Ugly House Photos

They’re back.  Those ugly John F. Long builder kitchen cabinets.  Yuk.

Are those spice wood cabinets?

They look like they collect a lot of dust.

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That pot rack is visually distracting, as is all the other clutter on the kitchen counters.  Christmas tree is still up; the house finally sold in late July.

They have a Nagel print and assorted other unnecessary items in the family room.

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The title of this post?  Too easy.

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We’re going to take a moment to appreciate the quality, charm, and craftsmanship of kitchens from 50-60 years ago.

This is a beautiful kitchen from 1948 with original cabinets and tile.  Well-maintained and cared for.  Looks brand new.

This Phoenix home was built in 1953.  Original cabinets and tile.

Here’s its original stove/oven.

Original oven and tile in this 1959 Phoenix home.  The cabinet doors are not original; they would have had beveled/sloping edges.

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They say it’s all in the details.  Same applies to home renovations & remodeling.  Something new is not enough.  You have to consider functionality too.

Here’s a recent home renovation that’s a bit lacking in thought.  Starting with the kitchen.  New cabinets, counters, and flooring.  But the stove and refrigerator are shoved against a wall with no thought.  Where is the triangle pattern (sink, stove, frig)?  Where is the stove’s exhaust vent?  Do you want hot (oven) next to cold (frig)?  Why isn’t there counter space next to the frig?  They could have made an L-shaped kitchen to tie in the frig and then added an island with stove & oven.

The bathroom looks new.  With all that space between the toilet and sink, why didn’t they add a wider vanity with two sinks?  An extra $300 might have given them an extra $2000 in value.

Different bathroom, but same design.  Here we see the toilet close to the vanity.  Notice how the toilet’s water supply line is stretched.  What happened?

The laundry room is lacking doors.  How expensive/cheap are folding doors?  $100 on upper cabinets would have been a nice touch too.  Do you like how they used old appliances in the laundry and kitchen?

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Sad little kitchen before.

Happy kitchen after renovation in 2010.

Depressing bathroom before.

Cheerful bathroom after remodeling.

Sleepless bedroom before.

Peaceful bedroom after (not the same room as above).

Dark den before.

Expanded after to create a great room.

View of the living room after.  This remodeled home sold quickly.

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Five homes with faux paint.

Feather duster faux paint in the master bedroom.

Faux ocean water.  Faux coral reef.  Faux seagulls (or bats?).

Poor rolling technique.

Ridiculous in St. Charles, Illinois.

They faux’d the kitchen cabinets in Bangor, Maine.

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We love the website There I Fixed It where they celebrate cheap fix its (also known as kludges).  Here are some recent gems that are related to homes.

The two toilet bathroom.  For when you have a large family or houseguests.  “Are you done with the sports section, Joe?”

Kitchen cabinets are overrated anyway.

Did you think those little chains were gonna hold up that evaporative cooler by themselves?

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Our readers enjoy Before & After house photos.  Usually the After photos look better than the Before photos.  Maybe not so much in this example.

Here we see the After shower of a remodeled Phoenix home.  A modern design was used to create this curvy Flintstone shower.  Let’s look at the practicality of it.  First, the shower seat will receive 40% of the water and looks like it will hold soapy water without draining.  Phoenix water is loaded with minerals and will leave hard watermarks when it evaporates.  Second, where do you put your shampoo, soap, and loofah sponge?  Third, there’s no light inside.  You’d have to face outward to see things at night (we’ll get to that at the end of this post).  Fourth, will the water splash out into the bathroom?  There’s no lip.  If you’re then forced to add a shower curtain, it will further reduce visibility.  Fifth, thanks to one of our readers for pointing it out, you’ll likely get wet when pre-heating the water due to the control handle’s location.

Let’s check out the front of the house now.  This is the Before in 2004 when it sold for $127,000.

It was listed for sale in 2007 for $349,000 (didn’t sell) and here it is again in 2008 (didn’t sell) with lattice and a gravel yard.

The view behind the lattice.  Worth $222,000 more?

How it looked in January 2010 as a foreclosure home (no surprise); it sold for $56,000.  They removed $293,000 worth of lattice?

And then the new owner remodeled the home and listed it this summer at $195,000.  What do you think of the new modern design?

Here’s another angle so you can appreciate the cut metal facade.

Here’s how the house looked inside in 2008.  Note the beautiful wood floor.  And use the middle wall with the mirror as a reference point.

By January 2010, the wood floors were ruined.  How did that happen in 2 years?

And here’s the After photo from summer 2010.  They removed the wood floors and the archway.  If that’s their idea of modern lighting…

This was the kitchen in 2008.  Hardly worth $349,000 but better than summer 2010?

The kitchen in summer 2010.  When you cook, you get to look at a blank wall.

No other storage space seen.  No cabinets over the sink.

The hall bathroom from January 2010.

The bathroom from summer 2010.  Attention deficit disorder tile pattern?  Check out the showerhead!!!  Why is it so far over from the right?  Shouldn’t it line up with the tub?

The previous owners added on the house.

This is the master suite in summer 2010.  They polished the concrete floor.  Please note how you can see the shower from the bedroom.  Remember, with no lighting in the shower, the person will have to face out to see.  Be sure to wave to everyone.

Here’s that modern shower again.  There is a drain.  But does splashed water spill out into the bedroom?

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Make it easy for buyers to figure out how a room/space should function.  Don’t put the kitchen’s pot rack in the dining room (or in the kitchen either when selling).  Put the dining light over the middle of the dining table.  Let the family room look like a family room and not an exercise space and office space.

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