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No one cares whether you update or not. Your house is supposed to please YOU. What's crazy is people finding fault and berating others for making their own homes more enjoyable for THEM.
Yep.
And there also seems to be a perception that ONLY people living in non-updated houses receive compliments about their homes or get told that a guest feels at home when visiting.
Redecorating is one thing. You can’t really redecorate yourself out of a 20 or 30-year-old house that has looked the same for all that time. You have to make some serious changes. You need to replace furniture. New floors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChessieMom
No one cares whether you update or not. Your house is supposed to please YOU. What's crazy is people finding fault and berating others for making their own homes more enjoyable for THEM.
Except that wasn't what you said in the post I quoted. You said that you can't redecorate out of a 20-30 year old house and specifically mentioned new floors.
My exception to your statement is there is no new wood product that is going to look any better than old growth wood - unless of course your old growth wood is completely trashed.
Perhaps replacement would look better in a 20-30 year old home. If that's what you mean specifically, I apologize for bringing your comment up twice! I admittedly missed the year range the first time I read it.
And there also seems to be a perception that ONLY people living in non-updated houses receive compliments about their homes or get told that a guest feels at home when visiting.
Except that wasn't what you said in the post I quoted. You said that you can't redecorate out of a 20-30 year old house and specifically mentioned new floors.
My exception to your statement is there is no new wood product that is going to look any better than old growth wood - unless of course your old growth wood is completely trashed.
Perhaps replacement would look better in a 20-30 year old home. If that's what you mean specifically, I apologize for bringing your comment up twice! I admittedly missed the year range the first time I read it.
Yes....IF the look is one that you don't like. Especially if there are elements that are clearly from a specific era. That was my point. It should certainly be clear by now that if YOU love your own home, YOU don't need to do ANYTHING. YOU are the one living there. But if you DO want to bring the older interior of your home into a fresher, less dated look, you will need to do more than paint and hang new curtains.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo
"unless of course your old growth wood is completely trashed"
After 20-30 years, many, are. But it totally depends on who's living there, pets, children, etc. My parents nearly-20-year old floors are in excellent condition. And if you talk to a flooring professional, they'll tell you that 15 years is all you can hope for. Ha!
Last edited by ChessieMom; 10-29-2018 at 09:45 PM..
As per the title: "People that happily live in dated “not perfect” homes...lower stress life?"
I say no. Dated not perfect homes cost money and money is a worry. The dishwasher goes out. Sure you can hand wash dishes but you resent not being able to afford a new dishwasher. Then the microwave breaks and the spot it's in is custom carpentry. You can't find one that fits in that spot. This is what happened to my brother and his double ovens. He never did replace the one that overheated.
The first house we had was an older home and dealing with all those problems when you don't have money. . .We were happy there but not because of the house. Our family made the memories, not all the money draining repairs for our less than perfect house. And all the appliances in the kitchen were avocado green.
How old am I, you ask? Well, I'm old enough to remember the brand new harvest gold stove my parents bought new. I'm old enough to have one of my first apartments have turquoise appliances. I'm old enough for the first home I bought to have avocado appliances. In those days, stainless and black were nowhere to be seen. When we built our home 20 years ago, there were no stainless steel or black appliance options. Just as well, because we wouldn't have wanted them anyway.
That's odd. When I moved into this house, I bought a new fridge. It was black. The home was 4 years old when I bought it, and the range was also black.
I guess I don't know anyone that's that careless with their home, that there are dents in the walls, etc. And everyone has white or other pale, mostly neutral colors on the walls, so there's no need to repaint. I've seen houses that have been lived in for 40 years or more, still look great, when put up for sale, without any new paint jobs or touch-ups.
Peeling exterior paint can be a risk of water damage and decay over time. Interior paint jobs only need to be redone, if you move some framed items around, and notice there's been fading of the paint color. And I don't really agree with "updating" cabinetry, unless the old stuff was ugly to begin with, upon move-in. These days though, the seller is expected to provide updated cabinets for the buyer, which seems crazy.
After 20-30 years, many, are. But it totally depends on who's living there, pets, children, etc. My parents nearly-20-year old floors are in excellent condition. And if you talk to a flooring professional, they'll tell you that 15 years is all you can hope for. Ha!
But of course! Only way for them to stay in business LOL!!
And I don't really agree with "updating" cabinetry, unless the old stuff was ugly to begin with, upon move-in. These days though, the seller is expected to provide updated cabinets for the buyer, which seems crazy.
Buyers don't want to do anything. They want "move in ready, no projects." And after living with this house for 17 years, I kind of understand that mentality. Next house, I don't want projects when I move in, either.
This house, I wanted a cheap house with a garage, figuring I could do projects as I got around to them. That's been a constant source of stress as small projects turned out to be big ones as they got opened up (like, oh, can't move that switch as it's cloth bound wiring, so we have to rewire the house now to meet code).
The pics below were of the kitchen when we bought the house 17 years ago and after we swapped out the cabinet doors, painted the walls, redid the floor, and added working appliances. It's still not what I want, but it's what money and time allowed. The next house will be what I want before I move in.
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Your house is supposed to please YOU. What's crazy is people finding fault and berating others for making their own homes more enjoyable for THEM.
