To think these houses will soon look dated?

[OutForBreakfast]

Our neighbour has a detached 1930s red brick house that he slapped grey rendering over, outside uplighters, plantation shutters and grey pvc windows.
AIBU for thinking this will be the avocado baths of the future that many people dislike?

I'm in Scotland so plain red brick is weird to us .
I'm used to render but I guess if it's unusual and stands out it's strange

That's awful, @KimberleyClark . I love those original 30s windows, although I suppose they're single glazed and need more upkeep.

As pp have said, it's not the render that's the problem. It's the dark grey.

I have also often wondered why some people like their homes to look like prisons.

The house my parents bought in the 80's had been rendered grey over red bricks. I guess they were already of their time! Such a shame as the house next-door was left as brick and was much nicer.

I totally agree and often think this about the rear extensions with crittal or bi fold doors & the kitchen island..

This. We got our windows replaced last year and were seriously considering grey. I like the look but in 5 years or so when we'll probably want to move it'll be the equivalent of the orange "oak" effect that looks so awful now.

We went with boring but safe white.

They've also ripped out the beautiful wooden front door and put an ugly grey one on with a massive vertical metal bar on as some sort of mad handle.

DH and I call these fridge doors.

They're spreading like wildfire on the 1930s houses around us (along with the obligatory grey render, windows and paving) and look ridiculous with the Tudorbethan gables!

We deliberately didn’t render our house. Even in white it looks a bit naff, the other houses in my streeet all have it done. We just planted a ton of hedging around the front and grew a massive wisteria over the house . Looks fabulous, softened and cosy.

Well it's always possible to change the colour. Plantation shutters have been popular for the last 20 years, so seem here to stay.

@HipTightOnions - fridge doors! That's exactly right! So ugly.

We’re going to render our 1930s single brick walls too, but solely for energy efficiency purposes. The walls are really, really cold.

Maybe people will see the render in a more positive light when they understand the huge impact it makes in terms of insulation.

Yes! There is an lovely 1920s house so suburban with an Edwardian twist that I jog past and has been so sad watching it Iver the past few months have beautiful stained glass windows and wooden front door replaced by big standard anonymous grey UPVC ones.....and al the brick work rendered.

Surely the rendering can't be good for damp can it?

The rendering/solid wall insulation doesn’t cause damp if there is proper ventilation in the house. It’s important to get that right though.

mondaytosunday, DS2 lives in a smart part of London and says if you want plantation shutters there are plenty to be found in skips. Not here to stay, thank God.

I really don't get this everything grey obsession these days it looks so dull and boring, grey fence panels, doors & windows even walls on some houses plus the inside of the house is entirely grey. yes it will definitely date. I much prefer white or brown window frames that won't date but that's just my preference.

Yeah, I agree. They can look better than a run down semi with mismatched double glazing though

People should respect the age and style of the house. I think 1930s is pretty modern, but it definitely deserves to be respected on its own merits and not grey-ified.

One of my neighbours has just had faux wood/ tan Upvc window frames put it, along with black UPVC soffits and guttering. Such an odd choice.

I think rendering is here to stay (just think of the cost saving of building house out of breeze block) but grey seems to be on its way out. Part of ours is rendered and I think DH is going to paint it very bright white in the summer instead of the current cream

😁actually we also have plantation shutters on the south facing windows of our house because otherwise in the summer it’s like a greenhouse! It’s quite tricky to find a good alternative other than closing curtains.

I don’t really love them style wise tbh but they’re effective for cooling a property.

You’d be hard pressed to get someone to repoint for anywhere close to the price of rendering. Or get anyone to even quote for repointing.

If you hate grey, come to Melbourne, where so many new houses are rendered and painted dark grey. And this in a a climate where the light sings for white/cream/colours.

It looks fucking awful as well as being shit for heat.

I can only imagine great looks infinitely worse in UK light levels.

Doesn't everything date? I don't mind it tbh, it's nice to have some variety

Definitely. Especially picture rails!

Although it is easier if you have an ex-Council 1930s, which were generally built to a very high standard. Ours has a cavity wall which meant further down the line cavity wall insulation. My Mum has a 1930s private build which is single skin, so seriously considering internal or external insulation.