New build boring houses

When_is_the_reset?

mundibananas wrote: »

I think some people have been watching too much Grand Designs !
I moved from a 1 bedroom flat in a 1890 regency house with period features to a newbuild 3 storey mid-terrace townhouse - and it wasn't until I moved I realised how dingy and squalid and unpractical my flat was. Now I have a garage to put my dull kayak, my dull road bike and my dull mountain bike for my dull activities and a I have a garden, with terrace decking leading out from my open plan kitchen and family room where I can continue to lead a dull existance. Upstairs I have a decent size lounge (where I can continue to watch my dull programs) and guest bedroom, then upstairs again I have sizeable bathroom, office (3rd double bedroom) and my master with ensuite (where I have my dull dreams).
Yes, it's still magnolia as I have been told not to paint for a few months whilst the house is settling in. I don't have a feature wall, I have framed art that is meaningful to me (but probably dull to you).
I find it's best not to pigeon hole people or label with broad sterertypes - but that's just boring old me.

I have just read this erudite post and I feel sorry that you have such a dull life.

Why don't you sell your dull new house and buy an older one? They generally have all the things you have mentioned and then some character, space around them and build quality as well.

stu20vt

Houses mean different things for different people. I have lived in a house that was 140 years old, and now living in a large newish build (9 years old). The reason for living in a 'new build' is that we started a family and found it to be more ideal. Warmer, no upgrade work needing done when we moved in, and more space inside, the house is looking as good now as it did 9 years ago and we haven't had to spend a pound on it. I don't care if its 'dull' to some people. Yes the garden is a bit smaller however with the typical British weather a garden isn't that important, we have fantastic countryside/parks only a short walk away.
Most important thing for me is my family and a functional house for them live in, which the new build offers. I don't want to spend my weekends 'doing up my old Victorian house', I want to spend it doing more enjoyable things in life. 'Dull' is not new builds, 'dull' is the people who go on about their 'characteristic' houses.

When_is_the_reset?

Brilliant! I never thought this thread would get such a reaction - it has turned into a.....

'you are dull'

'no, you are dull'

'I said it first - so you are dull'

'so what, you are boring'

I was talking about the design of most new builds being dull - I am quite sure that a lot of exciting things happen in both types of house.

dizziblonde

I don't personally like them (and they're obessed with 5-6 bedroom houses around here), the ones locally are small, on badly lit roads and crammed in together - and I've seen a lot of them inside because I tutor at children's houses. To me they're just soul-less... I like a house with a bit of history, with a few quirks and foibles - being a sentimental sod, I like to imagine the stories and lives the walls have seen and the history they've known. Round here they decided when they built the houses back in the 30s that they'd give each street its own unique shaped window - so the street down from us has a small diamond window in the corner of the master bedroom (they've got a proper window as well don't worry), we've got octagons, another street's got pentagons... it's just the silliest little quirk - but I love stuff like that. I like to think how the place originally looked before it was remodelled, extended and what not, to think about how it evolved... maybe I'm just nuts though.

My mum's house is a 300 year old former coaching inn, none of the walls are at 90 degrees to each other, everything's slightly skew-wiff and not nice sharp round corners - but it's great because of it (as long as you don't ever plan on having vertical striped wallpaper)! Incidentally the only bit of that house they have any problems with is the flipping 1960s extension.

And I'm looking forward with incredible anticipation to doing up my little 1930s house (mortgage is approved - I almost cried with relief on that), I don't want to move into whatever Mr Barrett/Wimpey/Persimmon have decreed is the way to go with interior decor this year - I WANT to have stuff to do - and after a decade of renting, magnolia walls are NOT in the equation!

harz99

When_is_the_reset? wrote: »

I was talking about the design of most new builds being dull.

The answer to that lies in the last sentence in post #43.

Most new build designs are for ease of build and cheapness of build rather than anything else - like most things in life there are exceptions but they are hard to find.........

mundibananas

When_is_the_reset? wrote: »

I have just read this erudite post and I feel sorry that you have such a dull life.

Why don't you sell your dull new house and buy an older one? They generally have all the things you have mentioned and then some character, space around them and build quality as well.

If by character you mean rattley sash windows where the condensation freezes on the inside, no central heating, and a kitchen floor that slopes so bad, the pans slide off the cooker - then I'd rather have dull !

neverdespairgirl

mundibananas wrote: »

If by character you mean rattley sash windows where the condensation freezes on the inside, no central heating, and a kitchen floor that slopes so bad, the pans slide off the cooker - then I'd rather have dull !

Each to his own (-:

My parents' house in Kent when I was a teenager had no central heating, and my bedroom sloped so much you put all the furniture by the window, as that's where it ended up anyway.

It was great!

swingaloo

Ive lived in a big old terraced and didnt like it at the time, cold draughty and no wall had a square corner.
Then I bought an ex council house-fabulous.

At the moment Im renting a new house.

I can have a conversation with next door without opening a door or using the phone!

Every stair squeaks!

Every room is like a box! so bland and boring.

The 'large double bedroom' has a choice, bed or wardrobes- you cant have both!

It rains in under the front door!

The path to the front door is like negotiating an assault course because all the flags have been laid so badly!

The bath has leaked and stained the kitchen ceiling (when I say kitchen I use the term loosly)
You never flush the toilet at night as it wakes all the house.

The kitchen has 2 wall cupboards, 2 base units and a set of drawers which have been put in a corner at right angle to the oven so you cant open the top drawer because of the oven handle. :mad: I could have a microwave if I got rid of the kettle and toaster!!!!!

Best of all, its a 3 storey house and the sound carries so much that if anyone farts on the top floor someone in the lounge will apologise,:rotfl:
Give me back my old house- either of them.

Imp

mundibananas wrote: »

I think some people have been watching too much Grand Designs !
I moved from a 1 bedroom flat in a 1890 regency house with period features to a newbuild 3 storey mid-terrace townhouse - and it wasn't until I moved I realised how dingy and squalid and unpractical my flat was. Now I have a garage to put my dull kayak, my dull road bike and my dull mountain bike for my dull activities and a I have a garden, with terrace decking leading out from my open plan kitchen and family room where I can continue to lead a dull existance. Upstairs I have a decent size lounge (where I can continue to watch my dull programs) and guest bedroom, then upstairs again I have sizeable bathroom, office (3rd double bedroom) and my master with ensuite (where I have my dull dreams).
Yes, it's still magnolia as I have been told not to paint for a few months whilst the house is settling in. I don't have a feature wall, I have framed art that is meaningful to me (but probably dull to you).
I find it's best not to pigeon hole people or label with broad sterertypes - but that's just boring old me.

Comparing 1 bed flat to 3 bed room house? When buying cars would you compare a moped to a Range Rover?

Imp

We were looking to do a self build, found some land and went around some architects to see what they would come up with. When it came to the looks, the question they asked themselves was "What would the planners want us to build?" The entire design was based on the planners and their desire for bland mediocrity rather than architectural excellence.

And in terms of quality of house, 1960s council houses are reliably good in terms of their layout and space. Victorian and earlier town houses were built with tiny back yards, next to no garden, I think the best houses for me were built between the wars.