Naff things in other people's houses (Tongue in Cheek)

[pinkpapaya]

I know that it is a question of each to his own etc but what do you find naff in other people's homes? I was invited round to neighbour's today to gawp at their new gas barbecue that is the size of a Challenger tank. They were terribly proud of it and the husband was lovingly caressing it whilst the wife was squealing in anticipation of all the hot sausage her man was going to serve her! All I could think was 'Why? Why? Why?' What do you find naff in other people's homes and why?

@LifeinPieces21

Does open plan feel cosy though? As in a normal house. We have a large garden but I love getting cosy in a lounge seperate from the rest of the house to chill and watch TV.

We are lucky to have open plan kitchen family come dining room, where all the action happens during the day. It's light, airy, high ceilings.. We zoned it and with enough mix of fabric (rugs, sofa, cushions), books, etc so doesn't feel cold at all. In the evening we have the grown up lounge so coziness happens there. But if we didn't have that I'd still prefer open plan, it's just so nice to have the hustle and bustle yet if properly zoned can still go to a corner and read and do your own thing. I think people need different things different times of the day, and in different seasons...

@CupOfTPlease

Anything to do with Prosecco, wine or gin. Like Prosecco o' clock signs.

Piss offffff.

My mother has a whole wall dedicated to signs like these in her kitchen

Open plan is dated. The pandemic taught us that it is also useless if people want to escape into a room or rooms with doors.

A corner is still just a corner. It has no door to shut.

"Open plan is dated. The pandemic taught us that it is also useless if people want to escape into a room or rooms with doors"

Something like the structure of one's house is personal, and not about fashion. I'm not going to be putting walls up and down because it's fashionable or dated. It depends on your circumstances, the house itself, how you decorate it and feel in it.

For me open plan was marvellous during covid. It was great to not feel "locked in", with air, light and space. Being able to keep an eye on kids whilst working etc was good. Others will have different feelings, and there can't be one hard and fast brush off as oh, that's dated....

I find the people who love open plan…also have a utility room (for the noisy machines/laundry/messy stuff), a seperate ‘grown up’ lounge and a separate study….. so the open plan room is just for socialising/every day family life and then when people need quiet/space there are other rooms to shut away in!!!
I’m pretty sure if those people only had that one room only so had to watch tv while the dishwasher/washing machine was going, it had to work from home and be on a teams call while kids are watching tv/playing/dog barking etc during the lockdown they would probably start to hate it!
I’d never have open plan, it would drive me mad! At the moment I can be cooking in the kitchen while watching something on the iPad, DH can be on his laptop in the lounge, one fo the kids can be on the computer in the study and another can be playing on the switch or watching tv in the conservatory!

Yes everyone s preferences and circumstances will be different. Some like it "cosy" some "open" , some have only a room, some have multiple choices. The point is, this is not about fashion, as in avocado bathrooms or prosecco signs. Just don't like blanket statements really. And am allergic to TV designers coming up with recycled bs just so they can claim they are saying smt new. Now it's all, blankety oh open plan doesn't work. In a couple of years they'll have a new name for open plan, and they'll say it's brilliant.

@Cam22

Open plan is dated. The pandemic taught us that it is also useless if people want to escape into a room or rooms with doors.

🤣

what a silly comment.
people with open plan downstairs still have bedrooms to escape to.
and if we had separate kitchen, living room and dining room everyone would still be in the same room where the tv is, but more crammed so what you said makes no sense.
open plan is fantastic

I dislike many things people have in their homes, but I just can't be bothered to get worked up about it, although having said that I do find the trend for all grey just a bit sad as it shows no individuality or imagination.

There's plenty in my house that has cropped up on this thread as being naff, and I would previously have considered them naff myself, but a lot mean something and are special to me.

The twee cross stitch sampler on the wall of my hallway was a personalised gift from my best friend from uni when I got married.
The Willow Tree figurines (I've always hated figurines) were gifts from my in laws when we got engaged and when our eldest was born, so although I dislike figurines I love these ones because of what they mean to me.
The shabby chic wooden heart hanging off a cupboard door that I would never had chosen myself was given to me on my wedding day.
The sea glass art with a cheesy quote about family was a gift from my MIL because it made her think of us.
The wicker fish in our downstairs toilet was pinched from my SIL's house by my son who became fixated with it, and I don't think he'd forgive me if I got rid of it!

All naff but all special so I really don't care what people think of them! I'm more concerned about whether people feel comfortable and welcome in my home than whether my decor suits their taste.

I do however have a toilet brush 😱
And brightly coloured towels to jazz up my plain white bathroom 😱😱

AND....

My toilet brush matches the colour of my towels and my soap dish 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

• 🤣

what a silly comment.
people with open plan downstairs still have bedrooms to escape to.
and if we had separate kitchen, living room and dining room everyone would still be in the same room where the tv is, but more crammed so what you said makes no sense.
open plan is fantastic*

I meant being able to escape to another public room. Open plan certainly limits your options. And yes, it dates; it always does until it has “discovered” and lauded again. And do it goes on.

And so

Please excuse the “silly” typos.

until it is discovered

This is so cringe. I’ll rank this thread up there with the ‘no dish cloths on the tap’ thread.

I might buy a ‘live and let live’ piece of art just so I don’t feel so dirty for having read it.

Heavy, glossy coffee table books about really arty subjects 'for show' when you know damn well that the owners have less culture than a pot of yoghurt!

Astro Turf, Hot tubs, garden gnomes, words like Home, Bath, etc

-Velvet sofas, chairs, headboards in grey
-Mirrored furniture/ Mrs Hinch inspired decor
-Signs like "In this house we sing loudly, dance freely..."

• Anything relating to wine or gin o' clock
• Garden bars (aka let's piss off our neighbors by getting drunk outside and hold parties to show off said bar)
• excessive family photos/couple shrines

Although saying all this, I do feel people in new builds can't win.... If they decorate the house to it's time some people think it's souless/grey/showhome/boring etc. But if they try to create more character people hit back saying they dislike panelling on modern walls/fake beams on ceilings/tacky to add character to a new house etc

"outdoor rooms" - a bit of astro turf, a bit of decking, a bit of patio, some cheap solar fairy lights and wilting plants in plastic pots from home bargains. Each to their own and all that, but they make my teeth itch!

Does open plan feel cosy though?

What's with the constant desire for cosiness though? There's something a bit infantilising about the obsession with being cosy, curling up on the sofa, snuggling etc imo. I love my open plan house. It's light, airy and comfortable (not cosy or snuggly!)

A few years before he died, I bought my dad a grey plastic budda, holding a ball in each hand, as a jokey present. My mum hated it, so dad built a brick plinth in the garden, painted the budda in brightly coloured paint, put it on the plinth and put fairy lights round it. It looked lovely! When he died, the budda ended up in my garden, I have repainted and varnished it and it is my reminder of dad and his sense of humour. We also have a garden gnome, repainted in colours to remind me of my older brother who died a year after my dad. We also have a few naff ornaments that our kids bought us when they were younger, think moulded glass dolphins. They are no longer in prime view but tucked away on bathroom windows.

@SuperFairy

I love gnomes!

My dad had one in his front garden until one day he (the gnome not my dad) went missing and then for about 3 years my dad regularly got postcards from ‘Gorden’ the gnome who was apparently away on his travels 😂

We never found out who had fostered Gorden, we had our suspicions (know a few pilots and cabin crew) but no one admitted to it 😆

If you haven't already seen it, this is a theme in Amelie.

I'll nominate myself for my December cloakroom... complete with Santa toilet seat cover and M&S Christmas toilet paper covered in reindeers and Santa bottle of handwash from Home Bargains 😂

I also add a festive poinsettia 👏

Totally tacky, but I love it

Loving the judgy superiority on this thread...
I gave:
A hottub
A fake plastic folliage ball ( left by previous owners...quite like it).
Vertical blinds( left by previous owners...love them for privacy).
Battleship grey decking ( regretable error but previous owners had painted the decking grey so easier to follow along).
Lots of family photos.

What is tacky about family photos?

I also have nick nacks galore!

Oooo...i also have a blue velvet corner sofa...total heaven!

Blue velvet corner sofa sounds gorgeous!