Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

How important is the exterior look of a house to you?

50 replies

HeadFairy · 25/02/2009 20:55

DH and I have very different ideas about what's important in a house (surprise surprise!) To me character is important, I'd even rather live in a lovely old house that might be on the small side than a large but ugly house.

OP posts:
Colonelcupcake · 25/02/2009 20:57

Fairly to very it has to look like a home not just a boring house

HumphreyCobbler · 25/02/2009 20:57

I do agree with you.

I would always prefer wooden windows too, in fact we have taken out plastic and replaced with wood once before.

MrsMattie · 25/02/2009 20:58

Um...sort of important. I'm not keen on town houses or new builds, really. I like period houses - 1930s or older, ideally. I absolutely adored the front garden when I viewed our house - a big, ramshackle plot of herbs and shrubs - and it really helped sell the house to me, which shows you how nutty I am . I was also a bit put off our house by the pebble dash, but it's almost inevitable in this area if London, which was badly damaged during WW2, so I had to accept it in the end...

Original poster
HeadFairy · 25/02/2009 21:00

Ok, I'll show you two properties, tell me which one you'd prefer (ignoring price, both are in our budget)

property 1

property 2

OP posts:
Original poster
HeadFairy · 25/02/2009 21:22

Property 2 has more space, but I just don't like the way it looks, but dh thinks property 1 is too small, and the garden is too small..

OP posts:
CantSleepWontSleep · 25/02/2009 21:36

I prefer property 2 because it has parking and a big garden for the dc to play in. The bedroom sizes are actually smaller in property 2 though aren't they?

CantSleepWontSleep · 25/02/2009 21:37

I hadn't spotted the prices, but just found them. Why is property 1 more expensive? Is the location a lot better?

Quattrocento · 25/02/2009 21:38

Property 2

The word featureless does not even begin to describe property 1

bran · 25/02/2009 21:39

I prefer the look of property 2, and I think the right planting and landscaping could make it look gorgeous. It has a very pretty roof shape IMO.

VinoEsmeralda · 25/02/2009 21:42

Property two, bigger garden, off road parking plus with £50 K difference will leave you a lot of budget to make it realy yours

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 25/02/2009 21:42

I prefer 2 as well.

So much more space and light. Victorian houses do look lots prettier from the outside, but I often find them dark inside.

And you spend more time inside than you spend looking at the outside of the house.

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 25/02/2009 21:44

Gwaaaan, embrace the suburbs, you know you want to

edam · 25/02/2009 21:45

Property 1 looks prettier to me (but I live in a 1970s townhouse so am starved of period detail).

Original poster
HeadFairy · 25/02/2009 21:48

Mary

I'm surprised you all prefer property 2. It's not that I hate it, but I think property 1 looks more homely. I love the fireplace and the lovely bay window... however I can see the attraction of the big garden and more space in property 2.

I'm going to need that £50k extra though, I hate the bathroom, the fireplace in the living room, that nasty asbestos garage will have to go from the back garden, the kitchen needs replacing... I suppose I could always grow a nice big honeysuckle up the front to hide it

OP posts:
HateSponge · 25/02/2009 21:50

property 2.

the garden is lovely (am v as I can only afford house with a truly tiny garden!)

tigerdriver · 25/02/2009 21:51

What it looks like is sooo important, you come home to it every day, so think how you feel about walking up to it...

I haven't done the grand tour of these two but property 2 looks nicer from the picture.

EyeballsintheSky · 25/02/2009 21:52

Property 2 definitely. I live in something not dissimilar to property 1 and I would go for the parking every single time, even if the house was a hovel. Can you tell we have parking issues?

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 25/02/2009 21:53

It does need work, i'll give you that. Is that really snookertable green carpet in the dining room

We've moved from a house like 1 to one like 2. I definitely love the extra space.

What's the floor in the hall like? You might find there's a lovely woodblock floor under that laminate in the front room.

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 25/02/2009 21:53

It does need work, i'll give you that. Is that really snookertable green carpet in the dining room

We've moved from a house like 1 to one like 2. I definitely love the extra space.

What's the floor in the hall like? You might find there's a lovely woodblock floor under that laminate in the front room.

bran · 25/02/2009 21:54

I think the prettiest thing about the front of property 1 is it's picket fence, whereas property 2 just has a huge bland lawn leading up to it.

You could really improve property 2 by stopping the driveway short of the house and making the last third of the front garden into a pretty garden with a picket fence, a couple of graceful trees and fluffy planting. You could even put an arch over the gate in the fence and plant a climber over it. It would make the whole thing look quite cottagey and less bleak.

ellingwoman · 25/02/2009 21:58

Property 2 for the gardens and parking. The bedrooms are tiny though! You could extend out the front perhaps with the 50k you saved on property 1?

tattycoram · 25/02/2009 22:03

I always prefer period houses too, but the garden in property 2 would totally swing it for me. It's massive!

tattycoram · 25/02/2009 22:04

Agree with Bran that you could definitely improve the way the front of the house looks

Original poster
HeadFairy · 25/02/2009 22:20

eyeballs, we have really bad parking problems too, I've long dreamed of being able to come back from the supermarket with a boot full of food and being able to just drive up to the house, rather than play the stupid park/drop food off/repark game...

I could definitely do something with that front though, lots of nice shrubs, perhaps a couple of trees, I've always wanted to have a magnolia tree or a cherry tree. Something flowery and pretty.

Good thing my mum's an interior designer, I'd have to get rid of that nasty green carpet. God knows what I'd do with the fireplace though. I really want a real fire, but I hate that mock marble monstrosity. I'm happy to scour salvage yards, but what type of fireplace suits a house like that? I know I'm way ahead of myself, we're only going for a viewing, but I need to know I can do something with it!

OP posts:
Sputnik · 25/02/2009 22:35

I prefer 2 as well, more space and light. You spend more time on the inside than the outside of your house after all. And that sloping attic ceiling in the bedroom of no.1 would get on my nerves. Plus the kitchen of no.2 is marginally less hideous. The garden of no.2 is fantastic.
Trust me, I have lived in "pretty" houses, in the end functionality is more important.
Listen to your DH (sorry).