Ugly House Photos

Happy Halloween, everyone!

There’s a ghost just hanging around in this older Phoenix home.  Wood paneling and clutter abound here.

Check out that ugly old wallpaper in the kitchen.

Old furniture.

More old furniture.

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Design Through the Decades - Part 19

Design Through the Decades takes a look at bathrooms in the 1990s in Phoenix, Arizona.  Not a lot of photos in this post because the 1990s bathrooms pretty much all looked the same.  Hardly any innovative designs, mostly due to the high demand for home construction.  The goal was:  build it quickly and efficiently with little variation from house to house.

It’s okay to yawn.  Nothing too exciting about Phoenix bathrooms in the 1990s.  Let’s start with the poster child bathroom of the 1990s:  white wash cabinets, pure white cultured marble counter top, brass faucets, separate shower and bathtub with brass trim, big mirror, and separate toilet room.

Another cookie-cutter 1990s bathroom with brass accents and white wash cabinets.

As mentioned, separate showers and bathtubs became standard in Phoenix homes in the 1990s.  Oftentimes, there was a huge window next to the bathtub so that all the neighbors could see you.  Builders then charged extra money to install glass block to ensure privacy.

Another typical 1990s bathroom.

Light fixtures with big glass bulbs and brass backing were very popular in the 1990s.

The owners of this 1990s Phoenix home paid extra for that window.  The brass faucets and trim were included for free.

Towards the late 1990s, brass turned into silver.

Euro style cabinets, popular in the 1980s, spilled over into the early 1990s and popped up briefly in the late 1990s in the town of Surprise, Arizona.  Here’s a Phoenix bathroom with euro style cabinets and Hollywood lights from the early 1990s.

There’s not a lot more than can be shown.  Squint your eyes and they all look the same.

Coming Up Next:  Phoenix bathrooms from the 2000s.  Significant changes occurred to bathroom design.  Bye, bye, cookie-cutter design.

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This home in Peoria, Arizona is haunted by a ghost.  And giant spiders have taken over and made a giant web.

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This looks like a very nice kitchen.  Too bad the Halloween pumpkin is the focal point of the photo.  Your eyes are forced to stare at it.

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The Great Pumpkin is keeping watch over the sunflowers and green cabinets.  If you take away all of the Halloween decorations, the table cloth, the chairs, and if you repainted the cabinets, this vintage home could look really neat.

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The signs are pointing to a Happy Halloween in this Mesa, Arizona home.  Buyers are sure to “dart” over to see it and become big “fans.”

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Jack-o-lantern above the dishwasher and another one on the bottled water.  Cluttered kitchen with too much stuff on the refrigerator.

The living room has pink curtains and a pink rug.  And a 1980s mirror thing on the wall.

Here’s another view of the living room.  Those pink curtains are spectacular.  The dead flower bouquet is visually appealing, no?

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Modern pool using playground equipment for water jets.

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Design Through the Decades - Part 18

Phoenix bathrooms in the 1980s were for the most part pretty bland.  Not a lot of changes or innovations in the 1980s.  Phoenix was growing so quickly in the 1980s that homebuilders had to move fast.  There was no time for tile work or fancy details.  And buyers took what was offered.

Let’s start in this 1981 Phoenix home’s bathroom.  Cultured marble counter top was a carryover from the 1970s, replacing Formica counter tops.  Plastic shower surround was an easy install.  The cabinets originally were dark stained; they’ve been painted over since.

Cultured marble counters in this 1983 bathroom.  Cabinets in the 1980s bathrooms (and kitchens) went from dark stain to a lighter stain to show off the wood grain.  Note the dark big faucet handles.  And “Hollywood” makeup lights were the rage in the 1980s.

Here’s a fancy vanity from 1984.

Counter tops (still cultured marble) became more white as the years when by as seen in this bathroom from 1984.  Etched glass shower doors were very popular.

Another example of etched glass shower doors.  Typical 1980s vanity.

1985 Phoenix bathroom with common vanity and sink.

Cultured marble made its way to the showers.  Panels of cultural marble were used as shower walls.  1986 bathroom with big faucet handles.

No significant changes to bathroom design by 1987.

Still no changes in 1988.

Bonus photo:  Your quintessential 1980s bathroom in Anytown, USA.  Flowery wallpaper, cultured marble sink, Hollywood vanity lights, teal green towels, wood grain cabinets, door handles with ivory or pink porcelain accent.  Totally rad.

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There are two grass seasons in Phoenix:  Bermuda grass in the summer and rye grass in the winter.  Come October, Phoenicians mow down (aka scalp) the bermuda grass to force it into dormancy.  Then they plant annual rye or perennial rye grass seed to enjoy green grass all winter and into spring.  By April, the rye grass is fried by the heat, and the heat-loving bermuda grass starts to grow again.

This Phoenix home went up for sale in mid November, which is a little late for planting winter rye grass (usually too cold to germinate).  Many people put a top coating of manure or topsoil over the seed (seen here).  The back yard looks ugly.

If the home sellers had only waited one week until the grass appeared, the back yard would look much nicer for the photo.  Here’s an example of another house with a full-grown winter grass lawn.  Which house would you buy?

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