Is this the fate of all trendy, builder-grade homes?

[Anonymous]

I get you, OP. All trendy houses go through a 30-40 year period of looking ugly before they look “vintage”. Imagine an amazing 70s kitchen with lots of plants, brown tile, etc. It was out for years, but is now considered cute again.

We went for a late 80s colonial, and while it’s not up to date, it’s basically past its hideous phase and is well on its way to looking vintage.

[Anonymous]

Most kitchens date themselves within a ten year range, whether it's the cabinet door style, lighting, appliances, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boss lives in a Dan Ryan house and HATES it. Still a 500k house in a MCOL area. No insulation and cheap finishes galore.

These houses do not age well.

Yup. Look at the new houses in Pimmit Hills.

[Anonymous]

I agree about the farmhouses but I have lived in a 90 year old house and I would take the 7 year old house without question. Both can be updated nicely, why do you have to tear the other down? They just haven't gotten around to updating (which we can all take our time doing!). I usually scroll past both of these styes of home but I could make it work if needed. I'd take a black and white farmhouse and go eclectic inside with bold colors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a home that was built by a developer in 2013, and it doesn't look dated. It has white marble counters in the kitchen and bathrooms, hardwoods (dark finish but a neutral brown - not cherry or blonde) throughout the house (white tile in the bathrooms), and brushed nickel hardware throughout. Stainless steel appliances. Cabinets are white shaker style. All of this was the developers choice and it's fine. We've done things like replaced most of the light fixtures (what was hear was all super modern looking but cheap, like probably whatever they could get in bulk, and we've replaced with more classic lighting. We've painted throughout, done some wallpaper in the foyer. I think we could sell tomorrow and the only thing in our house that looks a little dated to me is the backsplash in the kitchen, but due to the design of the kitchen it's only a relatively small area and it doesn't look awful (neutral tone small mosaic tile with some color variation), just probably not what someone would pick in 2023.

What I see in other developer-built houses that I am glad we sought to avoid when we bought: any kind of sliding "barn door", vessel sinks anywhere including powder rooms, engineered hardwoods in gray or very light finishes, trendy flooring patterns, super modern details like floating stairs. Some of that stuff looks good in a home that is thoughtfully designed to the taste of a specific homeowner (I've seen some nice herringbone flooring, for instance) but it's too aggressive of a design choice for a developer to choose and, since they will go with builder grade everything, is likely to look bad quickly.

Yep, this. Don't do blonde or white or grey hardwood floors, do classic neutral brown stain. No barn doors, shiplap, fad countertops, etc. This is all design choices.

As far as the construction itself, that really depends on the builder, the materials and the craftsmanship. Posters here lump together all new builds as awful - but almost everything about modern quality construction is vastly superior to methods from 100-120 years ago. The key is quality materials and labor. I'd absolutely take that over an older home without hesitation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend moved into a brand new build in 2016. It was so trendy and in style, I remember being so envious.

She recently informed me she’s moving back home and put her house up for sale. Nosily, I went in search of the listing on Zillow and I was in SHOCK by how dated everything looked, and it’s only been 7 years!

We live in a nearly 100yo home that we classically updated in a transitional style back in 2009, and I’m blown away by the comparison. Those cheap builder-grade on-trend elements just don’t age well. What a shame!

I’m just trying to imagine all the modern farm houses and those black and white shiplap-style houses in ten years.

cool story. You know those "trendy" things that make farmhouse are just veneer and can be changed easily, with less effort and cost than rehabbing a 100-year-old shi!shack. In fact you admit yourself that the 100 year old shi!tshack needed rehabbing which includes core systems, building code, and you can't change things like ceiling heights, waterproofing, layouts as easily

I'll take a 1920s sh!tstack that has 100 years worth of maintenance and upgrades over a 7 year old builder grade home

All day long.

New build is absolute garbage.

[Anonymous]

Unless you can afford a reputable builder in $3 million or up range, its not worth buying a new build. I would rather buy a sturdy older home and remodel it to match my needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend moved into a brand new build in 2016. It was so trendy and in style, I remember being so envious.

She recently informed me she’s moving back home and put her house up for sale. Nosily, I went in search of the listing on Zillow and I was in SHOCK by how dated everything looked, and it’s only been 7 years!

We live in a nearly 100yo home that we classically updated in a transitional style back in 2009, and I’m blown away by the comparison. Those cheap builder-grade on-trend elements just don’t age well. What a shame!

I’m just trying to imagine all the modern farm houses and those black and white shiplap-style houses in ten years.

Trying to make yourself feel good today - at expense of your dear friend...get a life. There are pluses and minuses to all situations...im certain your OLD home has some issue...no?

[Anonymous]

Post some pictured

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend moved into a brand new build in 2016. It was so trendy and in style, I remember being so envious.

She recently informed me she’s moving back home and put her house up for sale. Nosily, I went in search of the listing on Zillow and I was in SHOCK by how dated everything looked, and it’s only been 7 years!

We live in a nearly 100yo home that we classically updated in a transitional style back in 2009, and I’m blown away by the comparison. Those cheap builder-grade on-trend elements just don’t age well. What a shame!

I’m just trying to imagine all the modern farm houses and those black and white shiplap-style houses in ten years.

Trying to make yourself feel good today - at expense of your dear friend...get a life. There are pluses and minuses to all situations...im certain your OLD home has some issue...no?

Indeed, post some pictures, then everyone will have a better idea what you are trying to say.

[Anonymous]

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen such a truly transparent, petty, jealousy-induced post on here. People who lack any self awareness are so entertaining. Well done OP, keep it up!

[Anonymous]

Maybe they made questionable choices 7 years ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend moved into a brand new build in 2016. It was so trendy and in style, I remember being so envious.

She recently informed me she’s moving back home and put her house up for sale. Nosily, I went in search of the listing on Zillow and I was in SHOCK by how dated everything looked, and it’s only been 7 years!

We live in a nearly 100yo home that we classically updated in a transitional style back in 2009, and I’m blown away by the comparison. Those cheap builder-grade on-trend elements just don’t age well. What a shame!

I’m just trying to imagine all the modern farm houses and those black and white shiplap-style houses in ten years.

Trying to make yourself feel good today - at expense of your dear friend...get a life. There are pluses and minuses to all situations...im certain your OLD home has some issue...no?

This OP. What gives? Your "What a shame!" line hit me as catty. You can be better than this.

[Anonymous]

I updated my house myself in 2016. I’m already tearing out my backsplash. What a mistake.

Other fixes are harder, like my medium cool grey cabinets…

[Anonymous]

This is a pretty aggressive thread for a home design comment.