Ugly House Photos

This Mesa, Arizona home is overwrought with fake flowers, fake plants, and tons of shabby chic clutter.  How’d you like to dust this house?

Pink carpet in the other room, now green carpet in this one.  All those darn plastic plants.  Looks like a Michael’s store.

Make it stop!  More plastic plants.  And a picket fence as a headboard!

Another bedroom with a curtain over the bed.

If you want more shabby chic decorating ideas, this website shows dozens of links.

Design Through the Decades - Part 38

Windows in Phoenix homes in the 2000s were indeed different from windows from the 1990s in that the main theme was “different windows.”  Phoenix homebuilders in the 2000s did not just order ten windows of the exact same size for one house.  Instead, there were different sized windows for one house.  Variety was the main appeal.

Here’s a Phoenix home built in 2008 with windows of different sizes.

Built in 2006 with a variety of window sizes.  Outlining the top and bottom of the window with a darker paint color (as seen here and above) was popular.

Sometimes the windows were framed with lighter paint colors such as this 2005 home, again with different window shapes.

The name of the game in the 2000s was lots of windows.  This is a 2006 home.

Another 2006 Phoenix home with many windows.  As you can see here, eaves are minimal, so windows are fully exposed to the sun.  Low-E dual-pane windows were used in most of the Phoenix homes built in the 2000s in order to reduce heat penetration.

Another way to protect windows from the sun was to add exterior shades.

Decorative shutters made a comeback in the 2000s as seen on this 2005 home, another example of 2000 home design borrowing from the 1950s.

Just like the windows of the 2000s came in a variety of sizes and shapes, the window coverings of the 2000s were equally varied.  Drapes were used to create elegance, yet not overwhelm the room with heaviness.

Curtains with rich colors create warmth in this 2002 Chandler, Arizona home.

If you did not like heavier drapery material, you could use sheer fabrics in the 2000s.

Oak wood blinds were very common in homes of the 2000s as seen in this 2005 home.

Plantation shutters never seem to go out of style.  They’ve been popular now for over 20 years.

Plantation shutters are clean and timeless.

Coming Up:  Flooring in the 1950s through the 2000s

A recent post told of an over-the-top description of a house for sale.  Well, a remodeled Phoenix home listed at $367,000 had a photo of a parrot named Jazzie as the main photo and a crazy description approved by the home seller.

Check out the description for this house (typos included):
“Jazzie bird says ‘Check out this former model home that is FULLY LOADED w/state-of-the-art SS MIELE Kitchen’. ‘Squawk! I almost got my tail stuck in the built-in Expresso Center’ ‘Squawk!’ Kitchen has 3 Ovens, 2 SS Dishwashers, Gas & Elec Cooktops, SS Refridgerator, Slab Granite Tops Washer/Dryer included in laundry room! Huge Family Room w/ wetbar, fireplace for those awesome Sunday Football parties ‘Squawk!’. Built-in bookshelves in den, speakers in almost all rms. Built-in bkshlvs in den. Master w/ FP, large deck for fab Mtn/sunset views; sitting & excercise rms(2 walls are completely mirrored). Lge upstairs gamerm is 16×13-could be 5th BR! ‘Squawk! Great home for my perch!”

What the heck is that water feature?!  Bad block fence construction too.

Ugly flowery drapes in a Mesa, Arizona home.

You’re not fooling anyone with four poles and a sheet.  It’s not a real carport.  Maybe the tow truck could move out the junker car.  Think those electric wires will be appealing to buyers?  Or the rusty evaporative cooler?

This home is furnished and ready for you to move in.  The drapes are included too.  Hurry up before it goes.

Design Through the Decades - Part 37

Window design in the 1990s in Phoenix was cookie-cutter due to the frenzied pace of construction.  No innovative designs emerged in the 1990s.  However, dual-pane windows became standard.

Since eaves were usually minimal or absent in these homes, most 1990s windows were covered up by sun screens.

Here’s a 1993 Phoenix home with sun screens.  The protruding window was a common architectural design in the 1990s.

Extra styrofoam and stucco create a pop-out effect around windows, shown at this 1997 Phoenix home, again with sun screens.

In the 1980s, windows had black plastic or metal strips across a single pane to create a multi-pane look.  In the 1990s, the color switched to white, as seen in this 1990 Phoenix home.

As far as window coverings go, fabric curtains from the 1950s to the 1980s were shown the door.  In the 1990s, it was all about the 3/4″ plastic or metal mini-blind.  And mostly white.  On a rare occasion, a valance (very 1980s) was hung to add color.

More mini-blinds, this time with a paper covering in an accordion pattern.

Plastic wood blinds showed up in the 1990s too.

Sometimes the blinds were made of oak.

Vertical blinds with a fabric finish were a leftover design from the 1980s.

But most vertical blinds in the 1990s were plastic.

Coming Up:  Will windows in the 2000s copy the 1990s or go back to another decade for inspiration?

Now here’s a classy touch when staging your house to sell: a Pimp Plaza sign.

Too bad buyers will only remember the Pimp Plaza sign and not the super-clean, beautiful bathroom.

Aaah, the 1980s were so cute, with their matching sets of bedspreads and window valances.  This is a Mesa, Arizona home.  For more photos & information about window coverings of the 1980s, check out this special post.