We can't have a pool here in the north ga. mountains for some of the same reasons. It would need to be an indoor pool.

I appreciate most styles if they are done well, but my house will probably always be an eclectic mix of tradional pieces decorated in a style that's in the middle of the spectrum between minimalism and maximalism. I love color, but I don't like committing to one scheme so I tend to limit strong color to accessories so I can change them out at will. I would love to have a pool, but my lot doesn't lend itself to one.

I love reality tv remodel shows, but never would I relinquish design approval and have them in my home.

Design Show-Nate & Jeremiah By Design: "Happy Hour" episode.

(more like Hangover Hell)

fun fact: Nate & Jeremiah's house has WHITE walls. Apparently, they've never learned the principle: Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.

The poor homeowners gave them $100,000 and total control......Their tiny house lost kitchen storage with "open shelving" and two rooms were painted in atrocious colors. Plus, the furniture and things that the designers claim they received as "free gifts" are not free, according to the IRS. HO is liable for the tax. http://www.redcarpetenterprises.net/2017/12/our-home-was-renovated-on-a-reality-show-what-its-really-like-warts-and-all/

More than 1500 sf. Actually, I'd prefer less than that; the two houses I've seen recently that I liked the most were 800 and 694.

I did get sucked into the neutral colour palette when we gutted our house. Turns out I'm not a neutral colour palette kinda gal. It looks great in pictures and in homes of other people - me, turns out I need colour. I need a commitment to colour - not colour brought in through accessories bought from Home Sense.

I recovered a couch and all our kitchen and dining room chairs, I replaced our window treatments, and repainted the diningroom. I absconded with some colourful still lifes that my grandmother painted from my mom. It's been a long process.

What I also like in other peoples homes is the vignettes that many create on coffee tables, entry tables, counters, bathrooms, etc. That trap I didn't fall into - to me it's all just clutter.

I clicked "Like" on almost every comment. (I do have a large cream carpet.) I tried for the minimalist look (love it) but facts are facts. I like stuff.

I admire when people are talking about their DH or SO when making decisions. At this age, will never have one and don't see myself compromising or giving up my authority over my $$$.

DK Haas, that’s a really horrible remodel. I don’t watch, so I miss seeing all of that stuff. Around here, we call that living room color s**t brindle brown.

What would I love but can't have...

David Beckham.

(we're both married so, sadly, it's a no-go)

Minimalism, because "the imperfections of age" (from 3katz4me) is a part of my everyday and something I enjoy. Pet(s), kids, and a husband all contribute to layers of what needs to be cleaned. I absolutely love how my brain gives a little sigh of calm when I look at the pictures but, my life and tendencies doesn't support it.

We've had a paring down of possessions and I'm committed to keeping that steady and incorporating a suggestion of minimalism going forward. I don't want closets and cupboards filled with rarely used items. Those things need to make a regular appearance!

I would have a glorious master closet - don't care as much for a fancy bedroom or bath, but a closet like this, for sure. Of course it would be larger than any bedroom in my house, so it is but a fantasy.

From Pinterest, but not attributed.

That closet is so beautiful that I would spend all my time keeping it organized, by color, sleaze length, formality, etc. that I wouldn't have time to do anything else. So, while I like it, I'll stick with my basic IKEA dresser, shoe racks and builder rods and shelves. That's a good example of what I like, but wouldn't want.

Bright walls, bold patterns, lots of deco items. Love it in my friend's homes, never in mine.

Victorian homes and log cabins are really cool, but I don't want to live in either.

Industrial style condos with exposed duct work, concrete floors and walls, no walls. Dramatic, hip, interesting, but I couldn't live with it.

Total open concept where you can see the kitchen, living and dining rooms from the front door. Looks inviting in pictures but not for me.

A big house. Tempting, but too much work, too much time, too much money.

This could be a long list :-)

Authentic mid century leather chairs (cats..), real plants (again cats), entire wall mural of some tropical landscape, glass and metal stairs, drying closet/wardrobe.

Open shelving for dishes and breakables - cats. Leather furniture - cats. Beach furnishings - too far inland to be appropriate but I love them in my brother's Florida home. Formal dining room - I can appreciate, but I don't live that formally. Marble or granite - too much maintenance, although I understand some granite now is permanently sealed. Multiple living levels - getting old and creaky here. Swimming pool - maintenance. White rugs - cats, and, to be honest... me.

I'm sure there are more but I have to hit the road!

Wallpaper. After removing it in a large kitchen and a large bathroom, I’m still shell shocked from the experience. However, I can appreciate the pretty ones that are out there, just not for me. I still have WP in my DR but haven’t been inspired enough w/an alternative that shouts: “do this, WP HAS to go!”

Sectionals! Love the look but we have a smal house and even a smaller sectional won't work with our heat/cooling vent layout.

llamas.

Super modern Italian furniture, I love the look. I could not live with that sparse of an aesthetic.

Oh AnnieD, me too. And goats and horses and cows. I wish someone would invent a low maintenance small farm :)

einportlandor, you're so right about totally open concept. When we bought our house, I thought I was so "lucky" to find a modern open concept style in our price range. In reality, it just means I go crazy trying to keep the entire downstairs clean at once. Oh you deep cleaned the kitchen today? Too bad there's still paperwork on the dining table. lol.

A crystal chandelier. When I was a child, I used to admire the one over my aunt's dining room table. I do love bling, but it wouldn't work in the informal beach style of this house.

d-gw, yeah, I'd love to have peacocks too, but I'd not want to care for them.

A couch with those reclining seats on each end and the middle is either a seat or a fold out table with drink holder. My aunt and uncle had 2 of them them in their family room and I was always soooooooooooo happy to go to visit them when I was young, it was such an adventure to sit on those seats and watch tv and have snacks and a bottle of orange soda right on the couch! And they still had them when I was older and graduated from orange soda to wine :)

Annie, peacocks are VERY noisy (and the screeching can be quite unnerving) and make just as much mess as any other bird.

I spoil myself. If I love it I probably have it. Except for valuable art. I am too clueless to attempt to buy that.

In a vein similar to other, I would like swans on our pond. But I understand they are not pleasant pets.

recently we went on a road trip..one place-very peaceful I must say- had a lot of peacocks

usually I love them. I also was lucky to see several albino ones, in Israel-very unusual yet very beautiful nevertheless

but this time-maybe because I also was sad that day-their cries reminded me of Salem during witch trials..

PS I also am very drawn to smaller houses. That was a problem when house hunting. we needed four bedrooms-and most of what I loved and ran there all happy and didn't want to leave, was two and a den..or two and a loft..))

My mother.

^^ we must be sibs.

I love Arts and Craft style. I have pieces of pretty art glass, and William Morris textiles, but I could not do a whole house in that style, despite its being one of my favorites.

If you truly loved something I think you'd find a way to incorporate it into the proper setting. If you "like but couldn't live with it" then that's not love. I appreciate many things that I'm not interested in having in my house. I like them but I don't love them. Actually, I don't love my furnishings or my house. I love my husband, my brothers, my nieces.

I really love hanging swing chairs, but I don't think I'll get one, partly due to space constraints. I also love this chandelier that I designed (with my boss), but I don't think I'll ever get one:

There is a prince in Saudi Arabia who has one in his bedroom, however.

Off topic, but...I often get tickled when people say that they love white kitchens, but would never have one because they are hard to keep clean. I love a white kitchen, even had one, and I miss it! I kept it clean because I had to. If I didn't clean the cabinets, all the dirty fingerprints and dried food splatters would show. It wasn't hard, and I knew they were clean.

Now I have dark cherry cabinets and I shudder to think how dirty they might be. I have never cleaned the things unless I knew that something had spilled on them. I can't see the fingerprints and stains, so I am good. Lol

FYI - The cabinets have been cleaned a few times, and always dusted by my twice a month housekeeper, thank goodness. They still look great, but ...

Think about how dirty your dark cabinets could be!

Just for fun, what do you love but would never have in your own home?

I love the barn door (seen below), I love how they work, and the concept of having them. But...they would never go in my house!

I have seen them in homes that have been "re-done" and they don't go with that home, either. Recently watched House Hunters on HGTV. There was a cottage in California that had low ceilings, pretty arched door openings, light colors, oak floors, and traditional features all around. Then the house buyers came to the "updated" bathroom. There you saw a dark tiled modern bathroom, gray wood grain tile floor, gray wall paint, and a barn door! It was like the owners knew they needed to upgrade the bathroom, and had seen each individual feature on HGTV. They somehow thought those looks would all go together and appeal to young homebuyers, even though they did not go with the overall style of their home.

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So here is the laundry room barn door that I enjoyed while renting a house at the beach last Fall. It did go with the overall house style... a precious renovated beach bungalow complete with shiplap! I don't know who enjoyed playing with the door more...me or my grandchildren. :) We finally had to tell the children that the laundry room was off limits. My husband said "you too", to me. hahaha

Click to enlarge photos

I'll agree with wallpaper. It looks absolutely great in many homes I've seen online here.

But I got rid of any notion of ever doing it in my own home after spending a painful bit of time removing / replacing some in the bathroom in my old condo... 30 years ago! (The replacing was okay, the removal was NOT.)

I love Arts & Crafts style (and yes, I know this is a different and lesser use of the word - "love" - than when addressed about humans...), but it just wouldn't work in a log home setting. So, I enjoy it when I see it.

I appreciate white elements in kitchens, but I'd never want a fully white one -- it simply just isn't me, and has nothing to do with keeping it clean all the time. White makes a great accent in the right places, however!

I love Arts & Crafts style (and yes, I know this is a different and lesser use of the word - "love" - than when addressed about humans...)

Yes.

nhb22... I so agree about white cabinets. I understand not wanting things that will stain, but I do want to know when my stuff is dirty. Right now we have both red and white tile. The white tile gets so gross, red tile never does... obviously they both get the same amount of dirty. I'm grateful I have the white tile to warn me when it's time to clean the red tile.
Everyone keeps advising us against replacing them with dark wood floors because they'll "show dirt". Good! That's what the robot vacuum is for!

Oh, no peacocks for me either... I do have chickens now, 19 of 'em.

But peacocks? Beautiful! But at certain times of year, they sound exactly like cats being slaughtered (or at least like cats having their tails stepped on by accident, which IS a sound I've heard).

But at certain times of year, they sound exactly like cats being slaughtered

Yes, from January 1 through Dec 31. That's just what peacocks sound like. There's a community near me that has a huge gaggle (pride?) of feral peacocks. The town is very fond of them, but they tend to come as a nasty shock to new residents who somehow missed seeing them when looking at houses.

ETA Trivia alert: According to internet , a flock of peacocks is a muster. I wish I could find my old copy of An Exaltation of Larks to double-check that.

Brick floors. I love, love the way they look but couldn't live with them in a house. I grew up in an antique colonial home, and my parents had a brick floor in the mudroom/breezeway. It was sometimes my job to clean/vacuum that area. Not fun, and I also recall lots of dropped items breaking to bits on that floor.

As a child I was enthralled with sunken living rooms. I still dream about an utterly impractical sunken living room. But dang, they're sooo glamorous!

IRL I'd love to be able to have real plants, but alas, like others have noted-cats. Nearly every plant I've ever tried is cat salad at my house, and usually ends up on the floor in a nasty little pile too...

Leather club chairs, same thing. Cats.

My grandparents had the most gorgeous mural on the wall in the dining room. It had come from Italy and was made of some fabric woven with a gorgeous scene of ruins and cypress trees and rolling hills. I have always loved the idea of having a formal DR with a mural like that. But who am I kidding? I live with dogs, cats and a husband who would make Pig Pen from Peanuts look like Mr. Clean.

I love that closet above but would like to ask mojomom how you organize by sleaze length? I'd never be able to determine which is sleaziest! lol!

ElleN - I'm 100% with you. I don't want to "hide dirt" - I want to see it, clean it and know my house is clean and well-kept. I'm VERY distrustful of the homes of people who advocate for hiding dirt (uhm.. does that mean you never clean? Ew.)

I will say that I am fond of upholstery with a slight pattern because it helps hide spots and pet hair mess until I get a chance to clean. No need to distrust my cleanliness, I just don't want my upholstery or floors or cabinets bossing me around. I'll clean it on my schedule.

Honestly, my first thoughts were "birds in cages" followed quickly by "miniature donkey" and "miniature horse." I would love all three to live in my house/domain. But not likely ever (maybe the birds though).

Design wise, I'll never say never. We may be new homeowners soon and the potential house has me re-thinking my go to decorating schemes.

More to follow...

Wanted to add... more dogs. I always have to remind myself that more dogs does not equal more better. Alfred could use a sister, but any more than two becomes a pack and your on the outside.

I would like to add here that I do like to hide dirt, and this is one of the reasons I love my travertine floors in the hall, dining room, and art studio. I like to have a car whose color approximates the color of dirt so that I will not have to wash it as often, thereby saving water, since I live in a desert. I might like white cabinets, but I would never have them again - anyway, I think wood grain is prettier. I was not born with the obsessive-cleaning gene, and I have found it annoying in people that I have lived with. I do like to keep my surroundings simple and uncluttered so that they are easier for me to clean. My mother was not an obsessive cleaner either and hired people to do her cleaning for her. I may have learned from her. My sister, however, cleans my house the minute she comes to visit, and so I do not invite her that often.

Lars, your sister is welcome to come to my house...

In my new home, I have a housekeeper come every other week.

I like clean homes. I do NOT like the actual job of cleaning them. I'd rather work in the garden, or do some cooking, or deal with the chickens, or keep up with physical maintenance and house painting/staining, or do graphic arts or anything else. I'm fine with doing laundry, too.

I clean up after myself in the kitchen, but the housekeeper does floors, bathrooms and general dusting/windows and such. And I now have a robot vacuum who is pretty decent at what he does. He even has a name: Sharkey. I'm not crazy about cleaning his filter, but it comes with the territory and lasts five minutes...

I didn't have a housekeeper back at my old CT home. One reason my getting out of there and getting the place on the market is taking so long... especially since I then had a full time job that lasted well over the standard 40 hour work week. THIS one will be clean!

But it doesn't need to be anally-House Beautiful clean. Simply lived in and tidy.

My reasons for not wanting a fully white kitchen or other rooms are not about appearing clean, but about my just only wanting white as an accent. Aesthetically. That's what works for my sense of eye appeal.

Regards a crystal chandelier. My parents had one, and when they downsized to an apartment, they asked us two children if we wanted it.

We both declined. It was beautiful. But.

In my case, I didn't have a space for a formal dining room (and at this point years later I really don't want one anyway). Also, I saw the cleaning steps she went through when she took it down twice a year to clean every single crystal facet on it. Nope. Nope.

But it was beautiful. I think they left it up and sold it with the house.

Also, I saw the cleaning steps she went through when she took it down twice a year to clean every single crystal facet on it

FWIW, there are spray-on chandelier cleaners. A friend uses one and says it works well. His chandelier (freshwater pearls, wrought iron, crystal) looks fine.