Confessions of a House Snob

[Nekatiivi]

Do people who do not take their shoes off at home exist? In Finland shoes are always taken off at home.

What comes to being a house snob, I do understand it. I am visual person and I need my apartment to have harmony of colours and materials, plus a coherent style. It is not as nice as I would want it to be, due to lack of money, but I do think you can make your home beautiful without being rich. On the other hand, I undrstand that not all people are like me and I do not hold it against anyone if they don't have good eye for decorating nor money for house keeping.

But as a food snob... I think I am terrible...

[jen_faith]

We take our shoes off in the house. No way I am tracking all that outside dirt into my house.

I am not a snob in particular, but if there is anything I am snobbish about I guess I could say I don't like houses that are decorated in minimalist modern styles. I appreciate a lack of clutter (probably because it is the opposite of my house) but I find a lot of very modern homes to be uncomfortable and sterile. I especially find a lot of modern furniture to be uncomfortable to sit on.

[Aussie Willy]

I am an intolerant snob. I am incredibly intolerant of intolerant people. Particularly those who attack gays and racists.

As for being a house snob - yeah that is okay.

[Rex]

I need to make a confession and FSU seems the safest place to do it. I've recently realized that I'm an incorrigible house snob. I have very high standards and strong opinions when it comes to residences. I like homes to be well kept and well maintained. I abhor cheap repairs or remodeling jobs. I dislike the architectural mishmash that so many contemporary architects resort to in even upscale subdivisions.

I know that in many cases the homeowner can't afford the repair that would best compliment the home's architecture. But I still shudder everytime I see a Tudor style house where the stucco has been replaced by vinyl siding. Ditto with low budget basement conversions or porch enclosures. Shabby, out-of-date interiors depress me.

I try very hard not to let on to people who own these unfortunate homes that their house gives me the blues. People are sensitive about their homes and most of these homeowners are doing the best they can with limited financial resources. But sometimes it takes all of my self-control not to go, "Ugh![' out loud.

There. I feel better now that I finally got this off my chest. My question to other FSU posters. Am I the only one who reacts to shabby or ugly homes in this manner?

My ex is a house snob. We'd go house-hunting as a hobby. Weekend open houses are like crack to him - he HAS to go. He knows every realtor in the Center City area - and they all know him . He can pick apart a house/condo in seconds. It's almost scary.

[Icetalavista]

As long as you don't hurt the feelings of financially-challenged or taste-challenged people by telling them your thoughts (if they haven't asked for your opinion), why not have those snobbish feelings? We're all snobbish about something. Someone must keep up those standards. For me, it's coffee.

And if they *do* ask for your opinion, you can do the cause of snobbism a favor by being tactful about it so they might actually be motivated to make the needed changes instead of digging their heels into cheapness/tackiness just to tick the snobs off.

[Angela-Fan]

Don't ever get a dog or cat, then. They like to wipe their butts on the carpet when they have a klingon, if their little butt itches, or even just for the hell of it. Seriously.

My aunt is obsessively clean. Her dogs get their little bottoms wiped after they go potty. No kidding. I guess she doesn't have to worry about clingons. They also go on puppy pads instead of going outside. fi was when I told him this and he said when we have our own place and bring his dog and i finally get my own, there is no way the dogs will go in the house. He volunteered to wipe their little feet if it'll make me happy. I was like you said it not me. Although I noticed he didn't volunteer to wipe their bottoms. lol

[Rex]

I'll admit to have become a bit of a food snob over the past couple of years. But I have been working on it. Some disastrous attempts at making some ambitious dishes have humbled me a bit.

[genevieve]

My aunt is obsessively clean. Her dogs get their little bottoms wiped after they go potty. No kidding. They also go on puppy pads instead of going outside.

That is fcuked up.

[Skittl1321]

Do people who do not take their shoes off at home exist?

We wear shoes in the house. Except in the winter when it's very slushy/snowy out or rainy days. I don't want to track water into the house. The laminate floors make it easy enough to clean off any dirt.

I actually prefer socks, but there are days that tendonitis is bothering me too much not to wear sneakers. DH always wears his shoes.

[Angela-Fan]

That is fcuked up.

It's funny I got so used to I was surprised that other people thought it was weird.

[genevieve]

I tend to not wear shoes in my house, but it's because I hate wearing shoes. I don't take them off at the door. I tend to take them off when I sit at my dining table. I certainly don't make my guests take their shoes off. And hey! I still can wear socks in my house! The two aren't mutually exclusive

I admire people with great design sense - I agree that if you've got that you can make your place look fab even without a ton of $$ if it's a priority for you. I admit that my style is more utilitarian, and I can live quite easily under circumstances that would drive another person nuts. But I am very uncomfortable in any home that is so clean it looks like no one lives there.

[PRlady]

I can't fault people for having no design sense. Some of them are in my extended family. But the "crimes" lean more towards way too many tschochkes or really overdecorated color schemes and furniture rather than towards plain shabbiness. The latter I forgive if people don't have the money or time to care or spend.

What I don't understand is real messiness from grownups. I live a busy life and always find time to clean and straighten up and I force my poor daughter, who at 23 is not yet a neatnik, to meet my standards if she wants to live with me rent-free. So I guess I'm a cleanliness snob.

And my shoes come off as soon as I'm home but that's because I like being in slippers or socks, I don't ask my guests to do that. I sure wish my upstairs neighbor who seems to be clomping around in Doc Martens felt the same.

[Jenny]

I'm the same way. I love my aunt and uncle, but whenever I visit and we go out to dinner, their first choices are always Olive Garden or Red Lobster Also, my friend's parents invited us to dinner one night, which was very kind and generous of them, but they picked TGI Friday's. I mean, you're in New York City and you go eat at Friday's?!

I know what you mean, especially in a place like New York where you can literally dine at a different great restaurant for every meal of every day of the year. When I lived there, friends visited and insisted on going to Bubba Gump in Times Square for lunch.

But like others of said, for many there's the familiarity factor (or sometimes a chain restaurant can be a special treat if you don't have that one in your area), and cost, and being comfortable. Lots of people are nervous in non-chain restaurants, because they don't know if they'll like the food or if they are dressed right or how much to tip etc, so they'd rather go where they know what to expect.

I figure the company is more important than the venue or the food (similar case when going to someone's house), and there are plenty of other opportunities to eat in the restaurants we like.

[Skittl1321]

What I don't understand is real messiness from grownups. I live a busy life and always find time to clean and straighten up and I force my poor daughter, who at 23 is not yet a neatnik, to meet my standards if she wants to live with me rent-free. So I guess I'm a cleanliness snob.

Messyness and cleanliness aren't the same thing in my book. I'm messy- I leave shoes under the dining room table, and my knitting all over the house. Putting things away just isn't really something I value. When guests come over I'll tidy up, either by putting it away, or throwing everything into a laundry basket and setting it in my bedroom.

Cleanliness to me is about nasty stuff growing in the toilet, or dishes in the sink. I take care of all that. I scrub the floor, clean the bathroom, make sure the sheets are changed on a regular schedule. That matters to me more than clutter.

DH is the opposite- he hates junk around the house, and nags me to put it away, but I've never seen him with a toilet brush or taking out the trash. (I've finally, after 6 years convinced him if there is raw chicken in the trashcan he MUST take it out that night. It's disgusting the next day otherwise.)

[Jenny]

What I don't understand is real messiness from grownups.

That's where I draw the line too. I'm not going to criticize someone's decor because they live there, not me - maybe they wouldn't like the colour of my walls or my choice of pictures or our priorities for house repairs and upgrades either.

But I can't abide a house that's dirty or unhealthy, or people who live like slobs (I'm not talking clutter, I'm talking dirt). There are people in my life who I love dearly, but whose homes I will not go to because they make me so uncomfortable.

ETA Skittl and I posted at the same time - ITA with what she said!

[Angela-Fan]

I was at someone's house and I spilled water or something on the kitchen floor. I went to wipe it up with a paper towel and it came up black.

[AliasJohnDoe]

Do people who do not take their shoes off at home exist? In Finland shoes are always taken off at home.

I just assumed everyone took their shoes off in the house. I always take my shoes off before I enter someone elses home also.

[snoopy]

FWIW, I know of several African American families who only go to chains when travelling because they know or can reasonably expect non-discriminatory treatment. With locally owned restaurants, there is a little more risk of being not welcome unless you have a recommendation.

I am a house snob wrt my own house - much to my chagrin. I like to think of myself as a utilatarian plain jane and no I don't need to buy all that nice stuff. But um, no. I tried living in a sparse house with cheap stuff and never felt at home. So furniture and decor shopping I went. I don't care in other people's houses but I guess it is because I don't spend as much time there.

[Skittl1321]

I always take my shoes off before I enter someone elses home also.

You know, especially in the summer when people don't always wear socks- this kind of grosses me out. If they have socks on, no problem- feel free to leave your shoes at my door. But how do I know people don't have weird foot infections. Isn't that why we shower in flip-flops at the gym?

[Angela-Fan]

I see where you're coming from. This lady came to my aunt's house once over the summer and she was wearing flip flips. I guess her feet were sweaty and you could tell by looking at the floor where she stepped.