Oh this thread is gonna roll. I will start by saying that a home designed to the purpose of the individual members of the family residing there rather than the marketplace is always going to leave a mark. Not necessarily a good one, but then a home is not an investment that makes money. Well, not for the home owner anyway.

Let the flames begin....

trickyputt.....haha.....this should be fun then!

Gray. Gray everything.

Pam....I hear what you're saying regarding gray. It's everywhere and feels completely overdone (and can be dreary much of the time - although I have seen some pretty beautiful homes with gray tones), but I don't think that color makes a home "cookie cutter". I think there's something about the structure itself that is key.

Beige and having exactly the same features for every home in the neighborhood. You could walk into the neighbors home and know exactly where to locate most of the spaces.

Yes nidnay, I see that especially with new home production builders. The whole premise (for them) is to deliver the hot button trends of the moment without regard to actual layout as acm mentioned. The builders follow a formula. Naturally islands fit in this trend, when window "arches" were big every home had to have at least one if not more, same thing for the mix of stone, brick & siding on the same house. It is difficult to pull off a mix of materials and many homes just don't look right because the builder just added the various materials without any attempt at design. Where I am I see lots of inappropriate cobbled driveways and walkways and some of the garages barely fit a car. IMO the most common cookie cutter indicator is the kitchen: poor "design", wasted space, a pantry in names sake only because there is no actual room for storage, cheap cabinetry, etc. Master bathrooms with vanities that can barely handle a toothbrush! Wasted floor space devoted to huge entry area that could be used in any other living area. This is what I call the 'wow factor' at the entry to hide the fact that the floorplan is poorly designed. I could go on and on because I see it every day. These production builder homes have been around for decades and the quality, if there was ever any quality, has severely declined over the years. JMO

PS The sad thing is this: many buyers today have no idea that things could be better

I was in a newly constructed house a few weeks ago, and what struck me was that around every corner I was completely surprised. The layout was so completely different (not weird) and made things interesting and un-cookie cutter-like. It was like a breath of fresh air.

Well, there is a difference between a production builder and a custom builder. They are at opposing ends of the design scale (usually). Sounds like you may not have been in a cookie cutter house nidnay...

A great house is built with the site in mind. The building and windows are placed for the best views in the main rooms. A friend had an architect built house with a living room window that framed a stand of pines, making it look like a piece of art. My parents had their builder swap the living room and the kitchen to give them a view of woods from the living room. The original, semi-custom plans stuck the living room in front.

I've seen other houses with great views from the bathroom and none from the bedroom. Or views from the laundry room instead of the living room.

So..the use of the words "custom home" has been taken over by the retail sales trade in the same way my rainbow coffee cup has become a symbol of a group of people with which I have no connection? I declare mission creep!

I love this question!!! I think the cookie cutter look begins on the outside, in developments where every home is the same or a slightly altered version of the next. The cookie cutter interior occurs when the development's builder limits the homeowner's choices for the interior finishes including flooring, cabinets, counters. The only way to veer off course is to pay a lot more for your own choices (if you are even allowed to per builder contract) or to upgrade at a later date.