What's an absolute "No" in your house search?

[Anonymous]

I’m mindful of shared walls where sound varies through easily. I can’t control my neighbors and their issues. I decided a shared wall was not worth the stress. For us we had two apartments/townhomes that involved disrupted sleep for me and my partner. A few times a month, we’d wake and remain awake for hours due to our neighbor’s middle of the night alcoholic discussions/rages/weeping. This plagued us and tapped into my partner’s stressful upbringing. We found it unsettling, worrisome and super depressing.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Family room where the only place to put a TV is over the fireplace.

Hold on - THAT ^^^ is a deal breaker for you?

PP isn't the only one! I HATE TVs over the fireplace. And we watch enough TV that not having someplace else to put it would make this if not a dealbreaker, a real downside.

Lack of sidewalks and/or not walkable would be an actual dealbreaker for me. Walking is my main form of exercise and it's how I decompress, and not being able to step out my door and walk would make me miserable.

+1 hate it! You have to look up so high, it’s uncomfortable. And the TV has to be really small. Plus it looks so tacky.

No it doesn’t. It’s 2021. Ppl watch TV. Big deal

That's the point - I like watching TV and I want the TV to have a good place to go, where it'll be enjoyable to watch. I don't want it to feel like I just stuck it in the only available spot and who cares if it's uncomfortable and ugly there.

We actually live on a busy street - yeah I know - but have a nice quiet room in the back where we have some comfortable couches, and the TV at eye level for when we're sitting on them. I enjoy the privacy of not watching TV in a room in the front of the house - I don't like feeling on display when we're vegging out - and I like that we can look straight ahead, not up, to watch.

I'm sure you get used to staring above the fireplace! I just don't like it, and a house would have to be pretty fantastic for me to get that setup.

I hate it too. And I hate that our recently purchased house has an HDMI port above it. We were able to hide it with a mirror but it was tough to find.

I love a good fireplace and I want the mantle to be seasonally decorated and cozy. A TV does not do that

I think a tv above the fireplace is just about the most god-awful thing ever. Who wants a television to be the focal point of the room? We have a fireplace in our family room and in our living room. They are beautiful. And I keep the mantle decorated as well. Our television is in the family room inside a built in cabinet that closes when we aren’t watching television.

The only people I know who have TV’s over their mantle either a) grew up on TV and truly can’t live without it, therefore it really is the centerpiece of their house or B) don’t care for interior design. There are so many more interesting ways to stage your home but it’s convenient and some people just don’t care.

I guess I'm a bit amused/surprised by the level of hate here, but in fairness it is probably worth pointing out that having a TV over a mantle doesn't mean you can't decorate said mantle. I have a pretty thick fall garland along with candles and a small picture on ours right now with room to spare. We got The Frame TV (with one of the optional decorative frames) and have hidden our sound system along with all the cords so it doesn't take up any space other than the wall.

And while I'll ignore the blanket statement about not carrying about interior design, given it is intentionally judgmental, most folks I know with a TV over the fireplace (including us) don't watch TV that much and the placement likely speaks to that--I personally don't mind looking up slightly when on our couch watching TV, but all the folks on here that complain that such an angle would hurt their neck likely must watch a lot more TV than us.

Anyways, I really do get why some wouldn't like it--but the above take is a bit overblown.

It’s not a diss, it’s true. From a historical standpoint, fireplaces existed as the focal point of the home - it was where the heat came from. Families gathered - still do - around the fireplace. You don’t have to be a designer to know that the first place your eye goes to, directly or not, is to the fireplace. Why you would want to stick a television above one is beyond me, decorated mantle or not. A nice piece or pieces of artwork - which speaks to your personal style and shibui - is what any expert will tell you should anchor your space. For some people I guess that’s their television.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Family room where the only place to put a TV is over the fireplace.

Hold on - THAT ^^^ is a deal breaker for you?

PP isn't the only one! I HATE TVs over the fireplace. And we watch enough TV that not having someplace else to put it would make this if not a dealbreaker, a real downside.

Lack of sidewalks and/or not walkable would be an actual dealbreaker for me. Walking is my main form of exercise and it's how I decompress, and not being able to step out my door and walk would make me miserable.

+1 hate it! You have to look up so high, it’s uncomfortable. And the TV has to be really small. Plus it looks so tacky.

No it doesn’t. It’s 2021. Ppl watch TV. Big deal

That's the point - I like watching TV and I want the TV to have a good place to go, where it'll be enjoyable to watch. I don't want it to feel like I just stuck it in the only available spot and who cares if it's uncomfortable and ugly there.

We actually live on a busy street - yeah I know - but have a nice quiet room in the back where we have some comfortable couches, and the TV at eye level for when we're sitting on them. I enjoy the privacy of not watching TV in a room in the front of the house - I don't like feeling on display when we're vegging out - and I like that we can look straight ahead, not up, to watch.

I'm sure you get used to staring above the fireplace! I just don't like it, and a house would have to be pretty fantastic for me to get that setup.

I hate it too. And I hate that our recently purchased house has an HDMI port above it. We were able to hide it with a mirror but it was tough to find.

I love a good fireplace and I want the mantle to be seasonally decorated and cozy. A TV does not do that

I think a tv above the fireplace is just about the most god-awful thing ever. Who wants a television to be the focal point of the room? We have a fireplace in our family room and in our living room. They are beautiful. And I keep the mantle decorated as well. Our television is in the family room inside a built in cabinet that closes when we aren’t watching television.

The only people I know who have TV’s over their mantle either a) grew up on TV and truly can’t live without it, therefore it really is the centerpiece of their house or B) don’t care for interior design. There are so many more interesting ways to stage your home but it’s convenient and some people just don’t care.

I guess I'm a bit amused/surprised by the level of hate here, but in fairness it is probably worth pointing out that having a TV over a mantle doesn't mean you can't decorate said mantle. I have a pretty thick fall garland along with candles and a small picture on ours right now with room to spare. We got The Frame TV (with one of the optional decorative frames) and have hidden our sound system along with all the cords so it doesn't take up any space other than the wall.

And while I'll ignore the blanket statement about not carrying about interior design, given it is intentionally judgmental, most folks I know with a TV over the fireplace (including us) don't watch TV that much and the placement likely speaks to that--I personally don't mind looking up slightly when on our couch watching TV, but all the folks on here that complain that such an angle would hurt their neck likely must watch a lot more TV than us.

Anyways, I really do get why some wouldn't like it--but the above take is a bit overblown.

It’s not a diss, it’s true. From a historical standpoint, fireplaces existed as the focal point of the home - it was where the heat came from. Families gathered - still do - around the fireplace. You don’t have to be a designer to know that the first place your eye goes to, directly or not, is to the fireplace. Why you would want to stick a television above one is beyond me, decorated mantle or not. A nice piece or pieces of artwork - which speaks to your personal style and shibui - is what any expert will tell you should anchor your space. For some people I guess that’s their television.

This is getting silly. All I have been responding to are claims that you can’t place anything on a mantle if there is a TV over a fireplace—as well as pointing out that there is a bit of a tension in claiming people who have TVs over their fireplace are obsessed with TV when you also recognize another set on here object to the placement because it makes it too uncomfortable to watch TV. Those things don’t jive.

You seem determined to hate on this one aspect of many folks home to a degree that is genuinely a bit odd, so I’ll leave you with this: Any true “expert” will help you make your space work for your family in a practical sense while still making sure it’s as visually pleasing as possible. Any designer who defaults to art over the fireplace, as you suggest, is pretty second rate. In some spaces, a mirror is more pleasing—in others, leaving the space over a mantle bare to highlight brickwork or molding is the best choice (particularly when paired with appropriate accents on the mantle). And yes, if the room demands it, an appropriately spaced, higher end TV (meaning it doesn’t result in a black box dominating a room) may be the right choice for a family.

That said, there are certainly families that don’t give a damn about style and just look at function. And while I may not agree with many of the choices families of that mindset choose, good for them! The only important rule about home design is that it makes the family that lives in the home happy.

[Anonymous]

NP. Here is my list:

- Large tree in backyard, especially close to house. My current house had a gigantic tree in the backyard and I don't want the stress again.
- Sunken living room.
- Busy street.
- No sidewalks.

I also really do not like TVs over fireplaces, but it isn't a total blocker.

[Anonymous]

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The fireplace is in our family room, and is a central gathering area for our family. I happen to really enjoy TV and so does DH, so we have no issue with putting a TV above the mantle. Also there's no other place in the house that will accommodate our 65inch. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I just find it hard to believe this is an actual deal-breaker for anyone. The rest of the house is perfect, location and schools work. But OH NO only place for a TV is above the mantle...sorry it's off our list. That is just crazy talk and nonsensical.

That's great that you and your husband don't mind but it really isn't that crazy or nonsensical. I don't know that it would have a total deal breaker when we were looking but it was definitely a minus. It speaks to general poor layout and design in the house as well.

No it doesn’t “speak” to poor layout. It likely means your home isn’t a new McMansion.

It actually does, but guess we'll have to agree to disagree. And what...? My home is 58 years old and we have no TV over fireplace situations going on.

Is 58 years old supposed to be old? Your house was build in the 70s.

Math not your strong suit? The point was it's definitely no "new McMansion", still no TV over fireplace layout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. Here is my list:

- Large tree in backyard, especially close to house. My current house had a gigantic tree in the backyard and I don't want the stress again.
- Sunken living room.
- Busy street.
- No sidewalks.

I also really do not like TVs over fireplaces, but it isn't a total blocker.

Are you me? Did I write this? Yes to all the things.

[Anonymous]

Burglar bars.

[Anonymous]

NP here. My absolute no ways are:

- Have to drive everywhere
- Busy street
- High crime
- No small, local businesses

[Anonymous]

Not great schools
Lack of access to metro
Lack of sidewalks
Fewer than 2 full baths
Structural issues
Bedrooms that only fit toddler beds

[Anonymous]

I don’t think I have any hard no’s. Everything is a trade off, including price. It’s more like houses are eliminated because I can’t afford to fix what’s wrong with them, or fixing it + purchase price would dramatically exceed the new value, or it can’t be fixed and I don’t think the discount was big enough.

[Anonymous]

Lack of charm
Mediocre-bad local schools
No yard (McMansions on tiny lots)
<2k square feet
No off street parking
Lack of parks/ shared green spaces
Outside beltway

[Anonymous]

No garage = no way. I'm not standing outside at 6am scraping ice off my windows, and I need a convenient place to store my tools.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Just a note for the "no gas" and "island cooktop" people... I used to have those same hard NOs. And then I bought a house with an induction cooktop on the island. It was AMAZING. I thought I would hate it, but I loved it. And now I have gas again and really miss my induction.

I'm with you, we're about to move, and hope it's the last I ever own a gas stove. Induction is great, island or no.

I do a lot of cooking in a wok. Induction is a non-starter for me.

That’s a cheap fix.

[Anonymous]

Homes without mature trees. I prefer to be on a hill looking at beautiful trees. My shoulders softened just typing that.

[Anonymous]

You do know prior owner takes TV with him.