Ugly House Photos

Custom-made entertainment niches or media centers were very popular in Phoenix in the 1990s.

They quickly became dust collectors and excuses for hoarding.  Gotta fill every cubby hole with stuff!

Entertainment centers as furniture soon became too small for modern television sets.  So rather than get rid of the entertainment center (very hard to sell at garage sales nowadays, especially the tall TV armoires), people are putting new TVs on top!  Which leads to neck strain after looking up for hours at a time.

Here’s one that’s too small for modern TVs.  Now what do you do with it?

The problem is 20% solved.

What likely happened in this house was:  they removed the coat closet next to the front door and removed the closet in the bedroom.

[Read more →]

Timeless entertainment center in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

Media niche/entertainment center in Phoenix.

And they also built this media niche in the next room.

The media niche is now outdated for today’s televisions.  So you mount the television over it!

Or you can stick with a small TV until you move.

Check out this monster!

Media niches are very practical.  For collecting souvenirs and dust.

Built back when TV sets were 2 feet deep.  Now functionally obsolete.

[Read more →]

Entertainment centers/media niches were popular ten years ago in the Phoenix area.  Nowadays?

Adobe style on peyote?

Too small for TVs; just right for fish tanks.

Their new TV is too big for the media niche (see the TV on the right?).  Or…all their knick-knacks took over the space and kicked out the TV.

They are great for collecting dust and random items.

Penguins & more!

[Read more →]

Four entertainment niches, media centers, or TV armoire cabinets that appear outdated today.

Remember these?  Armoires for your TV?

How about this media center?

Homes built in the mid- to late-1990s and early 2000s added entertainment niches for those big deep TV sets.  Now they are outdated and functionally obsolete.  They are a turn-off to younger buyers.

Do-it-yourself entertainment centers were very popular in Phoenix.  Not popular nowadays with wider, thinner TV sets.

[Read more →]

Custom-built media niches were all the rage in the Phoenix area in the 1990s and early 2000s.  But then TVs changed in style and size.  Oops.

They soon become used for displaying personal items.  Collected items collect dust.

See all the shelves on the right?  That’s for electronic equipment.  But only one electric outlet.  And what about ventilation and cooling for the equipment?

Again, one electric outlet.  What about wires and cables?

[Read more →]

How old is that TV?  It’s one of the front projection TVs with the blue bulb, red bulb, and green bulb.  How much did those cost back then?

In case you want to watch two television programs at once.

[Read more →]

Best of Worst What Were They Thinking - Round 1 - Division B

Six candidates for your vote as Worst “What Were They Thinking” Real Estate Photos. These are actual photos used to promote the sale of the home. We look at them and wonder “Why?” and “Really?” and “What were you thinking?”
You are allowed one vote per day. The top 2 will move on to Round 2 on Saturday.

DUCT DUCT GOOSE:  Why did they put air conditioning ducts on top of the roof?  It gets a little hot in the summer in Phoenix.  We see this a lot, actually.  Owners add a room and then add A/C to it.  Not very efficient.

AMATEUR PAINTER:  What is that supposed to be?  A mushroom cap?  A halo?  An umbrella?  It’s not even even.

SECURITY DOOR:  Why is there a close-up photo of a door?  To show that you can chain it for security?

UGLY SHADES:  What are these things?  Sunscreens?  Dried fish?  Smoked meat?  Why are they there?

SATELLITE DISH:  What is an outdated piece of technology still doing in someone’s back yard?  Is it spy equipment to listen in on the neighbors?  The 70s called; they want their satellite dish back.  This is an example of functional obsolescence.

SOMETHING:  What is that thing?  Entertainment center?  Media niche?  Bookshelf?  Display stand?  Cat tower?  Can we ask the sellers to take it with them?

Vote for your favorite Worst What Were They Thinking photo. Vote once per day. Voting ends Saturday morning.

[Read more →]

The UglyHousePhotos Awards for Worst/Ugliest/Dumbest Entertainment Center/Media Niche will be decided by our readers.  We present the following ten candidates for your consideration.

SHALLOW PINK:  Can’t put anything useful in this space.  Either too shallow or too small.  Why bother?

SAGUARO:  Capturing the spirit of the desert Southwest.  And capturing a lot of desert dust too.

WHY THE Y?: Too small for a TV.  Was the Y created to conceal wires?

PACHINKO:  Looks like one of those steel ball pachinko machines or a rat maze.  Too small for a TV.

MODERN MESS:  They tried to look modern and hip, but failed.

CAT TOWER: This is really bad.  And pointless.

PINK MONSTER: Too small for modern TVs.  It now becomes what we call functionally obsolete (aka functional obsolescence).  The room is a mess.  Seven foot ceiling?

RED MONSTER: Weird.

BELL TOWER: It sure looks like a bell hanging in the upper right niche.  Again, too small for modern TVs.

FIRE STICKS: They tried to cover up the fireplace with a media niche.

Vote for your favorite Ugly Entertainment Niche/Media Center.

[Read more →]

We scratch our heads and roll our eyes a lot here at Ugly House Photos.

Entertainment/media centers/niches seem to be a regional thing in Phoenix.

Why this design?  And why those colors?

It attracts a lot of dirty over time.  Odd placement.  It would be hard to see the TV if the sun is glaring into your eyes all the time.

We’re speechless.

Southwest flair.

There are plenty more of these lovely homemade entertainment centers under the Entertainment/Media Niche category.

[Read more →]

This custom built entertainment center has become functionally obsolete since analog TVs are no longer made.  Today’s televisions are much larger.  The structure appears to have a 2′ x 8′ footprint which means it eats up 16 square feet of valuable floor space.

[Read more →]