Housing trends you dislike?

[theSurlyMermaid]

We have them. They stay clean. The only part I need to clean periodically is the tiny lip created by the raised border that collects dust. Ours are thermafoil and wipe clean easily if they do end up splattered by something.

We have them throughout our house and I love them far more than traditional wood look ones.

Yes, plus you can easily see where they need a quick wipe down and its not that difficult to take a few minutes to do so.

I’d much rather do that than have a bunch of traditional wood cabinets that are secretly dirty and disgusting but no one can actually see it.

 

[Moliphino]

I've had two houses with closets accessed through the bathroom, both had water closets so one had no door to the bathroom and the other had an optional door that was awkward and better removed..no need for doors in this setup

I lock the door when I'm in the shower, too. And I don't even share my bathroom with anyone else.

 

[DisneyOma]

New single family homes where you can reach out your window and touch your neighbor's house. Just build townhomes already!

Those are the worst! Have you seen how they crammed the McMansions together in Golden Oak? I can't believe people paid an extra $4-5 M to live on Disney property and be that squished in. No privacy whatsoever. There are a few nice mansions for sale in the area that are half the price, 5 times as much space.

Who doesn't use LED lighting in 2022?

We don't. I get sick from the LED lighting at work, so it's nice to come home and not have LED glaring at me.

 

[barkley]

I HATE houses that have the garage at the front of the house. I have no desire for a door from the garage to the house.

i grew up with a detached garage-felt like i hit the big time when our first home had a door i could access from the house. with that home the advantage was the laundry being in the garage (as it was in the home i grew up in)-no more schlepping stuff through the rain with each of our subsequent homes we had devoted laundry rooms but i'm still a fan-

can pull up to/into and stay dry getting groceries out

can put said groceries directly into freezer/extra outside fridge and storage areas (insulated garage)

have direct/dry/lighted access to hvac/electrical panel/water softener/hot water heater/water pressure tank-so no fumbling with a flashlight outside in god knows what kind of weather

UTILITY SAVINGS-when i lived in california the summer temps were norm around 105, where i'm at now we've been in recent days well below zero with wicked wind and snow-opening and closing a door from my home to the outdoors upwards of a dozen times bringing in groceries (kids and assorted kid stuff when mine were younger) has either the heat or the a/c getting sucked outside and my energy costs skyrocketing. i'll stick with my attached garage.

 

[VandVsmama]

And a place where it rains and I like to stay dry getting to my car. I know, you're doing a DOG PILE on me

Agreed. I think we should move on from”OMG I’m offended that you don’t want a detached garage just like mine!”

 

[Moliphino]

I love having a garage attached to the house but rarely park in it. Around here, garages are mostly for storage and I like walking straight out into the garage when I need stuff. A garage at the front of the house is convenient, but it means no windows to the front from a big chunk of your home, which is irritating.

Growing up we always had houses with 2 car garages, but basically never parked in them because they were full of stuff (bikes, snowblower, rakes, shovels, sports equipment, etc.). There was a brief period after moving when we could get one car in, before the garage was overtaken by stuff.
So far, my sister and I are both able to park in our garage and it's lovely to not have to go out in the cold and rain. Plus my car heats up faster because it isn't completely frozen to start with.

I don't mind a garage at the front if it's to the side of the house, like a Cape. I just don't like how it looks when the garage IS the front of the house.

 

[VandVsmama]

Ok, I’ve got one.

I don’t like the trend in some parts of the US where the garage is detached from the rest of the house. Some older neighborhoods in southern CA have this and it’s not something I would want. However, I can’t afford a home in So Cal at all so it’s not like my opinion makes that much of a difference. Haha!

 

[VandVsmama]

I also don’t like the latest trend of people stealing catalytic converters from cars while they’re parked in your own driveway so it’s handy having an attached garage to park the car in. And if somebody tries to break into the garage in the middle of the night, you can hear since…you know…the garage is attached to the house.

 

[barkley]

Ok, I’ve got one.

I don’t like the trend in some parts of the US where the garage is detached from the rest of the house. Some older neighborhoods in southern CA have this and it’s not something I would want. However, I can’t afford a home in So Cal at all so it’s not like my opinion makes that much of a difference. Haha!

i'm not in california but there are plenty of older properties in the the city closest to us that have what i recall as a kid as the southern california set up with the garage down a makeshift driveway from the main house. there's talk that because of the critical housing shortage in our area of changing zoning regulations and allowing people to flip these structures into small single family dwellings to rent.

 

[mrodgers]

New single family homes where you can reach out your window and touch your neighbor's house. Just build townhomes already!

Or just build them normal sized. I never understood why 2 married people with no kids would even want a 5000 sq ft. McMansion. A coworker who didn't ever want kids showed me the house they were building. I could fit 4 of my 3 bedroom houses stacked 2 high in her living room.

 

[mrodgers]

Who doesn't use LED lighting in 2022?

Some has responded and I'll respond in kind. Me. LED bulbs are fantastic for flashlights. Can't stand them for anything else. We replaced all the lights at work (manufacturing) with LED and now I have to use my flashlight all the time just for routine housekeeping work even. I drive blind every morning because I drive a car and don't have LED headlights so it's just a black wall in front of me while every soccer mom who overpaid for their fancy SUV is shining their LED blazing lights into my face at eye level.

I don't like that they rate them as "100W equivalent" based on a machine measuring the brightness of the source. I don't care about your rating, a "100W equivalent" isn't as bright as the old 60W incandescent bulb. I can't find LED light bulbs that are bright enough to see by.

 

[dez1978]

I liv

I have noticed differences in the Midwest (Missouri and Illinois) where fences seem to be less common. Never understood how people with dogs keep them in without a fence.
I live in a subdivision built in 1976 and the backyards are required to be fenced by code. And there are additional fencing requirements if you have a pool.

I'm in Missouri and there are no lack of fences lol. Now there are some stupid HOAs which will only allow picket fences or something like that, no chain link. I live in the country tho so there aren't a lot of fences here for yards. Some people do the invisible fence for their dogs. We did fence in a small section of our 13 acres off the back door so the dogs could go out there bc I am 100% sure my dumb dog would run out thru the electric fence.

 

[mrodgers]

I have noticed differences in the Midwest (Missouri and Illinois) where fences seem to be less common. Never understood how people with dogs keep them in without a fence.
I live in a subdivision built in 1976 and the backyards are required to be fenced by code. And there are additional fencing requirements if you have a pool.

As a responsible dog owner, you train your dog not to go off wandering around.

It would be weird to visit an area and see every yard fenced in. It's claustrophobic enough going into a suburban neighborhood let alone being entrapped in a tiny yard with walls.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I thought of another one, which may have been mentioned upthread.

I HATE houses that have the garage at the front of the house. I have no desire for a door from the garage to the house.

In my area, there were too many homes like that built on small lots. What an eyesore to have the main focus be a garage door. IMO, the designs never should have been allowed, period. I do understand though, that would have meant no garage at all. To anyone that has a bought those homes, I'm sure it was very desirable to have a new home.

 

[barkley]

Or just build them normal sized. I never understood why 2 married people with no kids would even want a 5000 sq ft. McMansion. A coworker who didn't ever want kids showed me the house they were building. I could fit 4 of my 3 bedroom houses stacked 2 high in her living room.

it's similar to the mindset it seems most newbies who buy rural properties have when it comes to their drive to immediately build massive shop structures. i don't get it, spending a fortune on this massive building that inevitably either (1) sits largely empty and unused or (2) they spend an additional fortune filling it with costly equipment they will only use (at best) a handful of times to justify it's existence. if i need the equipment i can rent it and thereby eliminate the cost of a structure, the cost of insuring it along with the cost of increased property taxes.

they do it 'because WE WANT, WE CAN, WE MUST'

 

[mefordis]

Those are the worst! Have you seen how they crammed the McMansions together in Golden Oak? I can't believe people paid an extra $4-5 M to live on Disney property and be that squished in. No privacy whatsoever. There are a few nice mansions for sale in the area that are half the price, 5 times as much space.



We don't. I get sick from the LED lighting at work, so it's nice to come home and not have LED glaring at me.

We stayed at an air B&B in Plano, TX and the houses were super close together but you had total privacy inside the home because the windows facing the houses were very high up, and the yard was a courtyard with high fences and a pool/spa. The house was incredible and had many features being discussed in this thread: HUGE master bathroom, walk in closet attached to master bathroom, multiple eating spaces close together, white kitchen, instructional signs throughout the house (Eat, Gather...).

I'd take this house over ours any day but it would run about 1.6 million in my town. There in Plano I think you could buy it for 700k?

 

[mrodgers]

it's similar to the mindset it seems most newbies who buy rural properties have when it comes to their drive to immediately build massive shop structures. i don't get it, spending a fortune on this massive building that inevitably either (1) sits largely empty and unused or (2) they spend an additional fortune filling it with costly equipment they will only use (at best) a handful of times to justify it's existence. if i need the equipment i can rent it and thereby eliminate the cost of a structure, the cost of insuring it along with the cost of increased property taxes.

they do it 'because WE WANT, WE CAN, WE MUST'

I don't know of anyone like that. People with "massive shop structures" have them because they work in their shops, professionally or for themselves. You can't just run into town and rent a tractor with a plow at 5 am to clear the driveway so you and your wife can get out and get to work. You don't mow rural property with a throw-away lawn tractor. Most of us in the country need a place to work on our cars. Many people have full shop lifts in their garages/shops to lift vehicles up for maintenance. It is far cheaper to own equipment for your property and work on your own vehicle maintenance than running to town and pay piecemeal.

I can change the brakes on 4 vehicles in the time it took me just to drive one vehicle to a shop to pay someone 700% more to change the brakes. (disclaimer: I did not do the monetary calculation, it's just to make a point and in no way to be taken as fact that it cost 700% more. It could be 800% more or it could be 500% more, please don't attack saying that's ridiculous taking every number verbatim as is common behavior.)

 

[barkley]

I don't know of anyone like that. People with "massive shop structures" have them because they work in their shops, professionally or for themselves. You can't just run into town and rent a tractor with a plow at 5 am to clear the driveway so you and your wife can get out and get to work. You don't mow rural property with a throw-away lawn tractor. Most of us in the country need a place to work on our cars. Many people have full shop lifts in their garages/shops to lift vehicles up for maintenance. It is far cheaper to own equipment for your property and work on your own vehicle maintenance than running to town and pay piecemeal.

I can change the brakes on 4 vehicles in the time it took me just to drive one vehicle to a shop to pay someone 700% more to change the brakes. (disclaimer: I did not do the monetary calculation, it's just to make a point and in no way to be taken as fact that it cost 700% more. It could be 800% more or it could be 500% more, please don't attack saying that's ridiculous taking every number verbatim as is common behavior.)

our 4x4 with a plow works fine-fits easily in a small shed or the garage, several neighbors have plows affixed to the front of their vehicles to keep their property/common multi mile non county maintained roads plowed-all of which can fit in garages. no one out here is using shops professionally unless they are breaking the law (not zoned for it), mowing? 10 plus acres is fine with a pull behind dr mower (again-fits in a small shed or garage). not a single shop in my neck of the woods has a full lift in it for vehicle maintenance-this is not rural as in 'home farm' or anything that remotely needs large equipment. minimum 10 acre parcels, largely landscaped with all custom or spec built homes. abandoned heated chicken coops and greenhouses dot the landscape from newbie efforts to 'get back to nature' that are quickly foiled when they realize the cost of maintaining chickens vs. their actual need for eggs (can't give them away-we liken them to growing zucchini in california but you can't doorbell dash leave them on your neighbor's porch ) and that greenhouses take allot more work than just planting and picking.

if people want to spend their money on a shop that's fine. this thread is about housing trends i dislike. i would prefer to see pine trees and more moose and deer vs. ugly waste of space metal shops so it's a trend i dislike.

 

[GAN]

Some has responded and I'll respond in kind. Me. LED bulbs are fantastic for flashlights. Can't stand them for anything else. We replaced all the lights at work (manufacturing) with LED and now I have to use my flashlight all the time just for routine housekeeping work even. I drive blind every morning because I drive a car and don't have LED headlights so it's just a black wall in front of me while every soccer mom who overpaid for their fancy SUV is shining their LED blazing lights into my face at eye level.

I don't like that they rate them as "100W equivalent" based on a machine measuring the brightness of the source. I don't care about your rating, a "100W equivalent" isn't as bright as the old 60W incandescent bulb. I can't find LED light bulbs that are bright enough to see by.

A lot of people either don't like LED or it bothers them in different ways -so that's understandable. I suspect a lot of people said the same thing when Incandescents came out, as change affects people differently. I don't understand the relationship to the lights at work to you using a flashlight to do housework though ...definitely scratching my head on that one. Are you saying the light is too sharp so when you get home to a darker space you can't see? Or they aren't bright enough so your vision is being impacted from strain? Either case, it shouldn't be -but unfortunately many people/businesses switching to LED don't consult a lighting professional to ensure things are done properly.

Regarding LED's not being as bright as incandescents, watt to equivalent watt. That's strange because almost every person would say they are more bright/sharp than incandescent(sharp usually being negative). All I'd suggest there is to buy name recognizable products -a Philips or Sylvania lamp marked "equal to 100W" should appear equal if not brighter in every case ...color sometimes will affect this but like you mentioned, the lumen output is tested as being equal. Warmer(2700K) usually "appears" dimmer that Cooler(4000K).

 

[ronandannette]

Over-the-range combination microwave/hood fans. A miserable invention that's not satisfactory as either a hood fan or a microwave. In my work, these nasty contraptions are amongst the Top 10 of All-Time components that result in complaints and homeowner dissatisfaction.