoever built them paid zero effort to understanding how people actually cook. The sad thing is that it would not have been more expensive to put in the kitchen that would actually work. It's like they learned three things that they insist on implementing no matter what. "Sink must be by the window!" and by god, it will be by the window even if it makes the REST of the kitchen close to unusable. So sad.

Yes. This is the worst.

A friend of ours has a beautiful house that’s around 3500 sqf The kitchen is big but it’s layed out so terribly that they have less counter space than our much smaller house. It’s shocking how poorly planned some new constructions are.

Yes! Just saw a house that sold for over 9 million in another state and you have to walk around a huge kitchen island to get from the stove to the main sink (which is under a window, of course). There is a tiny bartenders sink on the island and that's it.

Our neighbors just built a beautiful and obviously expensive house. The kitchen is big and white but SO badly laid out. It's a U shape with a square island. The sink, of course, is on the perimeter by the window. The fridge is across the island from the sink, so the poor lady has to walk around the island to get to the sink. But that's not all. On the island across from the sink, there are cutouts for the bar stools. Across from the sink!!!!!!

Very few people actually sit at those barstools. My kids are not going to sit still long enough and if they did, they would use a more comfortable chair at the table. Maybe if I host a big dinner someone would sit there, but I don't really like people hovering when I cook.

[Anonymous]

Do you all think this style of architecture is beautiful?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:White kitchens. Timeless? Nope. Sterile and Trendy.

Totally disagree! I was in one in Chevy Chase this weekend, fabulous! It is absolutely timeless if done in a high end manor which would include the wolf range in this particular kitchen. So jealous!

Wolf Range...trendy, too.

Jealous much?

Just stating the obvious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you all think this style of architecture is beautiful?

Very Jersey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: cooktops on islands

First, the venting never works well, and it’s so awkward to make things like soups and curry or stews. Fried stuff is also difficult. Maybe it works for people who only eat frozen pizza but I need to be able to cook! I like a range hood that vents outside and a cooktop that backs to a wall.

Absolutely. Cooktops on islands are an abomination.

Also I have seen some with no vent and I’m like...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Houses with blue siding. I just don’t like blue for the outside of a house. Stop it.

I agree.

And gray everything on the inside.

Awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My pet peeve is obviously expensive houses with stupidly laid out kitchens. Whoever built them paid zero effort to understanding how people actually cook. The sad thing is that it would not have been more expensive to put in the kitchen that would actually work. It's like they learned three things that they insist on implementing no matter what. "Sink must be by the window!" and by god, it will be by the window even if it makes the REST of the kitchen close to unusable. So sad.

Yes. This is the worst.

A friend of ours has a beautiful house that’s around 3500 sqf The kitchen is big but it’s layed out so terribly that they have less counter space than our much smaller house. It’s shocking how poorly planned some new constructions are.

Yes! Just saw a house that sold for over 9 million in another state and you have to walk around a huge kitchen island to get from the stove to the main sink (which is under a window, of course). There is a tiny bartenders sink on the island and that's it.

Our neighbors just built a beautiful and obviously expensive house. The kitchen is big and white but SO badly laid out. It's a U shape with a square island. The sink, of course, is on the perimeter by the window. The fridge is across the island from the sink, so the poor lady has to walk around the island to get to the sink. But that's not all. On the island across from the sink, there are cutouts for the bar stools. Across from the sink!!!!!!

Very few people actually sit at those barstools. My kids are not going to sit still long enough and if they did, they would use a more comfortable chair at the table. Maybe if I host a big dinner someone would sit there, but I don't really like people hovering when I cook.

Maybe I didn't describe it well. Imagine a sink at the perimeter and an island across from the sink. The barstool cutouts are directly across from the sink. So the person sitting at these barstools will have their back to the person at the sink. The busiest place in the kitchen!!!!

The barstools in my kitchen are at the opposite side of the island. They get a lot of use. It doesn't feel like hovering because they are separated from the cook by like eight feet of space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't like gray walls, then what color would you suggest instead? Doesn't it pretty much have to be either beige or gray for much of the home?

We have all different colors in our house and no gray. A warm green in our entry room, a grayish-blue in kitchen, office, and my son’s room (we use colors we like multiple places!), soft gold in family & dining room, tan on stairs and in hall, light green in hall bathroom and my daughters room, sky blue in master bedroom, and a cream color in the basement. I love varied color on my walls - each one chosen to go with my decor and our moods. Bright and sunny in our living space, cool and relaxing in our bedrooms, bright but neutral in the basement where there is less natural light.

Gray or any color in every room of the house seems crazy to me and/or very unimaginative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate front loading garages with a passion. I would never buy a house with one.

I hate the "modern farmhouse" trend. Classic farmhouses are nice but I'm talking about the McMansions that are built to resemble one but don't quite make it. Hope that trend dies out soon.

For instance I think these are so fugly:





I don't mind white kitchens but I hope the white on white on white trend everywhere else dies out soon.

+1

Yes to all of this.

We've used white and gray for decades, it's always a beautiful combination. Cream is also nice. Kitchens shall be white or need to be remodeled every 8 years. Craftsman is the best style to stay timeless because it bridges the gap between farmhouse and colonial. Sears homes and Massachusetts is the Craftsman and it's 100s of years old.