Ugly with a Capital “Ugh!”
Where has house design gone these days?
I was driving through a very nice neighborhood yesterday and I was struck by the number of houses that seemed so amatuerishly put together. It was almost as if someone worked at making them ugly. I could not help but wonder why this is. Who designs these houses? The answer is probably no one. Sadly, the majority of houses built in the United States are built from plans a builder has used and modified over and over, or from purchased plans that someone selected because they have the right kind of rooms the owners wanted or they fit onto the piece of property. Maybe the owners even sort of like the appearance.
Okay. I understand that not every house can be great. But do they have to be sooooo ugly. Good house design is not rocket science. It’s a matter of thinking about what you’re doing. It’s a matter of stepping back once in a while and looking at the larger picture. Just because all of the rooms fit together, a house isn’t necessarily good and your design isn’t necessarily finished. What can we do to help?
This is the official launch of a new feature for this blog I’ll call, “What’s Wrong with This Picture?” when I find a house or a portion of a house I think is particularly odd, wrong, or just ugly, I’ll post it and ask you what you think is wrong with it. The next day, I’ll post what I think is wrong and you can see if you agree with me. But I won’t just criticize the examples. I’ll offer suggestions for improving it.
I invite you to submit photos of things you find ugly, aesthetically offensive, or just plain funny. I’ll be glad to comment on those, too.
Bill Hirsch
www.designingyourperfecthouse.com
Tags: architecture, Design, dream home, dream house, house design, residential architecture, standard house plans
