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Unpopular / frowned upon things your house has that you refuse to change

160 replies

TruthorDie · 24/04/2024 14:37

I’m going with:

Wind chimes -previous owner left them behind. Helps block out the annoying yapping of the dogs on either side
No spare room -l hate house guests so suits me perfectly!
Bath -every house l buy my mum reckons l need to remove the bath. I’m standing firm and leaving it

OP posts:
WinkyTinky · 24/04/2024 16:14

Our bathroom tiles are the originals from 1984 with a farmyard scene showing a pig asleep in a wooden bath and a small duck looking on, surrounded by bubbles. I'd love (and need) a new bathroom but could never face getting rid of the pig 😆

Bignanna · 24/04/2024 16:14

bluedomino · 24/04/2024 15:28

Washing machine in a cupboard in the bathroom. I love it but it always surprises people. Personally I hate seeing people's underwear spinning around the wash when drinking coffee in someone's kitchen. Much better hidden in a cupboard.

Who on earth would dislike such an everyday mundane thing that we all do?

Scampuss · 24/04/2024 16:14

uPVC windows in a Georgian house (already installed when we bought)

Woodchip wallpaper nearly everywhere (might remove more one day)

35andThriving · 24/04/2024 16:26

I'd love a serving hatch.

Mairzydotes · 24/04/2024 16:34

Textured ceilings.

TheBunyip · 24/04/2024 17:02

PuttingDownRoots · 24/04/2024 15:12

My last house had a seving hatch between kitchen and dining room. It was very useful!

My house has no bath... which apparently is essential in MNland usually

we enlarged our serving hatch. love it.

we have pebbledash and it's staying.

Coldupnorth87 · 24/04/2024 17:10

Carpet in the bathroom. It is carehome carpet, so can be cleaned but it's great.

I have arthritis so a warm bath helps, I have had to reinstall a bath before now.

Catandsquirrel · 24/04/2024 17:10

I adore the sounds of some of these period originals or vintage additions that tell the story of the house- serving hatch, sleeping pig tiles, old kitchen, stained glass, spiral staircase, please don't remove them!!

Ours is a newish build (I much prefer old houses but here we are for now). Undesirable feature is stark black kitchen and bathroom tiles. Looked shitty to be honest in the original minimalist black and white as not great quality or lighting but we decided against retiling as it seemed a waste when so new and decorated to lean into the black with warm bold colours, natural materials and softening accessories. I rather love them now!

Bignanna · 24/04/2024 17:19

Catandsquirrel · 24/04/2024 17:10

I adore the sounds of some of these period originals or vintage additions that tell the story of the house- serving hatch, sleeping pig tiles, old kitchen, stained glass, spiral staircase, please don't remove them!!

Ours is a newish build (I much prefer old houses but here we are for now). Undesirable feature is stark black kitchen and bathroom tiles. Looked shitty to be honest in the original minimalist black and white as not great quality or lighting but we decided against retiling as it seemed a waste when so new and decorated to lean into the black with warm bold colours, natural materials and softening accessories. I rather love them now!

I would love stained glass!

PTSDBarbiegirl · 24/04/2024 17:21

No toaster - Prefer grill
No dishwasher - Prefer hot water & detergent in sink (2 of us now)
No tumble drier - Dry on radiators within 1 hour easily (easy for 2)
1 bathroom for 4 bedrooms - I'd love a 2nd!!
I walk around just in my pants on my days off, shutters closed.

Kandalama · 24/04/2024 17:28

Sloping floors ( the timber ones )
Uneven floors ( the brick ones )
Single glazing.

I’m really not fussed by peoples opinions and it is rather funny watching people career diagonally across a room even after I’ve warned them!

Sameratdifferenthat · 24/04/2024 17:30

Coal fire.

Single glazing in 90% of the windows, all original 1880s glass.

1980s kitchen with pictures of herbs on the "feature" tiles. I thought they'd be the first thing we'd change when we moved in 23 years ago. Hey ho.

ThinkingAgainAndAgain · 24/04/2024 17:32

Separate loo to the shower, sink and bath upstairs. They’re right next to each other, you could knock the two into one room easily. But that is the only loo we have upstairs, and I love that I can have a shower or a bath uninterrupted by someone needing the loo.

Mumoftwo1312 · 24/04/2024 17:33

I cannot live without a bath. I'm sad when I go to a hotel and the en suite has no bath.

Your mum is misguided about having no bath in terms of house value - families with small children (ie your classic upsizers) often need a bath to bathe their kids in.

PuttingDownRoots · 24/04/2024 17:35

To be honest... if we had space for a walk on shower AND a bath, we would have a bath as well. But the walk in shower is essential.

YoureAGoodManArthurMorgan · 24/04/2024 17:35

No microwave for me either. I don't like the way things taste when they've been in there. Baked beans are so much better warmed up slowly on the hob with a bit of butter than nuked in the microwave.

Greywitch2 · 24/04/2024 17:38

Coal fires.

I'm not changing them. I've currently got the heating off because, FGS it's nearly MAY! But it is also 8 degrees here, apparently.

So I've got a massive log/coal fire blazing in the front room. And I might light one in the study later on, so I can go read in there for the evening.

Furryscoob · 24/04/2024 17:44

I've got 1 bathroom/toilet in a 4 bedroom bungalow, no where to add another so we'll live with it.

I've got a serving hatch between the kitchen & dinning room, it was sealed up but I've recently reopened it. It's staying as long as I'm here, food so much easier to serve when you can shove it through the wall

AngelsWithSilverWings · 24/04/2024 17:52

This will be quite cathartic after reading another thread earlier - such snobbery!

I love my en suite - we had it shoe horned in but it has improved our lives so much. Sharing the bathroom with two teenagers was becoming a pain.

My grey lounge/dining room - with its grey wood effect amtico. The furniture is all walnut so it warms up the grey. It's my favourite room in the house and the most modern in my 1930's semi. We had it done 5 years ago and I still love it.

Our wood burner - we had an open coal fire when we bought the house but then a builder damaged our chimney so we couldn't use it any more. Installing a new flue and wood burner was the cheapest way to put it right.

I have Laura Ashley wallpapered feature walls in both my hall and my front lounge. I have been toying with the idea of having feature panelled walls instead as the house would have had that originally in the hall
and up the stairs but has been ripped out in the past. Whatever I do it won't be mumsnet approved.

I have a hot tub - we retired it when the fuel crisis started but the weather has been so cold that I've set it up again so I can have a warm soak and a glass of wine in the evenings. It had cheered me up to have it back again.

I would never have fake grass but I do see a place for it in very small gardens with no storage space for a mower.

Having had our house for 18 years it's a bit of a mash of styles depending on what was influencing us at the time.

VikingLady · 24/04/2024 18:10

The majority of our social circle don't have a tumble dryer for eco reasons (a LOT of hippy types, which I'm generally one of). Nope. All the nopes. I'm not prepared to parent without a tumble dryer and dishwasher. Life is hard enough. It was one of our main criteria when we were looking to move house.

(Standard disclaimer about being aware I'm fortunate)

FayCarew · 24/04/2024 18:12

No dishwasher, tumble drier or freezer.
No gadgets other than kettle, microwave and stick blender.

avocadotofu · 24/04/2024 18:13

We don't have a TV or microwave.

VikingLady · 24/04/2024 18:17

We have lots of laminate, which I loathe. It's freezing in winter. But I'm not replacing it with carpet until the kids are old enough to be clean and not wreck it, plus we'd need cats who reliably don't piss on the floor.

We don't have a toaster or an air fryer, and I think we're the only family I know without those.

But I rely on my thirty-five year old microwave (we got ILs) because I batch cook and need to reheat meals, heat rice pudding, reheat coffee an unlimited number of times, and DS weirdly likes his crumpets floppy.

fitflopqueen · 24/04/2024 18:22

Airing cupboard, our conversion is 25 yrs old and the architect was flustered when I asked for an airing cupboard, would be lost without it for bedding, towels etc

Trolleytoken · 24/04/2024 18:27

wall mounted TVs ( yes plural)
karndean fake wood floors
bifolds

I’ll get my coat….

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