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

[TruthorDie]

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

Artex ceilings. When I got house I had a leak and insurance company redid a couple of ceilings in artex. I chose pattern and I love it.
Its on practically every ceiling and I do have some absolutely horrible rainbow? patterns on walls and ceiling in hallway, but its never bothered me enough to pay out all the money it would cost to sort.

Do we share a house?! Yes to everything apart from the washing powder - sensitive skins, so stuck to what we know.

Definitely not giving up carpets here.

Di people no longer have flannels? How do they wash their face?

My house also still has all its internal walls - I hate open plan everything. How can you watch TV, while someone else is playing the piano? People watching your every move while cooking?

It also still has it's original Edwardian front door complete with stained glass. It's draughty as hell, but it's staying.

I live in an old house that has a downstairs loo but - the horror - there is no sink in there. When we use the loo, we walk into the kitchen and wash our hands in the sink. We’ve been here 25 years and can’t be arsed to install a sink in the loo. The plumbing would be awkward, there isn’t room etc etc.

My sister can’t get over this and keeps telling me it’s illegal. I’ve yet to have a knock on the door from the police.

We had a serving hatch in a house when I was a teen - my mum and dad turned the dining room into a playroom for my toddler siblings and it was great being able to see them from the kitchen or chat to whoever was in there with the kids, while still being able to get on with chores.

I have laminate and tiled floors everywhere. They were a contributory factor in why I bought the house and I don't know why laminate in particular, is do disliked. It's massively practical with kids and pets.

Also have an ancient kitchen - it's on its last legs and needs replacing very soon, but I don't get this thing people have with constantly ripping out perfectly decent kitchens just because the style is a bit dated. Lots of modern kitchens are so soulless. I like the sound of kitchen tiles with little piggies on! Dh wants a fitted kitchen and I know it will help with resale but is quite fancy a freestanding one,

I have mass produced art on the walls and love my fairy light twigs in a vase

No kettle

Quooker? Because that's cheating 😉

All bedrooms have an en suite- for some reason anyone who knows thinks they should be turned into walk-in wardrobes/storage. Apparently children have no use for bathrooms!

And my walk-in wardrobe should be turned back to a spare room. We have 2 already but people don't like it.

I still have my wooden front door (Kentucky style door with clear bullseye glass in some of the panes) and people are always surprised when I say I won't be changing my front door for a UPVC or composite one, because I simply LIKE my door.
Also got leaded windows in the diamond shapes.
Older style furniture (Chesterfield sofa, Queen Anne style lamp tables etc)
No air fryer, no microwave, no dishwasher and no tumbledryer.
I love my home - it's cosy, comfortable and a happy place and I've always liked old-fashioned styles for some reason - we did have everything really modern before we "did down" our room and I prefer its olde-worlde charm

One thing I have got that I despise, is those vertical blinds that always remind me of offices, surgeries and college but so many people seem to have them.

I have been very lucky to inherit several pieces of vintage wooden furniture. It's probably circa 1930s and 40s so I wouldn't go so far as to call it antique. I think it looks great and I love it.

I needed more storage space so bought a vintage walnut wood cupboard for my living room. It fits in nicely with the vibe and the shop owner practically gave it to me for free, because he said nobody likes that style any more, everybody wants modern stuff instead.

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.

@AngelsWithSilverWings - me neither, but we inherited fake grass when we moved. The garden is only about 10 foot square, and - after years of squelching through a muddy lawn - it's amazing to be able to walk across the "grass" whatever the weather!

Open plan

Grey kitchen

Fake grass

En suite

All reviled on MN but am very happy with all of them

To the serving hatch / stained glass fans, an old boyfriend of mine had a serving hatch, and I happened to be taking stained glass panel classes at the time, so I made a beautiful panel to fit in the space (having taken the doors off.)

Thankfully he returned it to me when we broke up.

Oh, he also had a bidet. I loved that!

One of the few houses in the neighbourhood that didn’t knock the wall between two downstairs rooms. During lockdown we used that room to homeschool, contained all the crap and kept some semblance of school/life separation that saved our sanity. It’s now the teenagers game room. Everyone who visits tells me I should knock the wall, then moans about the problems created by open plan living.

I also have a gorgeous 1970s coloured bathroom suite that I will defend to the last.

Absolutely hate all these huge rooms. Much prefer houses that have kept the original.
My mum really regretted doing it.
If I bought a house like your neighbours I’d be putting it back in.

At primary school, I had a friend whose living room had both a serving hatch and a large fishtank built into the dividing wall. It was awesome. Everything is so bland and correct now.

Bed bugs - to be fair it's them that refuse to change, not me
Holey matted stained carpet and severe mould on walls - landlady refuses to change, not me
Sharing toilet and kitchen facilities with 11 random and ever changing males - see point (2) above

Feel sorry for you all with your terrible artex walls 😢

Coal fires here too!

How are you getting on with the replacement coal we have to use now. I'm finding it hard to light and it gives off far less heat.

Do you find the same or do I need to try a different brand? I'm not sure which we have as it comes from the coalman but it is sucking quite a lot of the joy from a real fire. If it wasn't the original 1802 grate I'd rip it out and put a log burner in there.

Solidarity here Freak 👋 when I was on my own, my living room was my favourite space, had my sheepskin rugs, fancy cushions, decorated in creams & beige, brown comfy sofas and goldy bits of ornaments, nice candles, mirror etc. Quite girly, as only me and the dog to see it.

I met my (now) DP, and we were chatting decorating likes and dislikes - I showed him photos of my living room and to my horror, he said “ it looks like a Toms waiting room” (Tom being an old cockney word for prostitute)

4 years on, he moves in… I negotiated that if he wants to change anything, he sorts it out himself, costs included, thinking it will put him off.

He calls my bluff…

Reader, I now have a grey living room, bluey- grey sofa, curtains etc. The walls are a very pale grey, and accessories are silver. I have sneaked some sequins in, and very poncey tiebacks, but I have all new stuff, he’s chuffed with making the room more ‘blokey’ and I’m secretly really glad I let him loose.
.

They sound lovely!

I have no shower and no dishwasher or tumble dryer, just dont see the point in any of them TBH!
oh, also no running hot water for about 3-4 yrs now and it doesnt bother me (bathroom is right next to the kitchen so its easy to just heat up a kettle for hot water).

Also I have the same mirrors up that came with the house about 26 yrs ago and my 'temporary' back step is an old plastic exercise step that I bought as a teenager.
I never understand those people who just 'cant live with/out' x,y or z thing..... Im generally unbothered by most things and tend to ignore fashions in decorating.

I understand. I did a video of lighting my last fire with house coal. Will never see that roaring fire again, very sad. Mind you, house coal isn't banned in Wales & Scotland but you need a legit postcode for it to be delivered to so our faking it plans didn't get off the ground.

I never thought I'd be able to make my peace with whatever the new coal is called but I just about have. It takes a LOT more wood to light it and then to build it up & get a proper fire going but I find that it does give out good heat if you've got the patience to tend it and wait for about 2 hours.

I'm not sure what kind we get. Husband is the getter of coal, I am the twisted firestarter.

If you have no shower and no hot running water, how do you wash yourself?

Both are environmentally problematic, but fake grass has the extra problem over paving that it's not biodegradable, and will last i landfill for longer than nuclear waste.

I live in a country cottage, replete with "oppressive" wooden beams, tiny windows and a "pauper's ceiling". It features a substantial modern log burner which I really enjoy, despite it being the biggest MN sin anyone can commit. (Apart from the all-electric SUV parked outside ofc.)

I have worked hard to maintain the country charm, but I have introduced some modern features such as a functional modern bathroom and metro tiles. Sorry, I can hear the creak as you all recoil in horror.

Worst of all, at least 3 rooms in my house have feature walls. 4 rooms, if you count the downstairs loo... with it's garish wallpaper. Horror of horrors.

At least there are a lot of books on the shelves. Heaven forbid.

Yes. I am very happy with our fake grass. Our back garden is very small and the rectangle of fake grass in the middle is maybe 3mx 5m. Loads of plants in deep borders around it. I hear all the environmental arguments but there is no way that my 15msq makes any material difference to the ecosystem of North London. The old lawn was muddy and patchy and looked shit.