Irrational things that turn you off about a house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No overhead lighting in upstairs rooms/bedrooms. Everytime I read that decorators think bedrooms shouldn't have overhead lights because they need softer light from stand-alone lamps I get mad.

One of the reasons I bought a new build house is so I could get all the lighting exactly right. I looked at about 40 existing houses before giving up (real estate price peak and modest budget in mainly older neighborhoods outside DMV).

We are immigrants and the no overhead lights in bedrooms and other areas of the house was extremely disconcerting to us. We have installed overhead lights in all rooms with dimmers. In the bedrooms, we have the light switches at the door as well next to our beds so that we can turn them off from next to bed also. Sure, we still have lamps but they are more akin to mood lights. I like layers of lights everywhere in the house and I can make the room brightly or dimly lit based on my needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There must be a real vent (to the outside) above the stovetop.

We got this put in our kitchen.

[Anonymous]

I irrationally hate bars in houses, just seems like wasted space to me.

[Anonymous]

Houses in a development with an open backyard backing up right to the main road. I'd feel so exposed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't someone going to complain about "aggressive" staircases? That's my favorite bananas DCUM complaint.

Anyway, I was going to say that like a PP, all my complaints are rational, and then I remembered my burning hostility toward plantation shutters. Easy enough to take down, but they're so distracting.

So far I think everything listed makes sense. And I agree plenty of people don't like plantation shutters. But I love them and hate curtains, unless they are beautifully done window treatments--and those are gigantically expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Houses in a development with an open backyard backing up right to the main road. I'd feel so exposed.

We looked at a house on a lot that was long and deep. The whole side of the house was on the main road, including the "backyard". Felt weird that it was on the main road. And it was a flip, and they put the front door on the main door--fine, except now you have the backyard next to the house, all on main road. Beautiful house, though, and sold instantly. Drive by now and you see the big kids play station.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No overhead lighting in upstairs rooms/bedrooms. Everytime I read that decorators think bedrooms shouldn't have overhead lights because they need softer light from stand-alone lamps I get mad.

One of the reasons I bought a new build house is so I could get all the lighting exactly right. I looked at about 40 existing houses before giving up (real estate price peak and modest budget in mainly older neighborhoods outside DMV).

You can put it in. We did.

PP. It's expensive. I wanted a move-in ready house. Went new-build. Even there I had to watch to make sure they put lights in logical places (can lights, centering of dining room chandelier). Overhead lighting was not the main reason we went new-build. It was an irrational preference according to many.

[Anonymous]

Corner fireplaces. I would rather have no fireplace than one in a corner. It makes for an awkward furniture arrangement.

[Anonymous]

This is extremely common in new builds now, but no ceiling fans in the bedrooms. I need air circulation in the summer, I don't care how unstylish it is.

[Anonymous]

Carpet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate massive master suites. It doesn't need to be 2/3 of the bedroom space. It just needs to hold my bed and a couple of dressers. A nice closet and reasonable bathroom are good. It doesn't need to be 3000 sq ft. So wasteful.

+1
We have a massive master suite (D R Horton home). We converted it into a shared bedroom, study room, playroom and lounge area for our two kids. It also had a dual walk-in closet and a massive bathroom.

[Anonymous]

Those rodent bait boxes outside the perimeter of a house. Any house can have rodents— but I don’t want to be reminded of that when I tour a place.

[Anonymous]

I hate all wall to wall carpet. It's a filthy rag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate all wall to wall carpet. It's a filthy rag.

I love wall to wall carpet but my dust allergies disagree. When we moved into our current house, we replaced the wall to wall carpet (which was bedrooms only) with hardwood. It wasn't expensive to do, about $2k tops.

We also put in ceiling fans.

Ironically the house does have overhead lighting but it's recessed lighting, which I have come to hate. Too dim! I want to be able to see what I am cooking or reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stovetops in the kitchen island. They don’t seem practical at all.

I don’t like this either. Not sure if deal breaker, but I don’t like to.