What sort of things make you go 'bleurgh' in other people's houses?

[inbuiltcolourtv]

My house is a bit messy but also desperately short of style. It's going to take years for it to be how I want it to be. In the meantime I'm trying to work out what to focus on first in the way of just making it seem a bit... nicer. I've just been wondering about the sorts of things people might notice in a house that I might not. What would you just not notice, notice but not care about, notice but go 'bleurgh' to, or dislike so much it puts you off the person?

E.g... do you notice dust on skirting boards and pictures or only on obvious surfaces? Is it naff to have a hoover in a corner of the hall where people can see it? How much does having mismatched furniture matter if it looks like you could afford to have it matching? Is it a bit crap not to have any kind of 'design' to any room? Does a downstairs toilet full of smelly teenage trainers matter?

What sort of thing in a house most puts you off someone, even though they may not realize it's offputting? I just feel like my whole house is embarrassing and I can't work out what to fix first - what's most urgent and what doesn't really matter?

Oh, and fag smells too.

I can never relax in ott tidy homes. My home is just clean enough I prefer homes that are a bit scruffy - where I can tuck my feet underneath me and get comfy.

I also don't like houses that are all neutral.

Dirty looking carpet...well, I always fantasize about hoovering, and hearing all the bits go up the hoover tube

Don't mind mess & clutter but can't stand dirt & filth. Doesn't have to be spotless just to look like has had a clean every so often.

Our bathroom is a total nightmare and we only have the one loo - I feel so embarrassed when people need to go

I try to keep it clean but it is just so gross, it always looks manky.

The loo/basin/bath are new and kept clean and there's always a clean towel and nice soaps, but really, what can you do with dark turquoise metal wall tiles from the 70's?

No doubt Riven. My DH actually thinks if he takes them off carefully he can sell them on ebay

Now I'm not the most house proud and have loads of clutter and dust but toilets and bathrooms with scum and stray pubes ....bleugh. It doesn't take much to use a spray cleaner and wipe every so often. Also cat litter trays, smelly pet food left out and animals in the ktichen. Greasy finger prints on glass and shiny surfaces too. Hob unwiped.

If I noticed dusty skirting boards I would definitely warm to that person

Is a litter tray really that bad? If we didn't have one the cat would just find a convenient corner and do it there - now that is something I could understand people being a bit about

"Have you been to that Hazeyjane's house? Did you notice cat poo corner?...."

hazey - no it isn't that bad. I would far prefer it to cats doing their business in my garden. I've rolled my mower through it and also got my trainers filthy.

I think that it ought to be compulsory for cat owners to also have a litter tray.

Not 'bleugh' but no soap or towel in the bathroom/toilet is annoying, as is the TV on when people are visiting - I find it incredibly distracting.

I find matching furniture quite depressing tbh.

The smell of dog is really off putting.

I have this cat litter tray in my kitchen...

cat loo with flap

It has a built in carbon filter to reduce smells...sometimes I empty it and discover the cat has used it and I hadn't noticed.

Anyway it sits on the floor in my kitchen beside the back door. I can't think where else to put it that would be less 'bleurgh' to other people...only have one bathroom so couldn't shove it in a spare less often used one. The good thing about it being in the kitchen is that I don't have to carry the litter tray downstairs to wash it out...which I would have to do if it was upstairs in my bedroom or some other room.

There is nothing really that I would notice about somebody else's house...don't really pay much attention to be honest. Apart from the smell of smoke...but most of my family smoke so it is a given that clothes might have a trace of cigarette smoke when I leave.

Toistasfun ?? It may not be the actual bedspread it MAY be the actual bed,mattress etc. 'cos if a bed after being slept in is not aired bur MADE immediately it can really start to stink and some people are so anal (or their mum's never knew) they make their beds straight after they get up and this encourages bed bugs house dust mites and BAD STINKS!!

Actually, the single most annoying thing in other people's houses is when there's no lock on the loo door.

what do you all mean by matching furniture?

I suppose coordinating rather than matching and fitting the kind of room it's in rather than being wildly out of place.

Agree with becky about books - I am deeply suspicious of houses with no books and find them soulless.

Also agree about dirty toilets.

Disagree with Cyb - a bit of clutter is fine, it's not dirty and it makes a house feel lived-in. We have "clutter" but we tidy it up and clean. Doesn't stop the house getting cluttered again.

I am also deeply suspicious of overly "styled", show-homey houses. DW and I have visited some houses that just don't look like homes.

The message they send out is not "look how houseproud I am", but rather "FFS, I am such a sad git that having matching everything is the most important factor in my life - I need a hobby, or, frankly, to get some."

Nothing

I don't like matchy-matchy furniture. Most of the stuff we've got is stuff we have found in auctions, skips, bits from family, stuff we have made/done up ourselves and stuff we have fallen in love with, I don't think any of it co-ordinates, but it all has a bit of a story and is comfortable and is well-loved.