some people like the retro look
often things made years ago were a darn site better than the 'modern' things
It’s been a while so I will start us off…….whats for supper and why?
Iran war - so uptake of solar panels rise.
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House and home
HOUSES THAT ARE UNTOUCHED FOR DECADES
(244 Posts)As many of us do - I still check out properties for sale - even though I bought my current one a few years back and have no intention of moving.
When I bought mine (ie a 1970s bungalow) I had darn nearly everything ripped out. It really needed work - and all that's left is I kept the windows (as they were upvc), kept the internal doors and most of the skirting boards. Everything else got ripped out from both the house itself and garden.
Mine really needed it - poorly-planned 1980s kitchen, tatty 1970s bathroom, etc. All that - despite the fact there's been two owners in between the first owner and myself and the last owner did buy it this century.
Anyways - at long last it's done now - new kitchen, new bathroom, new floor coverings throughout, garden gutted and turned into my style, new decor throughout (had to be replastered before that could be done), all exterior doors changed, etc.
I still struggle with just why, in particular, the house still had a 1970s bathroom - despite those owners no 2 and no 3 since then and it was one that didn't even work well (high bath, trickling little shower, 1970s wall fire!!).
Since then - I've seen someone I used to know sell her house here and buy a 1960s bungalow here and do absolutely nothing to it (not even changing the 1970s carpets and having it decorated) - despite the fact she would have had quite a bit of leftover money from selling her last house. Me - I was walking through her "new to her" house when she moved in enthusiastically making suggestions for what a new kitchen/new bathroom could be like (yep...the house needed that) and defo taking it for granted she'd change the old 1970s/1980s carpets throughout and decorate at least (it needed it).
I was also very surprised to see that a neighbour bought an adjacent house and she would have had quite a bit of money over from her (noticeably dearer) last house and yet all she's had done was there was a painter in for a couple of days and so I think she's probably just had one or two rooms painted. She didn't even bring her own furniture with her when she moved - and is just using the previous owners furniture.
Looking at houses for sale (specifically bungalows - as that's what I bought - and I'm seeing 1980s or maybe even 1970s kitchen after kitchen/bathroom after bathroom. 1970s/1980s carpets). Cue for me thinking "It's obviously a probate house - and nothing much looks like it's been done since the 1970s/1980s. Have they had that house for 40-50 years personally that they don't seem to have done anything much to it? But it appears they must have bought it more recently than that and that means they're living with stuff from a previous owner a couple of buyers ago by the look of it?
That puzzles me personally - ie to move into a house that's basically not been touched for 40-50 years and do nothing at all (even though some of them will certainly have the money to do so). I would understand if they didn't have the money to do the work - but it often looks as if they did.
Very puzzling to use someone else's old furniture - I'd be wondering what the heck might have happened over the decades to the sofa I wanted to sit on and could be "harbouring" all seats of spills/dog hairs/etc.
Thankfully I have got the renovation work on this house finished before feeling I'd run out of energy to chase the "manana and unreliable" workmen this area seems to specialise in.....and so I can 'put my feet up' and just keep it up from here onwards.
The thing that surprised me most with my own current house is that owners no. 2 and no. 3 had obviously both kept the tatty old Rayburn, hybrid central heating set-up and oil tank in the garden that owner no. 1 wanted. I came in and thought "I wouldnt even know how to work that stuff" and out it came and I've got a normal gas central heating system and the Rayburn got taken out.
Certainly what puzzles me most is even living with a previous owners furniture....but I see it happening...
LovesBach
janeainsworth
I like my brown furniture. I've polished it today 🙂
Me too Allira.
Ours is second-hand G-plan dining room furniture which cost us £500 for a dining table, 10 chairs & a wall unit/sideboard, including the cost of van hire to get it from the sellers.
Our sofas & chairs were from M&S in 1994 and we’ve had them re-covered once.Ooooh - I thought I was the only one left on planet earth who liked dark wood furniture. I have a house full of Ercol - beautiful, classic furniture that looks amazing with bright cushions and curtains. It is eye wateringly expensive, but as we dark wood furniture lovers are in the minrority, it is remarkably good value second hand.
I'd love to replace our kitchen table and chairs with Ercol but we've spent enough and the old ones are ok (well, fit for purpose but not up to everyone's exacting standards!).
@Allira, you are definitely correct about updating a home in your fifties or sixties and not doing anything else to it. This is surprisingly common. Relatives of mine had their house revamped in the very early eighties and everything was done to a high standard. The house was always immaculately clean and tidy but, by the time they had both died, nearly forty years later, the house was not full of vintage charm but seriously out of date. There was a Wilton carpet in one of the rooms that had been there since the late sixties and was in as good condition as the day it was laid but it was hopelessly dated. The house was sold as it was and I expect the new owners would have taken it back to plaster and renovated it to their own specifications. It was a very nice family house but it was to the tastes of a previous age.
janeainsworth
^I like my brown furniture. I've polished it today 🙂^
Me too Allira.
Ours is second-hand G-plan dining room furniture which cost us £500 for a dining table, 10 chairs & a wall unit/sideboard, including the cost of van hire to get it from the sellers.
Our sofas & chairs were from M&S in 1994 and we’ve had them re-covered once.
Ooooh - I thought I was the only one left on planet earth who liked dark wood furniture. I have a house full of Ercol - beautiful, classic furniture that looks amazing with bright cushions and curtains. It is eye wateringly expensive, but as we dark wood furniture lovers are in the minrority, it is remarkably good value second hand.
Our first home was a thirties semi, which we l loved. However, the previous owner had undertaken every possible decoration fad from the late sixties/early seventies. The door panels were boarded up, the carpets were eye-watering, woodchip wallpaper everywhere, built-in cupboards in the master bedroom with a large mirror in the middle which had a red light. The bathroom suite was blue, which would have been fine if it had not been paired with black tiles on the walls. We replaced all this when we were able to but I am sure that people who had the house later than us would have turned their noses up at our nineties inspired ideas. Our next two houses have been eighties houses and in immaculate condition. Both were previously owned by people of a similar age to us and with similar ideas décor wise. We gradually decorated our second house as and when it needed it, including a new kitchen, bathroom and cloakroom. We have been in this present house for two years and have not redecorated yet. Just before we moved in, we had the double garage converted into a music room/library. The only problem we have found with this house is that the previous owners were obviously somewhat taller than us and the hooks for pictures and mirrors were too high, which is why the hall mirror is in a portrait position rather than landscape.
One reason, l think, for people not seeing the need to update their homes is that house decoration follows fashions as much as everything else.. It is very often possible to roughly gauge the age of the occupants by the furniture and décor of the house. There is nothing wrong with this - it is simply a matter of taste - but our likes and dislikes are often shaped by the fashions of our younger years. This is why the Fifty Shades of Grey look with Live, Laugh, Love signs or Family photo frames have been so popular with people in their thirties and early forties.
I think many of us find time capsule homes interesting. Back in the eighties, I was invited to a house where an elderly lady lived. The house had been built at the turn of the nineteenth/twentieth centuries by the lady’s parents and she had lived there all her life. It was as if she clock had stopped in 1913 and was the perfect middle class Edwardian home in every possible dimension.
Jockytaff
Cariad - have you considered taking up a hobby?
She has one 😂
David49
Cabowich
Perhaps they're like the situation I'm in at the moment and JUST CAN'T FIND ANYBODY to do it!!! Grrrr!
A couple of builder friends of mine are worried because they only have 6 weeks work in front instead of the usual 6 months. The problem is cost of materials and labour is beyond customers expectations, one friend does supply kitchens and doesnt fit the doors until the cash is waiting for him.
Do they do painting and decorating?
janeainsworth
^I like my brown furniture. I've polished it today 🙂^
Me too Allira.
Ours is second-hand G-plan dining room furniture which cost us £500 for a dining table, 10 chairs & a wall unit/sideboard, including the cost of van hire to get it from the sellers.
Our sofas & chairs were from M&S in 1994 and we’ve had them re-covered once.
😁
Some of ours is Stag, some was new, a few pieces were 'inherited'.
Other furniture is teak G plan.
I'll be careful who I invite into my bedroom.
We've got a newish G plan suite but the old one was comfier.
Wow, CariadAgain
I can't believe what you have written. I think it must have been said in jest just to provoke discussion but if this is not the case it is a very blinkered opinion that I don't share
Doodledog
We went right through the house a couple of years ago. Every room decorated, new carpets or hard floors in every room, blinds and curtains replaced where the old ones didn't match, light fittings replaced, bookcases built, a new kitchen and bathroom and a bedroom covered into a study. I'm very happy with it, but I will never do it again 😂.
Everything had to be declutterred, which is a task in itself, the organisation was daunting (particularly doing all the bedrooms at once, which was my daft decision), and it felt as though the house wasn't our own, as there were workmen and decorators in, which I find stressful. We slept on the floor for a week waiting for new carpets and beds to be delivered and the rooms decorated, the kitchen ran into snags and all the contents were in the dining room for ages - I'm hyperventilating just remembering it😂. I was about 63 and my husband is around to help. At 73, 83 or older it would just be too much, particularly if I was on my own.
In my area, bungalows tend to be on modern estates on the outskirts of town (the centre is old and built before bungalows were popular), so when one does come up for sale in the centre, where the facilities are located, they command a high price and are snapped up. I can well imagine someone selling a house that might need a bit of work and getting less than the cost of the bungalow, so if they are on a fixed income they might not be able to justify spending thousands on updating - the important thing is living somewhere with no stairs near the doctors and shops.
We went right through the house a couple of years ago. Every room decorated, new carpets or hard floors in every room, blinds and curtains replaced where the old ones didn't match, light fittings replaced, bookcases built, a new kitchen and bathroom and a bedroom covered into a study. I'm very happy with it, but I will never do it again 😂.
Even just replacing the kitchen was horrendous.
Trying to find a trades person to do some decorating is a feat in itself.
Ths thing is - you could update a home when you're in your 60s and think that's it!
If you should live to your 90s and still able to live at home, then it will look dated.
Just don't invite any judgemental people round for coffee!
Bungalows that have been 'improved' often result in awkward layouts.
I like my brown furniture. I've polished it today 🙂
Me too Allira.
Ours is second-hand G-plan dining room furniture which cost us £500 for a dining table, 10 chairs & a wall unit/sideboard, including the cost of van hire to get it from the sellers.
Our sofas & chairs were from M&S in 1994 and we’ve had them re-covered once.
janeainsworth
^One reason being that I think people judge you by your house, and I don't want to be treated as an 'old person ' just because my house looks like an old person's house!^
Who cares if people judge you? If they’re a judgy sort of person, if they can’t find anything to judge about your house, they’d find some other yardstick to judge you by.
I don’t care if people think I’m an old person. I am.
We're old.
I like my brown furniture. I've polished it today 🙂
SporeRB
RillaofIngleside
Cariadagain, I find it odd too. There are people I know who haven't changed their house for 40 years, living with dark old carpets, old furniture and aertex walls. I couldn't bear it. Now we can I afford it, I like to keep mine light and modern. One reason being that I think people judge you by your house, and I don't want to be treated as an 'old person ' just because my house looks like an old person's house!
But also that 70s to 90s look is for my parents, not for me.Do people really judge you by your house?
When we were running our online business, we had a few wealthy male collectors that came to our house to meet my husband. For example a bloke who works as an investment banker from Luxembourg and one of the collectors could well be the richest man in Midlands.
So far, none of them have gagged at the sight of our swirly 1960s carpet in our living room, our second hand 1960s display cabinets, dining table and chairs or our plain net curtains.
Our house is a 1960s house and I love vintage.
No, kind people do not judge others by their homes.
Doodledog
I don’t think the assumption that it’s only money that stops people constantly renovating is a sound one. Not everyone’s bothered about having the latest decor - it’s about priorities.
Not only that, but ‘having things done’ means hassle and often being around when people would prefer to be away or out doing things they enjoy.
As winterwhite says, the environmental impact is important to a lot of people too, and others might put helping ACs with a deposit on a house above a new kitchen for themselves.
What does it matter? And antiques are basically ‘other people’s furniture’ 😂. Do you turn your nose up at those too, OP?
I agree winterwhite
We've just had a new kitchen after nearly 40 years but I reckon the solid wood one which was in the house from new would have lasted another 40 years. However, it was quite inconvenient on some ways.
Our furniture is probably retro (or nearly) but we like it.
People live as they wish within the constraints of their budget.
Greyduster we had to move to a more expensive area when interest rates were 15%.
I did insist that we changed the toilet seat 🙂
Other improvements were made over time - by us as we couldn't afford to employ firms.
When we moved to this house, a new acquaintance came for coffee and was rather rude about some of my antiques, wondering why I 'fetched them old things' with me 😯
Not everyone has the funds to do up a home, as long as it's clean & tidy I don't see a problem, I expect you bought it for a reasonable price if it needed updating. I feel your
post lacks empathy as you don't know how the previous owners felt or their financial situation, just enjoy your home now you have it as you wish
Greyduster
I just hate the disingenuous viewers who rave about some feature of a house and then having bought it, do away with it as quickly as they can. Our buyer did that with the garden. He raved about it - we couldn’t get him to come back indoors. When I saw it was for sale again, I looked on line at the sales details. Within a year of buying it, they had torn up the patio, the pergola and the water feature he was so ecstatic about, dug out every plant and flower and grassed it all over. When I saw it, it broke my heart but, each unto his own.
Yes, I looked at an old garden of our on Google Earth and was sad to see that it was just grass with a bed down each side. All the buyers in that area seem to do that, and then to build a huge garden room at the far end. We had a much admired and lovely garden split into "rooms" with pergolas, raised beds, good paving and some shrubs.
However I'd taken lots of picture of it before I moved so at least I can remember how it was then.
I think you should mind your own business about how much money people spend ir do not spend of their houses.
Their finances are their business and they are free to spend or save it on what they choose. Absolutely nothing to ro with you.
To be. honest you sound a bit sad really. You know, the sort of shallow person who lives for status symbols and what you have bought for your home.
Snotty, better than the neighbours type.Keeping up with the Joneses.
Hycinth Bouquet meets Margot from the Good Life l
Poor thing
One reason being that I think people judge you by your house, and I don't want to be treated as an 'old person ' just because my house looks like an old person's house!
Who cares if people judge you? If they’re a judgy sort of person, if they can’t find anything to judge about your house, they’d find some other yardstick to judge you by.
I don’t care if people think I’m an old person. I am.
There's a world of difference between "full of original features" and what the estate agents would term "in need of modernisation". I agree with CariadAgain, I like a decent kitchen and bathroom. They don't have to be ultra modern but have to be properly planned and installed. I'm currently living in what would be termed a mid-century flat and, although I've renovated throughout, I've tried to keep the original feel and style of the place - though not the orange and brown colour schemes of the time.
A great many older properties also need a thorough update of the electrical and plumbing systems which usually involves a fair amount of replastering and mess. I can appreciate that many people don't want to take this on, but personally I wouldn't feel safe unless this had been done.
Wow, CariadAgain
I can't believe what you've written, I am convinced it has been said in jest just to provoke a reaction, if that is not the case it's a blinkered opinion that I don't share
RillaofIngleside
Cariadagain, I find it odd too. There are people I know who haven't changed their house for 40 years, living with dark old carpets, old furniture and aertex walls. I couldn't bear it. Now we can I afford it, I like to keep mine light and modern. One reason being that I think people judge you by your house, and I don't want to be treated as an 'old person ' just because my house looks like an old person's house!
But also that 70s to 90s look is for my parents, not for me.
Do people really judge you by your house?
When we were running our online business, we had a few wealthy male collectors that came to our house to meet my husband. For example a bloke who works as an investment banker from Luxembourg and one of the collectors could well be the richest man in Midlands.
So far, none of them have gagged at the sight of our swirly 1960s carpet in our living room, our second hand 1960s display cabinets, dining table and chairs or our plain net curtains.
Our house is a 1960s house and I love vintage.
I love my little AGA we inherited. We still have the Roman blinds that we bought with the house. All our furniture is 2nd hand including the Tetrad sofas, we did clean them though. All we did was add to the house and retain the quirkiness. I personally don't like that modern live laugh love vibe. I like old lamps and comfy beds and decent water pressure in the shower.
Every does what thy want to make their home, their home. I am not going to make judgements on anyone else, just cheerfully go my way and do our house up the way we want it.
Cost must always come into it, although, as downsizers, this is not a consideration where our downsized house is concerned because we have sold for more than we have bought.
We can we not just share our preferences and choices without any of the virtue signalling or passive aggression this thread has attracted.
Fashion goes out of fashion but style doesn't!
Turning houses into fashion statements was a fantastic financial move by DIY shop owners, driven also by
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen etc, etc.
Think of decking in gardens in Ground Force!! 
Think about Stately Homes, Palaces, even the old Royal Yacht Britannia (or so I have read!). They all keep the original style and decorations. I read guests on the royal yacht were confronted with fairly basic plumbing!
I think the OP may have fallen into the DIY money trap? That's fine if they like and can afford all mod cons.
Watching Homes Under The Hammer it's so often 'rip it out, start again, paint it white and grey, install bifold doors ... result is, they all look the same and in 10 years will look very outdated. Queue new owners who will spend 1000s all over again!
Alvin Hall, a sort of Martin Lewis from 1990s, said spending money on interior decoration / renovation is a waste of investment. (It's OK to do what you like of course it is.)
But the next person probably won't like your taste and will rip it all out and start again.
So DIY shops get richer and people get poorer.
Rather a lot of judgemental posts here! I found it hard to find a buyer for my 1970s house until it was reduced and bought by a fixer-upper. I’d put in a new kitchen and bathroom, but we’d never decorated otherwise over 25 years, just kept it clean. We didn’t mind the way it was, and we had better things to spend our money on.
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