Top 5 Home Improvement Flops
It’s not really fun to review home design flops because they might have affected more people than we know. Someone comes along with a great idea and then has everyone trying it. That’s when issues start to arise. By then, it’s too late for those who have already given it a go.
If you knew the problems you would have faced before, you probably wouldn’t have put heart and soul into it if you still went that direction at all. So, here are a few tips from years of experience. You just never know when they will come in handy.
Flat Roofs
The first bad idea I want to address has been a pet peeve of mine since I was a kid. It was a pet peeve even way back then because my father was in construction and I learned about it. If I had been anyone else’s kid, I would have just found flat roofs to be an interesting concept that should never have been tried.
Now, as long as the roof has a slant, of course there is no problem. But, I have seen flush flat roofs in my time and I couldn’t believe a builder or an owner didn’t think that a flat roof with no place for water to go might be a bad idea. Welcome to water damage and catching rain in buckets in only a few short years.
Wall Mounted Television
Hey, I have a plasma screen mounted on my wall at home too. But, it sits at eye level. It’s not up by the ceiling where my entire family could get a crick in their neck for watching on family night.
If you want to mount a television high in the bedroom where you might be reclined most of the time while you watch, that’s fine. But, in the living room where most viewers will be seated on chairs and couches is a bad idea. It takes the fun out of viewing when you stand up and your head is stuck facing the ceiling.
Flowers
Now, flowers are great. I can’t say anything bad about having some flowers around the house. But, I have seen it way overdone. Flowers on all the wallpaper. Flowers hanging in every room, in every corner. Flowers standing behind every piece of furniture and then on top of all the furniture too. Stop! It’s enough already.
Faux Wall Covering
There are actually some great designs that I have pushed on people in the past. But, recently I walked into someone’s basement and found the wall had been ripped. It’s an eyesore when you have a plastic brick wall that has a rip in the center of it. Who thought of that? When we have real brick used in thin layers to make an inside wall look like it was built with brick, why would anyone opt for a plastic look that could rip?
Build Around It
There are plenty of you who may not like this last objection, but it only comes from experience. I think that benches and buildings built around trees look great too. But, I would never do it. A few years will show you what I mean after your bench has been split apart by a still growing tree that is much stronger than the screws and nails you used to put it together.
There are many more faux pas I’ve seen over the years that aren’t mentioned here. There are too many to count from my experience. One day when I’m ready to write a book on the subject, I’ll have more than enough material to fill an encyclopedia.
