Pet Peeves: The Holy Trinity and Beyond

[Mittengirl]

I really need the producers to make up their mind up about Southern California- it seems like on one episode people are moving there to “enjoy the laid-back lifestyle” and then thirty minutes later someone is moving from Southern California to “escape the hustle and bustle” and/or “fast-paced lifestyle”.   So which is it?  

 

Also, I really hate the new overused phrase “as a family”.   “We need a big kitchen so we can cook as a family.” “We need a big deck so we can enjoy the view as a family.”  “We need a big family room so we can watch tv and play board games as a family”.   “We need a big master bath so we can bathe as a family”.  O.K., so far no one has said the last one, but give it time.   The phrase just bugs me,  almost as much as “change/switch it out”.

 

Also why do people say “grill out”?   While standing on a deck “This would be a great place for me to grill out”.  Are there many people grilling in their home?  

[chessiegal]

7 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Also why do people say “grill out”?   While standing on a deck “This would be a great place for me to grill out”.  Are there many people grilling in their home?  

This has been discussed in the commercial thread. Evidently it's a regional expression. Sounds perfectly normal to my ears.

[mojito]

Quote

OK, someone has been visiting here and decided to get a byline by using all of our pet peeves! Anyone here responsible for this article?

https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/the-most-hated-decorating-trends-that-need-to-disappear.html/?ref=YF&yptr=yahoo&ref=yfp

Fun stuff. In the process of writing this, the author fell into some other tired words, like "literally" and "absolutely". It happens to the best of us.

I was surprised to see the chevron pattern. I thought it had already bitten the dust. Hadn't seen it in a while. Maybe I just didn't notice it. 

The author endorses the tuxedo look for cabinets, which, no doubt, will be the next trend people will be writing about negatively.

I'm already tired of arabesque tiles. That didn't take long.

The new cookie cutter home's interior is a white kitchen with big-ass island, a rectangular dining room table just a few feet away, and the rectangular living room just beyond that. When someone's banging pots and pans and running water, it's not pleasant to be in the living room talking or watching TV or listening to music. 

If you're going to have a gigantic island that you expect me to gather around while you prepare food and "entertain" me, you need to provide me with a chair and at least have some sort of Benihana-style chopping skills for me to be in awe of. Otherwise, send me to the living room with the Cheetos and Chex Mix.

[biakbiak]

21 hours ago, mojito said:

Do people throw parties where the guests stay after the hosts have gone to bed? I always leave before the host retires.

I know a lot of couples who go to sleep at different times and some where one of them go to sleep while guests are still there.

[auntjess]

I don't care for barn doors, but I think they're used as cheaper and easier substitute for true pocket doors, which I like for some rooms.
White bathrooms are what I hate, especially with the octagonal tile.  Reminds me of my great-aunt's house, and I can smell the Lifebuoy soap when I see one.

[laredhead]

I am not a fan of open concept or of barn doors because they eliminate wall space where art and pictures can be hung.  I would rather have a pocket door.  Wish I had about 3 or 4 more in my house.

[auntjess]

12 minutes ago, laredhead said:

I am not a fan of open concept or of barn doors because they eliminate wall space where art and pictures can be hung. 

Or where can you put the piano.  But mostly, where can you close off the kids or dogs?
And they talked about painting brick indoors, which I don't care for, but what's worse is when they paint the exterior of a brick house, you're committing people to a lifetime of expensive repaints, untless you get it air blasted off.
And I like brick.

[chessiegal]

I was at a home today for a meeting. I'd been there before, but forgot that their huge kitchen has 2 islands that face into the great room. the first island near the fridge has a sink and cooktop. The second island has a prep/bar sink. All three sides of the kitchen/great room are huge windows, because the house overlooks the Severn River and the Naval Academy. Gorgeous house.

[Kohola3]

Quote

I am not a fan of open concept or of barn doors because they eliminate wall space where art and pictures can be hung.  I would rather have a pocket door.

I dislike pocket doors for exactly that reason  Plus they are never really tight so sounds and smells cannot be contained. Every single door in my new (and last) house  is a pocket door.  No three feet of wasted space at each doorway.  And they can be locked.

[mojito]

Quote

I am not a fan of open concept or of barn doors because they eliminate wall space where art and pictures can be hung.  I would rather have a pocket door.  Wish I had about 3 or 4 more in my house.

One place where the barn door makes sense for me is in those home where the bathroom sink is outside the shower and toilet area, as much in the bedroom as the bathroom (like some hotel bathrooms). It's a gaping opening that is nicely closed off with the barn door. I've a feeling, though, that most people probably end up keeping it open anyway, out of laziness.

[auntjess]

True pocket doors go inside a pocket in the wall, and don't take wall space.
I think of them as used in for dining rooms, drawing rooms, etc. in a very large mansion.

[Kohola3]

16 minutes ago, auntjess said:

True pocket doors go inside a pocket in the wall, and don't take wall space.
I think of them as used in for dining rooms, drawing rooms, etc. in a very large mansion.

Um, well, while my 1200 sq. foot house is certainly my palace, it's no mansion.  I have them in all rooms but one where there was no option due to electric circuits.  I don't waste one inch of wall space because they slide into the wall and out of sight.

[AnnaRose]

I love pocket doors!  I wish I had some in my own home. 

[Nysha]

My friends and I don't "entertain" or have dinner parties. When we get together for meals, we gather in the kitchen and prepare it together. There are usually grandchildren or adult children present, also. The best house is the one with a huge kitchen island that we can all gather around to work and visit. The worst is the open concept house with the living room attached to the kitchen, so we have to talk over the TV or the kids playing X-box.

Edited October 20, 2017 by Nysha

[auntjess]

33 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Um, well, while my 1200 sq. foot house is certainly my palace, it's no mansion.  I have them in all rooms but one where there was no option due to electric circuits.  I don't waste one inch of wall space because they slide into the wall and out of sight.

I hadn't seen the newer ones until I googled it, but I remember in period dramas, the butler slides them into the wall when dinner is served.

[Kohola3]

8 minutes ago, auntjess said:

I hadn't seen the newer ones until I googled it, but I remember in period dramas, the butler slides them into the wall when dinner is served.

And it was quite elegant when he did it!  I specifically asked for them when I had the place built 2 years ago.  I imagine a lot of younger folks never heard of them.

[auntjess]

11 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

And it was quite elegant when he did it!

Except for the body slumped over, with the elegant carving knife in its back.

[juliet73]

Besides the constant use of the word AMAZING, I'm tired of hearing AREA.  "This kitchen area doesn't have SS appliances.  Here is the pool area, but where is the acre of grassy area that my chihuahua needs?  I wish the living room area was more open concept.  Is this the master bedroom area?" (did the king sized bed give it away?)  Why isn't it just "the kitchen" or "the backyard" or "the living room/dining room/bedroom"?

Edited October 20, 2017 by juliet73

[auntjess]

Ikea dresser recalls.  They've toppled and killed small children.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/10/20/ikea-recalled-millions-of-dressers-that-were-killing-toddlers-this-family-found-out-too-late/?hpid=hp_no-name_hp-in-the-news%3Apage%2Fin-the-news&utm_term=.3519140a6be2

[CruiseDiva]

I'm so tired of house hunters getting into the real estate agents' faces and saying, "Where's MY 3-car garage, double sinks in bathroom, stainless steel appliances, etc." They sound so entitled and whiny. My this and MY that... quite annoying.

In terms of house style, I don't think any of the house hunters I've seen recently have a clue what a real Craftsman house looks like.

[Kohola3]

6 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

My this and MY that... quite annoying.

Drives me nuts as well.  No one builds a house anticipating what the snowflakes might want when it goes up for sale.  You want all of that "my" crap, then build the damned house and stop bitching about what you see.  Or shut up and put less money into the house so you can buy all of that stuff you simply cannot live without. 

It's a wonder any of us in my generation managed to survive our childhoods in 1000 square foot homes with one bathroom (with a single sink) for the entire family, sharing bedrooms with siblings (which doubled as the "play space") and walls between us and the parents so that we were actually out of sight for hours at a time.  Horrors.

[BlossomCulp]

On 10/19/2017 at 11:01 PM, Nysha said:

The worst is the open concept house with the living room attached to the kitchen, so we have to talk over the TV or the kids playing X-box.

I really want a bigger "entertaining" area in my next house but there is no way I want open concept!  There has to be a happy medium out there between a house with small rooms that are all walled off and what is essentially one big room where there is no privacy and no quiet areas.  Well that's  what I have now I just want it a little bigger.  I really do think that people who have the extreme open concept are going to be very sorry one day.

Edited October 22, 2017 by BlossomCulp

[auntjess]

So do studio apartments now rent at a premium, as "open concept" apartments?

[BlossomCulp]

I saw a bunch of flip shows last night and in every single episode when they redid the main living area they turned it into open concept.  According to the hosts this is what buyers expect.  They want "line of sight" from the kitchen through to the living area and of course they want to be able to see their kids watching TV and they don't want to be closed off from all their guests when they entertain.  I really do get that.  Honestly.  But what I don't get is the one big room - and I agree auntjess are people really going to be happy long term living in what is basically a studio apartment?  Well I guess since they also have their man caves and their master "retreats" they figure the one room on the main floor is doable!  Still it really began to grate with me the way every house, regardless of it's original style or age was turned into open concept.

[laredhead]

I visited a house yesterday (probably around 2200 sf) with the open concept floorplan.  Walked right into what I called chaos.  TV was blaring, kitchen was messy with usual food prep stuff, 2 kids were perched on bar stools chattering and coloring at the huge island, and the everyday clutter of living in a house was evident.  This was not a junked up house, just full of furniture and no sound proofing between "rooms".  I was there about 10 minutes and when I left, I thought everyone who wants this type of living should visit a real one before they begin to knock down walls.  The houses they show on TV are staged with minimal furniture, no everyday clutter, and no real living being shown.

[izabella]

Oh, it's not a ranch!  Oh, it's not a mid-century modern!  Oh, it's not a Tudor, Victorian, Cape Cod!

Do home buyers really care that much about the style of the house?  I can see wanting a single story vs. two story, but being so set on only ONE type of house seems really silly to me.

[laredhead]

Izabella, plus the fact that when I was house hunting, I looked at the pictures of the house on line beforehand if possible and investigated the surrounding houses and neighborhood.  If I didn't like what I saw, I told my realtor don't bother to make an appointment to show it to me.  Most of this is manufactured drama, IMO.  Also asking for a Tudor in Arizona or a Cape Cod in south Louisiana is laughable.

[SunnyBeBe]

Very good points above.

I have watched so much of this stuff, that it's really influenced me in my current home design choices.  I've been planning or pre-planning for awhile.  (long story), but, I have definitely decided no barn doors.  I suspect they are going to become dated pretty quickly.  Plus, aren't pleasing to me eye.  I'm not going with the gold fixtures.  I suspect they will go out again in a few years. I even changed my mind about light gray wall paint!  I loved it, but, it's so common, I've decided to get ahead and not go with it. lol

I'm not sure how I'll make do in my master bath though, because it doesn't have DUAL sinks.  God forbid, but, I'm going to make do.  lol  And, my kitchen is only large enough for 2 people, but, we'll just squeeze in tight.  Tight is okay in the kitchen.  I don't need more than 2 people at a time anyway.  

One thing that I have, that I wish I didn't is a LARGE yard.  Do these complainers about not enough yard space realize how much time and money it takes to maintain a large yard?  I don't think so.  It's a pain, imo.  Unless, you're raising chickens or goats, why so much yard? 

And those who want a beach house, but, complain that the neighbors are close or the road is busy.  You know, most beaches are occupied with lots of people and roads to get access to the beach.  Sometimes, the things they say.  And why can't the realtor just be honest and tell them.  If this house was located over there, it wouldn't be in your price range.  I mean, they will be shown a house that they say is too small and it's too far from the beach.  So, they ask for a larger house, CLOSER to the beach, BUT, it can't be over budget. lol 

Edited October 22, 2017 by SunnyBeBe

[Mittengirl]

If I was house hunting, I would definitely have a layout/floor preference, but exterior style wouldn’t be that big of a deal. How much time do you spend standing on the driveway/sidewalk looking at the front of your house?

It seems like we very seldom see a woman wanting a contemporary style home.  I wonder why?

If the show featured a wider range of age among buyers, I think we would see more variety in house wants/needs. Wish the producers would give that some thought.

[mojito]

I'd like to hear comments on galley kitchens. It seems that people on HH despise galley kitchens. Someone always seems to prove how terrible they are by opening up the dishwasher and the 'fridge and complaining that you can't open both all the way at once. Provided the aisle is wide enough for two bodies to pass simultaneously, I see nothing wrong with this style.  Thoughts?

[SunnyBeBe]

I've never had a galley kitchen, but, I did have a long apt, that is often referred to as Railroad style.  It was a nice older house, which had high ceilings, large windows, solid structure, but, I can see how some might not like the layout.  It takes a lot of thought and adjustment. I think that you can open some up. 

All the complaining about small closets, appliance color, cabinet color, no granite.......oh my.  My must have list is much different like:  safe neighborhood, good roof, good heat/cooling system, no pest, solid structure, good septic, plumbing and electrical.  All the stuff about closet size, cabinets, colors, porches, outdated bathrooms,  etc. ........please.  

[Kohola3]

Quote

 I see nothing wrong with this style.  Thoughts?

Grew up with one and they really save steps.  Essentially you can just pivot around from sink to stove to refrigerator.  No wasted space, no wasted steps.  Other than countertop space (which necessitated a microwave over the stove), it was fine.

[biakbiak]

8 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Grew up with one and they really save steps.  Essentially you can just pivot around from sink to stove to refrigerator.  No wasted space, no wasted steps.  Other than countertop space (which necessitated a microwave over the stove), it was fine.

Completely depends on how it's set up, many galley kitchens aren't set up that way and have sink, stove, and refrigerator along one wall. There are so,e setups of galley kitchens I could handle and others I would find annoying. 

[doodlebug]

5 hours ago, izabella said:

Oh, it's not a ranch!  Oh, it's not a mid-century modern!  Oh, it's not a Tudor, Victorian, Cape Cod!

Do home buyers really care that much about the style of the house?  I can see wanting a single story vs. two story, but being so set on only ONE type of house seems really silly to me.

Also, how many couples out there have diametrically opposed POV as to what sort of house they want?  He wants mid-century modern, she wants a colonial.  She wants open concept, he wants defined rooms.  She wants a condo or townhouse, he wants a big yard.  In real life, I suspect most people manage to hash out this stuff well before they start looking for a house.  The manufactured 'drama' ceases to be dramatic when we get the same story episode. after. episode.

[chessiegal]

I've never had a galley kitchen, but if it had a window, good work triangle, plenty of counter and cabinet space, and two people could be in there and get by each other without doing a Dirty Dancing routine, it would be okay. When I see people on this show declare they will tear out upper cabinets to open a galley kitchen, I think - and how are you going to make up for losing at least 1/3 of your cabinet space? I need lots of cabinet space.

[auntjess]

4 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I'm not going with the gold fixtures.  I suspect they will go out again in a few years.

Someone, maybe Kohler, and maybe others, make fixtures that you can just screw off when styles change, and not have to replumb.
This was advertised on DIY a few years ago, and it sounded like a good idea to me.
On kitchens, I like a big square on, with kitchen table, but the vital thing for me is to have space by the refrigerator, so you can set down heavy things, when you're moving stuff around.
Also, if you have an over not with a stove, you need a place to sit heavy things.

[juliet73]

5 hours ago, mojito said:

I'd like to hear comments on galley kitchens. It seems that people on HH despise galley kitchens. Someone always seems to prove how terrible they are by opening up the dishwasher and the 'fridge and complaining that you can't open both all the way at once. Provided the aisle is wide enough for two bodies to pass simultaneously, I see nothing wrong with this style.  Thoughts?

I currently have a galley kitchen. My house is just under 900 sf ft so that's the only design that works with my floor plan. I can't open the dishwasher or the oven at the same time, then again, I've never needed to. When I remodeled the kitchen about 8 years ago, a couple of friends asked me why I didn't remove one of the walls "to open it up."  1. I would lose about a third of the storage. 2. If I am standing at the front door, I don't want to be able to see every room. 3. I like defined rooms. 

I would prefer a square kitchen with a breakfast bar. I'm not a fan of islands because they interrupt the "flow". The exception would be if the island doubles as an eating area that can accommodate 4 people.

[SunnyBeBe]

Another seeming MUST for kitchens now is a farmhouse sink.  I have my qualms with that too.  I mean, it looks good and is good for large pots, but, how practical is it?  If you never wash your dishes and always use dishwasher, I suppose it doesn't matter, but, if you want to run water to wash dishes, it would take a LOT of water to fill it up for that purpose, unless you put in a small plastic container to limit the amount of water you would need, but, that's not very appealing to have sitting around in the sink.  Do they just always use their dishwasher? 

[BlossomCulp]

IS a farmhouse sink also one where there is only one sink?  I've seen a lot of houses like that lately and I wouldn't like it for myself.  I really appreciate having two sinks, one for washing, one for rinsing if nothing else.  How do you rinse your dishes if you only have one sink?

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

How do you rinse your dishes if you only have one sink?

Depends on how many dishes. If they will all fit in the sink wash them all, drain the sink and then rinse them all, it's very efficient. If there are a lot I have a dish pan/dish tub where I wash the dishes and then rinse in the sink. I think it's all what you are used to because I hate split sinks.

[CruiseDiva]

17 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I've never had a galley kitchen, but if it had a window, good work triangle, plenty of counter and cabinet space, and two people could be in there and get by each other without doing a Dirty Dancing routine, it would be okay. When I see people on this show declare they will tear out upper cabinets to open a galley kitchen, I think - and how are you going to make up for losing at least 1/3 of your cabinet space? I need lots of cabinet space.

We had a galley kitchen in our last home. The window was over the sink with dishwasher, built-in wall oven, and fridge on that side and the cook-top on the opposite side for an efficient working triqangle. And, on the cook-top side, (horrors!) there was an opening to the family room between the upper and lower cabinets with enough counter-top overhang for bar stools on the family room side. I guess that was what they are now calling a "breakfast bar." I loved it--I could be in the kitchen and just bend over to see the TV in the family room if something interesting happened to catch my attention. I wouldn't have dreamed of removing those upper cabinets for "open concept" because I'd have lost a ton of needed storage space.

[roughing it]

21 hours ago, mojito said:

I'd like to hear comments on galley kitchens. It seems that people on HH despise galley kitchens.

I had a galley kitchen in my first house.  I didn't like it.  It was dark and long, with the eating area at one end and the laundry room and door to the garage at the other.  When the dishwasher door was down, another person couldn't walk past until I pulled it closed some (same with the fridge door and oven door).  Just my preference, but I probably would not buy another house that had one.

[auntjess]

We don't have a lot of dishes, so wash a lot by hand. I want one sink to pile the dirty dishes in, and another, with the garbage disposal, to be available.
I agree too, on a farm sink taking a lot of water to fill to a usable depth.
 

[AnnaRose]

10 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Another seeming MUST for kitchens now is a farmhouse sink.  I have my qualms with that too.  I mean, it looks good and is good for large pots, but, how practical is it?  If you never wash your dishes and always use dishwasher, I suppose it doesn't matter, but, if you want to run water to wash dishes, it would take a LOT of water to fill it up for that purpose, unless you put in a small plastic container to limit the amount of water you would need, but, that's not very appealing to have sitting around in the sink.  Do they just always use their dishwasher? 

I never fill the sink when washing dishes.  I use a microfiber cloth that has metal on one side (I used to use a microfiber covered sponge) that I use to apply the dish soap to whatever I'm cleaning.  Anything that some might consider soaking... I just set it in the sink while I wash other items that are not as dirty... and the hot spray loosens everything very well.  And the dish soap stays nice and concentrated, so it cleans very quickly and easily.

My parents used to fill one sink (or a Rubbermaid tub) in the sink to wash dishes when I was younger, and I always thought that was super gross.  I hated having to stick my hands in that gross soaking water every time I went to grab something to wash.  I'm surprised it seems that so many people wash dishes like that.

I have a divided sink now, and one side holds a dish drainer.  But my preference is for one large sink and I would just use a drainer on the counter as needed.

[mojito]

I don't have a farm house sink, but I have one large sink. It replaced a double sink, which for me was useless. I can allow large pans/dishes to soak in water (not fill the sink, but the pots/pans because I don't have a problem with the outside of my utensils needing a soaking) without sitting sideways. I rinse off the items,, then come in with a soaped up scrubbing pad and wash everything. Then I turn on the water to rinse. I think I use less water this way. The other reason that I like my large sink is that my house doesn't have a utility sink, so I can use this sink for non-kitchen items as well. 

I had an apartment with a galley kitchen and saw this as no disadvantage at all. I think a galley kitchen that's closed off from the living area, but open to the dining room would be fine. Kids could still be nearby using the dining table and guests could sit there and talk.

I wonder sometimes, where do people have their private conversations when the house is so open? I mean, lots of side-conversations happen in the kitchen, out of sight and out of earshot of others.

[AuntiePam]

2 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

My parents used to fill one sink (or a Rubbermaid tub) in the sink to wash dishes when I was younger, and I always thought that was super gross.  I hated having to stick my hands in that gross soaking water every time I went to grab something to wash.  I'm surprised it seems that so many people wash dishes like that.

I have a divided sink now, and one side holds a dish drainer.  But my preference is for one large sink and I would just use a drainer on the counter as needed.

A childhood friend has the highest gross-out factor of anyone I know.  I still remember watching her wash dishes when we were growing up.  She was in a big family and her chore was washing dishes.   She didn't bother to scrape food into a bin -- everything went into the dishpan.  I'm all "Gross!" and she's all "Ya big baby!" 

Me, I use rubber gloves and I scrape and rinse everything before it goes into the dishpan.  I use a paper towel to pick up a dead bug and my friend will smush grasshoppers in her hand. 

[Bastet]

I dislike one large sink only, or one large sink and one tiny sink with the disposal, rather than a double sink, but that's personal preference -- my issue with farmhouse sinks on this show is designers putting them in every.fucking.kitchen lately, regardless of whether that style of sink works with the overall aesthetic of the kitchen, not to mention whether its functional pros and cons work out to a favorable option for the HHs, whose typical way of using a sink is, of course, never discussed in choosing one.

[Kohola3]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

...functional pros and cons work out to a favorable option for the HHs, whose typical way of using a sink is, of course, never discussed in choosing one.

Despite all of the blathering about entertaining (and the staged shots of couples merrily hacking away at colorful vegetables) probably only a handful actually use a kitchen as anyplace other than to unload the take out containers.  And have rarely hand washed dishes either.  Bending over one of those deep farmhouse sinks to do dishes in them is very uncomfortable, especially for a tall person.  Couldn't pay me to have one of those.

[laredhead]

I have had 2 galley kitchens and liked both of them.  They might be more attractive to a single person or a couple that didn't have to be attached at the hip 24/7 as most of these couples portray on HH when they show them both trying to work in the kitchen.  In my experience, it usually doesn't work that way.  

I have also had double sinks during most of my house owning years, and was planning to have another one last year when I remodeled my kitchen.  I liked the ones that had a slightly larger bowl on one side and was very deep, and that is what I ordered.  When the sink arrived it was damaged, and since it was a special order, it would have taken another 3 weeks to get another one.  The store had the same sink except in a single bowl which I was reluctant to buy after having had only double bowl sinks for years.  Hey, this is a big decision in the life of someone who spends a lot of time cooking and working in the kitchen - ha, ha.  I decided to take the single bowl sink and I absolutely love it.  It's 10" deep and 32" wide.  It holds my largest Magnalite pots, my gumbo pots which are tall and have a wide diameter, and the lasagna pan with plenty of room to spare.  I never could completely submerge the lasagna pan in the largest bowl of the double sink.  I use my dishwasher daily, and only hand wash a few things.  For those items, I bought a small plastic pan at the dollar store, and I found a small drying rack that fits across the sink where I can toss the hand washed things to dry.  I wash those items in the pan, rinse over the sink and put them in the drying rack.  Then I empty the little pan, dry it, and put it away in the cabinet under the sink.  I live by myself, so keeping it neat is probably easier than when there are spouses, others, or children involved.  Oh, I also upgraded to one of those single handle faucets with the retractable nozzle, and that's another thing I won't ever be without if I can help it.    

[mojito]

Quote

 I decided to take the single bowl sink and I absolutely love it.  It's 10" deep and 32" wide.  

Welcome to the dark side.