Ugly House Photos

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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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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Yes, it’s the return of the ugly kitchen cabinets from builder John F. Long.  This time, the owner customized his kitchen with bric-a-brac and a spray painted pegboard pot rack.

Copycats!  They stole the brick backsplash idea from their neighbors.

Hardly any counter space in this kitchen.  No dishwasher either.

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Looks like a nice kitchen with nice counters and newer appliances.  But what’s with the distracting pot rack, the distracting hanging basket, all the clutter on the counters, and the dirty cabinet doors?  Give us three boxes, some 409 cleaner, and 5 minutes, and we’ll transform this kitchen into a winner.

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A lot of people like to do their own repairs.  On the cheap.  In fact, an entire blog is devoted to such creative fixes, also known as kludges.  It’s called There I Fixed It.  Here are some highlights that are related to houses.

A ladder will hold up this barn.  Right?

That darn curtain never stays in place.  I’ll show it who’s boss!

The only thing wrong with this picture is the stupid pot rack.

Yep, that’ll sure point the light in the right direction.

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Less is more, please.

Could be a nice kitchen under all that stuff.

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A white Christmas tree is still up in a Wichita, Kansas home.

They call it the throne and they’re not kidding.  Raised platform for the toilet.  Let’s paint it white so it looks clean forever.

Pot rack.  Refrigerator magnets.  Refrigerator blocking a door.

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Throw in some Italian words or other languages and you can make a kitchen seem more fancy.  Here are 4 kitchens that could use some help.

Darn pot rack distracts your view of the kitchen.

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Feel-good buzzwords are fun to paint on walls, aren’t they?  Especially when they distract you from dirt and clutter.  This home has dream, laugh, hope, & live words right next to a lot of ceiling fan dirt stuck to the popcorn ceiling.  I took this picture.  The house was a mess.  Buyers would laugh at it and only dream how they could live there; the sellers could only hope it would sell.

Here’s a different home with live, family, and love words mixed in with a ton of books and personal belongings.

Lots of junk on the counters.  And an ugly pot rack.  Metal saw blades used as placemats.  This home would show much better with proper home staging.

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On this blog, we usually show you a bad before photo and then a better after photo.  That’s the way it’s supposed to be, right?  Not at this old Phoenix home.  We have a before, an after, and another after.

Before:  Fall 2005.  Living room.  Really ugly wallpaper.  Might be suitable for New Jersey or Vermont, but just doesn’t work in Phoenix.

After:  January 2006.  Living room.  The house became vacant.  All the clutter and fake antiques are gone.  But it now makes the ugly wallpaper really stand out.

After:  June 2009.  Living room.  The ugly wallpaper is gone!  And replaced with ragged rolled faux paint.  The furniture placement stinks.  The couch is blocking the fireplace.  Exercise equipment in the living room (right side).  Christmas teddy bear in June.  Clutter.

Before:  Fall 2005.  Dining room.  Bright green paint.  Stuff jammed in.  Too much clutter.

After:  January 2006.  Dining room.  Once vacant, it’s obvious the cabinets do not match the era and style of the house.  And the green and blue paint really stand out, also not matching the era and style of the house.

After:  June 2009.  Dining room.  At least the green is gone.  But the clutter is back.  Four oil lamps on the sideboard.  Clutter on the counter.  And a stupid pot rack was added to the kitchen.  The house didn’t sell in 2005 or in 2006.  Let’s see how it does in 2009 in this condition.

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