Thought it would be fun to hear of anyone's decorating pet peeves they have seen at friends/family homes. Figure this might be good for a laugh or too:
My pet peeve? Well, too many nic nacs. My Mom (bless her heart) has a lot of expensive royal doultan's and crystal bowls, candle holders, etc. and I am always saying "less is more Mom". She has little groupings everywhere in her living room. I can honestly say, she has at least 25 "nic nacs" of different types and styles in her living room - drives me nuts!
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Oh I forgot about that one! I few years back I pulled all the plastic off my mom's lampshades and she almost had a heart attack. "But lampshades will get all dusty now!" she gasped. "Get over it mom!" I replied as I hacked away at the plastic. "Do you honestly think the plastic has majically repelled the dust for all these years???" On some level, I really think she did... ;-)
I have magnets on my fridge and I have border! Oh noooo...I have violated many of the decorating fau pas here....better bump up the removal of the schrolly border on the list of things to do!
I absolutely think it looks "so" tacky when people put their TV or stereo in front of the window. Looking at all those twisted up cords....nice!! I don't particularly like couches in front of the window either. Another thing is clutter and I'm not real fond of wall paper...lots of it!! A couple walls or a border or two aren't bad, but no more than that. Oh, and plastic on the lamp shades....I would think it would be quite dangerous, let alone ugly!!
Some are complaining about pink walls.....LOL...... I thought pink was supposed to be the hot new trend for 2004???
Hello there, my pet peeve has got to be the ridiculous notion of putting a sofa in front of a living room window. Surprisingly, many designers have recommended this while suggesting floor plans. Besides obstructing the area in front of the window, I just think that having my back towards the outside world and not being able to look out of the front window, is just plain creepy.
CLUTTER! I don't care how out of date your decor is, if you love it and care for it then it's "you". But clutter? Yuck!
(This said by the mother of two young children with ten thousand small toys and a husband who believes "clearing the clutter" means making umpteen piles of paper to be put away "later"!)
For all you wallpaper haters....what do you think of this kitchen?
Hi Nafola, I can't believe it!! Hania is my home town. What a small world. Isn't the harbourfront beautiful?
I know we were discussing pet peeves, but I see a sub topic happening. I'm not Greek but my husband is. A couple of years ago I visited Greece with my husband and I must say that Crete was my favorite place. It had the best food (olives, feta, olive oil and cookies). We stayed with family in Hania and walked the Sumaria Gorge (amazing, but I couldn't walk for days).
My pet peeves include all the previous mentioned and so many more that it would take me days to list them all. My biggest is perhaps furniture that is too big for a room and way too much of it.
Oh my gosh! All of the above and more....
Here's my list of pet peeves ....
1. MAGNETS ON FRIDGES ... magnets have a utilitarian purpose. Magnets with animals or places travelled are not decorative, they're tacky.
2. CUTSY .. no hearts, no kittens, no teddy bears, no dolls, no lace, no ribbons. This may look cute in a very young girls' room, not in an adults!
3. PICTURES .. hung too high or too low or one tiny picture anchoring a large wall above a sofa or too many hung wherever.
4. CLUTTER .. edit, edit, edit
5. MATCHING SOFAS, LOVESEATS & ARM CHAIRS .. why do people thing that every piece of upholstered furniture has to have the same fabric?
6. LIGHTING .. it's either not enough lamps or too much lighting so living rooms are transformed into Costco.
7. DINING ROOM FIXTURES .. they don't have to be hung 1 foot from the ceiling!
8. NIC NACS .. enough said.
9. DRIED FLOWERS .. one arrangement per house max!
10. TOYS .. with 3 boys I have my share of toys, but I try to keep one room "toy free". I don't enjoy sitting on lego or hot wheels!
11. WALLPAPER BORDERS ... very 1980's.
12. SMELLY HOMES .. we all have pets and cook, please open windows or use some air freshner.
13. BATHROOMS .. why do people think they need to display every cosmetic & toiletry product they own. And please put away the feminine hygiene products and the extra toilet paper.
Well, there's my list..
I could eat it all day everyday!!! YUM YUM, perhaps we can meet on the food & entertaining forum for recipes? Pretty pls.:)
Hi there,
I was born in Montreal. My mom was born in a small town outside Sparti and my dad was from a really small village in Southern Peloponisos (near Githio where the ferries leave for Crete). My husband is from Crete (Chania to be exact) and it is by far one of my favourite places on the planet.
Oh my gosh! I couldn't agree more .... Here are my pet peeves in no particular order.
1. CUTSY .. no hearts, no teddy bears, no ribbons, no lace -- especially for adults!!
2. MAGNETS .. I hate when fridges are covered with magnets. Magnets need to be utilitarian, not teddy bears or from your cruise in the Bahamas.
3. PICTURE .. hung too high or too low or one tiny picture in the middle of the wall over the sofa!
4. CLUTTER .. edit, edit, edit!
5. MATCHING SOFAS, LOVE SEAT & ARM CHAIR .. why do people think when the buy a new suite that everything has to be the same fabric?
6. LIGHTING .. it's either not enough lamps around the room or it's so bright it is like Costco!
7. DINING ROOM LIGHTING .. when my friends complain that the light is too low, I tell them remember you're not standing underneath the light.
8. NIC NACS .. enough said!
9. DRIED FLOWERS .. one arrangement per house max!
10. BATHROOMS .. put away your cosmetics & toiletries, visitors do not need to see everything you own - clear counters would be nice. Please put away your feminine hygiene products and extra toilet paper rolls, I think nothing looks tackier.
11. WALLPAPER .. I think of my parents and grandparents' homes. I think of my mother cursing trying to remove it!
12. SPONGE PAINTED WALLS .. especially in bright colours, so 1990's.
13. TOYS EVERYWHERE .. with 3 boys I have toys everywhere, but decided my husband and I needed our own space, our living room now has a not toys policy. I now have a room where I can entertain grown-ups!
That's it for now!
Yasoo Constance I'm Greek too!! born on the beautiful island of Crete. Came here when I was 6. What part of Greece are you from?
You wouldn't believe where the light fixture is in my dining room--about 24 inches from the wall! I have been begging my husband to move it since we bought our house 7 months ago. I think I'll buy a DIY book and try to do it myself. What were they thinking?
This is so funny! My husband actually taped green garbage bags to our 8 ft. tall masterbedroom windows- we lived like that for the first month!!!
The tackiest bonboniere I ever got was made in Italy. It was a blue cherub made out of the shiniest porcelain I've ever seen. If you put it on top of a light house it could guide ships into shore all on it's own.
you're pretty close. I'm of Greek decent.
[B]I absolutely hate walking into a small to medium sized room, and seeing a huge monster T.V in it.I automatically have the urge to turn around and smack the husband, because he's always the culprit. [/B]
You have me laughing out loud with this one!!! I totally agree, the husband deserves a smack!
Except one...It seems in italy they aren't as tacky as ours. Last one I received was a gorgeous swarovski vase about 6" tall & 4"wide.Beautiful! The rest I agree should be burnt!!! Are you italian?
BONBONIERES!!!
You know, those little knick knacks you get at weddings or baptisms. I know people mean well with these things, but I would need a whole room to display them all (not that I would EVER want to!).
I absolutely hate walking into a small to medium sized room, and seeing a huge monster T.V in it.I automatically have the urge to turn around and smack the husband, because he's always the culprit.
Good Morning all,
What a fun topic! Here are mine:
1. Clutter! In my house everything has its place. My son is 4 and its completely trained to put things away when he is done playing. Husband is still a work in progress...
2. Over use of doilies! I have more of these things that I know what to with. Not evey bloody knick knack needs a doily beneath it.
3. Pictures hung to high is a big one for me. I saw and episode of Designer Guys a few days ago and they had a guest on that said when hanging art, decide where you want to hang it, then lower it my 6 inches and you'll be at the perfect height. That's great advice!
4. Fridge Magnets. I used to be a huge fan (probably had more than a hundred on my fridge at one point). I am now a recovering magnaholic and have completely banished them from my life.
5. Sloppy repair jobs. The previous owners of our house were notorious for this one. They used caulking to patch holes in the wall, used nails on the SURFACE of the hardwood floors to hold down loose planks and built a closet organizer out of old trim and broomhandles. If you aren't going to do it right, don't do it at all!!!
6. Bad remodeling decisions on major components of the house. When we were shopping for our house, we saw a remodeled bathroom done entirely in chocolate brown (toilet, tub, sink AND tiles) and a remodeled kitchen that used at least a dozen different colours of tile on the backsplash and counter (gave me a headache). No one wants to live with someone elses bad taste. I can't tell you how many remodeled homes we walked away from because we couldn't stand to pay extra for what we would have to rip out and redo.
ALL of the above (AMEN)..and just to add one of my own....valances above shutters...YUK
Thanks for the good laff :)
My daughter built a new house and sure enough the heat register was placed smack in the middle of the patio door on the side you walk thru, but best of all the patio door was in upside down !!!
[B]I see your light fixture hung in the wrong place ( same problem here) & I raise you with: my heat register in the kitchen is in front of the patio door, not the side that doesn't open, the one we use AND they put this cheap plastic cover on it that can't hold anyones weight; that is of course if they don't trip over it, fall out my door & off my 2x4 "balcony" (catching a few splinters on the way over).
And here's some more: 2 in 1 decor/function pieces. "I'm a blender but I'm also a table lamp".
And people that use skid proof shelf liner as doilies...:) [/B]
I see your light fixture hung in the wrong place ( same problem here) & I raise you with: my heat register in the kitchen is in front of the patio door, not the side that doesn't open, the one we use AND they put this cheap plastic cover on it that can't hold anyones weight; that is of course if they don't trip over it, fall out my door & off my 2x4 "balcony" (catching a few splinters on the way over).
And here's some more: 2 in 1 decor/function pieces. "I'm a blender but I'm also a table lamp".
And people that use skid proof shelf liner as doilies...:)
Blossom, I so agree!! We just moved into our home in October, so I can't start complaining yet, but if my light fixture isn't fixed to hang over our table, AUGH!!! You can tell a man designed that plan.
To all those pet peeves! You guys sure can make me laugh!!
Some of those beauties - garbage bag drapes, plastic furniture....stuffies!!! :) :) :)
Ahhhhhhhhhhh
Decorating with stuffed animals has to be my biggest pet peeve! LOL I know that people do it, and I'm sure it's cute for a child, but not as an adult.
Despite my confession that I really want to follow the pot light trend, I agree with you.
How practical is sisal? If you are kidless and petless, never lie on the floor, never eat in that room and don't mind wisps, then it is great!
How much did we used to hate taupe? Those of us over 35 years old can probably remember when "taupe" made us cringe the way "beige" does now.
I can't afford stainless steel. I am not ashamed of my white appliances, but sometimes feel I should be.
In the 70's, everyone had plants everywhere. In the 80's, we all had dried flowers and hated pot lights.
Matchstick blinds are what poor students used to use when they could afford to replace the bedsheets on their windoes.
What are those marketers doing to us all!