To hate the removing of character from old houses?

[Mushrooms0up]

I probably am being unreasonable as it doesn’t actually have anything to do with me. But there is a gorgeous house near where I live on a private road which came up for sale a while ago. It needed a bit of TLC but looked like a lovely, lived in family house.

It’s just come back on market for a lot more money, and I’m so sad at what’s been done. The marble tiled flooring just doesn’t match the house and the character and it just seems so sterile :(
If you like that kind of look why buy a period property? What do you all think?

Here’s the before:

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=73256386&sale=91032045&country=england

And after: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118542002#/?channel=RES_BUY

Just looked at these..... I quite agree OP. What a dreadful shame! The original house was lovely, the sort of place I'd buy myself (although not on the corner of a road, I have to admit). The 'update' is utterly dreadful, truly ruined. Horrible.

I’ma big fan of Victorian buildings and modern white spacious boxes, but what they’ve done to that house is vile.

Wow, so much money to make something look cheaper and nastier.

Can't believe they got rid of PARQUET.

Absolutely moronic.

Owch that actually hurts to look at. That poor old house.

The first listing doesn't blow me away though I agree it could've been decorated to accentuate the fireplace, flooring etc where there are remaining features.

The update is truly vile.

It strangely looks SO much smaller too!!

Grey is the magnolia of the 2010s. 🤮 So depressing.

If I had bought the house I would have kept the parquet flooring and the garden as it was. The colours were OOD so maybe some whites, pale blues, yellows (I like colour) bung in some modern furniture, perhaps stick in a new suite in the bathroom but not much else. I would have kept the fireplaces cornices etc they were beautiful. How it is now is criminally bad.

Totally agree OP. I’d buy the first house, I wouldn’t look twice at the 2nd version. Awful and tasteless.

I always said if I win the lottery I’d buy a big old farmhouse - one that hadn’t been “renovated”

It wasn't anything special before but at least it was home-like. I don't like having tiled floor everywhere downstairs or all the lighting being spots. We have some spots in our house, but generally only in small areas that needed the light or to give more light around the edges of a room with a central fitting but I don't like having them everywhere. And I don't like the '90% grey' thing either.

Old garden was nicer too - really don't like the fake turf.

I dare say that will be some that like it but I think it is hideous.

This is horrendous! That beautiful library room from the first set of pics — gone. The shiny open plan kitchen business is awful. I agree, if someone hate period features enough to do that why not just buy a new build? Once someone’s done that much of a number on a period property there’s no going back either. If you tried to restore it you’d just end up with something really ersatz. Agree with whoever it was that pointed out what a waste of resources this is too. Depressing.

Gosh, it’s horrific!

YANBU, OP. They’ve ruined it.

Oh dear god. that's horrendous.

I can't understand why you'd rip out those original features to replace it with all that shiny grey.

It's gone from homely and cosy to a soulless grey shining monstrosity

Not quite enough grey. ,

Oh that’s horrible and such a shame.

My pet hate is twentieth century houses having the features ripped out, there’s some amazing individual modernist or say Art Deco houses that are totally wrecked and not many people seem to value them. We’ll barely have any left in any kind of original state soon.

That is horrific. They have ruined that house.

Why on earth would you buy a period property with character and do that to it? Just buy a new build or build your own. Awful, awful taste.

@Ericaceae

I agree with the PP that said there aren't many original features left in the first set of pictures either, apart from a few bits of cornicing, debatably original ceiling roses, and the fireplaces. Sad the fireplaces went right enough. In the first link it had a modern-for-its-time kitchen and bathrooms - they were not exactly in keeping either, and those bathroom tiles were frankly hideous. Ime things like "lovely original floors" can look great in pictures, but cost £££ to do properly when you're dealing with the reality of panels cut out for retrofitted wiring and pipes, holes made for radiators, wet rot, dry rot, gappy boards, squeaky boards, springy boards... you've got to make a choice on what's worth trying to keep. All of the houses on our street are 110-115 years old and they've all evolved in different ways due to the families who have been in them. We've all got different bits and pieces of what was there before, but you need to get a practical balance that a modern family can use, heat and enjoy.

Probably the most balanced and sensible response here. Different people have different tastes. They did what worked for their family and their tastes. I agree it looks sterile, but at the same time it does look bigger and cleaner. I own a house full of period features and it’s a pain in the arse. The fireplaces are freezing and need replacing. The original flooring needs replacing. The cornicing needs care and upkeep. And it’s all bloody expensive and cold. The fireplaces are super awkward as well. I’m doing it up sympathetically but I do have days when I wish I could rip out a room and refurbish it to make it look big and modern without it costing the earth.

When I click on the before link, it just goes to the rightmove home page! I can only see the soulless grey monstrosity! Please can someone try posting the before link again?

No such thing as an affordable house in Didsbury these days due to ‘flips’ like this. I’d almost say a flip was worth it if they’d updated with character, but this is horrific.

I loved how cosy and inviting it looked before. I'm not a big fan of open plan and minimalist but I guess lots of other people are.

That's really ugly. I'm hoping the grave in the corner of the 'garden' is actually a water feature

Maybe it was where they wanted to live, the size they wanted and the price they could afford.

They had it 6 months and flipped it. I'm not a fan of all the grey carpets but apart from the fireplace (which might be boxed in, it's hard to tell) they haven't removed any period features, there is still coving and picture rails. I would think the parquet might not have been original, usually that was reserved for entrance halls and main rooms and the original layout had already been messed with a lot. If the previous owners bought it in 1997 it looks like they have done bugger all work on it since they bought it, the decoration looked quite 80s which means that there may well have been big issues hidden behind the very dated decor.

I think it looks much better after but My mum loved that old look in her house and grew up bored of it, I like modern looking houses and would be the kind of person to ‘ruin’ an old house.

I’m more shocked by how much is was in 1997 to what it is now 😭😭

It’s not the worst I have seen but the hallway is definitely out of character. They should have gone for ceramic patterned tiles smh.

I watched an episode of homes under the hammer once where someone was renovating a cottage from the late 1800s. They put in a black and white kitchen with sparkly worktops and red LED lighting under the cabinets 🤢