Confessions of a House Snob

[AliasJohnDoe]

Ewww....barefeet!!!! The last thing I take off before I shower is my socks. The first thing I put on when I get out is clean socks...even before my undies are put on. I'd rather someone kept their flipflops on before going barefoot....ewww.

[El Rey]

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 have a bunch of friends who moved from Texas to NYC. Sometimes they like to go eat at places like The Olive Garden. They call it "suburban" night. Sometimes they also like to make a suburban weekend and drive out to Wal-Mart

[Rex]

That is fcuked up.

It gives new meaning to being anal.

[Skate Talker]

I hate a messy house. Does that make me a house snob? I don't know. lol
I told my guy when we get married I would prefer if no one wore shoes in the house. He agreed, which made me . I hate the idea of not being able to walk comfortable bare foot, or in socks, in my own house.

Must be nice for you. For me no choice. I have very high arches and with age they have fallen slightly - enough that I suffered greatly for years. After cortisone shots and much physiotherapy I finally have a handle on it but must wear something with a structured arch at all times to prevent pain. So house shoes it is.

Back to the original house snob question - well I have fairly low standards but do find some peoples places pretty fugly and depressing. I had a similar problem with my own home but unfortunately although I know what I like when I see it all done really have no ability to put it together myself. I spent many years on indecision trying to figure it out. The living/dining room was the big problem with an L shape, 5 doorways and the need for it to provide access from one end of the house to the other right through the middle. Managed to get one consultant to show up to the house but due to remote location that was her only visit. She came up with an unusable floor plan and other that directing us buy a specific size of sofa and suggesting a list of furniture stores was leaving us to our own devices anyway as far as actual choices. We finally stumbled through on our own and at least it is a big improvement on the old look which was stuck in the 70's and is still usable the way we live in it.

[genevieve]

Back to the original house snob question -

oh, that!

Reading the original post, I was thinking what a non-house-snob I am, but to be honest, I am one. I am snobby about new construction. I hate it. I'll take dusty, I'll take lived in, I'll take clutter...but keep me far away from anything built after 1960, and especially after 2000.

Of course, there are exceptions. A friend had a house that I absolutely adored, that was built in 2005. It looked like a converted barn, and was quite modern - but not so cold or cheap feeling as most (decidedly UNcheap) new construction is. I couldn't believe it when she told me how new it was. When she moved out of town and sold the house I was in a million depressions - I think I loved that house more than she did!

[Rob]

I dislike the architectural mishmash that so many contemporary architects resort to in even upscale subdivisions.

My college professor called these architects "Pastichio Nuts."

I hate the newer houses that have at least half a dozen triangles in the roof lines trimmed in white.

[Dragonlady]

I'm sure my SIL has all kinds of nasty things to say about me behind my back because they have NEVER been invited to my home. Not once, ever. Every time my SIL goes to someone's house, she makes negative comments about their decor and their furniture. Everything to her is "ugly", out of date, or just plain wrong. And she goes on and on about it.

I am certain my house won't measure up to her standards. We''re always in the middle of some renovation or another and it takes DH months, sometimes years, to get stuff finished. Our furniture is old and we haven't gotten around to replacing it. But it's clean and comfortable and we're happy.

I just don't want my SIL running me down behind my back. As for her house: It's nice I guess, if you like beige in every room and vertical blinds on all of the windows. Not my taste at all.

[snoopy]

Do they actually use architects for modern subdivisions? Maybe the really swanky ones but I am surprised the midpriced ones do. They are all so similar. So maybe it was one set of blueprints and 2 million copies.

IMO, there are a set of post WWII war houses that are the worst. The construction materials might not be bad but the design is terrible inside and out. No balance and no flow. A similar thing happened as in the 90's - rapid expansion from returning war veterans. So throw up the houses NOW. I am not talking about bungalows but the period between bungalows and the 60's ranches. Where the bathroom door opens into the living room.

[sk8er1964]

Where the bathroom door opens into the living room.

My full bath is off the kitchen. Seriously. I think it originally was the pantry. My now deceased neighbor (which is where I learned how the house looked before that one owner screwed it up) said that when he was a kid in the 30's, the owner of my house put in indoor plumbing for his wife, but refused to use it himself, instead preferring the outhouse. The old outhouse is still on our property, although someone at some point put a floor in it.

[oleada]

Where I come from, its's actually rude to just take your shoes off at someone's house. You need to ask, and even then it's a little weird. My mom is hardly ever barefoot at home - she has a set of flip-flops that are exclusively for inside use.

But a famous Colombian comedian made a joke about Colombians being pathologically afraid of catching diseases from the floor...what did the floor ever do to us?

(I, for one, always take my shoes off as soon as I reach my bedroom)

[snoopy]

My full bath is off the kitchen. Seriously. I think it originally was the pantry. My now deceased neighbor (which is where I learned how the house looked before that one owner screwed it up) said that when he was a kid in the 30's, the owner of my house put in indoor plumbing for his wife, but refused to use it himself, instead preferring the outhouse. The old outhouse is still on our property, although someone at some point put a floor in it.

Well that was updating an oooold house that was built before any modern conveniences existed so the original design was probably fine for the times it was built. I've seen plenty of those pantry conversions - usually to a half bath with the full bath being upstairs on 1940's homes when it was standard to have just one bath in the house.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

My full bath is off the kitchen. Seriously. I think it originally was the pantry. My now deceased neighbor (which is where I learned how the house looked before that one owner screwed it up) said that when he was a kid in the 30's, the owner of my house put in indoor plumbing for his wife, but refused to use it himself, instead preferring the outhouse. The old outhouse is still on our property, although someone at some point put a floor in it.

When old houses were retrofit to put in indoor toilets and etc., it made sense for plumbing to be near plumbing. Thus bathrooms were frequently placed right off kitchens.

[skatingfan5]

My full bath is off the kitchen. Seriously. I think it originally was the pantry. My now deceased neighbor (which is where I learned how the house looked before that one owner screwed it up) said that when he was a kid in the 30's, the owner of my house put in indoor plumbing for his wife, but refused to use it himself, instead preferring the outhouse. The old outhouse is still on our property, although someone at some point put a floor in it.

I've got one of those bathrooms off the kitchen as well -- it couldn't have originally been anything more than a pantry, because I'm sure it's the smallest bathroom in town to have a bathtub in it (it's less than 21 sq ft!). No sign of an outhouse on the property, though. One of the houses down the block has a garage that is clearly a stable conversion, so you get an idea of what vintage the neighborhood is (mostly pre-WWI). There's only one house that likely would pass Civic's "snob test" -- and it isn't mine.

BTW, I'm one of those shoe-haters and kick them off as soon as I get in the front door. At other's homes, I follow the lead of the host/hostess -- if they are wearing shoes, I'll leave mine on.

When old houses were retrofit to put in indoor toilets and etc., it made sense for plumbing to be near plumbing. Thus bathrooms were frequently placed right off kitchens.

Makes a lot of sense -- that's what my grandmother did when she finally had indoor plumbing put in the farmhouse (built in 1834). I was in 9th grade at the time and remember how glad I was that night-time trips to the outhouse were a thing of the past!

[Jenny]

Well that was updating an oooold house that was built before any modern conveniences existed so the original design was probably fine for the times it was built. I've seen plenty of those pantry conversions - usually to a half bath with the full bath being upstairs on 1940's homes when it was standard to have just one bath in the house.

Since we're going off topic, I sublet an apartment in NY that had a bathroom with two doors - one to the bedroom, and one to the kitchen. Rather handy when getting ready for work in the morning

[skatingfan5]

Since we're going off topic, I sublet an apartment in NY that had a bathroom with two doors - one to the bedroom, and one to the kitchen. Rather handy when getting ready for work in the morning

But you didn't have the bathtub in the kitchen, do you? IIRC, I've read of a few NYC apartments with that unusual feature -- not sure if they were conversions to multi-unit from single-family buildings.

[Jenny]

But you didn't have the bathtub in the kitchen, do you? IIRC, I've read of a few NYC apartments with that unusual feature -- not sure if they were conversions to multi-unit from single-family buildings.

No, it was a full, if small, bathroom. I guess it could have been a pantry at some point, but then one does wonder what people did without a toilet in a 5th floor walk up!

[skatingfan5]

No, it was a full, if small, bathroom. I guess it could have been a pantry at some point, but then one does wonder what people did without a toilet in a 5th floor walk up!

Chamber pots, if the building was old enough. Or very strong bladders to be able to wait until they got to the latrine.

[Rob]

In larger pre-war NY apartments, it was really typical to have a tiny WC bathroom off the kitchen with the full bathrooms elsewhere in the apt. I lived in a couple of those - the toilet and plumbing had broken years before so we just used them as broom/mop/cleaning product closets.

[genevieve]

Since we're going off topic, I sublet an apartment in NY that had a bathroom with two doors - one to the bedroom, and one to the kitchen. Rather handy when getting ready for work in the morning

Since we're going WAY off topic , I knew a guy in Cincinnati who lived in a basement apartment whose shower was in his bedroom

[Jenna]

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?!

Wow. I actually like those restaurants...their food is far better than I could do at home.

Just so you know, we cater from Boston Market on Thanksgiving. 'Nuff said.