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.

And yet... Laurence Llewellyn Bowen's house is up for sale at the moment, and someone posted a link to it. It is chock full of personality, absolutely to his taste and I personally think it's fantastic.

Loads of posters came on and said they hated it and wouldn't it be better if it was toned down a bit, with some plain walls.

People like bland stuff out of fear, I think. Some people try and overcome that by doing the whole 'plain walls but with a pop of colour in the accessories' which I think is even worse. But to a certain section of the market, bland is what sells. So that's what people do when they're selling!

So how exactly should it be decorated which would be tasteful and inviting then?

If ever you need home inspiration, have a look at www.shootfactory.co.uk

Cheaper than magazines, this website shows people's homes that are for rent for photographic shoots. A guilty pleasure, but free!

OP I call this the Argos Look. So boring

People dont like bland out of fear they just like it ! I have to say, I find magnolia puts me on edge (literally - we had to paint when we moved in as I couldn't stand all cream) but I don't like fussy stuff either.

"People like bland stuff out of fear, I think."

I don't like clutter and fuss. It makes me feel claustrophobic. I like a look that creates space and calm.

I don't sneer at people who like fussy decor so why should those that do sneer at those who prefer more plain decor?

For some people a house is a home, not a extension of their personality. They just want somewhere that is warm, comfortable and practical and don't find it imperative to get just the right cushion or the exact shade of tartan for a chair cover.

I wasn't sneering. But I've read enough posters agonising over the exact shade of neutral to put on their walls to see that some people do worry that they will be judged for having the 'wrong' type of decor. And as a result they go for the safe option.

I like 'calm' rooms as much as more vibrant ones. But there's a difference between 'calm' and 'dead', and the ones the OP is talking about are the latter. No personality, identikit.

VeryStressedMum I think 'tasteful' and 'inviting' can sometimes be opposite attributes. Kelly Hoppen's interiors are 'tasteful' but not 'inviting'. I wouldn't feel comfortable sitting on a sofa where the gaps between the cushions has been measured. A room can be outdated as Instant Whip but still inviting if it's comfortable and relaxed.

I don't think its at all judgmental to be sad when old period features are ripped out. It's just that, every time an old house is "modernised" by ripping out period features, something has been lost that can never be brought back again. Whereas any number of modern Houses can be built. In our area there's no real price difference between old and modern. It's just down to personal preferences I suppose.

Funny about how the feeling of "space and calm" comes from different things to different people. When DH and I walked into the Victorian house that we offered on with its original tiled fire, ceiling rose, oak floors etc I said to him "I feel so calm in this room". I guess part of that comes from the fact that I had an unhappy childhood which played out in a 1960s house. I need something completely different from that to feel okay. And, coming from North America, perhaps I crave a feeling of continuity with the past as not much in my country is old.

It has been interesting to read that many people don't like period features for similar reasons, i.e. that they had to put up with them as children and always wanted something different. Fair enough. And it's all very well saying that the period features are like pieces of art as no one wants to live in a museum! I suppose people who rip out period features to replace with modern stuff that isn't built to last will want something different again in 10 years. Nothing wrong with wanting something new.

I can only hope that enough people think like me that period features in some houses will be preserved so we'll have somewhere to buy when we move. But that's not enough of a reason why others should have to put up with period features and feel stuck with them.

Here's an example of a house that, while in a great location for us at a decent price, we would never consider due to (to us) overzealous modernisation www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-28782720.html

I think what you are missing is that many people who have, say, a chrome wall-mounted modern living flame fireplace, aren't guilty of ripping out an original Victorian fireplace, but replacing old sins of previous owners.

I put a Victorian fireplace back into my house, but it was expensive. There was a crappy 70s gas fire there when I moved in. I can well understand why somebody would prefer to spend £200 on a generic modern equivalent rather than about a grand to restore a real fireplace.

I watch Homes Under the Hammer religiously and I am also an avid reader of Rightmove even though we are no longer house hunting. I think it's mainly developers who rip out period features and they do it for a quick turnaround and profit! They are the same ones who put in the beige unimaginative bathrooms and shiny kitchens to appeal to the masses. I once watched an episode about a beautiful enormous Victorian house in Wimbledon that had the most beautiful period features. They ripped them all out :-(
I think if people had bought the house to live in themselves they probably would have tried to restore them.
Our 1920s home had also fallen victim to the fashion of boarded up panelling and ripping out period features. We slowly but surely put a lot of them back in. Picture rails are very cheap and we also picked up a fireplace on a reclamation yard. DH painstakingly restored every single one of the original doors and we bought a period front door on eBay for little over 20 quid. It's been a lot of work but lots fun!
It annoys me that so many housing shows on TV all seem to be about selling the houses on and making profit out of them.

BOF I agree. I bet even the house linked to above wasn't a case of ripping out original feature but an update of bad 80s and 90s stuff. I think most people would leave fireplaces these days.

Re bathrooms and kitchens. Yes they do look a bit generic but with different paint on walls and your own stuff you can make them nice.

FWIW I could live in a house as in above posts. It is a well finished looking house and the kitchen and bathroom are entirely functional. I might add a reclaimed fireplace in the lounge and strip the floors maybe.

Am always stunned by homes under the hammer. Shoddy unimaginable workmanship and they don't really make much money. I agree they rip everything out without really thinking. If you do remove things it needs to be either to re jig layout to replace with something better. And PVC windows in an old house always look wrong not snobbery btw as I am all about insulation but the recesses never look right. They are the tooth veneers of houses.

Notjustacigar I agree that house while 'done' is style less and tbh would be old fashioned looking before you even got a picture up. I have a plumber friend who does the odd refurb in that style and he takes ages to sell them and not much profit. He is always amazed that I make more with a completely different look as he hates what I do! Horses for courses

Agreed that it might not have been the current owners who started a house on a modernisation merry go round. But whoever started it, a house that has had its period features removed in favour of the fashions of the day will always need to be remodelled every ten years or so to stay current with fashions - unless someone is willing to go through a painstaking and usually expensive process of restoration. While a house that keeps its features can remain a timeless classic.

Hmmm....
But the home I have now will not be the Home I have when my dc pack up and leave home.
I will have my Art Deco theme then. I will source lovely things or renovate them myself.
I don't have the time or money now and I want my kids to grow up in a house where they feel comfortable and where it doesn't really matter If they spill blackcurrant squash on the carpet.
I have a horror of homes where he dc "aren't allowed" to eat or drink in certain areas or have to keep their toys in certain rooms.
Wrt homes under the hammer I agree with noddy...they are not renovated with a view to creating something lovely, they are done with a view to making a quick £.
However, I really dislike grand designs too! The homes on there are so pretentious usually and - despite what the owners say - often end up on the market a few years later.
Forever home my arse.

Noddy yes I'm always surprised that people think "magnolia and beige sells" without doing even some basic research to test their theory!

We are getting a good price on a house with loads of Victorian period features because the daft EA didn't even bother to photograph them for the rightmove advert. We only viewed the house because it was right near another one we were seeing and figured we would be in the neighbourhood anyway. We were stunned at what was there. Some people, even inexperienced EAs apparently, are so into modern new stuff they think no one wants that old second hand used stuff anymore.

Grand designs is stuck in a big flash new build thing. I preferred it years ago smaller budget and individual. 2 out if 3 don't stay in them. I think living in a big build is a huge anti climax

We looked at a number of older houses when we were still searching. The problem was that, whilst lovely (and no, I wouldn't rip out a Victorian fireplace) we wouldn't be able to afford to heat it, or to replace gappy windows with reclaimed/restored ones.

MIL lives in a beautiful double fronted 1904 house. It has generous proportions and lovely high ceilings, but her heating bill is ridiculous. She has blocked all the upstairs fireplaces and her downstairs ones have been taken out and gas fires installed. Her windows are desperate for replacement, but the government will only help (she is disabled and seriously ill) with UPVC. Her gas bill alone is something like £200 a month and she only uses 3 of her 8 available rooms.

We've ended up buying a 1950s house that we can install a log burner in and be able to afford our heating (even with an Aga going). We have to be practical.

Traditional is lovely to look at, but people have to be able to live in them as well. It would be a shame to sneer at someone for their non traditional UPVC windows if it meant it was the only reason they didn't freeze in the winter.

'I think what you are missing is that many people who have, say, a chrome wall-mounted modern living flame fireplace, aren't guilty of ripping out an original Victorian fireplace, but replacing old sins of previous owners.'

Of course Bof - sorry, I thought that went without saying. I think I'm talking about a dichotomy here - on one hand the absence and removal of period features, which can be done by present 'renovators' or previous ones - and on the other, the emotionless brownism that is creeping through the nation's homes on the back of certain TV-promoted trends.

They are two different things but related I guess.

NotaCigar makes a very good point that something original to the building will be able to stay put forever, while something replaced will need replacing again and again as it just doesn't really fit with, or relate to its building.

That awful Formby link is a classic example. It's horrifying.

Lots of the 30s period features were ripped out in this house, we've put some of them back. But it was definitely more expensive than bog standard stuff, £1k on the stained glass round the front door and the best part of £2k on a tiled fireplace. We also chucked a lot of money at the kitchen and bathroom to get the best we could afford. And replaced the clay tiles on the roof with clay, not concrete. We're lucky enough to be able to do that.

And we have one purple, one terracotta, one green and one red carpet. Oh and a beige one (to keep DH quiet, as he grew up in the land of beige). When we moved in it was all shit laminate and filthy cream carpets. I do have feature walls though unusual wallpaper - but that was a compromise with DH who again would have painted everything magnolia.

I don't really give a shit if someone else doesn't like it (though we have only ever had positive comments from visitors) as I live here and my house is very much an extension of my personality. I would be gutted if when we sell the new owners rip out what we have lovingly put back though...

Yeh. It is just every xtension now!

Does nobody ever extend out just.... say 6 feet now?? I would likecto because i dontvwant the upstairs and downstairs to be out of proportion ( hugely)

Btw , anybody seen naomi cleaver on tv? She takes white to sterile soulless new heights!! So neutral is not the same as bland, and bland can be terrifying! Id be afraid of naomi cleaver's look yeh.

Im going to get a wood stool for ikwa and paint it bright orange. That would look dreadful with wallpaper or coloured wallls.

'Some people, even inexperienced EAs apparently, are so into modern new stuff they think no one wants that old second hand used stuff anymore.' Yes. Very true - 'needs modernisation throughout' is like a siren to me.

LtEve I am sorry for your MIL. Old houses can be a money pit. OTOH they aren't always. We rent a huge old Victorian flat atm and I'm always surprised by how reasonably it holds the heat.

We have 15 rads and our bill is 78 a month - I keep it on about 18 most of the winter, then it's usually off in summer. Our ceilings are 10-11ft high in most of the rooms, we have single glazed enormous original sash windows/French doors to the ceiling.

Heavy curtains help a lot. I'm not sure why it stays so warm - maybe more insulation in the roof would be an option?

I don't like to 'sneer' at people anyway - and I am sorry if my OP came across that way. I have definite preferences in design, obviously, and I think that has offended and I apologise.

We went to see a repossession a few weeks back and the outside was a lovely Victorian building, but inside it had an aluminium back door, new stainless/brown kitchen, downlighters etc, new plastic bathroom.

Walls had been knocked through which looked so ugly. The feeling was of overwhelming sadness and despair - the work it would take to try and resuscitate this home was just mind blowing. I could never have afforded the time, money or energy - that house was just dead really.

Totally totally ruined. It's like when someone has been sick on a pillow and you just bin it rather than try and wash it off. Poor house It went for well below the asking - if it's even gone that is. They kept lowering it and lowering it.

noddy, do you do new builds and modern house too or just period builds?

Old listing

It's now up for auction at 85k..

No, it's OK PoorOldCat, I think I'm just a bit sensitive, not for me - I don't really care what people think about me! But for MIL who lives somewhere that you would probably be horrified with, but for her is a 'no choice' deal.