Why are so many houses so similar?

[PoorOldCat]

I get updates from rightmove every day and I think about 90% of the houses have really similar interiors.

Everyone seems to have laminate floor, brown leather sofas, the ubiquitous 'feature wall' in some awful oversized floral pattern, steel and black framed things and huge tellys. And the kitchens and bathrooms all seem to be the P shaped shower bath and the varying shades of beige tiles.

I don't understand why, it's like looking at a display in B&Q over and over again. It's so ugly. But most of all it's so dull.

Do people like this stuff or is it just fashion, which no one really likes aside from the fact it makes your house look identical to other people's?

Finding a house to be proper nosey at, that has some sort of identity of its own is hard work.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to do or why it pisses me off so much, and I certainly don't want to offend anyone who does like their house this way...all the agents seem to say these are beautifully presented and will be very popular, so maybe it is just me who hates it, in which case, I'll take the flack

But why is it so popular to have your house like this? Because I just don't understand.

We had two very close contenders when chosing which house to buy. Obviously decor wasn't among the more important things we were looking at, but since the houses were very similar in location, size, condition etc it did end up playing a bit of a role.

One house was very colourful and not at all to our taste (think vivid purples, turqoise and big patterns), and I wouldn't have remotely at home in there until we redecorated thoroughly. The other was probably very boring, very much like the OP original description. Not my ideal taste either, by any means, but I could easily live with the beige and change things gradually. So at least for our sellers in this case it was worth selling neutral.

Pooroldcat, well said.

Well, I haven't resorted to name calling, just been amused by the motes and beams on this thread (I hope you appreciate the appropriateness of the analogy )

OP's contention is that other people's houses are derivative. Of course this begs the question - what makes you think yours isn't? (apart from the lack of dining table, which we have established ).

I am honestly not meaning to have a go, it just all seems a bit self deluding to me.

But isn't most of this just fashion?

Elephants breathe and reclaimed oak floors, skinny jeans and fancy scarves. They'll all be out of fashion at some point and some of us suit them more than others.
The difference really comes down to cost. Most of us can't afford to completely change our homes every couple of years.

We'll all be lusting over avocado bathrooms again soon.

PoorOldCat, just because you don't like that style doesn't mean that it's crap. Your idea of a dream house would be one with the original 1930s kitchen and bathroom and filled with second hand furniture...this would be my idea of house hell!
However a house is decorated there'll be some people that love it and some that hate it. You just have to please yourself.
If lots of houses look the same it means that lots of people like that look.
Anyway, I don't think looking at rightmove is the right place to look for houses with identity as a lot of people strip their own identities from their houses before they sell.

yes you want to make your own house as saleable as possible so others can visualise themselves living there.

VSM I didn't say it was crap. See what I mean about reading stuff that isn't there?

Truely, a lot of these things aren't cheap. So I don't think it's about cost, most of the houses have been changed very recently - 'much improved by the current owners' is a common phrase that springs to mind.

Alemci, I find it a lot harder to see the bones of a house when it is all neutral/brown/laminated. Maybe other people can, but I can't.

Ithaka no, I really don't get your post - what are motes? If you don't mind explaining.

As for derivative, I don't think that's exactly the same as 'fashion' - well maybe this fashion is an extreme version of derivation.

Of course there are elements of derivation in my house, and in everyone's. It's just perhaps a bit less evident and a lot less (seemingly)deliberate.

PoorOldCat, while some people have been a bit harsh with you, you can't claim you weren't suggesting the style is "crap" and that people are reading things into your post that weren't there.

The tone of your post makes it clear but more importantly you said it pretty explicitly when you called the style "so ugly". In addition you said the style "pisses you off", you "hate it" and its "dull".

That's true, I do find it ugly and I said so - I also said it doesn't make me right and that people's tastes vary.

I think the other quoted expressions are regarding the ubiquity of the style rather than the actual style.

'But it does make looking at house after house after house that's been decorated in that way, a bit dull after a while.'

I did say I hate it but that doesn't mean it's crap.

There is a difference.

I would not be arguing this if my intention was to insult - I think it is about intention and about meaning, and my meaning is not 'this is a crap style', and if it was, then that would only be an opinion anyway and not relevant.

I might have expressed myself poorly but hoped I had clarified somewhat within the thread.

Anyway I might leave this now as it isn't helping anyone.

I quite agree with you! To my mind it happens because people are always looking for interior ideas in the Internet! Or because everyone thinks that it should be so. It is only stereotypes. I think that people should be different and have their own taste and style! People are trying to be like someone is. It’s not right. In my opinion, if you want to have comfort in your house, place and create all according to YOUR OWN taste! And of course, fashion trends play a big role in forming personality. As for me, I am fed up! I decorated my home as I wanted and now I feel comfort and peace.

PoorOldCat to explain my analogy, the phrase is: "why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

It is from the sermon on the mount and it is one of Jesus' proverbs about judging not, lest ye be judged.

I am not religious (however the above makes me sound), I consider 'motes and beams' to be a fairly commonly adopted phrase about not judging other people as you aren't perfect yourself. And it seemed a nice pun in a thread about houses.

But I suspect if we all lived by it, there would be no Mumsnet, so feel free to ignore

Incidentally, yy to above post about Fired Earth paint - it really is a dream to use!

fired earth lovely and little Greene.

I think the OP has been unreasonably trashed.

possibly by those whose homes fit her OP

I see her point. After a while, the sea of neutrality is as defeating as a house full of overstuffed bedizened shite. It is just as hard to look at and see the possibilities. Come to Australia for a vista of polished wood floors, open planned, concrete garden hell. Same thing.

The jolt of individualism is refreshing, even when it's appalling.

OP, this is not IABU, but YANBU.

PoorOldCat we'd walk into each other's houses and think it was crap but we'd be far too polite to say anything, we'd just say ooh isn't this luvverly

ithacka good post. i hope you get to use it again. seriously.

I think the OP got the roasting that was exactly proportionate to what she deserved! I didn't care either way but Londongirl83 summed it up perfectly. My house was 70s and ugly when I moved in so any DIY I've done has been to neutralise. I prefer it now.

It's not just the magnolia walls and laminate floor blandness that bothers me. Its the naff mass produced accessories that seem to be 'uniform' that people with no imagination seem to think makes a house a home. All this wicker heart crap and signs with cheesy sayings on. Then theres those awful canvas pictures with flowers on, floral metalic feature walls, and don't even get me started on those picture frames that say things like 'love' and 'family'. Do people really like these things or are they made to think they should because the shops are full of them?

I wish you would stop banging on about people with no imagination. It comes across as very sneery.

I don't have much imagination when it comes to creating a home. I just can't think that way. I can't envisage how a room would look when "dressed".

That said, my house doesn't have any beige, brown, magnolia or mass produced prints. Each room is a different colour. The "extras" in my house are paintings (original), photos and books. My house doesn't look "put together", but quite frankly I would rather spend more time in the kitchen knocking a delicious meal together than spend hours designing my living room.

Well shops sell that kind of thing. If I was currently to update I'd probably go to wilkos, range etc as that's my current price bracket, so I'm limited by what they sell.
In my head I have a large roomy house,, room for inherited furniture and money to experiment withauction buys.

In reality older stuff looks wrong and cramped and even grungy and dirty in a tiny modern host.

My aspirations and reality don't match. I'd love to travel and bring back nick nacks etc.

Oh I'd love original paintings!

It just feels sneery at low income. Ive a m/c background and taste but not at all the reality.

My original paintings aren't exactly upmarket though. Just by local artists and a couple of artistic family members.

That sounds lovely :) Webber not got artistic family but we live in a pretty part of the world so there is local work about. It's still 50 (+) quid we don't have (yet). We often window shop.