Pet Peeves: The Holy Trinity and Beyond

[Bastet]

What drives you crazy about the HHs?  A few of my many, many pet peeves:

When it comes to the holy trinity of hardwood floors, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, I actually like all but the last one myself.  But I'm so tired of almost every HH wanting the same thing.  Especially when they talk as though a stainless steel finish means a higher-quality appliance.

I can't stand "This would be great for entertaining" anymore.  Mix it up a little, please!  "This dining room would be nice for dinner parties."  "This deck would be a great place for game nights in the summer."  Whatever, just something besides "entertaining" falling out of everyone's mouth. 

Same with "These windows let in a lot of natural light."  Ample natural light is very important to me; I do not want to live someplace where I need to turn a lamp on during the day.  But where else is natural light going to come from but the windows?  Just say, "It's nice and light in here."

Double sinks in the master bathroom.  There is no way the percentage of people in this country getting ready at the same time every morning is equal to the percentage of HHs who need to do so.

Price point.  It's a perfectly valid real estate term, but it drives me batty for some reason.  (I say "price range" or "budget".)

Americans going abroad for a new or vacation home who babble on and on about wanting to immerse themselves in this new culture ... and then bitch about every single thing that isn't the same as it is back home.

[ChlcGirl]

I am going to start this rant with the statement that I love HH/HHI/HGTV but sweet Jiminy Cricket I want to slap people.

- Absolutely hardwood/granite countertops/stainless steel appliances.

- The term "man cave." If I never hear it again I will be happy.

-"The master bedroom isn't very big .." Excuse me, do you need to live your entire life in that one room or do you have an entire house??? What are you planning on doing there besides SLEEPING?? Ballroom dancing??

- "We need lots of room for entertaining." No you don't. No one entertains that much.

- Woman to the man, "where will your clothes go???" Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up.

[auntjess]

On the master bedroom issue, so many of these people have young kids, and I can't imagine they'll get much time to chill out in the bedroom, for a lot of years.
And you're a blogger or a scrapbooker (whatever the hell that entails,) and you need an office to do this?  Are you making enough money from it to merit that?

 

[ChlcGirl]

Oh god yes. The home office. So silly.

[OSM Mom]

Scrapbooking can be a very messy and involved hobby.  Tons and tons of stuff.  But that being said, yeah, it's such a cliche.  And everyone needs an "office".  Because having a computer in the living room is beyond comprehension.  I guess I've damaged my children over the years by having it in the living room.   And the open floor plan can go away anytime.  I'm sick of people thinking that they have to be in constant eye contact with everyone in the house at all times. 

Edited April 3, 2014 by OSM Mom

[ChlcGirl]

This seems like the laundry list of rooms needed for a typical family now: formal living room, dining room, kitchen with great room (for all the entertaining!), laundry room, half bath, home office, master bedroom with ensuite, two more bedrooms minimum, full bath, play room and 2 car garage. Did I get everything??? OH WAIT!!! Backyard with deck.

I mean ... people, COME ON.

Dammit, i forgot the finished basement.

[OSM Mom]

And a house built 10 years ago is "dated" and the kitchen/bathrooms "have to be gutted".  STFU.  

[ChlcGirl]

I also get annoyed with people who complain about the color of walls.  It is called "paint," people.  Learn to embrace the idea of it.

I REALLY sound like I hate this show but I really don't!  I have been known to fall into the rabbit hole of a HH/HHI marathon and not emerge for hours and hours. 

Edited April 3, 2014 by ChlcGirl

[all4mom]

"This bedroom is so dark; it has no natural light or windows or has a bad view."  Hello, it's for SLEEPING.

Edited April 3, 2014 by all4mom

[Bastet]

My bedroom pet peeve is "It's too small."  Everything I do in the bedroom revolves around the bed, so if there's room for that, nightstands and a dresser without feeling cramped, it's big enough for me and I'd far rather the remaining square footage go to the living room or kitchen.  But a lot of those HHs need room for a bedroom furniture set-up, some sort of reading/eating/TV viewing nook, and enough empty floor space in between to host a square dance.

[roughing it]

I don't have stainless steel appliances, but my daughter does.  When she was moving to her new house, I saw that the stainless steel refrigerator was only "stainless steel" on the front.  The sides look exactly like my fridge, painted, except hers is gray.  So to have a quivering orgasm because the home has SS, or complete disdain because it doesn't, just makes the HO look like an idiot.  Especially if they don't cook anyway.

[ChlcGirl]

Which reminds me of something i always though was odd. Have you ever noticed that when someone says they like cooking, they are usually seen either baking cookies or cutting up vegetables for a salad?

[Tink]

My mom watches HH and now truly believes that her house will never sell because it doesn't have a giant master bath with double sinks, it has popcorn ceilings, and it doesn't have walk-in closets.

[darbar]

What is it about these American couples who move to Europe and demand that the houses/apartments look like "home". Why do they NEED a dishwasher? Do they not know what a sink and sponge are for? You're in a beautiful country, you're not in the US. If you want an American type kitchen, stay the hell home.

[OSM Mom]

I don't begrudge anyone a dishwasher. It's a deal-breaker for me. I like my dishes sanitized. But in another country, if that's not what they have, then hush.

[Rhondinella]

Interestingly, OSM Mom, I lived in Europe for a while (Belgium) and I knew several women who had dishwashers but didn't use them.  They didn't trust that the machine would get the dishes as clean as they would.  I thought they were insane.  I didn't have a dishwasher and wanted one so badly.  But the Belgians are notoriously picky about their cleanliness--women would actually sweep and mop the PUBLIC sidewalk in front of their house every morning.
 

Anyway, topic?  I agree with most of what has been said here.  The twin sinks in the master bath is the thing that annoys me most, I think.  I mean, maybe my husband and I are different, but we are on completely different body clocks (he gets up at 5, I stumble out of bed no earlier than 8 if I can help it), and so we almost never use the bathroom mirrors and sinks at the same time.  So one works fine for us.

Of course, heaven forfend someone should have to wait 30 seconds for their spouse to finish brushing their teeth.

[Irritable]

I really love the concept of this show, but either I am getting grouchier as the years go by, or the hunters are getting more complainey and demanding every season.  I sometimes watch entire episodes with the sound off because I fear that if I hear one more whiney voiced person complain about something being HORRIBLE and OMG NASTY, when it's simply a feature that is not to their taste, I will snap.  I saw a young swim instructor react to seeing carpet with such dramatic revulsion that you would have thought the agent had just taken her to a gory crime scene so fresh that blood was still running down the walls.  When people curl up their lips and say a kitchen has to be redone because they don't like the color of the granite countertops, I want to kick them right in the throat.  Oh, and when I hear things like, "What were they thinking?!?!" and "That is just AWFUL" about perfectly serviceable and not particularly hideous things that I have in my own home, like for instance, ceiling fans in the bedrooms, it makes me admittedly testy.  You don't want a fan in your bedroom?  Okay, then say you would take it down and put up a chandelier or whatever, but acting like I have bad taste and my bedroom is a nauseating embarrassment because I like to have extra air circulation at night gets my dander up.   I'd like to see these same people walk into a house that had formerly belonged to a hoarder...THEN they would have something legit to complain about, like why is there only stained subflooring throughout, why does the whole place smell like urine and where are all these cockroaches coming from?  The people on HH don't seem to have a lot of perspective, they expect high perfection on a low budget that includes everything they want, right down to light fixtures that are already suited to their particular tastes.  And a pool.

 

I'm definitely tired of the Holy Trinity, because it seems by now that everyone either wants it, or already has it.  I used to think I wanted granite counters, but after seeing how oversaturated the market is with what ends up looking to me like the same kitchen over and over and over, I've decided to do stained concrete counters because I don't really want my kitchen to look like everyone else's.  Just as people came to despise the 1970's explosion of Gold and Avocado appliances, so too shall people eventually see granite counters with stainless steel appliances and say, "Ugh, this kitchen is so DATED.  It's a total gut job.  What were they THINKING????"

I didn't mean to say all that, I really came here just to tell someone who would listen how much I disliked the swim instructor because of her lunacy over carpet.

 

ps:  I thought I would quietly throw in that home office and/or hobby rooms are great if you are able to have one.  Not everyone has a spare room to use just as a home office / workroom / studio, but we are lucky enough to have a bonus room over the garage for our desks with separate computers, plus large work surfaces, storage for supplies and filing of personal and financial documents.  I totally understand why some people put that on their wishlist, and when the time comes for us to move, it will be on ours.  I know people who have to drag all their stuff out to the dining room table whenever they need to spread out to work on projects, and then put it all away every night for dinner, and that must suck, especially if it's a hobby that uses a ton of supplies. 

Edited April 6, 2014 by Irritable

[scrb]

So how many here would not want stainless steel appliances or some kind of slab (as opposed to tile or laminate) counters?

It's funny to make fun of them on TV but wouldn't most of us look for the same things when buying a home or remodeling?

[Bastet]

I don't like a stainless steel finish on appliances, but I do like granite or similar countertops - though not of the ubiquitous patterns used in so much new construction. It's not the personal preference that bugs me, but the repetition; I don't like carpet, either, but I have come to enjoy when a HH is looking for it just because it's a variation from the usual script.

And the combination of dark wood cabinets with long-handled brushed nickle hardware, stainless steel appliances and uba tuba granite countertops will have HHs ten years from now walking in and declaring, "Ugh, this kitchen is so dated; we'll have to gut it."

Edited April 6, 2014 by Bastet

[ChlcGirl]

So how many here would not want stainless steel appliances or some kind of slab (as opposed to tile or laminate) counters?

It's funny to make fun of them on TV but wouldn't most of us look for the same things when buying a home or remodeling?

I definitely wouldn't want either. Stainless steel shows smudges too easily and I think I'd rather have a composite countertop. Easier upkeep.

I'm odd about kitchens though. I wouldn't want any upper cabinets either.

[txvoodoo]

I have brushed stainless appliances, and they work for us. There are just 2 of us, I wipe it down a couple of times a week. I like them because they're utterly neutral, and every white fridge I've had has yellowed over time. 

I like hardwood floors! GOOD ones. Because you can refinish them to the end of time, if they're thick enough. Sand 'em down, refinish. And they're pretty. :D

I hate granite. Seriously, most of the granite patterns I find just plain fugly. Eventually I'll be redoing my kitchen, and what I want black quartz. That stuff is sturdy, and black won't go out of style. Ever. As far as cabinets, I'd like dark wood on the bottom, and white on top, because it'd complement my kitchen. I love all-white kitchens, but the bottom cabinets don't always wear as well. And my kitchen size is pretty huge, and I'm afraid it'd look too sterile and clinical.

Honestly, I'd really like an eco-friendly solid surface, but those are actually more expensive! 

But mostly, I'm about simplicity and functionality. Granite is a fad. 

But good god, we're SO SPOILED today. Our kitchens are massive! 

[OSM Mom]

I'm odd about kitchens though. I wouldn't want any upper cabinets either.

Seriously? Just bare walls? Now that's something I'd like to see a HH ask for.

[ChlcGirl]

Lol not totally bare. I'd like some open shelves. I have nice all white dishes and serving pieces and would like to show them rather than stick them in a cabinet :)

Edited April 7, 2014 by ChlcGirl

[OSM Mom]

Oh OK. That's different. Thanks for clarifying. ;)

[txvoodoo]

Things being dated. Today, we have a good example of this! A pretty much brand-new build, and the woman is confusing a vintage STYLE faucet fixture with actually vintage.

Pictorial evidence - the close-captioning is on there:

[auntjess]

As to the dated faucets, on an episode of I Want That, they showed a new faucet, I think by Kohler, where the plumbed part stays the same, but the showy part unscrews, and when you want to change the look, it's easy to do yourself.

I'm now in an apartment with granite-look laminate, and I hate it.  I want a counter that shows if there are crumbs or spills, so I can wipe them.

And as a dog owner, I would never want all hardwood floors.  Carpet is much softer to lie on, and just vacuum it.

[all4mom]

Does anyone even USE kitchens or dining rooms anymore?  Virtually everyone I know (except me; I'm frugal) eats outs or carries in nearly every meal.  I gather the "professional ovens" are all for show once or twice a year.  This culture is so messed up, and our houses -- and taste in houses -- definitely reflects it...  Someone should use HH and HHI for a doctoral thesis in anthropology or sociology.

[ChlcGirl]

I use my kitchen as I cook pretty much every day, but I find most of what people feel they need in houses to be wastes of space.  Vaulted entryways, formal dining rooms and living rooms, huge master bedrooms and baths ... all wasteful and I can't figure out WHY they are needed.

If I was building a house now, I would do a one floor.  One open room that would be a kitchen in one corner, with my dining and living area.  Lots of built-ins with open shelving on top and cabinets below (I have a lot of books and movies).  "Master" suite with sleeping area big enough for queen size bed, small chest of drawers and night stand.  Nice sized closet for all my clothes.  Smallish bath with tub (because I genuinely like baths) and shower.  Another bath and another bedroom with a generous closet.  I'd put in a daybed so it can be for guests and just use it as a craft room otherwise.

[rhofmovalley]

I'm moving into a new (to us) house with my bro and his kids, and he is pretty unhappy that there's tile and hardwood floors throughout.  He prefers carpet for the coziness factor.  Obviously he doesn't watch HH, otherwise he'd know that carpet is FILTHY and DISGUSTING!!!  I calmed him down by mentioning we can get an array of fluffy area rugs for the kids to lounge on, and some runners for walking from room to room.

The kitchen is HUGE with granite, stainless and tile!  We both love to cook so we are already having to plan a cooking "schedule"  The master bedroom has a sitting room, fireplace and wet bar, plus his and hers walk-in closets and separate vanities in the master bath.  There's even a separate "powder room" on the first floor!  We will be living in HH Nirvana!  However, the house we preferred had all carpet (horrors!) but we didn't get it.

I better get him to watching HH stat so he is educated on what constitutes a "good" house.  As for me, I could care less about granite, stainless or hardwood floors.  

[auntjess]

 Some of us are from the generation that laid the carpets over the hardwood, that you can now uncover.

And 30 or 40 years ago, floors weren't treated with acrylic, so to keep a shine, you really needed paste wax, and buffing.  Carpet was a lot easier.

[Bastet]

And thank heavens for that, because people having carpet over my house's original hardwood floors for decades meant that when I pulled it up I had mostly undamaged 1938 hardwood to enjoy.  I prefer hardwood floors both aesthetically and because it can be kept so much cleaner, but as I said above I enjoy seeing HHs who prefer carpet just because they're far more rare a species on the show than they are in real life.

I had a couple of repeats on in the background yesterday, and it struck me anew how much my definition of a small - or should I say "tight" - room differs from most of the HHs'.  Simply saying, "I wish this room was bigger" instead would annoy me less.

[OSM Mom]

And carpet was a sign of wealth at one point. I remember my mom telling me that poor people had wood floors. Rich or well off people had carpeting.

[LazyToaster]

I'm old enough to remember when it was called wall to wall carpet and it was considered fancy.

[OSM Mom]

Same here.

[rhofmovalley]

I lived in government housing for a few years when I was a kid.  It was former military housing converted to apartments.  The apartments had the most gorgeous hardwood floors you ever saw.  Our particular unit had carpet installed over the wood, but our neighbors (and best friends) had the original hardwood with occasional rugs thrown over it.  One thing I do have to say is, I did on a few occasions slip on the area rugs and fall.  However, I did survive :)

[mojito]

More Pet Peeves:

1. The porcelain children they're producing who can't deal with stairs or hardwood floors and have to be under Mommy's watch at all times. Remember when Mommy only came looking for us when we got too quiet or someone yelled that someone was bleeding ("A lot or a little?", "Just a little", "Okay, rinse it off and see if you can find a Band Aid.")

2. All the damned personal space we have to have. In Europe, American kids have to have back yards to play in. Our surburban home has to provide us with complete privacy from all the neighbors who have nothing better to do than monitor our every movement.

3. Closet space. Storage space. Seriously, did it ever occur to you that you have too much stuff?

4. You have a new baby, you need new house with one more bedroom.

Anyone else think it sounds odd when people say, "It's loud out here?" To me, it's "noisy" out here because the train whistle is "loud". Minor, but always sounds odd to me.

Can anyone talk without stating: Absolutely, Awesome, Actually, and Amazing? Yeah, that's picky, too....

Edited April 14, 2014 by mojito

[Bastet]

Closet space. Storage space. Seriously, did it ever occur to you that you have too much stuff?

You should watch with me; I have actually sat on the couch yelling, "No, you have too much stuff!" at the TV when HHs say, "We don't have enough storage space."

The porcelain children they're producing who can't deal with stairs or hardwood floors and have to be under Mommy's watch at all times.

Ugh.  A societal problem, I understand, but this show sure does shed a light on it.

On a similar kids and privacy note, another of my pet peeves is the proliferation of parenting HHs who freak out at the thought of the master bedroom being "too far away" from the kid(s)' bedroom.  The years during which everyone is going to want privacy will vastly outnumber those in which it's convenient for the child to be in the room next door.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Bastet

[mojito]

I'm one of three children....who survived. The other seven died from falling off a balcony, playing in the basement while my mother was in the kitchen, tripping down the stairs, dying of loneliness banished to a bedroom upstairs while my parents slept downstairs, falling on a non-carpeted floor, and then dying from allergies when they finally did carpet the floor, and drowning after picking the lock on the gate to the pool.

[rhofmovalley]

What about the siblings who went insane from being spied on by the neighbors??

[SunnyBeBe]

Some comments that annoy me are when they say the space in the house would make a perfect place to curl up and read a book.   Really?  Why don't I buy that?  I suspect many more people use that phrase than actually do it. ( No offense to those who really do read books).  lol

I also can't imagine why so many consider a "guest room and bath" so important.  They seem to rule out a proper place, due to not enough room for guests.  Why can't guests get a hotel room or sleep on the couch?  I don't think my family and friends are that overly concerned with guests. Maybe they are included in that large group of people the homeowner "entertains." 

And how many days do you really get out of bed, get coffee and sit on your bedroom balcony?  I think more people talk about it than actually do it.  I can see it in Paris, but in the suburbs?

It's now at the point that they show so many spoiled, nit picky and unrealistic home buyers that it makes me dislike them and feel they don't deserve a nice home. lol I think we are supposed to root for the home buyer to find a place they love.  I'm not feeling it most of the time.  How about some deserving, appreciative people.    

[ChlcGirl]

The separate guest and home office space bothers me as well.  Why not combine the two so you don't have unused space?  Unless you want guests to spend weeks at a time in your home.  Then you are just weird. :D

[SunnyBeBe]

I also don't understand home buyers who want to live in the heart of the city, but the noise is way too loud for them. I'm not sure where in the heart of the city they will find a tranquil little hide-a-way.  

[Bastet]

Oh, yes - people who state they want something, and then go on to complain about everything endemic to that want. 

"I want to live in the city centre."
"Oh, it's so noisy here; I can hear the street traffic."

"I want an older house with character."
"These closets are so small!  And the kitchen isn't open to the living room."

"I want a brand new home in a development."
"Ugh, there's construction [of other houses] going on."

[mojito]

 

What about the siblings who went insane from being spied on by the neighbors??

I spent three days in a coma when I was four when I fell off my tricycle and wasn't wearing a helmet and pads....

Bastet, that is so true. And "There's only one bathroom?" (in the character home, of course).

Edited April 15, 2014 by mojito

[whatsatool]

This seems like the laundry list of rooms needed for a typical family now: formal living room, dining room, kitchen with great room (for all the entertaining!), laundry room, half bath, home office, master bedroom with ensuite, two more bedrooms minimum, full bath, play room and 2 car garage. Did I get everything??? OH WAIT!!! Backyard with deck.

I mean ... people, COME ON.

Dammit, i forgot the finished basement.

The mud room

[roughing it]

Pet Peeve - the nonstop chatter

HH walks into the bedroom "there's lots of natural light look at the baseboards ooh the carpet has to go look at this closet not enough for your stuff honey you can see the neighbors the ceiling fan is so dated this room is small the paint is hideous is this the only closet ooh a balcony I can see myself going downstairs to make my coffee in the morning then dragging it back up here so i can sit out on the balcony every morning while the kids are screaming for their breakfast

Lame chatter continues in each-and-every-room

[Rhondinella]

Remember when Mommy only came looking for us when we got too quiet or someone yelled that someone was bleeding

Heck my dad used to make us play outside and then LOCK THE DOORS SO WE COULDN'T COME IN.  For several hours.  (He worked 3rd shift and needed some quiet to sleep in the mornings).  We'd be all, "But what if we get thirsty?" Dad: "There's a hose out back."  (I'm not making this up).

My favorites are those who want to live downtown but want privacy from the neighbors.  *facepalm*

Lame chatter continues in each-and-every-room

I always assumed the director/producers were encouraging that.  I mean, if they don't talk about what they don't like, how can we hate them?

[darbar]

I hate the people who have a budget, but complain when the realtor shows them a house near the top of this supposed budget. If your budget is $400,000 tops, shut the hell up when you're shown a house for $399,000.

[whatsatool]

"Quote

    Remember when Mommy only came looking for us when we got too quiet or someone yelled that someone was bleeding

Heck my dad used to make us play outside and then LOCK THE DOORS SO WE COULDN'T COME IN.  For several hours.  (He worked 3rd shift and needed some quiet to sleep in the mornings).  We'd be all, "But what if we get thirsty?" Dad: "There's a hose out back."  (I'm not making this up)."

 

I remember my Mom not calling me for supper because she thought I was enjoying myself so much at the next door neighbor's construction site. Not even dessert!

[OSM Mom]

I hate the people who have a budget, but complain when the realtor shows them a house near the top of this supposed budget. If your budget is $400,000 tops, shut the hell up when you're shown a house for $399,000.

I want to slap the Realtors that show someone with a $400,000 budget a $450,000 house.