My number one deal breaker is the open bathroom in the primary suite. Why would anyone want no door between the bedroom and the bathroom? What if the sleeping partner doesn’t want to be woken up by the light? What if I want to take a bath without a cold draft blowing in? What if I’m having a particularly messy “situation” in there? What if I want to pick my nose in private? I see this way too often. So bad.
Seriously, what is WITH that? Yeah, maybe in photo shoots of honeymoon suites it looks romantic. In real life? Do you really want your partner lying in bed watching you pee, awkwardly climbing into the tub, and see you shaving your pits and washing your bits? I'm a great believer in privacy, especially in a bathroom!
Builder had open doorway to master bath, but a separate room and door to toilet. Builder did let me ADD door to main part of master bath for $800. I paid it because the bedroom has a great view of the golf course and mountains, but why would I want to require blinds to be closed to use my master bath even midday? Also, the person sleeping also doesn't want to be woken up by the person who needs to get to work early? Most people want some privacy in the shower and tub as well. Open bath with no door is so impractical.
Not having a coat closet (not a open cubby) or a linen closet seems to be a thing in newer homes. I don't think buyers notice it's not part of the plan until it's too late.
Our house does not have any linen closet unfortunately so the sheets are all corralled in one of the bedroom closets. I hate it! There is also nowhere to store the vacuum so it has just become another member of the family, moving from room to room, silently observing all our activities, just resting in a corner somewhere. The coat closet we believe was literally an afterthought. It is not even 2'×2' in size, placed in a hallway that is so narrow, we can put our elbows out and touch each wall simultaneously 🙄.
Yes! I've noticed this too. I'm more willing to give up a coat closet than a linen closet but would prefer to have both. Living in the South, we can keep our few coats in our bedroom closets and guests' coats can be draped over a chair in the living room or bench in the entry. But storing the linens for each bedroom in that bedroom's closet just takes up too much space.
My master didn't have a linen closet, but I fixed it by adding custom shelving in my walk in closet which is part of the bed/bath. Not optimal, but workable.
I am a builder. I've taken notes. Thank you for reaching out. I wish we (and architechts) had more feedback like this. Please make more if you think of any.(And also: yeah yuck popcorn ceilings are totally gross)
@@Doc30jj yeah I try to design everything to be ADA compliant even if it's not for a disabled client. You never know what can happen later either, with more people choosing to "age in place"
I'm in the process of building a home and have 4 bedrooms on the upper level and 2 sets of Jack and Jill bathrooms. This is an awesome idea with 4 kids. I have no idea why anyone would make a powder bath, or main bath a J and J, but for kids, and the upper bedrooms, they are fantastic.
tubs that aren't designed for adults to actually bathe in are deal breakers for me. I might as well have a walk in shower if it's too small to use for actual bathing. Also, fireplaces should be wood burning, not just for decoration. They come in handy if a storm takes out the power and it's cold weather.
I tried to convince my son to pack 2 floor lamps when he moved into his 1st apt 5 hours away, saying many apts do not have overhead lights. 2 weeks later, he asked if he could have them. Sometimes your Mom knows more than you do.
I am now trying to imagine a Jack and Jill bathroom with barn doors, a fireplace in the corner (dangerously close to one of the barn doors), and a popcorn ceiling covered in potlights, because I've seen enough weird real building designs on the internet to think that someone would have done this.
@@robinbirdj743 I remember some like that in 'bad interior design decisions' videos - there were stairs up to a closet, and the toilet was inside, in at least two different houses. Probably neither was a Jack and Jill, but you had to wash your hands in the kitchen sink.
I work in residential remodeling and one of my biggest pet peeves is when builders (or anyone, actually!) install the Pinterest-type Mudroom bench/cubby/hooks situation… especially if it’s in a public area of the home- or visible from public areas. Basically NOBODY keeps their stuff looking staged and perfect… and kids coats, backpacks, etc never look good. We install closed locker cabinet’s instead… if people insist on a version of this set up. But we tear out more “open cubbies” out of brand new houses than you would believe- because everyone thinks it’s a great idea until they actually live with it.
I scream interally when I see these. Same with open shoe storage that only fits flats or sneakers. You know that thing is going to be jammed with folded up boots, scarves, mittens, HATE THEM
My husband installed hooks on the wall leading into the 1st floor bathroom (close to the garage entrance, between the kitchen and laundry room for coats in use. The rest of the coats are in the coat closet - very convenient and not the first thing you see when entering the house.
Yes. They work if you have a dedicated mud room where the mess is out of sight but, people are never as neat and organized as they think those units will make them.
Why, WHY do they put light switches, thermostats, entry systems, etc in the middle of walls? In every place I've ever lived they have put the functional-but-ugly things in the middle of blank walls as though they were features. Please stop! That was my prime space for art and you ruined it!
I WISH the builder had only done a light switch as it would pale by comparison to the mini splits that were put on the feature walls. They look like tumors
Something I would have always like is to place - noise with noise. Noisy kitchen and noisy living room should be at the side of noisy street. Why place bedrooms and office at the side of the noisy street.
Amen. And when the bedrooms are at the front, that means the "front" door is way to the back along the side of the house. My neighbor has a much larger house than I and their "front" door overlooks my back yard. We both hate it.
One additional point for the can lights is to install the ones which are dimmable. That allows the home builder or architect to potentially "over-light" a room slightly, but with the dimmer a homeowner can select the exact level of lighting they wish. If you're going to be installing lots of cans, make sure you have dimmables.
@@pysq8 skylights like sunroofs in cars SUCK. they're just another possible roof leak and what about haul storms Sky lights are a DEAL BRAKER. as are HOAs
A friend recently renovated, and found another option for those narrow spaces to replace an obligatory barn-door besides a pocket door: a bi-fold door! While these might bring to mind apartment laundry cubbies and closets for some, they DO offer an option which doesn't swing as wide as a solid door and which isn't such a beast to install as a pocket door.
Gotta a feeling Nick suffered through his own experience with the "Jake and Jill bathroom" incident😅 My problem with this type of bathroom is when the other person doesn't unlock your side of the door after using it, so you have to go through their room to unlock it.
i kept a post it note on how many times my brother would do that to me last winter break when we were both home from college. was home for 4 weeks, my door was locked 18 times
In my college dorm jack and jill bathroom. There are no locks. This solves the problem, but also obviously creates another one. There is littearly no locks in the bathroom, so you have to knock to use it every time.
I wish more homes were designed with practicality and longevity in mind. Like having the dining room on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen is a pain in the …, or the “mudroom” with no closets and too narrow to take off your shoes, or narrow doorframes so you can’t age into your house as nothing will be mobility device accessible. There’s a lot of layout plans I see and can immediately tell they were designed by someone who does not do the domestic work at home.
@@serena.kunstwerk the stairs has been an eye opener for me too. Family have been putting in chair lifts. A straight staircase costs under $4,000. But a U staircase with a landing halfway down? $12,000! No fancy stairways in my future.
@@serena.kunstwerk I recently holidayed in a rental house with the strangest layout. that house will be a holiday rental for as long as it stays that way because it's not liveable for more than a week. it's U shaped around a pool, there's 2 steps of stairs in the middle, and the kitchen/living area #1 is off to one side of the U while living area #2 and 2 bedrooms are on the other side. none of it made any sense. edit: oh and the main entrance opens up to a corridor with laundry/bathroom to one side at the corner of the U. terrific.
My place was built by my great grandparents later in their lives, and specifically for their desires. The best part being that the two floors can be accessed without stairs, just by walking down the driveway to the back to get into the bottom level if you want to bypass the stairs inside. But it's very odd. I found the original plans and there were 4 variations on what we'd call a living room (others being front room, sitting room, and rumpus room) and some odd storage places for vegetables and wood. I use the cold room for food, but we took out the wood storage as the fireplace had been replaced with a propane one by my great uncle who lived there, and some things had been changed a few times. I'm still trying to figure it out, and what I want where. I'm sure the changes would make it sell much better in the future, but it's still really weird, especially the two kitchens, as most people don't need a canning kitchen.
I've never seem the dining room across the house from the kitchen, that's strange. MY pet peeve is the open kitchen-dining concept. If I have guests, I DON'T want them seeing into the kitchen, thanks.
I wouldn't choose to install a popcorn ceiling, but already installed popcorn ceilings are incredibly good at muffling sound throughout the house (even if the popcorn is limited to the living room). Also, popcorn ceilings aren't time consuming to clean, because you simply do not attempt to clean them, ever, ever.
Mirrored closet doors in the bedroom , as seen on many tv home makeover shows , are scary ! I rarely want to see my reflection on a good day when I'm reasonably well dressed , let alone first thing each am w/ bedhead & rumpled jammies ! 😂
My biggest gripe in new homes are these totally ‘seamless’ kitchens where drawers are hidden behind panels and cupboards are so high above the counters that you can barely reach anything without a stool (and I’m almost 6’ tall). Also, everything built in is both expensive to do and makes it crazy difficult to replace! I don’t know what makes builders and designers think these custom super sleek kitchens are what people want. Totally impractical!
We had a house built last year and fortunately none of the things you mentioned or done. In fact, our builder advised against a corner fireplace. Also, when I stress that we did not want popcorn ceilings he laughed and said that no one does that anymore. I think my most hated builder thing is split foyer houses. Why in the world would you want to walk into the house between floors and have to go up or downstairs immediately?
I grew up in one of those and it was really difficult when my dad was using crutches. Basically he lost access to half the house and the outside world.
I worked with a builder in 2021 and we looked at split [foyer] entry because it is a lot cheaper to build than single-story + basement or two-story. This was during the lumber price gouging rage, but the contract was $40,000 less, in USDA rural America, to have split-entry vs one-story + basement. Two-story was even more expensive. I ended up walking away since I couldn't get what I wanted without the price-gouging.
The former owners of our house put nine can/pot lights in the formal dining room! Our realtor called it the “interrogation room”. Fortunately, I wanted to use it as an art studio, so it worked out perfectly. I just have to keep the lights dimmed a bit 😎.
My kitchen has those and our bedroom is just off the kitchen (condo). My husband called them the "interrogation lights" when lying in bed. Had to turn them off all the time when he was in the bedroom trying to watch TV.
My mom had 27 lights installed in the basement with the brightest bulbs. She wanted proper task lighting for her craft room. My sister and I, who live in the basement, quickly discovered we have light sensitivity. My sister gets migraines from these lights.
9, that's amateur hour :) When my parents bought their current apartment, the ceiling was pockmarked with pot lights. Big ones, small ones, there must have been 40 or so of them, in weird patterns. Looking up at that ceiling was like looking down at an airport. We got rid of the lot.
@ JD - I agree! Depending on the market you live in, moldings are not easy to get properly installed. Trust, you will recognize poor installations and the bad DIY versions too.
We like the built in corner fireplace in our home, because it saves wall space and we do like the way it looks in the corner anyway. We also don’t care for TVs above the fireplace. On Jack & Jill bathrooms, I once lived in a 1942 home where guests would have to walk through a bedroom to get to the bathroom. That was awkward enough. With the 2nd bedroom on the other side of the Jack & Jill bathroom, I kept that door always locked & blocked off. I used that as my extra closet/sewing room :) As a child, I was embarrassed having to share a bathroom with the strangers in the room adjoining ours… and always having to “hurry up” in the bathroom.
9:46 for lighting please partner with a lighting specialist. They have and know the exact lighting equations. And they will make sure that you have all three different types of lighting per room. Task lighting, accent lighting overhead lighting. Depending on your budget, they can create some of the most sexiest mood lighting yet still safe to move around in your space.
One assumes that a lighting specialist will consider the home owner's dislike of center-of-the-ceiling artificial daylight with multiple 100-watt light bulbs. I would rather the light switch just inside the front door turned on an outlet - where a gentle lamp is plugged in.
How about prohibiting outside water faucets being installed WAY to low on the exterior wall. Do people really need to crouch down or kneel in order to fasten a hose???
I actually worked at a retirement community and all of the faucets were about 4 inches off the ground. A retirement community! Their solution was to pay to install extensions on all the houses. The stupidity doesn't end at the faucets, they planted oak trees, that shed tiny acorns that caused severe slipping hazards directly on sidewalks. I'm not done, whatever company installed the original sprinkler system, installed the sprinklers so close to the house the sprinklers were popping up into the house siding and literally filling the outside wall with water.
Builders now make everything so cheap and minimalist. Alley kitchens and no linen and broom closets. Bathrooms across from kitchens. Cheap thin composite materials for floors, baseboards and cabinets. I love my older home because it has so much storage, a huge kitchen and solid wood everywhere. Also I hate open concept. I like walls, doors, privacy haha.
I can't wait to have more space! More storage and closets and solid wood doors with nice handles. To be fair, the first place my husband and I lived in was a dirt cheap TINY one bedroom apartment and the current place is a house converted into a duplex. Our hobbies also take up a ton of closet space. As a result the spare room is basically a closet for us out of necessity. But the thing I really can't wait for when we finally buy a house is a real built in food pantry. I can only fit so much into the cabinets and I thought about getting a stand alone cabinet but again, there's just nowhere to fit it.
Yes! So true! I ended up buying a home built in th 60s, my ONLY issue is that it has 9 ft ceilings 😩 I was willing to accept it because I have a solid built home with lots of storage, a nice sized kitchen, real hard wood floors,etc. It's also brick, can't beat that!
My husband took out a popcorn ceiling in our first house, in 1989. I can't believe they still exist. He found a good way to do it: use a sprayer, and we a 3x3 area of the ceiling. Then wet the next 3x3. That gives the first area enough time to soften, and you can go back and scrape it off. Still messy, but no dust. You keep alternating spraying and scraping this way, and eventually you have the whole thing done. Cheers.
Yep, my sister and I did this in her home using this exact technique. We bought a big pump sprayer (like you might use for pesticide) because it only took about 2 minutes of using a trigger-type water bottle to realize it was going to be slow and cramp-inducing and we were doing the ENTIRE house. It made a massive difference, felt so much cleaner and newer and fresher. As for asbestos, if the home is newer than mid-1970's it won't be an issue.
Nick, you are bang on correct, as usual. What drives me nuts is making it so you must walk through the bathroom to access the closet in the primary bedroom. Bathrooms get steamy - you don't want to store clothing in a damp environment. Also, if I am using the facilities, I don't want hubby coming through the bathroom to get a sweater. I know they try and solve this by putting the toilet in a little closet by itself inside the bathroom, but I hate this too. Maybe I would prefer to wash my hands BEFORE I have to touch a door handle.
I was house hunting recently, and I DESPISED how many pantry/laundry room combos I saw. I had no idea builders even combined them until we went house hunting!
I had to read your comment three times to make sure I wasn't misreading it. Dirty clothes in with food? Ummm... No. And don't make the hallway from the garage a laundry room, either.
Our home, which I designed (nothing fancy but built for family living), was on the market recently and sold for just a little bit under our asking price. One of the things that prospective buyers loved was the separate laundry room on the first floor---not in the garage or basement and not in the kitchen or bathroom or wherever else washers & dryers get shoved as if they were an afterthought. "Oh, yeah. We're going to need to do laundry occasionally. Where should we put these things?"
I wonder why people stopped installing the kind of pivot doors that could swing out or in? My grandmother had one into her kitchen that you could back through while carrying a heavy clothes basket or a couple of bags of groceries, and it was very convenient. The sides of the swinging doors could be propped open, but if you wanted them closed (e.g. to prevent steam or kitchen smells from filling the rest of the house) then you could just leave them closed but pass through them "hands free" at will.
Hey, yeah! My grandparents farm house had one of those between the kitchen and dining room*, and it was great. I also really liked the layout of their bathroom. (-: *There was a table in the kitchen; the dining room was mostly used for fancy dinners, or when there was a lot of people.
Simple: people don't like things that are in workplaces in their homes. It's the same reason we don't have fluorescent lighting in all of our living spaces, and only put (aside from kitchens) 'warm' colour temperature lighting in our homes.
Shared a Jack and Jill bathroom with my sister growing up, and it was a nightmare. Constantly being locked out or yelled at for being too noisy. And worst, having it purposefully used as a way to enter my room despite having my bedroom door locked for privacy, and absolutely no way to prevent it.
I just wrote a comment about the opposite experience. I liked ours and we wouldn't have had an en suite if we didn't. My sisters and I were always really respectful of each others stuff so I never felt like I had to lock anything.
Its a lose-lose situation, ideally you use the bathroom, has to think about protecting yourself and thus locking all doors, And you have to unlock all doors because you have to think about others TOO, or you are locking others out, and selfish people would definitely forget these steps for sure When you go to the bathroom has to think about protecting yourself, and others, is stress-inducing 😅 Not even talking about people forgetting to lock all doors so people spot the business going, unnecessary Even you do it all right, people would still get it wrong, get locked out or embarrassing situations
I never thought of this before Nick mentioned it here... in the house I grew up in, my parents' master bath was a jack-and-jill... you could either enter through their room, or through the den/fourth bedroom (my room). So it when it was time to get up for school, my mom could just knock on the door to my room and poke her head in to wake me up. Kind of handy. My parents' side actually had a pocket door too, LOL. Actually love pocket doors, they're just cool.
I find laundry rooms to be under-sized in large homes compared to the total square footage. Same with mud rooms. They are both such frequently used spaces that builders shouldn’t scrimp on them. Also, a mudroom that has a walkway from the outside to the inside without rubbing up against coats on hooks is so preferable to one where you have to walk the length of the mudroom to go in or out of the house.
new apartments now don't even come with a full laundry room anymore, just a cupboard type deal where you open the doors, and it's washing machine under the wall mounted dryer, and then the sink to the side, if you're lucky maybe a bit of floor space for broom/mop. where are your unfolded/dirty clothes going where guests won't be subjected to them?
I don't have a mud room, but I can really tell that my place was built by the shortest of my ancestors. Everything is so small! My fiance tried getting from the laundry room into the somewhat hidden cold room to put some carrots away, and he could barely fit through the short door and narrow aisle. At least with laundry, I have a stacked unit and just put in a set tub, so I don't mind the smaller space. They were smart, in that they put a plug really high up on the wall compared to the rest, specifically so it would be for the iron without having to plug it in behind the ironing board. Best laundry room feature I never would have thought of!
Exactky my two top complains about my house which is beautiful, BUT I live on the East coast, and a mudroom should be a give, si, my powder room (as you come into the house from the garage) serves as mudroom and two doors hide the washer and dryer!
How big of a laundry room do you need, sheesh. As long as you can fit a washer, dryer, and laundry supplies, and maybe an ironing board, that's all I need.
Nick, I'm going to play the advocate here on behalf of my son-in-law. He is in his 30s and has been in a wheelchair since he was 17. His father who is a master Carpenter designed and built his custom home around his needs. As someone in a wheelchair, a barn door is the very best solution for his mobility needs. Personally I can't stand them, especially on furniture as I recently was searching for a coffee/ bar for my home. Everything had a freaking barn door on it! I am a lover of Arts & Crafts/ Mission Style till the day I die. Thank you so much for what you do, Gail- Ashville, Alabama
Personal pet peeve (as a 5’1” woman) - shower heads that are set at like 6’6” because that was (I’m assuming) either “easy” for the builder (because it was above the enclosure) or because it was where they would want it. In our primary bath shower (house built for us 29 years ago) we have an unfortunate small corner shower and I could never get far enough away from the shower head to not get either blasted in the face or totally miss the stream, until we put in a hand held unit. Due to a recent house flood, we’re finally getting around to reconfiguring our bathroom for “aging in place” and specifying the height and design of the shower hardware is tops on my list! Great video, as always, Nick!
Spot on! My pet peeve is the main sink in the island. Because everyone wants their dirty dishes right in the middle of the kitchen for all to see! That is exactly why in every magazine photo you see pretty vases or something trying to hide the damn sink.
@@suzannemartin4201 Agree! My sister has the cooktop in her island in her vacation home in Florida with a lower countertop around it which means no counter space next to the stove. Awful. Hating cooking there. So inconvenient.
Test the water pressure. Flush the toilets. My dad hated squeaky floors so he would jump around. He also would take a marble to check the floors were flat in the main rooms and to check that water would flow into the drains in the wet rooms.
I agree with everything you have said, especially barn doors! I have a neighbor who has a very beautiful contemporary home, and she put in a barn door to her master bath. It doesn’t fit the decor, and I expect chickens or goats to walk out of her bathroom.
LOL. I like barn doors in and of themselves, but dislike anything "trendy." I feel the same about shiplap... like it, but dislike that EVERYONE does it.
Absolutely agree with all your observations, I'd like to add a few huge deal breakers for me: accessing the primary closet through the bathroom. The idea of walking past the toilet to get to my clothes is not an option. I also hate the toilet closets. Build a half wall to hide the potty but don't place it in a dark cave. A narrow front entry is positively awful, especially if you have full walls on both sides of the door. Don't put a bathroom in the front portion of the house. That is probably the worst feng shui I can think of. I know people love these oversized large homes but there is such a thing as too big. Center island sinks are the absolute pits for water pooling up on the counter. It seems like homes are being built with only design in mind but little attention being paid to function, especially in the kitchen. Anyway, sorry for the long post but I love home tours and I'm immediately drawn to function first and design second.
Another problem with popcorn ceilings is that they sometimes contain asbestos! So diy removal is not recommended unless you can get them tested to be sure it's safe.
the best thing to do is check the year the textured ceiling went in. If it was before or after they used asbestos in such things, no need for a test. Some say 40s to mid 90s, others say 50s to 80s.
Our living room has popcorn ceilings with asbestos. We couldn't afford to have it removed. It's safe as long as it's painted and sealed. Looks crappy, but oh well.
Someone in a previous comment said they just covered the ceiling with drywall. I wonder if that's a viable option? Not sure how it would work if you were to sell the home though.
Asbestos was officially banned from ceiling coverings in 1973. If the house was built later than this, it could only have asbestos in pre-fab panels or planks that were made prior to 1973. Popcorn ceilings are sprayed on, not "installed", so there's really not a chance that a builder in the 1990s would have had access to a spray on product made 17+ years prior.
One of my pet peeve’s is short walls, usually at a strange angle to the rest of the room. They tend to be so slim you can’t put up art or find a single piece of furniture to disguise them so they sit there blank and in your face.
Great video, Nick. Two more of my builder pet peeves: 1) Second story bedroom doors dangerously close to stairs leading downstairs. Sometimes stairs are almost right across the hall or between a bedroom door and the bathroom. It's so easy to imagine a child or a guest (anyone, really) falling down the stairs when using the bathroom at night. 2) Overly large or poorly placed kitchen islands. Sometimes they block the path from the sink to the stove or sink to the refrigerator or stove to the refrigerator, making the homeowner take long treks around the island. Once I even saw (in an extraordinarily expensive new house) a kitchen island placed close enough to the oven that the oven door could be opened without hitting the island, but with no room left to stand between the open door and the island. How was the home owner going to reach into the oven?? How did that even happen?
I clean houses and have a few houses with a Jack and Jill bathroom, but a couple of them are designed well. The tub/shower and toilet are separated from the rest of the bathroom, so even if someone walks into the sink area, anyone using the toilet or shower is behind a separate door.
Definitely overdid it on the pot lights in our house 😬 but we put all of them on dimmers luckily. I had no idea how many would be appropriate and I was terrified of it being too dark!
Mine: Those bar-height countertops that are attached to kitchen countertops instead of it being a single, large, flat countertop. Good list though, potlights always make me feel like I'm under interrogation.
Same here. I completely loathe overhead lights. I even have lamps in my kitchen! And if an overhead light fixture makes me look at the bulb, it's really out! That's very uncomfortable for my eyes.
Omg what a good point! I'm laying out some houses right now that had this but I can totally see your point and I've never thought of it, so you just saved those people! (And it'll be cheaper to install so bonus for me)
"Plant" shelves! Maybe they aren't as popular now, but for a long time, every new build I saw had vaulted ceilings with large built-in shelves at about 15 ft (4.5 meters). Designed for decorative items and fake plants ( because you can't reach them to water), they just collect dust and spider webs.
Yes that was a big feature in houses built from the early 90's to the early 2000's and it is not that common on new builds now. They are a pain to keep dust and grease free plus having all that space to fill is no fun sometimes.
Yes! In our primary bedroom, the only space we could put our bedroom had a plant shelf above it. We live in an area that gets earthquakes. Why would anyone want to have objects over their heads when they’re sleeping? Since we’ve moved in, we’ve had two earthquakes that were strong enough to shake the bed and rattle the doors.
Agree!! I helped a friend move into house that was 25 or 30 years old that had one of those plant shelves. She sent me up a ladder to pull down an old basket, fake plants and fake grapes. Good heavens, such grime and dust! They must have been placed when the house was brand new. Wish I had had a respirator mask on. She had said she wanted to keep the basket so I took it outside and blasted it with a garden hose - she came along and told me the hose would ruin it. I said it was already wrecked with decades of grime . . . fun times . . .
@@JJoy-bk8yr Wow your friend needs to have some gratitude. I only have one item on my dining room shelf and just ignore the ones in the hallway (pointless, right?) and the master bedroom.
I’ve lived in a house that had a Jack and Jill bathroom, but designed in a way that mitigated the worst part. The room was T-shaped, with a door at each end of the top of the T. That area had the sinks. The vertical part of the T had the toilet and tub/shower…and most importantly, there was ONE LOCKABLE DOOR where the 2 parts of the T meet.
I agree with all these except the corner fireplace-which I personally like. I grew up in a 1920 Craftsman foursquare which had a linen closet. I have never been in another house with a true, dedicated linen closet. When we designed the home we're building now, I made sure to include a linen closet; along with a coat closet, a bathroom closet, a pantry, and a closet in the laundry room. The master bedroom has a huge walk-in closet and the 2nd bedroom has a large closet. One can never have enough closets IMO. Oh, and to touch on the lack of ceiling lights-we lived in a 1960 bungalow for a while that had no ceiling lights in the LR or the bedrooms. So annoying. I want a ceiling fan in my bedroom so living in that house was awful.
I have always detested Jack and Jill bathrooms. Not only because of the problem of forgetting to lock the other door, but also forgetting to unlock it. Then your sibling can't get into the bathroom, and they have to come through your room. Just -- no. Not ever. Barn doors into the bathroom are horrible, I feel like there's so little privacy that there almost might as well be no door. Speaking of which -- even worse than a barn door is no door at all. I've seen so many master bedroom suites like this. What were they thinking?? I don't mind corner fireplaces though, I think they look nice, and for small rooms they leave more space on the walls for furniture.
I'm with you on the ceiling lights. My home was built in 1980 and it drives me crazy that there's no overhead light in our living room or primary bedroom (and there's a ceiling fan in the kitchen) so now we have to budget to have the lights added/updated. On the flip side if lights had been installed they likely wouldn't have been the newer, sleek LED lights so maybe I should feel lucky, lol. Thanks, Nick!
I had to laugh about the ceiling fan in the kitchen. We purchased an old home that had one. I immediately bought a light fixture and had the fan replaced. When is it a good idea to put a fan in the kitchen near a gas stove? SMH
My house was built in 1939 and I have the same issue in the living room. To be fair, though, that period was all about the table lamp. Thankfully there are ceiling lights in every other room, including the tiny closet!
I really like a lot of the LED lights. They're much lower maintenance and much brighter (or you can use a dimmer switch if bright isn't what you want). I have LED pot lights in a few places and while they're not fancy, they're useful. When I moved into my room built in 1973, there was one very dim square flush mount that was off centre, above a dresser, and one lamp on a chain in a corner. The closet doors being full mirrors helps with light, but I put in 2 pot lights, and a ceiling fan with lights, getting rid of that weird square thing, but keeping the lamp on a chain, just with a dimmer on the plug. Same with the room that's now my sewing room. The only ceiling light, was a pot light with a shade facing a cross stitch above the fireplace. The fireplace had to go as it was falling apart, so I did the same pot lights and ceiling fan arrangement there, just on a larger scale. It's so much easier, I don't have to worry about turning on 5 lamps just to be able to sew!
Yes, on everything! I don't HATE corner fireplaces, but I would not choose one. Everything else I hate as much as you do. lol The only other thing is entry ways not large enough to reasonably hang up coats and leave shoes and bags. If there is an issue with space in the entry, the coat closet seems to be the first thing to go.
Totally agree!!! Gets cold in the house when the door has to stay open for 10 minutes to let 4 people in, take off their boots and hang up their coats. Stupid planning.
My 1939 house had the front door on backwards (yes, from the beginning -- I moved the cast iron hinges to the other side, filled the old doorknob hole, and it's good to go). They had a row of hooks just inside the entry for coats, but it was behind the door when you opened it. Yes, the hooks are also original because they are up with flat head screws.
My old house had a Jack and Jill bathroom where both bedrooms led to a space with a double vanity and in that room there was a single door to another space with a toilet and shower. Danger averted.
I had a house with a similar set-up and it worked great. The other important thing is that the Jack and Jill was on the second floor and not a guest bath. Jack and Jill bathrooms that also function as the guest bath/powder room are terrible.
I removed the popcorn ceiling in my house myself. It's very doable for DIY, but it is a LOT of work. And always check for asbestos before removing. Popcorn ceiling is a terrible dust collector but it also dims light in a room because it creates shadows that suck up light. When I removed the popcorn my whole house became a lighter space.
Hi friends! Architectural designer here :) the pop corn ceilings we’re actually originally used to help muffle sound. So you might have more sound penetrating from the lower floor to the next floor. Nothing super intense just something to consider. And do your research when removing them as he said the particulates from removing them can be hazardous to you and respiratory system especially if you have little ones.
Sound dampening is bit is a lie as it reduces the sound transference so little as to be not noticeable. Also most of the homes with the popcorn I have seen are bungalows. For sound reduction get a carpet/area rug, a couch and a couple of plants. The stippling isn't reducing noise - sounds like someone trying to sell you a story. As for removal there are several companies that will safely remove the popcorn.
For the jack and jill bathrooms; in the Netherlands/Europe I often see them in apartments/homes build for elderly/disabled people. Often connected to the bedroom and the hallway. It not only makes it easier to access, but in case of a fall, the person in the bathroom if probably not blocking both doors, so you can safely come in and help them.
I built my vacation home with a jack and Jill bathroom with young grandchildren in mind. My daughter-in-law appreciated having easy access to the children. I also chose to enlarge the bedrooms because family are tall but I only had so much floor space so the jack and Jill was a sacrifice to have large guest rooms and closets.
Speaking up for Jack and Jill’s. I had one that was in between me and my brother’s room growing up. The toilet part and shower part was locked further and then the sink and vanity was shared. It worked fine and it was never used as a guest bathroom. Obviously it’s situational and I see how it could be bad
What also bothers me about a J&J bathroom is the number of doors needed. You need 2 doors to directly enter each bedroom. Then you need 2 doors to enter the bathroom from each bedroom, and then you need a door to enter the bathroom from the hallway (in some cases if needed for other people rooms nearby). That is 5 doors involved which is a lot of wasted space. Also, those bathrooms tend to burn through a lot of square footage by being mostly a hallway (vanity on one side and toilet/bath on other side). Then usually on the outside of the J&J bathroom is another hallway running parallel to the one inside the bathroom. Hallways can be a lot of wasted sq footage.
I would love to see you comment on alternative home designs (earthships etc). They are architecturally unique, but I think the interior design gets a lot less commentary.
In designing my barndominium recently, I added a powder room for guests so the two full bathrooms could be reserved for the two main occupants (though one bathroom is accessible from a hallway unlike the master bath). And I purposely did not include a “mud bench” inside the door coming from the attached garage. Didn’t want that focal point of clutter to annoy me coming and going. I also kept my kitchen island countertop sink free. Lots of good points here, Nick. Thank you!
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 this was also my case against having the cooktop in the island. Essentially the island is rendered useless for its table/ countertop function.
100%. you definitely hit on every single pet peeve of mine to which I will add, lack of storage. Cabinetry and closet space make for a tidy, organized environment.
You're so right on each of these 😭 I have a corner fireplace and it means we can never rearrange the furniture from the ONE arrangement that suits it well.
Nick you are SO RIGHT about the lack of lights. I live in a two bedroom apartment facing the southeast. Unfortunately, they designed the building to have a bunch of these little courtyards so I get no sunlight, and there are no ceiling lights installed in the living room and spare bedroom. They're in every other room though! I feel like I'm living in a cave most of the time!
I’ve lived in apartments since graduating from college 34 years ago, and I have never had a place with ceiling lights in the living room or bedroom. They are invariably the worst-lit places in my unit, and it is oh so annoying!
No one has mentioned putting wood work around ALL openings. I didn't notice until I moved into my first new build that only the doors had woodwork. All the windows were just drywall corners and they look ragged and cheap if you choose blinds of some type instead of curtains. My other huge gripe is that wall to wall carpet throughout with tiled wet areas was the only option. I hate wall to wall carpet and my only option to the carpet was to enlarge the ceramic tile throughout. I wanted the softer, warmer vinyl planking and it was a horrendous cost ($10k in the pre-covid days) to change to that. I opted to accept the tile except for the bedrooms and now in the cold weather I'm so sorry I did. I should have found a more accommodating builder. The most dangerous part is that anything breakable has no chance of survival on ceramic tile, (e.g. glass Xmas ornaments), including my husband's poor head when he fell! At 80 I'm unlikely to ever have a new build again, let this be a lesson to do lots of research on what your deal breakers need to be before you commit, people.
I built a home with a Jack and Jill bathroom for my boys (so technically it was a Jack and Jack bathroom, but I digress). Loved it! They had their own bathroom, not shared with guests, that connected with double vanity, and then the toilet, shower and linen closet was in a separate space with a door that locked. So no one could walk in when you were needing privacy. Also, I agree with you about wanting a ceiling light fixture, especially in the bedrooms. And especially in the kids’ bedrooms, where you might not want a lamp that can get knocked over and break or potentially cause a fire (had a friend whose cat knocked over a lamp which started a fire!)
I thought I wanted hack and kill bathroom for kids but we found just putting two sinks in main bathroom was enough. They didn’t need their own doors (with the potential privacy issues of the forgotten unlocked door). We have a main floor powder room for guests. I prefer single sink in principal room ensuite and a separate “makeup” area for everything else. That way each adult can use the bathroom in private.
The problem with most of the 'Jack and Jill' bathrooms is that the whole space is one room with the two doors, a properly designed space would have the sinks, and then a door to the toilet and bathing space that is lockable (the other two doors do not need to be lockable at that point in the designing).
Yes! I just put in a barn door because it was my only option. I spent weeks brainstorming options, and I finally accepted the fact the barn door was my only option (pocket would have been very expensive because I would have had to move all kinds of HVAC ducts/vents). I hated doing it, but it was better than no door, so there ya go.
@@Abby_Liu The problem with bifold on bathrooms is that you lose door width. When the door is open, you have 2 door thicknesses folded up in the door casing. If you plan on using them, you need to plan on widening the door frame to make sure you still have good clearance to go through. Plus, they have a funky track attached to the top of the door frame for it to slide on. On our family home, our mother had a lot of bifold doors, mainly on closets. My sister just finished remodeling the house to move in, and she replaced all with regular doors.
I’m curious about your corner fireplace situation… tell me more! I have one and it’s a bit awkward, but I could convert the large window beside it into a walkout to my yard…. 🤔
my first ever apartment had no ceiling light in the living room. the thing is, i never noticed when seeing the place twice because it got INCREDIBLE natural light during the day. it wasn't until the end of the my roomie tried to turn on the lights and we were like 'wait, there's no light in here! the other rooms had lights, just not the living room.
This is incredibly common in apartment units. I lived in several through the 1990s, in several different states, and not a single one had a ceiling light in the living room. I had one of those tacky reverse dome on a stick lamps that moved with me from apartment to apartment to light the living room. There was always one outlet in the room that would on/off operate with a wall switch. I hated the room design and the lamp, but since I moved about every year, I didn't want to buy an expensive lamp that would just get broken in a move.
I've lived in southern California most of my life, and I don't remember ever having ceiling lights in the living room. In the bedrooms, yes, but not the main room. I don't really understand that.
At first I read it as "no ceiling in the living room", that would be one of the worst designs Ive heard of so far (maybe not worse than combining bathroom and bedroom) since its gonna rain sometimes and you also get all sorts of animals/insects inside
The barn door is excellent for closets, in very narrow areas, for old flats’ remodeling. My sister did an excellent job - it didn’t look like a barn, but has subtle details. The upper rail is not industrial-like but corresponds to the traditional/mid century-ish vibes. It conceals the washing machine and the dryer, which are situated in a niche, just in the middle of the hallway. So sometimes barn doors do good :)
I was thinking this very thing. What I find objectionable is the rustic design in the hardware and/or the door. But a properly scaled sliding panel can be a valid solution.
I just put in a barn door to the master bath but that was because I didn't want the actual door taking up space. Anyone who owns the house after me would be able to easily install a regular door. I liked the idea of not having space for furniture blocked due to the door swinging into the room and not having to close the door in order to get into a cabinet.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 Question... What about the 2 to 3 feet of wall that you can't put anything against or need to leave 6 inches off the wall so the barn door can slide open? Just asking, not challenging.
@@DaveIngle1 I have a chair to lounge in that area of the room that I wouldn't put against the wall anyway (sits about a foot out). If the door opened into the room then it would hit the chair instead of the door sliding against the wall behind it. The sliding door is decor in itself so I don't mind not being able to hang anything on the wall and being a minimalist, I probably wouldn't have anyway. I've done things in my renovations and decor that works for me but is not so permanent that if I sell the house the next person can't change it to suit their design preferences.
But think about how much worse it could’ve been if it was just one regular bathroom? The screaming and shoving and fighting trying to get ready in the mornings?
I saw a cool fix for the barn door problem (if it's a problem, that is...) for those that don't have enough clearance for a regular width door and don't want a pocket door. It's called Milcasa Compack 180 - Folding Door Hardware Set. Looks like a person could choose left opening, right opening or if they bought both, could have it open in the center, like french doors. They are real wood doors, come in different sizes, and look nicer than typical folding doors. It also says they are quiet while in operation, excellent acoustic insulation when closed (great for bathroom!), have reduced clearance requirements, and no sliding pegs. Kinda pricey, but could be a solution for those looking.
A deal breaker for me would be lack of ceiling fans (with lights) in the bedrooms and living room. Our first house had no celling fans or lights in most of the living areas and after we moved and every bedroom and living area had ceiling fans with lights. I would never go back. It makes a huge difference to have air movement and light. I don't even own a floor lamp any more.
Do you mean that the ceiling fan with light has to be installed already or it has to have the ability to install a ceiling fan w/light? Being able to install one but not having one would be a ridiculous reason to not be willing to buy a house since you can easily switch them out yourself.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 Generally speaking, a builder is not going to run an electrical line and install a junction box and then not put anything there. So, if you look at a house and there are no lights or fans or anything in the ceiling, then there is a 99% chance there is no infrastructure there to work with and you are going to have to run lines and install the boxes yourself, which is a tremendous pain in the butt. If there is nothing there, then I am probably going to walk away. I can live with light fixtures so I can swap them out over time.
This is so good, and I could have added so much more, haha (military--we move a lot, have owned one house from every decade since the 50's). I hear what you're saying about fireplaces, BUT I hate it even more when the fireplace IS the focal point, but you're forced to mount a TV above it because there's nowhere else for it to go! I know there are frame tvs now, but they're expensive and my husband doesn't think they're big enough, AND mounting it above a fireplace is just too high, making it impractical for actual use. So, I'd rather have a corner fireplace than one with a TV looming over it. And about lights: The newest house we've owned, they did install lights, but they didn't really care where they were. The dining room light was off to one side, the entry light wasn't centered over the door, etc ... BUT in our current midcentury house, lights were perfectly centered in each room, but they're not centered over the living space of the room. So for example, our living room is rectangular, so part of it is more of an entry way and then the other side has a big picture window and our living room furniture, rug, etc ... The light is centered in the room, but I wish it were centered over the living space! It's the same in almost every room here, lol. I used to think that old houses had all the quirks because nothing is standard, but we learned with that newer house, they're just as quirky, mostly because they're thrown together without a lot of thought.
I really don't like a lot of overhead lighting... it is frankly just cold, industrial, and unflattering. I think it's good in spaces that don't naturally get much light... can put in smart lights and have them on "daylight" to compensate for that when you're home during the day (I hate dark spaces), but otherwise, I just really prefer floor and accent lamps. Much prettier.
I had popcorn ceilings in several areas of my mid century bungalow. The living room 450 sq ft, was the worst, it had the popcorn sprayed on to those 1ft x 1 ft acoustic tiles, so scraping wasn't even an option, not to mention the possible asbestos threat. I finally found this product , very lightweight ,fire rated, paintable styrofoam panels (20 in x 20 in), they come in various styles and attach with ceramic adhesive right over the popcorn, no need to disturb anything. The style I chose looks like a faux coffered ceiling. Took me a total of 7 hours to install.
This is what I’ve learned: So, are Styrofoam ceiling tiles safe? Generally speaking, these tiles are safe. However, they can be harmful if a fire breaks out. That's because fire will cause the Styrofoam to burn and melt, which coincides with the release of toxic gasses.
So I couldn’t agree with you more… And the best part is… I have every single one of these issues built into my home! Lol. We have a special needs child that is wheelchair-bound and the condo is especially good for adding accessibility equipment, it’s beautifully located on a canal in the Okanagan, we can reach our pool beautifully with the wheelchair and it’s close enough to his bedroom that we can have a monitor while we swim on our own… So those are all the reasons we bought the condo and have to stay. But, the jack and Jill bathroom, the popcorn ceilings, the fireplace in the corner, no ceiling light(s) in the living room, but nine pot lights in the kitchen! Lol I just giggled the whole way through because we literally have every single one that you mentioned! Builders can do better than this ❤ (But living in the location that we live in, makes up for a little bit of this! Lol )
I've been in so many rental houses with these exact problems, and have them on a list of "never to buy." I love a good pocket door (especially in older homes), but 100% agree that it should never be your only option! And Jack and Jill bathrooms give me high levels of anxiety! I despises them from the very depths of my soul.
Spot on with all of these Nick! We are currently trying to find a new place and it's frustrating in this town. Real estate prices are crazy high and we haven't won the lottery yet. The older resale stuff is often larger and more functionally designed, but if it's in good shape the prices are high. The new build stuff is shiny new, but often built to maximize profit for the developers rather than actually function as homes for humans. I get that every inch costs, but people have stuff and they need somewhere to put it. It's not crazy to want to have a place to put practical things like linens and vacuum cleaners, a space to put shoes and coats by the door and somewhere to put the various recycling bins. If space is at a premium, then maybe don't use it all up with an ensuite for every single bedroom plus a powder room. That's fine for a large house, but not in townhouses and condos. And while I'm talking about bathrooms, I hate those builder special units that have a separate little shower stall and a tub next to it that is so small you can only sit up with your elbows around your knees. Just put in a nice big tub/shower combo. Or get rid of the silly unuseable tub and just do a large shower stall, preferably with a bench seat in it. Add me to those who don't like a completely open plan. It's often an excuse to make everything smaller without it looking too small. The thing is that I don't want to be sitting on my couch and be able to reach over to get something from the fridge. Also, I have art and books that need wall space. And if it's one of those long narrow rooms with kitchen/dining/living rooms all in a line, chances are everything is going to be too narrow. It's going to be hard to place furniture and be able to walk past everything. Often there isn't really room to have a proper conversational area. And don't even get me started on builders trying to distract me away from the impractical tinyness of the space by putting in a bunch of high end appliances I don't want. I know I don't want a wine fridge. I'd rather have the cabinet space back in the too small kitchen. I don't need a steam oven either. I need a sink I can use, so none of those ones with one large side and a pointless little one next to it. How am I supposed to rinse a pot in that? Ive seen a large number of townhouses that are maximizing the land footprint by building them with 3 or 4 floors. That design wastes so much floor space on stairs and its going to be a problem in the future with an aging population. I've looked at a couple lately that also had a steep set of very narrow stairs just to get inside the front door, then loads more steps up to each floor. No way for anybody with a disability to visit, let alone live there. And don't get me started on the ones that put a barbeque area on a different level than the kitchen. Last week we looked at one that had a nice rooftop patio with gas barbeque hookup and a killer view, but I was trying to picture carrying marinated meat etc up 4 flights of stairs and through the primary bedroom to get up there. Bad space planning people! Oh, and I'd like some decent window coverings as well. I don't care how pretty the view is or how stylish the builder might make the window frames, I still need something that blocks the light in bedrooms and the rest still need something to filter light or provide privacy. Oh, and I'm seeing a lot of what I call wall to wall marble. I don't mind a little marble, maybe in a bathroom, but marble floors in the lr/Dr and marble counters and even walls is too much. In this rainy climate those floors are a slip hazard too. I could probably think of a few more things to add (vessel sinks 🙄) but I've already written a book here😂
Totally agree with everything you just said ,although I never thought about J+J bathrooms before ,they aren't all that common in the Uk .What is common (For the last 15-20 yrs ) are dark tiles on bathroom walls ,I hate that .Builders have decided that a grungy brown or carbon grey bathroom is somehow appealing ,so they cover the walls and floor with big tiles in these colours .it's horrible ,it's not smart or sleek or whatever ,it's dingy ,depressing and makes a small room look even smaller .
god i feel this lmao, especially so when the tile is MASSIVE. big big brown tiles just make the tiny bathrooms feel so claustrophobic and cramped, and i say this as a fan of darker interior design colour choices. just slap a nice normal sized clean white tile in there man, u dont need to reinvent the wheel 😭
Many years ago, my parents had a house fire. Even though it only impacted two rooms directly, my mom used it as an excuse to get rid of all the popcorn ceilings from the whole house. We never missed them once!
One option to the dreaded popcorn ceiling is to use sand in the paint. Worked great in our 1903 house. Hid stuff that would have taken great time and expense to fix. Used it on the walls too.
Quartz paint does the same. You can get it with fine quartz and it gives a slight texture, covers small imperfections and isn't as ugly as popcorn ceilings.
I cannot agree more about the ceiling lights!!! I LOVE that my home has a ceiling light in literally every room. I still have some lamps here and there but that main light in each room is wonderful.
That may, in fact, be the cause. No matter to me, because I would (if it were an owned residence instead of a rental) rewire so that the switch turned on the outlet into which was plugged my favorite lamp. I like lamps! @@brendaelainewaddell1682
On the Jack & Jill bathrooms ... I briefly lived in a shared house where the upstairs bathroom had a door to the hall, and another door to my (master) bedroom. The doors to the bathroom locked from the bathroom, which made sense, but gave me no security. So I placed my dresser in front of the door, so it could not open even if someone tried. A couple of times, friends of my roommates did try.
They probably weren’t even trying to get into your bedroom, they were probably just trying to poop in peace and wanted to check behind the mystery door to see what was behind it.
Something nice about a corner fireplace is that it often times opens up a wall to be used for the tv, so the tv doesn’t have to be mounted above the fireplace, which I know is even more popular than barn doors, but I prefer to avoid that.
Exactly, I've been house hunting and so many have a fireplace in the main wall. And theres nowhere to put a TV now, you HAVE to mount it above the fireplace which is a no no. The corner fireplace is perfect. You can enjoy both the TV and the fire from the couch
@@crazyliv Exactly. A lot of architects and designers are stuck on the romantic notion that the fireplace is the focal point, when in fact today it is the television. Many architects and designers don't even want to acknowledge the TV, or want to hide it away like it's something dirty. Both my sisters live in the south, in houses without fireplaces. But they wanted that picturesque fireplace, so they added them in the corners, where they were still seen but not in the way of the TV. 😄
@@daniel_sc1024 - Guess what -- I don't even have a television in my living room. Don't need it because I spend a lot of time on my laptop. In the evening, we have a smaller TV room where we actually watch a few shows.
Oh my gosh! Totally agree about the anxiety of jack and jill bathrooms! And the no ceiling lights thing is such a pain. I would love if builders stopped putting in grey floors. As someone who prefers a warm color scheme, I have no desire to switch out floors.
I just bought my first home (townhouse) and there were definitely things I didn't notice. Non-centered molding block that isn't centered above the door arch. There is a partial arch separating the dining and living. By partial, I mean the arch just stops 13" down, leaving an empty space between the arch and wall. Hard to describe it. Orange peel texture on EVERYTHING. And of course, the rectangle builder grade fluorescent light in the kitchen.
Nick, I agree 100% with everything you mentioned. Especially those stupid popcorn ceilings! They are impossible to clean, they readily stain and they drop dust constantly. They are also so fragile that they tend to crack and fall off in places. I can't stand them!! I'm so glad you mentioned these things because you're right, I'm not buying a house with these features. If it has a popcorn ceiling, I'll be getting rid of that before moving anything in. One thing that I'm seeing that I don't really care for is windows in the front doors. I don't want people seeing me while I'm assessing whether or not to open the door. I don't want them even seeing my shadow. It's not their business what's in my house or where I am in it. Obscured widows on the side, like frosted or stained glass or even beveled glass, to me, feels safer. I also feel it makes the home vulnerable to break ins. Sliding glass doors are bad enough, but at least those aren't out front. Have a screen door that locks so you can open the main door if you want, but the window is just inviting any person who approaches your house a ready look at your possessions. I'm very security conscious and I feel that we shouldn't do thieves or violent people any favors. Even putting a privacy finish on it isn't good enough because they can still see in at night if the lights are on. I don't want strangers in my business, it's that simple.
Sorry, but I had to laugh at the windows in the door! My (rental) front door has both 2 windows next to each other and a spyhole between/below - and all of them are above my head! I would need a stool to see out the peep viewer. There are no windows in the rest of that west-facing wall, either. So either I open the door, or I don't. Without knowing who's there. This is why when my son comes to visit, he comes to the patio door, where there are not only two doors, but a window next to them (south-facing).
@@Abby_Liu thanks Abby, it was around 10 yrs ago so I can't be certain but you would never know the height looks exactly the same I believe they used 1/4 inch think sheet rock
So agree with all this. The Jack & Jill sounds like a good idea but in practice isn't practical. My pet peeves are...1. Private and public area layouts. Like having the main bedroom on one side of the house and the other bedrooms on the other side. Or having the main bedroom door come directly off of the dining room or other public areas with out a hall. Or..the one I dislike the most...having a powder room right as you walk in the front door of the house. A bathroom is, to me a semi-private area and shouldn't greet you when you walk in. 2. Not insulating bathroom walls. That should be standard practice by now. 3. Making the garage jet out so far so you can't see if someone pulls in your driveway. And the driveway should be long enough for a truck to park. 4. That the garage is in an awkward place. Doesn't connect to the kitchen or a hall way or utility room and the door connecting the garage and house is not 36 inches wide. 5. Kitchens! Always start with the idea that people will actully USE the kitchen!!! Lower cabinets should all be drawers, except under the sink! And put that plumbing towards the back so that space can be used better. Always put lazy susans in corners. Always, always vent eternally or give that option. Do not do tile with wide grout lines! Ok...yes, I know...
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS on installing a ceiling light!! My condo has zero lights in the bedroom and living room. I’ve dealt with it for 10 years, and I’m finally fortunate enough to be able to do a renovation (mainly kitchen & bath) and putting in a few pot lights (with dimmer) is on the nonnegotiable list. Also, don’t know if it’s a California thing or just a my condo thing, but the popcorn ceilings here have asbestos. So you need to take even more precautions ($$$).
We bought an old 1950’s house and at some point the former owners put an addition on the back of the house building a new master bedroom but just jack and jilled (is that even a word) with the original master bath. I was perplexed what to do because I didn’t want to share our master bath with any guests we might have. So I just made the extra bedroom my dressing room so I’m the only one that goes in and out of the second door. If you can give up a bedroom, then I recommend doing that. It makes it very useful.
Totally agree on all points! My 2nd floor has 2 pairs of jack and jill bathrooms, and on both of them, they use as much space as two modest bathrooms. An extra tub and toilet in each one would have likely costed the same in construction materials as the maze of walls and doors of the jack and jill baths. Honorable mentions: 1) Overuse of decorative shelving instead of upper cabinets, 2) Home office directly off the entry hall, 3) Master bedroom next to/behind kitchen, 4) Stupid wine storage displays.
You are my design spirt animal! We are building a home and I was shocked early on how many of these things were brought up in the design stage. Most often the barn door. Not a barn door, piece of ship lap, reclaimed wood or gray anything. Eight weeks to completion and still people comment about one or another.
Spot on as always, Nick. I would add lack of an entry hall. Also those builder grade plate glass mirrors behind the bathroom sinks,, using so much adhesive that the sheet rock behind ends up in tatters by the time you rip the thing out of there. Bonus points for glass breakage all over your bathroom floor.
Those mirrors are actually in style right now! Also, they can be done to look really cool. We just built a power bathroom, and the entire wall behind the vanity is mirror, all the way to the ceiling. I love how it makes that room look so big and open!
I wish more builders would create a layout that has the possiblity to be made wheelchair accessible. Instead, we see narrow hallways, 90 turns into eg, bedrooms, kitchen islands that make it impossible to use a wheelchair in the kitchen (y'know, those parallel counter things that are everywhere), non-existent turning radius, condo windows that open at floor level, too-small elevators, washrooms that are unuseable, and so much more. I'd also love to see you go off on a rant on accessible design that looks like they're from a hospital and some tips on elegant accessible design (eg, grab bars). It IS possible, but most builders are too lazy or ill-informed to do accessibility well. Note: accessibility standards in building codes are always the bare minimum and then everyone are building to the minimum. Which makes it impossible to find a home that works, have friends/lovers visit who are disabled, function in your home as you age or eg, break a leg skiing... And I'll stop now before the rant goes out of control
Ceiling lights are revenue for builders. In AZ, builders typically charge $50- $100 for every ceiling junction box. And since we put ceiling fans in almost every room including the patio, it gets expensive. Yes, I know designers hate them but when you have 90+ temps for 7 months, needs must! There are stunning, contemporary glass or wood barn doors that do not look like "barn" doors if you cannot do a pocket door.
Phoenician here, you are spot on. Ceiling fans are a must! I'd love to see these designers pay a $800 electricity bill because they don't like them. It allows us to keep much cooler while in a room with the AC set to a higher temperature. Just a few dollars more can buy you a beautiful multi speed fan with a dimmable light remote control operated. Ceiling light problem solved!
We have, in separate phases, addressed a number of these things. To start with, we had a Jack & Jill shared by two of our children. It was a horror show. It had pocket doors on both sides. The doors were constantly coming off their tracks, getting stuck either open or closed, and were definitely not secure. The biggest problem was the fighting. One child or the other always used the bathroom when the other needed quiet. Or they both needed to use it at the same time. Once kids are able to use the bathroom independently they really shouldn't be sharing. So I finally realised that we needed to split the J&J into two en-suites. It was expensive, and the en-suites are very economical with space, but the peace and quiet, OMG. Another problem was how dimly lit our house was. In the kitchen reno, we decided to add pot lighting in addition to pendants, chandeliers, under mounts, and even track lights (I will never understand the reasoning behind choosing to keep a kitchen dark). In other rooms, we had one flush mount installed in the centre and then augmented with various lamps. A general lack of storage is another gripe. It's one thing to leave space for the homeowner to do what they like and quite another to NOT have space any of the following: linens, coats, brooms, pantries, clothing, toiletries, towels, etc.,. There's more, but it's late and if I keep going, I might start planning even more renovations.
2 en-suites! That's the thing! And it may sound crazy but I'm loving my fluorescent light in the kitchen. I usually hate those things but it's super bright and long-lasting!
Hey, Interior Designer! In your professional opinion, what is the proper ratio of bedrooms to bathrooms? It seems that the more people there are in my family, the fewer bathrooms are available, to the point I used to tell the (3) boys, "I warned you I was taking a bubble bath. The door is locked. There's a tree in the back yard and a gas station on the corner; take your pick."
My biggest pet peeve, going overboard with open concept. I hate when the living room, dining room, and kitchen are all in one big room. It echoes, everyone can hear everyone else's conversations, and I don't want to look at the mess in the kitchen. Because let's be honest, your not always going to have the kitchen cleaned up right away. I also hate open storage and shelving in the kitchen. I want to be able to close the closet door or cabinet to hide the mess. Plus, dishes etc stay cleaner.
My number one deal breaker is the open bathroom in the primary suite. Why would anyone want no door between the bedroom and the bathroom? What if the sleeping partner doesn’t want to be woken up by the light? What if I want to take a bath without a cold draft blowing in? What if I’m having a particularly messy “situation” in there? What if I want to pick my nose in private? I see this way too often. So bad.
@@serena.kunstwerk Same! We have been together 39 years and I still don’t want to see what goes on in there. Let’s keep some mystery, ok?
I knew a couple who put the bath tub in the bedroom. I don't know if it's relevant but their relationship didn't last very long..
Seriously, what is WITH that? Yeah, maybe in photo shoots of honeymoon suites it looks romantic. In real life? Do you really want your partner lying in bed watching you pee, awkwardly climbing into the tub, and see you shaving your pits and washing your bits? I'm a great believer in privacy, especially in a bathroom!
Builder had open doorway to master bath, but a separate room and door to toilet. Builder did let me ADD door to main part of master bath for $800. I paid it because the bedroom has a great view of the golf course and mountains, but why would I want to require blinds to be closed to use my master bath even midday? Also, the person sleeping also doesn't want to be woken up by the person who needs to get to work early? Most people want some privacy in the shower and tub as well. Open bath with no door is so impractical.
an open bathroom is horrifying
Not having a coat closet (not a open cubby) or a linen closet seems to be a thing in newer homes. I don't think buyers notice it's not part of the plan until it's too late.
Oh yes, great addition to the list.
When we bought our house, the linen closet and coat closet was a must! If there wasn't those two storage options, we passed on the house.
Our house does not have any linen closet unfortunately so the sheets are all corralled in one of the bedroom closets. I hate it! There is also nowhere to store the vacuum so it has just become another member of the family, moving from room to room, silently observing all our activities, just resting in a corner somewhere. The coat closet we believe was literally an afterthought. It is not even 2'×2' in size, placed in a hallway that is so narrow, we can put our elbows out and touch each wall simultaneously 🙄.
Yes! I've noticed this too. I'm more willing to give up a coat closet than a linen closet but would prefer to have both. Living in the South, we can keep our few coats in our bedroom closets and guests' coats can be draped over a chair in the living room or bench in the entry. But storing the linens for each bedroom in that bedroom's closet just takes up too much space.
My master didn't have a linen closet, but I fixed it by adding custom shelving in my walk in closet which is part of the bed/bath. Not optimal, but workable.
I am a builder. I've taken notes. Thank you for reaching out. I wish we (and architechts) had more feedback like this. Please make more if you think of any.(And also: yeah yuck popcorn ceilings are totally gross)
Here's one for you. Quit putting toilets in closets. It's a nightmare for Paramedics.
@@Doc30jj yeah I try to design everything to be ADA compliant even if it's not for a disabled client. You never know what can happen later either, with more people choosing to "age in place"
I'm in the process of building a home and have 4 bedrooms on the upper level and 2 sets of Jack and Jill bathrooms. This is an awesome idea with 4 kids. I have no idea why anyone would make a powder bath, or main bath a J and J, but for kids, and the upper bedrooms, they are fantastic.
tubs that aren't designed for adults to actually bathe in are deal breakers for me. I might as well have a walk in shower if it's too small to use for actual bathing. Also, fireplaces should be wood burning, not just for decoration. They come in handy if a storm takes out the power and it's cold weather.
No more accessing the laundry via kitchen or having laundry room near the kitchen. Yuk!
I tried to convince my son to pack 2 floor lamps when he moved into his 1st apt 5 hours away, saying many apts do not have overhead lights. 2 weeks later, he asked if he could have them. Sometimes your Mom knows more than you do.
Yes! I hacked overhead lighting with hanging drum lamps attached to a wall mounted are because guess what else apartments love... popcorn ceilings.
even if they do have overhead lights it's nice to have lamps for the evening
I am now trying to imagine a Jack and Jill bathroom with barn doors, a fireplace in the corner (dangerously close to one of the barn doors), and a popcorn ceiling covered in potlights, because I've seen enough weird real building designs on the internet to think that someone would have done this.
Add in : a bathroom door close to or IN the kitchen!
@@robinbirdj743 I remember some like that in 'bad interior design decisions' videos - there were stairs up to a closet, and the toilet was inside, in at least two different houses. Probably neither was a Jack and Jill, but you had to wash your hands in the kitchen sink.
You’ve just sent shivers of horror down my spine 😱😱😱
I think you've just described Nick's version of Hell
I’m choking laughing! I started picturing how MetaAI would create that image. 😂
I work in residential remodeling and one of my biggest pet peeves is when builders (or anyone, actually!) install the Pinterest-type Mudroom bench/cubby/hooks situation… especially if it’s in a public area of the home- or visible from public areas. Basically NOBODY keeps their stuff looking staged and perfect… and kids coats, backpacks, etc never look good.
We install closed locker cabinet’s instead… if people insist on a version of this set up. But we tear out more “open cubbies” out of brand new houses than you would believe- because everyone thinks it’s a great idea until they actually live with it.
Open storage is never a good idea. Doors are there for a reason, and the reason is that they are great!
I scream interally when I see these. Same with open shoe storage that only fits flats or sneakers. You know that thing is going to be jammed with folded up boots, scarves, mittens, HATE THEM
My husband installed hooks on the wall leading into the 1st floor bathroom (close to the garage entrance, between the kitchen and laundry room for coats in use. The rest of the coats are in the coat closet - very convenient and not the first thing you see when entering the house.
Coat hooks are a great idea INSIDE a coat closet, not in an open plan.
Yes. They work if you have a dedicated mud room where the mess is out of sight but, people are never as neat and organized as they think those units will make them.
Why, WHY do they put light switches, thermostats, entry systems, etc in the middle of walls? In every place I've ever lived they have put the functional-but-ugly things in the middle of blank walls as though they were features. Please stop! That was my prime space for art and you ruined it!
I hung pictures, and also put a frame around a miserable looking thermostat.
I WISH the builder had only done a light switch as it would pale by comparison to the mini splits that were put on the feature walls. They look like tumors
I’ll take a barn door over a bifold door any day of the week!
Something I would have always like is to place - noise with noise. Noisy kitchen and noisy living room should be at the side of noisy street. Why place bedrooms and office at the side of the noisy street.
Best comment!!!
I also think orientation to sun and wind patterns should be considered if possible
Yes! Also no bedroom should share a wall with the neighbor's bedroom. I don't need my neighbor's sex moans at 2 am thanks
@@Brevislux112 especially kids bedroom 😞
Amen. And when the bedrooms are at the front, that means the "front" door is way to the back along the side of the house. My neighbor has a much larger house than I and their "front" door overlooks my back yard. We both hate it.
One additional point for the can lights is to install the ones which are dimmable. That allows the home builder or architect to potentially "over-light" a room slightly, but with the dimmer a homeowner can select the exact level of lighting they wish. If you're going to be installing lots of cans, make sure you have dimmables.
Yeah! And where are all the skylights?
@@pysq8 skylights like sunroofs in cars SUCK. they're just another possible roof leak and what about haul storms
Sky lights are a DEAL BRAKER. as are HOAs
@@jerrykinnin7941 I love my sunroof, loved my convertible. Have had trouble with them tho, so I feel ya!
You might even put that plethora of can lights on a split circuit. Just a thought.
A friend recently renovated, and found another option for those narrow spaces to replace an obligatory barn-door besides a pocket door: a bi-fold door! While these might bring to mind apartment laundry cubbies and closets for some, they DO offer an option which doesn't swing as wide as a solid door and which isn't such a beast to install as a pocket door.
But they still offer no sound dampening benefits, I fear. Do they made them without the slats or whatever they’re called?
There are some bifold doors made without slats, so that there is more privacy.
@@labachaterairlandesa
Yes. They make solid bi-fold doors. I have them in my house. I hate them.
I had some without slats. They muffle sound, but not enough for the privacy most of us would want while in a bathroom.
Gotta a feeling Nick suffered through his own experience with the "Jake and Jill bathroom" incident😅 My problem with this type of bathroom is when the other person doesn't unlock your side of the door after using it, so you have to go through their room to unlock it.
i kept a post it note on how many times my brother would do that to me last winter break when we were both home from college. was home for 4 weeks, my door was locked 18 times
In my college dorm jack and jill bathroom. There are no locks. This solves the problem, but also obviously creates another one. There is littearly no locks in the bathroom, so you have to knock to use it every time.
He's a brother. You have to lower expectations for them. @@ell040
I wish more homes were designed with practicality and longevity in mind. Like having the dining room on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen is a pain in the …, or the “mudroom” with no closets and too narrow to take off your shoes, or narrow doorframes so you can’t age into your house as nothing will be mobility device accessible. There’s a lot of layout plans I see and can immediately tell they were designed by someone who does not do the domestic work at home.
Oh, ya!
@@serena.kunstwerk the stairs has been an eye opener for me too. Family have been putting in chair lifts. A straight staircase costs under $4,000. But a U staircase with a landing halfway down? $12,000! No fancy stairways in my future.
@@serena.kunstwerk I recently holidayed in a rental house with the strangest layout. that house will be a holiday rental for as long as it stays that way because it's not liveable for more than a week. it's U shaped around a pool, there's 2 steps of stairs in the middle, and the kitchen/living area #1 is off to one side of the U while living area #2 and 2 bedrooms are on the other side. none of it made any sense.
edit: oh and the main entrance opens up to a corridor with laundry/bathroom to one side at the corner of the U. terrific.
My place was built by my great grandparents later in their lives, and specifically for their desires. The best part being that the two floors can be accessed without stairs, just by walking down the driveway to the back to get into the bottom level if you want to bypass the stairs inside. But it's very odd. I found the original plans and there were 4 variations on what we'd call a living room (others being front room, sitting room, and rumpus room) and some odd storage places for vegetables and wood. I use the cold room for food, but we took out the wood storage as the fireplace had been replaced with a propane one by my great uncle who lived there, and some things had been changed a few times. I'm still trying to figure it out, and what I want where. I'm sure the changes would make it sell much better in the future, but it's still really weird, especially the two kitchens, as most people don't need a canning kitchen.
I've never seem the dining room across the house from the kitchen, that's strange. MY pet peeve is the open kitchen-dining concept. If I have guests, I DON'T want them seeing into the kitchen, thanks.
I wouldn't choose to install a popcorn ceiling, but already installed popcorn ceilings are incredibly good at muffling sound throughout the house (even if the popcorn is limited to the living room). Also, popcorn ceilings aren't time consuming to clean, because you simply do not attempt to clean them, ever, ever.
Mirrored closet doors in the bedroom , as seen on many tv home makeover shows , are scary ! I rarely want to see my reflection on a good day when I'm reasonably well dressed , let alone first thing each am w/ bedhead & rumpled jammies ! 😂
Yes, mirrored closet doors were in my house when bought it. Gone, and replaced with wood bypass doors.
I would scare myself in the night at least twice a week.
We got rid of ours and they didn't slide right either.
@@llamasugar5478 🤣🤣🤣
@@jerrykinnin7941 You are a very wise person & conscientious home owner ! 😂
My biggest gripe in new homes are these totally ‘seamless’ kitchens where drawers are hidden behind panels and cupboards are so high above the counters that you can barely reach anything without a stool (and I’m almost 6’ tall). Also, everything built in is both expensive to do and makes it crazy difficult to replace! I don’t know what makes builders and designers think these custom super sleek kitchens are what people want. Totally impractical!
We had a house built last year and fortunately none of the things you mentioned or done. In fact, our builder advised against a corner fireplace. Also, when I stress that we did not want popcorn ceilings he laughed and said that no one does that anymore. I think my most hated builder thing is split foyer houses. Why in the world would you want to walk into the house between floors and have to go up or downstairs immediately?
I grew up in one of those and it was really difficult when my dad was using crutches. Basically he lost access to half the house and the outside world.
Yes! They are all over East TN! Horrible design, neither attractive nor practical.
@@j.m.7056 I’m in East TN, too, and my old neighborhood had loads of split flyers. Such an unfriendly design!
I worked with a builder in 2021 and we looked at split [foyer] entry because it is a lot cheaper to build than single-story + basement or two-story. This was during the lumber price gouging rage, but the contract was $40,000 less, in USDA rural America, to have split-entry vs one-story + basement. Two-story was even more expensive. I ended up walking away since I couldn't get what I wanted without the price-gouging.
Amen. Split entrances are an immediate no. I won’t even look at the rest of the house.
The former owners of our house put nine can/pot lights in the formal dining room! Our realtor called it the “interrogation room”. Fortunately, I wanted to use it as an art studio, so it worked out perfectly. I just have to keep the lights dimmed a bit 😎.
My kitchen has those and our bedroom is just off the kitchen (condo). My husband called them the "interrogation lights" when lying in bed. Had to turn them off all the time when he was in the bedroom trying to watch TV.
It’s a whole thing….😂😂😂😂
My mom had 27 lights installed in the basement with the brightest bulbs. She wanted proper task lighting for her craft room. My sister and I, who live in the basement, quickly discovered we have light sensitivity. My sister gets migraines from these lights.
9, that's amateur hour :) When my parents bought their current apartment, the ceiling was pockmarked with pot lights. Big ones, small ones, there must have been 40 or so of them, in weird patterns. Looking up at that ceiling was like looking down at an airport. We got rid of the lot.
we have a house on our street with similar lighting issues. Blinding from the street. the neighbours call it 'the morgue'!
I wish builders would put in moldings. Even plain, unadulterated moldings. Something to make floors and ceilings interesting.
But that is something that can easily be added by the homeowner. This video focuses on things that are limiting updates or renovations.
@ JD - I agree! Depending on the market you live in, moldings are not easy to get properly installed. Trust, you will
recognize poor installations and the bad DIY versions too.
House are build as a box to put your stuff in. A plain boring set of boxes. *sigh.
We like the built in corner fireplace in our home, because it saves wall space and we do like the way it looks in the corner anyway. We also don’t care for TVs above the fireplace.
On Jack & Jill bathrooms, I once lived in a 1942 home where guests would have to walk through a bedroom to get to the bathroom. That was awkward enough. With the 2nd bedroom on the other side of the Jack & Jill bathroom, I kept that door always locked & blocked off. I used that as my extra closet/sewing room :)
As a child, I was embarrassed having to share a bathroom with the strangers in the room adjoining ours… and always having to “hurry up” in the bathroom.
9:46 for lighting please partner with a lighting specialist. They have and know the exact lighting equations. And they will make sure that you have all three different types of lighting per room. Task lighting, accent lighting overhead lighting. Depending on your budget, they can create some of the most sexiest mood lighting yet still safe to move around in your space.
One assumes that a lighting specialist will consider the home owner's dislike of center-of-the-ceiling artificial daylight with multiple 100-watt light bulbs. I would rather the light switch just inside the front door turned on an outlet - where a gentle lamp is plugged in.
How about prohibiting outside water faucets being installed WAY to low on the exterior wall. Do people really need to crouch down or kneel in order to fasten a hose???
Agree, our backs is more important than buying a bit longer hose.
Amen!
I actually worked at a retirement community and all of the faucets were about 4 inches off the ground. A retirement community! Their solution was to pay to install extensions on all the houses. The stupidity doesn't end at the faucets, they planted oak trees, that shed tiny acorns that caused severe slipping hazards directly on sidewalks. I'm not done, whatever company installed the original sprinkler system, installed the sprinklers so close to the house the sprinklers were popping up into the house siding and literally filling the outside wall with water.
@@kaw8473 Jeeez!!1
Yes!
Builders now make everything so cheap and minimalist. Alley kitchens and no linen and broom closets. Bathrooms across from kitchens. Cheap thin composite materials for floors, baseboards and cabinets. I love my older home because it has so much storage, a huge kitchen and solid wood everywhere. Also I hate open concept. I like walls, doors, privacy haha.
I can't wait to have more space! More storage and closets and solid wood doors with nice handles. To be fair, the first place my husband and I lived in was a dirt cheap TINY one bedroom apartment and the current place is a house converted into a duplex. Our hobbies also take up a ton of closet space. As a result the spare room is basically a closet for us out of necessity. But the thing I really can't wait for when we finally buy a house is a real built in food pantry. I can only fit so much into the cabinets and I thought about getting a stand alone cabinet but again, there's just nowhere to fit it.
I also hate open concept house. Give me walls and doors
Yes! So true! I ended up buying a home built in th 60s, my ONLY issue is that it has 9 ft ceilings 😩 I was willing to accept it because I have a solid built home with lots of storage, a nice sized kitchen, real hard wood floors,etc. It's also brick, can't beat that!
My husband took out a popcorn ceiling in our first house, in 1989. I can't believe they still exist. He found a good way to do it: use a sprayer, and we a 3x3 area of the ceiling. Then wet the next 3x3. That gives the first area enough time to soften, and you can go back and scrape it off. Still messy, but no dust. You keep alternating spraying and scraping this way, and eventually you have the whole thing done. Cheers.
A lot of homes (at least in the US) have asbestos in the ceilings, so if thinking about DIY, carefully send samples to a lab first
Yep, my sister and I did this in her home using this exact technique. We bought a big pump sprayer (like you might use for pesticide) because it only took about 2 minutes of using a trigger-type water bottle to realize it was going to be slow and cramp-inducing and we were doing the ENTIRE house. It made a massive difference, felt so much cleaner and newer and fresher. As for asbestos, if the home is newer than mid-1970's it won't be an issue.
I hope it didn't have asbestos, like mine does.
Glad someone brought this up cause a lot of people don’t this!
Nick, you are bang on correct, as usual. What drives me nuts is making it so you must walk through the bathroom to access the closet in the primary bedroom. Bathrooms get steamy - you don't want to store clothing in a damp environment. Also, if I am using the facilities, I don't want hubby coming through the bathroom to get a sweater. I know they try and solve this by putting the toilet in a little closet by itself inside the bathroom, but I hate this too. Maybe I would prefer to wash my hands BEFORE I have to touch a door handle.
This! We’re on the same page. I commented on this too.
I was house hunting recently, and I DESPISED how many pantry/laundry room combos I saw. I had no idea builders even combined them until we went house hunting!
Wow, that doesn't make a lick of sense. Last thing I want is my pantry in a high traffic, high humidity area with a lot of chemicals.
Our laundry area is in the kitchen. I can't tell you how much fun it is to have the dryer next to the stove.
I had to read your comment three times to make sure I wasn't misreading it. Dirty clothes in with food? Ummm... No.
And don't make the hallway from the garage a laundry room, either.
@@sue2611 I've got a fairly new build,and that works for me. (but then my garage is such a mess I seldom come in that way!)
Our home, which I designed (nothing fancy but built for family living), was on the market recently and sold for just a little bit under our asking price. One of the things that prospective buyers loved was the separate laundry room on the first floor---not in the garage or basement and not in the kitchen or bathroom or wherever else washers & dryers get shoved as if they were an afterthought. "Oh, yeah. We're going to need to do laundry occasionally. Where should we put these things?"
I wonder why people stopped installing the kind of pivot doors that could swing out or in? My grandmother had one into her kitchen that you could back through while carrying a heavy clothes basket or a couple of bags of groceries, and it was very convenient. The sides of the swinging doors could be propped open, but if you wanted them closed (e.g. to prevent steam or kitchen smells from filling the rest of the house) then you could just leave them closed but pass through them "hands free" at will.
Hey, yeah! My grandparents farm house had one of those between the kitchen and dining room*, and it was great. I also really liked the layout of their bathroom. (-:
*There was a table in the kitchen; the dining room was mostly used for fancy dinners, or when there was a lot of people.
Omg dude why doesn’t every kitchen have these doors?!
My grandma's house has this too! You're right, I never noticed that I haven't ever been in a house that had the same thing
Simple: people don't like things that are in workplaces in their homes. It's the same reason we don't have fluorescent lighting in all of our living spaces, and only put (aside from kitchens) 'warm' colour temperature lighting in our homes.
Mostly because people would get banged in the face a lot resulting in more than one broken nose
Shared a Jack and Jill bathroom with my sister growing up, and it was a nightmare. Constantly being locked out or yelled at for being too noisy. And worst, having it purposefully used as a way to enter my room despite having my bedroom door locked for privacy, and absolutely no way to prevent it.
The unwanted bedroom access is something I hadn’t thought of. Great point. That sounds miserable!
I just wrote a comment about the opposite experience. I liked ours and we wouldn't have had an en suite if we didn't. My sisters and I were always really respectful of each others stuff so I never felt like I had to lock anything.
Its a lose-lose situation, ideally you use the bathroom, has to think about protecting yourself and thus locking all doors,
And you have to unlock all doors because you have to think about others TOO, or you are locking others out, and selfish people would definitely forget these steps for sure
When you go to the bathroom has to think about protecting yourself, and others, is stress-inducing 😅
Not even talking about people forgetting to lock all doors so people spot the business going, unnecessary
Even you do it all right, people would still get it wrong, get locked out or embarrassing situations
I never thought of this before Nick mentioned it here... in the house I grew up in, my parents' master bath was a jack-and-jill... you could either enter through their room, or through the den/fourth bedroom (my room). So it when it was time to get up for school, my mom could just knock on the door to my room and poke her head in to wake me up. Kind of handy. My parents' side actually had a pocket door too, LOL. Actually love pocket doors, they're just cool.
You should definitely be able to lock the doors from both sides…
I find laundry rooms to be under-sized in large homes compared to the total square footage. Same with mud rooms. They are both such frequently used spaces that builders shouldn’t scrimp on them. Also, a mudroom that has a walkway from the outside to the inside without rubbing up against coats on hooks is so preferable to one where you have to walk the length of the mudroom to go in or out of the house.
Yes laundry spaces are so frequently under planned. They don't realize how inconvenient that is.
new apartments now don't even come with a full laundry room anymore, just a cupboard type deal where you open the doors, and it's washing machine under the wall mounted dryer, and then the sink to the side, if you're lucky maybe a bit of floor space for broom/mop. where are your unfolded/dirty clothes going where guests won't be subjected to them?
I don't have a mud room, but I can really tell that my place was built by the shortest of my ancestors. Everything is so small! My fiance tried getting from the laundry room into the somewhat hidden cold room to put some carrots away, and he could barely fit through the short door and narrow aisle. At least with laundry, I have a stacked unit and just put in a set tub, so I don't mind the smaller space. They were smart, in that they put a plug really high up on the wall compared to the rest, specifically so it would be for the iron without having to plug it in behind the ironing board. Best laundry room feature I never would have thought of!
Exactky my two top complains about my house which is beautiful, BUT I live on the East coast, and a mudroom should be a give, si, my powder room (as you come into the house from the garage) serves as mudroom and two doors hide the washer and dryer!
How big of a laundry room do you need, sheesh. As long as you can fit a washer, dryer, and laundry supplies, and maybe an ironing board, that's all I need.
Nick, I'm going to play the advocate here on behalf of my son-in-law. He is in his 30s and has been in a wheelchair since he was 17. His father who is a master Carpenter designed and built his custom home around his needs. As someone in a wheelchair, a barn door is the very best solution for his mobility needs. Personally I can't stand them, especially on furniture as I recently was searching for a coffee/ bar for my home. Everything had a freaking barn door on it! I am a lover of Arts & Crafts/ Mission Style till the day I die. Thank you so much for what you do, Gail- Ashville, Alabama
Personal pet peeve (as a 5’1” woman) - shower heads that are set at like 6’6” because that was (I’m assuming) either “easy” for the builder (because it was above the enclosure) or because it was where they would want it. In our primary bath shower (house built for us 29 years ago) we have an unfortunate small corner shower and I could never get far enough away from the shower head to not get either blasted in the face or totally miss the stream, until we put in a hand held unit. Due to a recent house flood, we’re finally getting around to reconfiguring our bathroom for “aging in place” and specifying the height and design of the shower hardware is tops on my list! Great video, as always, Nick!
Spot on! My pet peeve is the main sink in the island. Because everyone wants their dirty dishes right in the middle of the kitchen for all to see! That is exactly why in every magazine photo you see pretty vases or something trying to hide the damn sink.
Agree! Open concept kitchens in general - blech
I totally agree. I also don't like the cooktop on the island. For security reasons. Especially if the island is not very big.
@@suzannemartin4201 Agree! My sister has the cooktop in her island in her vacation home in Florida with a lower countertop around it which means no counter space next to the stove. Awful. Hating cooking there. So inconvenient.
I'd love to see a video on what prospective buyers should look for when shopping around--i.e. poor workmanship indicators or water damage!
This is a great idea.
Yeah, like a home inspector and interior re-designer, discussing their different views on potential problems.
Idk if this is the channel for that...
Test the water pressure. Flush the toilets. My dad hated squeaky floors so he would jump around. He also would take a marble to check the floors were flat in the main rooms and to check that water would flow into the drains in the wet rooms.
Great idea
I agree with everything you have said, especially barn doors! I have a neighbor who has a very beautiful contemporary home, and she put in a barn door to her master bath. It doesn’t fit the decor, and I expect chickens or goats to walk out of her bathroom.
🤦
Haha. We have chickens and goats AND a barn door in the house.
LOL. I like barn doors in and of themselves, but dislike anything "trendy." I feel the same about shiplap... like it, but dislike that EVERYONE does it.
🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣
Absolutely agree with all your observations, I'd like to add a few huge deal breakers for me: accessing the primary closet through the bathroom. The idea of walking past the toilet to get to my clothes is not an option. I also hate the toilet closets. Build a half wall to hide the potty but don't place it in a dark cave. A narrow front entry is positively awful, especially if you have full walls on both sides of the door. Don't put a bathroom in the front portion of the house. That is probably the worst feng shui I can think of. I know people love these oversized large homes but there is such a thing as too big. Center island sinks are the absolute pits for water pooling up on the counter. It seems like homes are being built with only design in mind but little attention being paid to function, especially in the kitchen. Anyway, sorry for the long post but I love home tours and I'm immediately drawn to function first and design second.
Agree 100% on barn doors. I hate how they gobble up wall space, which can make furniture placement more difficult.
Another problem with popcorn ceilings is that they sometimes contain asbestos! So diy removal is not recommended unless you can get them tested to be sure it's safe.
the best thing to do is check the year the textured ceiling went in. If it was before or after they used asbestos in such things, no need for a test. Some say 40s to mid 90s, others say 50s to 80s.
Our living room has popcorn ceilings with asbestos. We couldn't afford to have it removed. It's safe as long as it's painted and sealed. Looks crappy, but oh well.
Someone in a previous comment said they just covered the ceiling with drywall. I wonder if that's a viable option? Not sure how it would work if you were to sell the home though.
@@sbffsbrarbrr It is, but it does lower the ceiling and is also very messy.
Asbestos was officially banned from ceiling coverings in 1973. If the house was built later than this, it could only have asbestos in pre-fab panels or planks that were made prior to 1973. Popcorn ceilings are sprayed on, not "installed", so there's really not a chance that a builder in the 1990s would have had access to a spray on product made 17+ years prior.
One of my pet peeve’s is short walls, usually at a strange angle to the rest of the room. They tend to be so slim you can’t put up art or find a single piece of furniture to disguise them so they sit there blank and in your face.
I used to crave a slanted ceiling, which would lead to a short wall. Idk why. Glad I got over it. 😅
Great video, Nick.
Two more of my builder pet peeves:
1) Second story bedroom doors dangerously close to stairs leading downstairs. Sometimes stairs are almost right across the hall or between a bedroom door and the bathroom. It's so easy to imagine a child or a guest (anyone, really) falling down the stairs when using the bathroom at night.
2) Overly large or poorly placed kitchen islands. Sometimes they block the path from the sink to the stove or sink to the refrigerator or stove to the refrigerator, making the homeowner take long treks around the island. Once I even saw (in an extraordinarily expensive new house) a kitchen island placed close enough to the oven that the oven door could be opened without hitting the island, but with no room left to stand between the open door and the island. How was the home owner going to reach into the oven?? How did that even happen?
I clean houses and have a few houses with a Jack and Jill bathroom, but a couple of them are designed well. The tub/shower and toilet are separated from the rest of the bathroom, so even if someone walks into the sink area, anyone using the toilet or shower is behind a separate door.
Definitely overdid it on the pot lights in our house 😬 but we put all of them on dimmers luckily. I had no idea how many would be appropriate and I was terrified of it being too dark!
Mine: Those bar-height countertops that are attached to kitchen countertops instead of it being a single, large, flat countertop. Good list though, potlights always make me feel like I'm under interrogation.
Jay, I agree. One large flat space is so much more useful.
Yes! You nailed it!!
Same here. I completely loathe overhead lights. I even have lamps in my kitchen! And if an overhead light fixture makes me look at the bulb, it's really out! That's very uncomfortable for my eyes.
Oh and the double kitchen islands. They are so terrible
Omg what a good point! I'm laying out some houses right now that had this but I can totally see your point and I've never thought of it, so you just saved those people! (And it'll be cheaper to install so bonus for me)
"Plant" shelves! Maybe they aren't as popular now, but for a long time, every new build I saw had vaulted ceilings with large built-in shelves at about 15 ft (4.5 meters). Designed for decorative items and fake plants ( because you can't reach them to water), they just collect dust and spider webs.
Yep. Have those all over my 1992 house.
Yes that was a big feature in houses built from the early 90's to the early 2000's and it is not that common on new builds now. They are a pain to keep dust and grease free plus having all that space to fill is no fun sometimes.
Yes! In our primary bedroom, the only space we could put our bedroom had a plant shelf above it. We live in an area that gets earthquakes. Why would anyone want to have objects over their heads when they’re sleeping? Since we’ve moved in, we’ve had two earthquakes that were strong enough to shake the bed and rattle the doors.
Agree!! I helped a friend move into house that was 25 or 30 years old that had one of those plant shelves. She sent me up a ladder to pull down an old basket, fake plants and fake grapes. Good heavens, such grime and dust! They must have been placed when the house was brand new. Wish I had had a respirator mask on. She had said she wanted to keep the basket so I took it outside and blasted it with a garden hose - she came along and told me the hose would ruin it. I said it was already wrecked with decades of grime . . . fun times . . .
@@JJoy-bk8yr Wow your friend needs to have some gratitude. I only have one item on my dining room shelf and just ignore the ones in the hallway (pointless, right?) and the master bedroom.
Omg thank you for addressing the fear factor of a jack and jill bathroom… the horrors…
And getting locked out of them because the last user forgot to unlock both doors!
You don't know fear until you've used one.
Yes! Jack-and-Jill was on my "absolutely not" list.
I’ve lived in a house that had a Jack and Jill bathroom, but designed in a way that mitigated the worst part. The room was T-shaped, with a door at each end of the top of the T. That area had the sinks. The vertical part of the T had the toilet and tub/shower…and most importantly, there was ONE LOCKABLE DOOR where the 2 parts of the T meet.
My anxiety could never
I agree with all these except the corner fireplace-which I personally like. I grew up in a 1920 Craftsman foursquare which had a linen closet. I have never been in another house with a true, dedicated linen closet. When we designed the home we're building now, I made sure to include a linen closet; along with a coat closet, a bathroom closet, a pantry, and a closet in the laundry room. The master bedroom has a huge walk-in closet and the 2nd bedroom has a large closet. One can never have enough closets IMO.
Oh, and to touch on the lack of ceiling lights-we lived in a 1960 bungalow for a while that had no ceiling lights in the LR or the bedrooms. So annoying. I want a ceiling fan in my bedroom so living in that house was awful.
I have always detested Jack and Jill bathrooms. Not only because of the problem of forgetting to lock the other door, but also forgetting to unlock it. Then your sibling can't get into the bathroom, and they have to come through your room. Just -- no. Not ever. Barn doors into the bathroom are horrible, I feel like there's so little privacy that there almost might as well be no door. Speaking of which -- even worse than a barn door is no door at all. I've seen so many master bedroom suites like this. What were they thinking?? I don't mind corner fireplaces though, I think they look nice, and for small rooms they leave more space on the walls for furniture.
I'm with you on the ceiling lights. My home was built in 1980 and it drives me crazy that there's no overhead light in our living room or primary bedroom (and there's a ceiling fan in the kitchen) so now we have to budget to have the lights added/updated. On the flip side if lights had been installed they likely wouldn't have been the newer, sleek LED lights so maybe I should feel lucky, lol. Thanks, Nick!
I had to laugh about the ceiling fan in the kitchen. We purchased an old home that had one. I immediately bought a light fixture and had the fan replaced. When is it a good idea to put a fan in the kitchen near a gas stove? SMH
We had to add ceiling lights in all the bedrooms in this house. Annoying and expensive.
My house was built in 1939 and I have the same issue in the living room. To be fair, though, that period was all about the table lamp. Thankfully there are ceiling lights in every other room, including the tiny closet!
I had this in my 1980's house too. It was definitely annoying.
I really like a lot of the LED lights. They're much lower maintenance and much brighter (or you can use a dimmer switch if bright isn't what you want). I have LED pot lights in a few places and while they're not fancy, they're useful.
When I moved into my room built in 1973, there was one very dim square flush mount that was off centre, above a dresser, and one lamp on a chain in a corner. The closet doors being full mirrors helps with light, but I put in 2 pot lights, and a ceiling fan with lights, getting rid of that weird square thing, but keeping the lamp on a chain, just with a dimmer on the plug. Same with the room that's now my sewing room. The only ceiling light, was a pot light with a shade facing a cross stitch above the fireplace. The fireplace had to go as it was falling apart, so I did the same pot lights and ceiling fan arrangement there, just on a larger scale. It's so much easier, I don't have to worry about turning on 5 lamps just to be able to sew!
Yes, on everything! I don't HATE corner fireplaces, but I would not choose one. Everything else I hate as much as you do. lol The only other thing is entry ways not large enough to reasonably hang up coats and leave shoes and bags. If there is an issue with space in the entry, the coat closet seems to be the first thing to go.
YES!!! In climates with four distinct seasons you need space for a plethora of outerwear and shoes. A single door closet 20 feet away doesn’t cut it.
Totally agree!!! Gets cold in the house when the door has to stay open for 10 minutes to let 4 people in, take off their boots and hang up their coats. Stupid planning.
My 1939 house had the front door on backwards (yes, from the beginning -- I moved the cast iron hinges to the other side, filled the old doorknob hole, and it's good to go). They had a row of hooks just inside the entry for coats, but it was behind the door when you opened it. Yes, the hooks are also original because they are up with flat head screws.
My old house had a Jack and Jill bathroom where both bedrooms led to a space with a double vanity and in that room there was a single door to another space with a toilet and shower. Danger averted.
I like that idea. Thanks for sharing.
A sensible compromise!
We just finished building our new house and we did Jack & Jill bathrooms and we love it
I had a house with a similar set-up and it worked great. The other important thing is that the Jack and Jill was on the second floor and not a guest bath. Jack and Jill bathrooms that also function as the guest bath/powder room are terrible.
Exactly!!! Jack and Jill's should only be an upstairs thing, with only the sink in the shared space... Sanitary stuff behind a single door!
I removed the popcorn ceiling in my house myself. It's very doable for DIY, but it is a LOT of work. And always check for asbestos before removing. Popcorn ceiling is a terrible dust collector but it also dims light in a room because it creates shadows that suck up light. When I removed the popcorn my whole house became a lighter space.
Hi friends! Architectural designer here :) the pop corn ceilings we’re actually originally used to help muffle sound. So you might have more sound penetrating from the lower floor to the next floor. Nothing super intense just something to consider. And do your research when removing them as he said the particulates from removing them can be hazardous to you and respiratory system especially if you have little ones.
@emma f
Thank you for your input. I, actually have popcorn ceilings that I really want to get rid of.
Sound dampening is bit is a lie as it reduces the sound transference so little as to be not noticeable. Also most of the homes with the popcorn I have seen are bungalows. For sound reduction get a carpet/area rug, a couch and a couple of plants. The stippling isn't reducing noise - sounds like someone trying to sell you a story. As for removal there are several companies that will safely remove the popcorn.
For the jack and jill bathrooms; in the Netherlands/Europe I often see them in apartments/homes build for elderly/disabled people. Often connected to the bedroom and the hallway. It not only makes it easier to access, but in case of a fall, the person in the bathroom if probably not blocking both doors, so you can safely come in and help them.
Works if the person hasn't locked the door from their side. Which I would do....
@@diannt9583 all of the "locks" in this discussion are "privacy locks" that can be opened fairly quickly using a tool of some sort if needed.
@@DavidCiani anyone with a kiddo knows, it's a mini flathead screwdriver you keep easily accessible to the adults.
@jessmtnz I mean I figured out the security privacy lock trick as a kid!
@@jessmtnz the ones in my house use a
Mini Philips head. Stick it in the hole and pop the button.
At last! Someone who agrees with me about Jack and Jill bathrooms. I think an exhibitionist must have thought up that concept.
Don't like them either, bathrooms should be private, just for "you" & only you!
I built my vacation home with a jack and Jill bathroom with young grandchildren in mind. My daughter-in-law appreciated having easy access to the children. I also chose to enlarge the bedrooms because family are tall but I only had so much floor space so the jack and Jill was a sacrifice to have large guest rooms and closets.
@@emiliaescobar7652do you mean not sharing bathrooms or do you mean only one person at once
Speaking up for Jack and Jill’s. I had one that was in between me and my brother’s room growing up. The toilet part and shower part was locked further and then the sink and vanity was shared. It worked fine and it was never used as a guest bathroom. Obviously it’s situational and I see how it could be bad
What also bothers me about a J&J bathroom is the number of doors needed. You need 2 doors to directly enter each bedroom. Then you need 2 doors to enter the bathroom from each bedroom, and then you need a door to enter the bathroom from the hallway (in some cases if needed for other people rooms nearby). That is 5 doors involved which is a lot of wasted space.
Also, those bathrooms tend to burn through a lot of square footage by being mostly a hallway (vanity on one side and toilet/bath on other side). Then usually on the outside of the J&J bathroom is another hallway running parallel to the one inside the bathroom. Hallways can be a lot of wasted sq footage.
I would love to see you comment on alternative home designs (earthships etc). They are architecturally unique, but I think the interior design gets a lot less commentary.
In designing my barndominium recently, I added a powder room for guests so the two full bathrooms could be reserved for the two main occupants (though one bathroom is accessible from a hallway unlike the master bath). And I purposely did not include a “mud bench” inside the door coming from the attached garage. Didn’t want that focal point of clutter to annoy me coming and going. I also kept my kitchen island countertop sink free. Lots of good points here, Nick. Thank you!
No sink in the island. I like an uninterrupted workspace. Plus a sink means everything around it gets wet.
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 this was also my case against having the cooktop in the island. Essentially the island is rendered useless for its table/ countertop function.
100%. you definitely hit on every single pet peeve of mine to which I will add, lack of storage. Cabinetry and closet space make for a tidy, organized environment.
You're so right on each of these 😭 I have a corner fireplace and it means we can never rearrange the furniture from the ONE arrangement that suits it well.
Nick you are SO RIGHT about the lack of lights. I live in a two bedroom apartment facing the southeast. Unfortunately, they designed the building to have a bunch of these little courtyards so I get no sunlight, and there are no ceiling lights installed in the living room and spare bedroom. They're in every other room though! I feel like I'm living in a cave most of the time!
I’ve lived in apartments since graduating from college 34 years ago, and I have never had a place with ceiling lights in the living room or bedroom. They are invariably the worst-lit places in my unit, and it is oh so annoying!
No one has mentioned putting wood work around ALL openings. I didn't notice until I moved into my first new build that only the doors had woodwork. All the windows were just drywall corners and they look ragged and cheap if you choose blinds of some type instead of curtains. My other huge gripe is that wall to wall carpet throughout with tiled wet areas was the only option. I hate wall to wall carpet and my only option to the carpet was to enlarge the ceramic tile throughout. I wanted the softer, warmer vinyl planking and it was a horrendous cost ($10k in the pre-covid days) to change to that. I opted to accept the tile except for the bedrooms and now in the cold weather I'm so sorry I did. I should have found a more accommodating builder. The most dangerous part is that anything breakable has no chance of survival on ceramic tile, (e.g. glass Xmas ornaments), including my husband's poor head when he fell! At 80 I'm unlikely to ever have a new build again, let this be a lesson to do lots of research on what your deal breakers need to be before you commit, people.
I built a home with a Jack and Jill bathroom for my boys (so technically it was a Jack and Jack bathroom, but I digress). Loved it! They had their own bathroom, not shared with guests, that connected with double vanity, and then the toilet, shower and linen closet was in a separate space with a door that locked. So no one could walk in when you were needing privacy.
Also, I agree with you about wanting a ceiling light fixture, especially in the bedrooms. And especially in the kids’ bedrooms, where you might not want a lamp that can get knocked over and break or potentially cause a fire (had a friend whose cat knocked over a lamp which started a fire!)
I thought I wanted hack and kill bathroom for kids but we found just putting two sinks in main bathroom was enough. They didn’t need their own doors (with the potential privacy issues of the forgotten unlocked door). We have a main floor powder room for guests. I prefer single sink in principal room ensuite and a separate “makeup” area for everything else. That way each adult can use the bathroom in private.
The problem with most of the 'Jack and Jill' bathrooms is that the whole space is one room with the two doors, a properly designed space would have the sinks, and then a door to the toilet and bathing space that is lockable (the other two doors do not need to be lockable at that point in the designing).
I wish my children had them!... with a powder room for guests.
Yes! I just put in a barn door because it was my only option. I spent weeks brainstorming options, and I finally accepted the fact the barn door was my only option (pocket would have been very expensive because I would have had to move all kinds of HVAC ducts/vents). I hated doing it, but it was better than no door, so there ya go.
another comment mentioned bi-fold, was that still taking too much room in your case?
I finally put up a curtain between my master bedroom and bathroom. It actually works! It was cheap, easy and quiet. Best part is that it is warmer!
@@Abby_Liu I think bi-fold doors are cheap looking.
@@Abby_Liu The problem with bifold on bathrooms is that you lose door width. When the door is open, you have 2 door thicknesses folded up in the door casing. If you plan on using them, you need to plan on widening the door frame to make sure you still have good clearance to go through. Plus, they have a funky track attached to the top of the door frame for it to slide on. On our family home, our mother had a lot of bifold doors, mainly on closets. My sister just finished remodeling the house to move in, and she replaced all with regular doors.
Barn doors also don’t block out sound as effectively as a regular door does
My corner fireplace is part of a particularly efficient use of indoor and outdoor space. I love how it makes a beautiful focal point.
I’m curious about your corner fireplace situation… tell me more! I have one and it’s a bit awkward, but I could convert the large window beside it into a walkout to my yard…. 🤔
Mine is the perfect focal point in our small home.
my first ever apartment had no ceiling light in the living room. the thing is, i never noticed when seeing the place twice because it got INCREDIBLE natural light during the day. it wasn't until the end of the my roomie tried to turn on the lights and we were like 'wait, there's no light in here! the other rooms had lights, just not the living room.
This is incredibly common in apartment units. I lived in several through the 1990s, in several different states, and not a single one had a ceiling light in the living room. I had one of those tacky reverse dome on a stick lamps that moved with me from apartment to apartment to light the living room. There was always one outlet in the room that would on/off operate with a wall switch. I hated the room design and the lamp, but since I moved about every year, I didn't want to buy an expensive lamp that would just get broken in a move.
I've lived in southern California most of my life, and I don't remember ever having ceiling lights in the living room. In the bedrooms, yes, but not the main room. I don't really understand that.
Very, very common in apartments. I felt so luxurious when I moved into a complex that had ceiling lights in all the rooms. XD
Accent lights/floor lamps. Overheat lighting, or at least ALL overhead lighting, is harsh and unflattering.
At first I read it as "no ceiling in the living room", that would be one of the worst designs Ive heard of so far (maybe not worse than combining bathroom and bedroom) since its gonna rain sometimes and you also get all sorts of animals/insects inside
HILARIOUS!! My house--either no lights in the ceiling or 500 pot lights, depending on the room. GREAT video.
The barn door is excellent for closets, in very narrow areas, for old flats’ remodeling.
My sister did an excellent job - it didn’t look like a barn, but has subtle details.
The upper rail is not industrial-like but corresponds to the traditional/mid century-ish vibes.
It conceals the washing machine and the dryer, which are situated in a niche, just in the middle of the hallway.
So sometimes barn doors do good :)
I was thinking this very thing. What I find objectionable is the rustic design in the hardware and/or the door. But a properly scaled sliding panel can be a valid solution.
I just put in a barn door to the master bath but that was because I didn't want the actual door taking up space. Anyone who owns the house after me would be able to easily install a regular door. I liked the idea of not having space for furniture blocked due to the door swinging into the room and not having to close the door in order to get into a cabinet.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 Question... What about the 2 to 3 feet of wall that you can't put anything against or need to leave 6 inches off the wall so the barn door can slide open? Just asking, not challenging.
@@DaveIngle1 I have a chair to lounge in that area of the room that I wouldn't put against the wall anyway (sits about a foot out). If the door opened into the room then it would hit the chair instead of the door sliding against the wall behind it. The sliding door is decor in itself so I don't mind not being able to hang anything on the wall and being a minimalist, I probably wouldn't have anyway.
I've done things in my renovations and decor that works for me but is not so permanent that if I sell the house the next person can't change it to suit their design preferences.
Please stop putting doorbell boxes and thermostats in the middle of a wall where no art can be hung.
Yes!!!!
Yup ..,why is this every home!
My best friend growing up had a Jack and Jill bathroom that he had to share with two sisters. I was never more grateful to be an only child.
But think about how much worse it could’ve been if it was just one regular bathroom? The screaming and shoving and fighting trying to get ready in the mornings?
I saw a cool fix for the barn door problem (if it's a problem, that is...) for those that don't have enough clearance for a regular width door and don't want a pocket door. It's called Milcasa Compack 180 - Folding Door Hardware Set. Looks like a person could choose left opening, right opening or if they bought both, could have it open in the center, like french doors. They are real wood doors, come in different sizes, and look nicer than typical folding doors. It also says they are quiet while in operation, excellent acoustic insulation when closed (great for bathroom!), have reduced clearance requirements, and no sliding pegs. Kinda pricey, but could be a solution for those looking.
A deal breaker for me would be lack of ceiling fans (with lights) in the bedrooms and living room. Our first house had no celling fans or lights in most of the living areas and after we moved and every bedroom and living area had ceiling fans with lights. I would never go back. It makes a huge difference to have air movement and light. I don't even own a floor lamp any more.
Do you mean that the ceiling fan with light has to be installed already or it has to have the ability to install a ceiling fan w/light? Being able to install one but not having one would be a ridiculous reason to not be willing to buy a house since you can easily switch them out yourself.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 Generally speaking, a builder is not going to run an electrical line and install a junction box and then not put anything there. So, if you look at a house and there are no lights or fans or anything in the ceiling, then there is a 99% chance there is no infrastructure there to work with and you are going to have to run lines and install the boxes yourself, which is a tremendous pain in the butt. If there is nothing there, then I am probably going to walk away. I can live with light fixtures so I can swap them out over time.
This is so good, and I could have added so much more, haha (military--we move a lot, have owned one house from every decade since the 50's). I hear what you're saying about fireplaces, BUT I hate it even more when the fireplace IS the focal point, but you're forced to mount a TV above it because there's nowhere else for it to go! I know there are frame tvs now, but they're expensive and my husband doesn't think they're big enough, AND mounting it above a fireplace is just too high, making it impractical for actual use. So, I'd rather have a corner fireplace than one with a TV looming over it. And about lights: The newest house we've owned, they did install lights, but they didn't really care where they were. The dining room light was off to one side, the entry light wasn't centered over the door, etc ... BUT in our current midcentury house, lights were perfectly centered in each room, but they're not centered over the living space of the room. So for example, our living room is rectangular, so part of it is more of an entry way and then the other side has a big picture window and our living room furniture, rug, etc ... The light is centered in the room, but I wish it were centered over the living space! It's the same in almost every room here, lol. I used to think that old houses had all the quirks because nothing is standard, but we learned with that newer house, they're just as quirky, mostly because they're thrown together without a lot of thought.
I really don't like a lot of overhead lighting... it is frankly just cold, industrial, and unflattering. I think it's good in spaces that don't naturally get much light... can put in smart lights and have them on "daylight" to compensate for that when you're home during the day (I hate dark spaces), but otherwise, I just really prefer floor and accent lamps. Much prettier.
I had popcorn ceilings in several areas of my mid century bungalow. The living room 450 sq ft, was the worst, it had the popcorn sprayed on to those 1ft x 1 ft acoustic tiles, so scraping wasn't even an option, not to mention the possible asbestos threat. I finally found this product , very lightweight ,fire rated, paintable styrofoam panels (20 in x 20 in), they come in various styles and attach with ceramic adhesive right over the popcorn, no need to disturb anything. The style I chose looks like a faux coffered ceiling. Took me a total of 7 hours to install.
This is what I’ve learned:
So, are Styrofoam ceiling tiles safe? Generally speaking, these tiles are safe. However, they can be harmful if a fire breaks out. That's because fire will cause the Styrofoam to burn and melt, which coincides with the release of toxic gasses.
So I couldn’t agree with you more… And the best part is… I have every single one of these issues built into my home! Lol.
We have a special needs child that is wheelchair-bound and the condo is especially good for adding accessibility equipment, it’s beautifully located on a canal in the Okanagan, we can reach our pool beautifully with the wheelchair and it’s close enough to his bedroom that we can have a monitor while we swim on our own… So those are all the reasons we bought the condo and have to stay.
But, the jack and Jill bathroom, the popcorn ceilings, the fireplace in the corner, no ceiling light(s) in the living room, but nine pot lights in the kitchen! Lol I just giggled the whole way through because we literally have every single one that you mentioned!
Builders can do better than this ❤
(But living in the location that we live in, makes up for a little bit of this! Lol )
I've been in so many rental houses with these exact problems, and have them on a list of "never to buy." I love a good pocket door (especially in older homes), but 100% agree that it should never be your only option! And Jack and Jill bathrooms give me high levels of anxiety! I despises them from the very depths of my soul.
Spot on with all of these Nick!
We are currently trying to find a new place and it's frustrating in this town. Real estate prices are crazy high and we haven't won the lottery yet. The older resale stuff is often larger and more functionally designed, but if it's in good shape the prices are high.
The new build stuff is shiny new, but often built to maximize profit for the developers rather than actually function as homes for humans. I get that every inch costs, but people have stuff and they need somewhere to put it. It's not crazy to want to have a place to put practical things like linens and vacuum cleaners, a space to put shoes and coats by the door and somewhere to put the various recycling bins.
If space is at a premium, then maybe don't use it all up with an ensuite for every single bedroom plus a powder room. That's fine for a large house, but not in townhouses and condos. And while I'm talking about bathrooms, I hate those builder special units that have a separate little shower stall and a tub next to it that is so small you can only sit up with your elbows around your knees. Just put in a nice big tub/shower combo. Or get rid of the silly unuseable tub and just do a large shower stall, preferably with a bench seat in it.
Add me to those who don't like a completely open plan. It's often an excuse to make everything smaller without it looking too small. The thing is that I don't want to be sitting on my couch and be able to reach over to get something from the fridge. Also, I have art and books that need wall space. And if it's one of those long narrow rooms with kitchen/dining/living rooms all in a line, chances are everything is going to be too narrow. It's going to be hard to place furniture and be able to walk past everything. Often there isn't really room to have a proper conversational area. And don't even get me started on builders trying to distract me away from the impractical tinyness of the space by putting in a bunch of high end appliances I don't want. I know I don't want a wine fridge. I'd rather have the cabinet space back in the too small kitchen. I don't need a steam oven either. I need a sink I can use, so none of those ones with one large side and a pointless little one next to it. How am I supposed to rinse a pot in that?
Ive seen a large number of townhouses that are maximizing the land footprint by building them with 3 or 4 floors. That design wastes so much floor space on stairs and its going to be a problem in the future with an aging population. I've looked at a couple lately that also had a steep set of very narrow stairs just to get inside the front door, then loads more steps up to each floor. No way for anybody with a disability to visit, let alone live there.
And don't get me started on the ones that put a barbeque area on a different level than the kitchen. Last week we looked at one that had a nice rooftop patio with gas barbeque hookup and a killer view, but I was trying to picture carrying marinated meat etc up 4 flights of stairs and through the primary bedroom to get up there. Bad space planning people!
Oh, and I'd like some decent window coverings as well. I don't care how pretty the view is or how stylish the builder might make the window frames, I still need something that blocks the light in bedrooms and the rest still need something to filter light or provide privacy.
Oh, and I'm seeing a lot of what I call wall to wall marble. I don't mind a little marble, maybe in a bathroom, but marble floors in the lr/Dr and marble counters and even walls is too much. In this rainy climate those floors are a slip hazard too.
I could probably think of a few more things to add (vessel sinks 🙄) but I've already written a book here😂
Nah, not a book; just an essay! ;-)
Totally agree with everything you just said ,although I never thought about J+J bathrooms before ,they aren't all that common in the Uk .What is common (For the last 15-20 yrs ) are dark tiles on bathroom walls ,I hate that .Builders have decided that a grungy brown or carbon grey bathroom is somehow appealing ,so they cover the walls and floor with big tiles in these colours .it's horrible ,it's not smart or sleek or whatever ,it's dingy ,depressing and makes a small room look even smaller .
god i feel this lmao, especially so when the tile is MASSIVE. big big brown tiles just make the tiny bathrooms feel so claustrophobic and cramped, and i say this as a fan of darker interior design colour choices. just slap a nice normal sized clean white tile in there man, u dont need to reinvent the wheel 😭
Particle board where there's going to be water! I hate it at any time, but in bathrooms or kitchens? Insane.
Many years ago, my parents had a house fire. Even though it only impacted two rooms directly, my mom used it as an excuse to get rid of all the popcorn ceilings from the whole house. We never missed them once!
When I bought this place, 4 years ago, I had all the popcorn ceilings removed before I moved in. Really horrible!
One option to the dreaded popcorn ceiling is to use sand in the paint. Worked great in our 1903 house. Hid stuff that would have taken great time and expense to fix. Used it on the walls too.
Quartz paint does the same. You can get it with fine quartz and it gives a slight texture, covers small imperfections and isn't as ugly as popcorn ceilings.
I cannot agree more about the ceiling lights!!! I LOVE that my home has a ceiling light in literally every room. I still have some lamps here and there but that main light in each room is wonderful.
Personally I think that the builders don't put ceiling lights to cut down on building costs -- how cheap can you get!
That may, in fact, be the cause. No matter to me, because I would (if it were an owned residence instead of a rental) rewire so that the switch turned on the outlet into which was plugged my favorite lamp. I like lamps! @@brendaelainewaddell1682
On the Jack & Jill bathrooms ... I briefly lived in a shared house where the upstairs bathroom had a door to the hall, and another door to my (master) bedroom. The doors to the bathroom locked from the bathroom, which made sense, but gave me no security. So I placed my dresser in front of the door, so it could not open even if someone tried.
A couple of times, friends of my roommates did try.
god that sounds like a nightmare
They probably weren’t even trying to get into your bedroom, they were probably just trying to poop in peace and wanted to check behind the mystery door to see what was behind it.
@@Hans-iq3fn Probably, but at 1:00 am I didn't want to find out!
Something nice about a corner fireplace is that it often times opens up a wall to be used for the tv, so the tv doesn’t have to be mounted above the fireplace, which I know is even more popular than barn doors, but I prefer to avoid that.
Exactly, I've been house hunting and so many have a fireplace in the main wall. And theres nowhere to put a TV now, you HAVE to mount it above the fireplace which is a no no. The corner fireplace is perfect. You can enjoy both the TV and the fire from the couch
@@crazyliv Exactly. A lot of architects and designers are stuck on the romantic notion that the fireplace is the focal point, when in fact today it is the television. Many architects and designers don't even want to acknowledge the TV, or want to hide it away like it's something dirty. Both my sisters live in the south, in houses without fireplaces. But they wanted that picturesque fireplace, so they added them in the corners, where they were still seen but not in the way of the TV. 😄
We don’t want a TV mounted over a fireplace. My husband had neck surgery and that would be most uncomfortable!!
@@daniel_sc1024 - Guess what -- I don't even have a television in my living room. Don't need it because I spend a lot of time on my laptop. In the evening, we have a smaller TV room where we actually watch a few shows.
@@wisteria808 The majority of people have a TV in their living room, and it is the focal point of the room.
Oh my gosh! Totally agree about the anxiety of jack and jill bathrooms! And the no ceiling lights thing is such a pain. I would love if builders stopped putting in grey floors. As someone who prefers a warm color scheme, I have no desire to switch out floors.
I just bought my first home (townhouse) and there were definitely things I didn't notice. Non-centered molding block that isn't centered above the door arch. There is a partial arch separating the dining and living. By partial, I mean the arch just stops 13" down, leaving an empty space between the arch and wall. Hard to describe it. Orange peel texture on EVERYTHING. And of course, the rectangle builder grade fluorescent light in the kitchen.
Nick, I agree 100% with everything you mentioned. Especially those stupid popcorn ceilings! They are impossible to clean, they readily stain and they drop dust constantly. They are also so fragile that they tend to crack and fall off in places. I can't stand them!! I'm so glad you mentioned these things because you're right, I'm not buying a house with these features. If it has a popcorn ceiling, I'll be getting rid of that before moving anything in.
One thing that I'm seeing that I don't really care for is windows in the front doors. I don't want people seeing me while I'm assessing whether or not to open the door. I don't want them even seeing my shadow. It's not their business what's in my house or where I am in it. Obscured widows on the side, like frosted or stained glass or even beveled glass, to me, feels safer. I also feel it makes the home vulnerable to break ins. Sliding glass doors are bad enough, but at least those aren't out front. Have a screen door that locks so you can open the main door if you want, but the window is just inviting any person who approaches your house a ready look at your possessions. I'm very security conscious and I feel that we shouldn't do thieves or violent people any favors. Even putting a privacy finish on it isn't good enough because they can still see in at night if the lights are on. I don't want strangers in my business, it's that simple.
Sorry, but I had to laugh at the windows in the door! My (rental) front door has both 2 windows next to each other and a spyhole between/below - and all of them are above my head! I would need a stool to see out the peep viewer. There are no windows in the rest of that west-facing wall, either. So either I open the door, or I don't. Without knowing who's there. This is why when my son comes to visit, he comes to the patio door, where there are not only two doors, but a window next to them (south-facing).
@@writerinfact1768 LMAO!! That's hilarious!!
We went over our popcorn ceiling with drywall and it's been 10 yrs and its still perfect
great idea. how much ceiling height did you lose or not much at all?
@@Abby_Liu thanks Abby, it was around 10 yrs ago so I can't be certain but you would never know the height looks exactly the same I believe they used 1/4 inch think sheet rock
@@Abby_Liu not much at all
genius!
@@Vera-kh8zj lol thank you 😊
So agree with all this. The Jack & Jill sounds like a good idea but in practice isn't practical. My pet peeves are...1. Private and public area layouts. Like having the main bedroom on one side of the house and the other bedrooms on the other side. Or having the main bedroom door come directly off of the dining room or other public areas with out a hall. Or..the one I dislike the most...having a powder room right as you walk in the front door of the house. A bathroom is, to me a semi-private area and shouldn't greet you when you walk in.
2. Not insulating bathroom walls. That should be standard practice by now.
3. Making the garage jet out so far so you can't see if someone pulls in your driveway. And the driveway should be long enough for a truck to park.
4. That the garage is in an awkward place. Doesn't connect to the kitchen or a hall way or utility room and the door connecting the garage and house is not 36 inches wide.
5. Kitchens! Always start with the idea that people will actully USE the kitchen!!! Lower cabinets should all be drawers, except under the sink! And put that plumbing towards the back so that space can be used better. Always put lazy susans in corners. Always, always vent eternally or give that option. Do not do tile with wide grout lines!
Ok...yes, I know...
That’s a great list! I’ll keep that in mind for the design of our new space! Thanks
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS on installing a ceiling light!! My condo has zero lights in the bedroom and living room. I’ve dealt with it for 10 years, and I’m finally fortunate enough to be able to do a renovation (mainly kitchen & bath) and putting in a few pot lights (with dimmer) is on the nonnegotiable list.
Also, don’t know if it’s a California thing or just a my condo thing, but the popcorn ceilings here have asbestos. So you need to take even more precautions ($$$).
We bought an old 1950’s house and at some point the former owners put an addition on the back of the house building a new master bedroom but just jack and jilled (is that even a word) with the original master bath. I was perplexed what to do because I didn’t want to share our master bath with any guests we might have. So I just made the extra bedroom my dressing room so I’m the only one that goes in and out of the second door. If you can give up a bedroom, then I recommend doing that. It makes it very useful.
Totally agree on all points! My 2nd floor has 2 pairs of jack and jill bathrooms, and on both of them, they use as much space as two modest bathrooms. An extra tub and toilet in each one would have likely costed the same in construction materials as the maze of walls and doors of the jack and jill baths. Honorable mentions: 1) Overuse of decorative shelving instead of upper cabinets, 2) Home office directly off the entry hall, 3) Master bedroom next to/behind kitchen, 4) Stupid wine storage displays.
Great point about corner fireplace . A waste of space when they can not be utilized.
You are my design spirt animal! We are building a home and I was shocked early on how many of these things were brought up in the design stage. Most often the barn door. Not a barn door, piece of ship lap, reclaimed wood or gray anything. Eight weeks to completion and still people comment about one or another.
I hate my popcorn ceiling so much that I stop eating popcorn 😂😂😂 No but for real.
Spot on as always, Nick. I would add lack of an entry hall. Also those builder grade plate glass mirrors behind the bathroom sinks,, using so much adhesive that the sheet rock behind ends up in tatters by the time you rip the thing out of there. Bonus points for glass breakage all over your bathroom floor.
Those mirrors are actually in style right now! Also, they can be done to look really cool. We just built a power bathroom, and the entire wall behind the vanity is mirror, all the way to the ceiling. I love how it makes that room look so big and open!
I wish more builders would create a layout that has the possiblity to be made wheelchair accessible. Instead, we see narrow hallways, 90 turns into eg, bedrooms, kitchen islands that make it impossible to use a wheelchair in the kitchen (y'know, those parallel counter things that are everywhere), non-existent turning radius, condo windows that open at floor level, too-small elevators, washrooms that are unuseable, and so much more. I'd also love to see you go off on a rant on accessible design that looks like they're from a hospital and some tips on elegant accessible design (eg, grab bars). It IS possible, but most builders are too lazy or ill-informed to do accessibility well. Note: accessibility standards in building codes are always the bare minimum and then everyone are building to the minimum. Which makes it impossible to find a home that works, have friends/lovers visit who are disabled, function in your home as you age or eg, break a leg skiing... And I'll stop now before the rant goes out of control
Hi Nick. Those were great advice and I sure hope some builders were watching/listening.
Ceiling lights are revenue for builders. In AZ, builders typically charge $50- $100 for every ceiling junction box. And since we put ceiling fans in almost every room including the patio, it gets expensive. Yes, I know designers hate them but when you have 90+ temps for 7 months, needs must! There are stunning, contemporary glass or wood barn doors that do not look like "barn" doors if you cannot do a pocket door.
Phoenician here, you are spot on. Ceiling fans are a must! I'd love to see these designers pay a $800 electricity bill because they don't like them. It allows us to keep much cooler while in a room with the AC set to a higher temperature. Just a few dollars more can buy you a beautiful multi speed fan with a dimmable light remote control operated. Ceiling light problem solved!
We have, in separate phases, addressed a number of these things. To start with, we had a Jack & Jill shared by two of our children. It was a horror show. It had pocket doors on both sides. The doors were constantly coming off their tracks, getting stuck either open or closed, and were definitely not secure. The biggest problem was the fighting. One child or the other always used the bathroom when the other needed quiet. Or they both needed to use it at the same time. Once kids are able to use the bathroom independently they really shouldn't be sharing. So I finally realised that we needed to split the J&J into two en-suites. It was expensive, and the en-suites are very economical with space, but the peace and quiet, OMG. Another problem was how dimly lit our house was. In the kitchen reno, we decided to add pot lighting in addition to pendants, chandeliers, under mounts, and even track lights (I will never understand the reasoning behind choosing to keep a kitchen dark). In other rooms, we had one flush mount installed in the centre and then augmented with various lamps. A general lack of storage is another gripe. It's one thing to leave space for the homeowner to do what they like and quite another to NOT have space any of the following: linens, coats, brooms, pantries, clothing, toiletries, towels, etc.,. There's more, but it's late and if I keep going, I might start planning even more renovations.
2 en-suites! That's the thing!
And it may sound crazy but I'm loving my fluorescent light in the kitchen. I usually hate those things but it's super bright and long-lasting!
Interior designer here and a good rule of thumb is one pot light every 5-8’ apart. It depends on the light intensity. ❤great video Nick!
Hey, Interior Designer! In your professional opinion, what is the proper ratio of bedrooms to bathrooms? It seems that the more people there are in my family, the fewer bathrooms are available, to the point I used to tell the (3) boys, "I warned you I was taking a bubble bath. The door is locked. There's a tree in the back yard and a gas station on the corner; take your pick."
My biggest pet peeve, going overboard with open concept. I hate when the living room, dining room, and kitchen are all in one big room. It echoes, everyone can hear everyone else's conversations, and I don't want to look at the mess in the kitchen. Because let's be honest, your not always going to have the kitchen cleaned up right away.
I also hate open storage and shelving in the kitchen. I want to be able to close the closet door or cabinet to hide the mess. Plus, dishes etc stay cleaner.