Back Splashed

It is a must do! So say any home renovation, home selling and buying shows. They all have this excitement over the tile back splashes. It is a selling point. Really?

What if? You don’t like that tile, that texture, the color, that pattern?

Yet, how many home shows have you seen the pride of the owner about the tiled backsplash. In a home selling show, the home seller noting they JUST added that back splash. Why? and again What if the potential home buyer does not like it? How much money did you put into that project? Do you think you will get that back? Don’t count on it, of course certainly not in the current market.

Flashback… the faux brick.

Think about it, when you see a home buying show where a home owner checks out a 70′s home. The horror over the brick backsplashs that were a common choice back in the 1970s. Yet no one seems to realize trends happen, they are hip and then hype, eventually ho-hum.

I have seen some hideous choices for backsplashs, and they pretty much are either very personal or extremely boring. There is little loved by all options.

So just a note.. selling your home? don’t add tile… not to the bathroom, not to the kitchen.

De-Construction: Tearing down walls.

The trend of home builders choosing the cheap route of construction has resulted in a trend, making people think they want or should have an “open floor plan”.

I grew up on the east coast, the home of the Colonial or four-square plan. Over the years walls have vanished. The wall between kitchen and dining, and the worst was the wall between kitchen and living/family room.

Typically, it is the first home buyer who has been conditioned to believe they want an “open floor plan” . They see these “grand open” spaces, and then believe it is their desire to have that type of floor plan.

Why did they believe they wanted it?

  • The social aspect. They have been conditioned to believe that they will be left walled up in a kitchen away from their guests.

What will they soon come to realize?

  • The noises and smells from the kitchen will soon permeate the entire home.
  • That they don’t want to be still cooking in front of their guests.
  • That they need to keep that kitchen immaculate, all the time… eventually avoiding using it just to maintain a perfect appearance.

I wonder will the trend die off? Will builders stop creating homes without walls?

Thinking about home shows where home buyers look at a home and talk about walls they can remove, will we soon see people buying the un-walled homes and be discussing walls they can add?

Check out this nice site with descriptions of floorplans TheHouseDesigners and AntiqueHomeStyle

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