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?

The grey thing is awful, houses painted to look like the exterior of a battleship. But I like shutters.

Foreboding

Meh, by the time it becomes dated rhe render will need repainting, none of what you said is a big deal.

Surely if you paint over bricks, it is reducing the value of the house too? It will certainly look dated in a few years. When I bought my house, everything in it was brown! Does anyone remember brown being the fashionable colour for clothes circa 2004?

Ours are all painted with grey windows, different colours in covenant

This!
white render and grey / anthracite windows with the hotel handle doors was very 2018/ 2019 at a push.
It’s had it’s day already. Anyone doing this now hasn’t got a clue.

I have always said this! Agree 100%

It’s an awful thing to do. My grandparents lived in a lovely red bricked, 1920’s bungalow. They have sadly long passed but the new owners have painted the brickwork black, with black windows! My heart weeps a little every time I drive past it.

They may still be ugly but a brick acid wash and repoint should clean it up a bit.

I may consider it for the side of the house which is also visible from the road but definitely not the front. One of the positives of internal insulation will hopefully be smooth plasterboarded walls to replace my old, bumpy ones!

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8830429/Tasteless-homeowners-slammed-Grey-Plague-trend.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton
I do apologise for the DM link, but have you seen these horrors?! 😱

Totally agree except shutters. What's wrong with them? Thought they were fairly inoffensive and effective. Are we meant to go back to nets?!

I've just had a quote of £8000 to remove the render off 2 back walls and re-point of my brick built Victorian terrace 😱. When render cracks at any point the rain gets in and causes damp and mould on internal walls. It's an absolute menace!

When I sold my last house thirteen years ago the new owners painted the outside grey, and now it's on the market again I see that the interiors are black and white throughout. It looks awful!

I'm a fan of anthracite grey window frames as I think it depends on the rest of the house as to how they look. I've seen a lot that have been done that make the house look really classy.

As for pebbledash, our entire estate was built in the late 60s, early 70s and every house is pebbledashed and it looks very normal to me! A few houses have grey window frames here and it goes well with the pebbledash.

This is our way of decorating too. If it's everywhere and trendy it will soon be out of fashion and dated. Like those flowery feature wallpaper walls of years ago.

Yes, shutters are easy to take down or paint. I don't think they're so dreadful.
Not as bad as fridge doors!

I agree. They stand out for the wrong reasons and have had lots of new builds or large houses near me go complete grey. I feel like I have achromatopsia when I look at them.

It reminds me of that grey level in Super Mario or John Major in Spitting Image.

Each to their own though. I don't have any taste myself.

Is the grey cladding an American thing?

There is a 1930’s house near me which has had grey windows fitted, grey fridge door, grey gravel, fencing etc but to make it worse they have also ship lap clad it in diarrhoea brown, it honestly looks revolting.

I’ve never liked it, grey windows look like undercoat. Add it to grey gravel or paving, against a grey sky and grey roads or pavement with no hint of greenery or colour and it’s just depressing. The front of my house is a lovely rich, stockbrick with stained glass and some white, smooth original render thingy. It needs some tlc as we bought a do-er upper, but I’ll be keeping the frames white to show the glass off and keeping the door. I’m just about to paint it green probably! And it looks- to me- smarter, and more welcoming and cheerful than drab grey. The same style house as ours has put in the grey frames, door etc, and it just doesn’t suit the house 🏡

I do think plantation shutters will date. Absolutely everything does in the end. We don't have nets or shutters. We live in London not the deep south of America.

I don't have an issue with render. In a mode modern house it can look really smart. It is just this trend in red brick victorian houses that I think will quickly date.

I am sure lots of people would be critical of our internal decor. But we like it. But it is just paint and curtains.

Our mid terrace 1930s house has hideous faux brick cladding on the front. Our neighbours opposite, who've been there for decades, still remember the day it was put up - they were horrified by it even then. I'm sure our house's owners back then thought it looked modern and stylish but it's going to cost us a lot of money to rectify.

Even if you need to replace the frames you can preserve the stained glass parts and have them put between two sheets of plain glass. This is what we did, they need no more maintenance than ordinary double glazed windows.

Omg yes can’t stand the plantation shutters it looks so out of place 🙈 and lighting your house up as though it’s a stately home wtf is that about?! And hanging plastic hedge balls around the outside.

I don’t mind the grey windows cos I’ve always thought white looks tacky. But brown ones were a trend for a while and I think they look awful so maybe grey will go the same way.

Sometimes I think rendering (in white not grey) can be an improvement but I’ve seen some beautiful brick Victorian houses ruined by it and it’s such a shame. I think it will date the way pebble dashing did.