Home Features That Sound Good In Theory But Rarely Get Used

Jetted tubs. They spew algae if you dont use them for awhile.

Happy Thanksgiving!

5. Wet bar

We had a sunken living room we were always tripping down.

OP, this just goes to show that there actually IS a difference between millennials (like you) and elders (like me). The only item on your list that I probably wouldn't use is a firepit, but my husband visited friends in his hometown awhile back and he loved theirs. I've never had a pot filler faucet but often wished that I did and I use them in friends' houses all the time. Local law limits the use of wood burning fireplaces to days when air pollution levels are low but I've always used them whenever possible. Most of the places I've lived have had freestanding bathtubs (because I prefer old houses to modern ones) and they're no different from whatever other kinds may exist, other than looking better.

My thanksgiving gift for all the eldergays is posting for them:

Trash compactors Pneumatic tubes between you and your housekeeping staff

No wood-burning fireplaces! Best to use gas-powered.

Wood burning fireplaces--I've used 2 Duraflame logs in mine in the past 10 years.

now I totally want a freestanding bathtub.

Dammit, why can't I have nice things???!!!

As a renovator, I have installed pot fillers, but never understood the purpose. You can't fill the pot up in the sink 2 feet away but you still have to empty it there, you know?

The old style freestanding tubs are great. But some of the newer ones, just look like you ran out of money while building your bathroom.

I gotta let the water run for at least a few seconds, preferably more. With a pot filler you're cooking with whatever water has been stewing in that pipe.

Medicare for all.

Houseboys

Microwave/Convection combination ovens .you only use the microwave mode.

Home Intercoms

Central Vacuum system

She Shed. ( aka menstruation hut)

Home Gym

Cunt scratchers.

,,,,,

R16 LOL trust me, I've heard those get worn out

Swimming pools. More trouble with upkeep than the use most people get. But I guess that’s what a pool boy is for?

I've never seen a suburban "great room" that lived up to its name. Most are horribly (under)furnished, underutilized, and/or littered with children's toys.

Uggh.

R11 That is why I use the regular faucet to fill up my pots for boiling pasta, despite having a pot filler above the stove. I don’t want to use water that’s just been sitting in the pipes.

The pot filler however is useful for watering my plants! Very quick, much volume.

A woodburning pizza oven in the garden

I have items 1, 2 and 3 on that list and use them all regularly.

Kitchen islands. Big ass kitchen islands with sinks and stovetops and an acre of marble/granite/quartz/composite/concrete slab and twelve bar stools and eight Bunsen burner stations for science lab experiments. Almost no one needs all that space and many are so large that you would need a long-handled mop to reach the center point. Hollow that fucker out and install a teppanyaki chef and grill or a Clinique counter in the center. Or, better yet, scale back to something more appropriate to the scale and talent to most home cooks.

A well-designed galley kitchen with floor space enough only for one extra person who is useful and/or good company is the ideal.

Many cedar saunas become ad hoc linen closets.

Also, built-in coffee systems, even expensive ones like Miele sells, age faster than other appliances. If you have one, it’s a good idea to buy extra carafes, water tanks and other specific replacement parts and keep them at hand. It would be a buzz kill to have an inoperable system after a few years.

I have a pot filler faucet.

Haven’t used it once.

It did leak through the wall and cause thousands of dollars worth of damage, however

We have a wood burning fireplace. It’s such a pain to deal with that we’re converting it to a gas one with an air blower

What does everyone think about lap pools?

Pool table

Bar. (Do You really have to stand behind something to serve drinks?)

Bathtub of any type

I don't really know what a pot filler is and have never seen one.

Fire pits are good if they are the kind you can add a grill to and use as a barbecue, otherwise I'd agree.

I would love working fireplaces in my house though, I would use them all the time, love natural fire instead of central heating.

I wouldn't think of spending a winter in a northern climate without wood fire in some form. I've had fireplaces, fire pits, and my cabin for this winter has a wood stove. It's part of the magic of winter. I also enjoy chopping wood.

R30 & R31 I agree. A home hearth and small fire is something special and really comforting and pleasant.

r30 It's a faucet--usually on a swing-out arm--that is situated near the stove top so you can fill pots with water for boiling without having to haul them from the sink.

Poop knives.

Toilet. Just use the shower.

[quote] A well-designed galley kitchen with floor space enough only for one extra person who is useful and/or good company is the ideal.

And how many people like that does one have around? They're even harder to find than a soulmate.

R23 I hate galley kitchens because there never seems to be enough counter space. I do, however, also islands that are too massive and has sinks or stove tops. I like a good sized island that is nothing but countertop with cabinets underneath.

Those pot fillers must be an American thing; I've never seen one here in the U.K. They don't seem very hygienic to me.

Sauna: I want to turn ours into a cold storage closet for cashmere/wool/fur. Steam shower- we've used it maybe twice in 10 years.. Outdoor Shower- Nice for ewhen we get off the boat but the yacht club in our neighborhood has one and it's easier to use. Theatre room- we watch TV rarely but utilize it for home screenings mostly- the room is great for parties though...and yes, I have a retractable ceiling disco ball. Trash C

Sauna: I want to turn ours into a cold storage closet for cashmere/wool/fur. Steam shower- we've used it maybe twice in 10 years. Outdoor Shower- Nice for when we get off the boat but the yacht club in our neighborhood has one and it's easier to use. Theatre room- we watch TV rarely but utilize it for home screenings mostly- the room is great for parties though...and yes, I have a retractable ceiling disco ball. Trash Compactor- totally 80's. Pre installed hair dryers- Our pool house has one....AWFUL.

R38 It's a faucet. Over a stove. How is that unhygienic?

R19 Or it's utilized like here- these two men have great taste.

rooftop decks

R42, does one of those men happen to be you?

Laundry chute

The feature I love most about my house is the wood burning fireplace. Use it 2-3x week all winter. If you are not a fire person, I get it. But if you are, a wood burning fireplace in a cold winter climate is a must-have. And I hate gas fires. Fake.

Items like freestanding baths and kitchen islands have dripped down from architect designed houses to ordinary ones, in much the same way Cerulean dripped down from designers in The Devil Wears Prada. The trouble is, ordinary houses, and particularly apartments, are generally much smaller than those for which architects are hired.

Hence, the freestanding bath that cannot be cleaned behind because it is wedged into a corner in exactly the way a fitted bath (the proper vehicle for such a situation) used to be. And the island that takes up half the living-room, as well as ensuring any two people in the kitchen will have to breathe in to pass by each other.

Not to mention the wallpaper or feature wall that is just plain loud in an ordinary space, or the industrial light fittings that look ridiculous in a compact condo.

I'm not sure about this, but I think open-plan living as it is now widely embraced (including the open kitchen with island), may have come in via Australian architects. In coastal Australia your house is hot most of the year, and sustainability means you need really good airflow to minimise the use of A/C. What you don't need is small rooms to trap expensive heat. You also need hard floors so everyone can walk pool water and mud or sand through with impunity, not carpet or rugs to retain warmth. So no wonder Americans complain about having that style virtually mandated in States where it snows half the year.

R47 you're a smart cookie. I know what my parents always said: Wall-to-wall carpeting is unsanitary. Our home had hardwood floors except in the kitchen.

While your theories are definitely true R47, even in bigger houses people are less enamored with many of these items

FS tubs, for instance--I have heard a range of complaints from "takes forever to fill up" to "water goes sloshing all over the bathroom when I get in or out" to "not big enough for two comfortably" to "hard to lift kids in and out of it"

Fire pits-- you're either too hot or too cold, you need to watch the fire when it burns down, everyone smells like smoke afterwards (which not everyone likes), people would rather sit inside at night, hard to clean out

Those Alexa or Google help listener devices. I’d rather just look stuff up on my phone than talking to those things.

Bathtubs, in general, never get used. Free-standing is especially stupid. I would rather spend the money (and space) on a shower stall.

Fire pits look stupid to me as well.

Swimming pools, hot tubs, rarely used. Expensive to maintain.

R51 If it gets used or not depends on the person. I never take a shower, so mine gets used alot. And before anyone jumps on me for wasting water. I stopped ever taking showers, when I did an experiment. I took a five minute shower, in a bathtub/shower with a stopper. At the end of the shower the tub was ready to overflow. So I decided I could take a 30 minute bath that is enjoyable and relaxing, and uses less water, since I don't fill it the top. Or I can waste water taking a shower that is neither enjoyable nor relaxing.

R52, for me, taking a hot bath with magnesium (Epsom salts) is better than any drug could possibly be. Many Americans are magnesium deficient. Ancient Egyptians used natural mineral baths to rejuvenate pyramid builders. So instead of reaching for alcohol or a pill, I get into a hot bath with magnesium salts and/or aroma therapy. Anyone who hasn't had sex in a bathtub doesn't know what he's missing!

R53 I, also, love an epsom salt bath, especially after a workout.

I live in Georgia and I use my fireplace from November until April. I also use my freestanding tub 3 times a week

I agree on pot-filler faucets and FS tubs, but everyone I know who has a wood-burning fireplace, a fire pit, a kitchen island and./or a swimming pool uses it/them very frequently.

Um, we're renting a place with a fireplace and it's been used several times. The spouse gets a little worried when my pyro side comes out to play.

These built-in coffee/espresso machines used to be all the rage in high-end homes, but I've never seen anyone actually use them. A countertop coffee machine is much easier to use and less expensive.

[quote]What does everyone think about lap pools?

What does everyone think about a lap pool that runs through the house along its longest axis? Asking for a friend.

(Yes, it means the lap pool runs through living room and what ever other room it encounters in its trajectory. You have swim under water when you hit the dividing walls.)

One of the best lap pools, at the Farrar Residence, designed by BCJ.

Those walk-in bathtubs they advertise for the elderly sound like a good idea, but apparently they take FOREVER to drain, and because of the way they're constructed, you can't get out (i.e., open the door) until the water is mostly gone or you'll cause a flood. I don't want to be trapped in a bathtub.

We use our wood burning fireplace all the time from fall to early spring. I would love a free standing tub but don't have room. I can't stand kitchen islands that are too small, giant microwaves above the stove, or basement bars

Agree with fancy basements that include bars and home theaters. Who wants to be invited to someone's house only to be ushered down to the basement? No thanks. Basements are where you send kids to play video games.

Extra rooms in large houses with dumb names: sitting rooms, hearth rooms, keeping rooms, gathering rooms.

Built in desks and "media centers" in kitchens.

Living rooms in houses that also have family rooms.

Wine cellars

My grandma's house was on a hillside and had a walk out basement. My mom was raised in that house and my grandma lived there until I was around 10. The basement was the house. She maintained the upstairs as a "formal upstairs." It was used only for sleeping as the bedrooms were up there. Everything else took place in the finished basement. It had a large open kichen, dining and living room area, a den and a large laundry/bathroom down there. It seemed weird as a kid but I'd love that setup now, living in the basement and always, always, always having the upstairs 100% presentable.

R64 the basement was probably always cool?

That's a very working class set up, R64. Like living in a home that has plastic slip covers on the furniture except when "company" comes over.

It did stay cool down there in the summer.

The upstairs wasn't even used for company. Large, extended family Thanksgivings and Christmases were even held in the basement. My grandma used the upstairs kitchen to take her pills in the morning. That was the extent of its use.

- r64

R66 not so. My friend's parents' home looked like the White House. He and his brother lived in the full finished basement, which had a bathroom including shower. There were no plastic slip covers in their home, nor in ours. We all know what happens when one ASSumes.

I have a wood-burning fireplace and I use it all the time. I generally go through a half a cord of wood every season. It’s really great to have during the fall and winter to just take the chill off of the house.

I use my jetted tub all the time. It’s great for sore muscles and relieving the tension of the day. For those of you who bought a home that had one and don’t use it or those who installed it and don’t use it well that’s on you. I love mine.

R69, nothing personal, I just happen to be here. I made the recommendation for gas-only fireplaces for several reasons. Although I don't have asthma or other respiratory illness, I have simple environmental allergies. Every type of wood has made me unacceptably ill upon burning in a fireplace that's intolerable. The airborne and other debris aren't worth the effort, IMHO. Every home I've visited with a fireplace has been equipped with gas, which caused no problems. Therefore, my humble recommendation for gas-burning fireplaces.

My recommendation for a bathtub was explained. I agree with R70. I'd rather use a hot bath with magnesium sulfate salts and sometimes aromatherapy for rejuvenation and relaxation than reach for alcohol, drugs, weed, etc. Too many Americans are magnesium-deficient. Ancient Egyptian pyramid builders used mineral baths for rejuvenation/relaxation. They must've done something correctly.

-Gen Xer

Home gyms.

I'd rather a hot bath with alcohol, drugs, weed etc.

Can one have a pot filler installed above an electric cooktop? It sounds like a bad idea.

R73 I walked right into that and didn't even realize it.

-71

Outdoor pools and hot tubs. Pizza oven. Soap dispensers built into sinks. Too many bathrooms. Security system that is non functional/outdated/a pain-in-the-ass. A safe that you will never trust. Detached outdoor pool-house/cabana too small for guest room (and no bath).

R51 but the cooties that crawl up your stuff must be really bad in a tub so gross

"They don't seem very hygienic to me."

They're filled with boiling water. What kind of super germs are you imagining that they would withstand boiling water?

I used to work as a barista in a coffee shop in a metro station and the boiling water tap was obviously a very efficient way to have a constant flow of water for drip coffee.

If a watched pot never boils, then let the pot filler hide the boiled water until you ready for it.

Having said that, I don't cook enough pasta to warrant one. In fact, I barely use a stove.

My microwave on the other hand...

Having allergies to would certainly a good reason not to have a wood burning fireplace. But with all due respect to the person who indicated they never heard any issues with gas fireplaces please know that carbon monoxide is extremely dangerous. The state of California is currently considering banning gas because of the wildfires. Well it’s not a gas fireplace that has started these kinds of things it does remind us of the danger. Frankly the average person probably doesn’t even know it needs routine maintenance to be safe. Like most things these are choices. But a health issue is a compelling reason for a particular choice.

R77, a bathtub has to be cleaned thoroughly with a disinfectant cleaner (containing bleach or equivalent) on a regular basis. What's wrong with some of you people?

Outdoor heaters and fire pits, if it's cold you go inside. Also, butlers' pantries. Don't have a butler, don't need a pantry for him.

I agree that Epsom salts in a tub are heavenly. But unless I know the tub has been bleached within say, two hours of my soak, then I feel like I’m getting into something dirty. But I also can’t stand bleach fumes when I want to relax, so I have to time the bleaching perfectly, say no less than two hours prior to my soak. Which means I have to decide I’m going to soak about three hours beforehand to time the bleaching right or it’s over. That’s a narrow window and requires much forethought.

Wow, didn't realize so many people used bath tubs.

How about "powder rooms"? Used to be called a "half bathroom." Seems kind of useful if you have lots of dinner guests or workmen. Otherwise, maybe not so good.

R83, a half bathroom is typically for a two-story house or townhouse. The half-bathroom is downstairs; the full bathroom is upstairs. Guests who only need to use the commode or wash their hands/wash up remain downstairs and use the half-bathroom, whereas family members bathe or shower upstairs in the bathroom.

-71/-80

I don't want visitors or tradespeople using my private bathroom. A powder room is essential.

You say commode like it's the 17th century

So many houseproud prisspots giving the frau a run for their money

And not a single mention of bidets...

R88 when I get my own place it shall have a bidet. I long to have one. But they’re not really a thing here in Nz

R85 if you want to call the downstairs half-bathroom a powder room, then I suppose that's what it is. That's the point; so there's more than one in the house. R86, my dad referred to our American Standard as a commode, so I usually refer to it as that also. If that's a problem, please piss off. R88, I knew a hung hottie who has a bidet, as well as others. In Europe, most homes have a bidet. When someone does, he or she typically uses it everyday. Everyone has different body chemistry and different needs. Gay men who have anal sex would benefit from a bidet.

Why any self respecting man would call a bathroom a powder room is beyond me. I guess some of you wear makeup that needs to be replaced intermittently after you've hitched up your skirts and daintily utilised the commode while you long for a bidet.

R91 I've never called a bathroom a powder room; that was R85. My father was 100% straight and he referred to the porcelain facilities as a commode. Being rude and crude does not make you manly and masculine. If you never want to use a bidet and possibly have a dirty ass, that's your business. -91

R91 to visiting grandmother: "Hey, Granny, if you need to take a dump, there's a crapper right off the living room."

Why do you people need a bidet? Your ass's only function is for shitting, a shower will suffice for cleanliness. No one has been near your hole in decades and no one wants to fuck you no matter how much pancake makeup you apply in your powder room.

[quote]Gay men who have anal sex would benefit from a bidet.

It’s easier to just jump in the bathtub real quick, turn on the water, stick your ass under the running water, soap it up and rinse. Takes 2 minutes and your totally clean - more than a bidet. Plus you don’t have to waste space having an unused fixture in your bathroom.

R95, please post a photo of your ass suspended under a bathtub faucet of running water., legs open OR your ass up in the air up under a fixed shower nozzle of running water with your legs spread. Either one would politely end my commentary. My successful completion of university Physics indicates either can't be done without elaborate devices in the bathroom.

-90

Meet the sitz bath (far right), intended for the same purpose. You'd fill it up and sit your ass and crotch in it, without having to take a full bath.

On the far left is a foot bath.

We heat with wood.

Shiny white SM room.

Attic S&M rooms.

R97 what a nice set up.

[quote]It’s easier to just jump in the bathtub real quick, turn on the water, stick your ass under the running water, soap it up and rinse.

Nothing about that seems easy.

R103, he does sound like a Neanderthal simpleton, doesn't he? I hope it's not a former chat buddy I respected a great deal.

-90/-92

Home offices

My successful completion of university Physics indicates either can't be done without elaborate devices in the bathroom.

Completes university physics successfully, posts on DataLounge. Your professors must be proud,

R106, maybe I should write them letters about how managed to fuck with a bad back, and how I squeeze and push back when i've gotten fucked? Most of my partners have told me have much they've loved it!

-96

r107 Your post makes no sense, grammatically or in relation to r106.

R108, please excuse me for poor composition ability at 0720 on a Saturday morning. In R107, insert "I've" in-between "how" and "managed" in the first sentence. Remove the comma from the first sentence. Replace the second "have" with "how" in the second sentence. That should be clarify everything, smart ass.

-107

My lovers have always commented me on my clean hole. Well, I'm considerate, it should be clean if you're playing down there. However I have never had a colonic, used a douche or a bidet in my life. I guess I eat plenty of fibre and am healthy. Sometimes I might fast to ensure I'm clean but not always. All I do is use soap and a finger in the shower and alcohol wipes if I know I'll be rimming.

r109 Don't call me a smart ass just because you've embarrassed yourself.

R110, you've put alcohol wipes in contact with your anal region? If so, that did not burn or sting?

slight sting r112 but my hole is clean for rimming. Follow it immediately with water. As I said, I'm considerate.

R113, thanks, I'd certainly agree! Hope you enjoy your holiday weekend! :-)

The problem with a wood burning fireplace is that, when the fire starts to lessen, the soot goes out into the house instead of up the chimney. The smell coats everything. It’s just gross.

Plus the mess of cleaning up the fireplace just sucks

Everyone I know who has a bidet absolutely loves it

Wood burning fires are romantic in theory.

R116 who wouldn't love a convenient opportunity to wash his or her bum? That's what most Europeans do. How is anyone supposed to position an anus under a fixed faucet or shower head? That's my humble perspective.

Fireplaces used for heating send most of the heat produced straight up the flue.

I had one in a home I owned years ago and using it made the rest of house -- not the room where it was located -- colder. And I didn't have an ash door in the bottom of the hearth so ash clean up was a chore.

Too much trouble and inefficiency.

Minds are like parachutes because they only work when they're open.

Holy crap, R120. If you're not on the wrong thread, I hope you mean a home feature that is reprehensible is when people have that kind of stuff written on their walls in big letters.

R121, no, we were in a debate about bidets because earlier a jerk said our asses were only for shitting and a bidet was an unnecessary fixture because its easy for anyone to put his or her ass under the faucet in a bathtub! Obviously, the idiot didn't have an open mind.

-120

Jacuzzis. They were in every flipped house in Atlanta the 90s. A pain to clean and often installed in ways that led to leaks. I replaced mine with a stall shower.

R123 anyone who plays a sport or has any type of chronic strain/sprain, etc., appreciates a jacuzzi. If one leaks, it was cheap and/or wasn't installed properly. I prefer a jacuzzi to a bathtub.

It’s so interesting how conversations on DL turn into discussions on bowel movements and bidets. Someone always mentions a house, probably imaginary, probably in an imagined European kingdom, with multiple bidets and towels for cleaning one’s ass. Then the fiber person chimes in. I guess it’s because it’s all tied to anal sex and class, two of Datalounge’s favorite topics.

Those "modern" intercom and central radio systems that were big in '60s-'70s era model homes.

I'd forgotten the home intercoms (they died out even before portable phones) and the vaccuming systems., which must have been a pain to service.

R124: Almost everyone I know who has bought a place with a jacuzzi has gotten rid of it. Most of them were cheap, but the maintenance aspect is one issue and people never using it is the other.

R125 please stop the drugs and/or the silliness. I have multiple friends and contacts in Western Europe. Nearly all of them have bidets. American homes do not. R97 posted an excellent example of his home's bathroom with extensive porcelain including a sitz bath in lieu of a bidet, as well as a foot bath. If you can't discuss that maturely, please stifle yourself.

-124

I have a wonderful finished basement. I spend most of my time down there because my office is there. It looks out to my 2 acre backyard and a lake. I'm in Georgia and it stays 10 degrees cooler there in the summer.

Viz. Epsom salt baths. I could google this but DLers know their shit. Any recipes for Epsom salt baths? Do you add anything else to it? How much do you use of the salts. One thing that's been comically deranged is my abject inability to figure out how to make a good scented/salted bath.

[R128] It’s Datalounge, not the Geneva Conventions on anal hygiene. Sounds like you need a hug and/or a nice long sitz bath.

Gazebos

I can't believe there are people who take a bath, go to bed, and then go to work the next day without showering. Those people always stink.

No, you're not seven years old any more. Your pits and balls are sweaty, and need at least a quick splash in the morning to wash bacteria away!

R133 I take a bath morning and night.

Gift Wrapping Room

I guess our queens do appreciate their purse vaults.

Potting room. Shall I go on?

R130

You can use sage, tea tree oil or any other essential oils to your bath and add epsom salts. Here are some other "recipes"

Gift receiving room. “Back the truck into the gift receiving room” *beep* *beep* *beep*

Phone room.

R140's room need a golden pencil for dialing purposes.

Smoking Room.

Morning Room

My list of stupid/useless/expensive-to-maintain features:

1. Fireplace

2. Stovetop Pot Filler

3. Hot tub

4. Natural gas lanterns outside

5. Swimming pool

R133, respectfully, do you believe your opinion about hygiene and bacteria/germs is more valid than that of a licensed physician and internist? I know it's not. If your pits and balls have a particular sweat problem, please keep that confidential and address it with your physician. The human body constantly produces bacteria, good and bad. Washing too often with the wrong product can wash away good bacteria that may contribute to a fungal infection of the groin called "jock itch".

R130, you've been given some good advice. I recommend magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) in a hot bath if you have a strain, sprain or over-exertion. Get a reputable book on aromatherapy, which will tell what may be added to the bath. Soak as long as you like, but don't fall asleep. Briefly shower with lukewarm water/no soap afterwards. For showering, I use a body wash called Body Essence Tea Tree Oil Body Wash. Good luck!

-90

What is this -90, -102 business? It's beginning to annoy me as much as the poster.

How Datalounge as you all have noted that this turned into a HissFest™ about anal hygiene and bidets

And, yes, clearly SOME people use most of these home features, but we're talking (or at least I was) about things the majority of people who have them rarely use.

r145 is Sheldon Cooper.

My late mum had a bidet in her avodao green bathroom R88, it was there when she moved into the house. She would use it as an ashtray when she went to the bathroom, lol. I liked it though, it handy for washing your unmentionables when you didn't have time for a shower.

Hissfest, LOL!

Telephones in bathrooms, especially now, but true years ago. My sister used to go into the master bathroom and chat on the phone next to the toilet.

A formal dining room. I know some of you pretentious old prisspot queens will disagree, but no one uses them anymore. Yes, they're nice to have, but in reality? Used at Christmas and Thanksgiving and that's all. I also don't think modern frau know how to set a table for a formal dinner party or have the china and cutlery to do so.

“Extra rooms in large houses with dumb names: sitting rooms, hearth rooms, keeping rooms, gathering rooms.“ So what are you going to call those rooms, R63?

I've got rooms in my homes that I've never been in!

R63, so true. I remember my Mom saying that "finished basements" were a waste, since no one wants to go down to someone's basement.

Always like Evelyn Waugh's description of the bathroom at Brideshead that Charles Ryder used:

“We shared what had once been a dressing-room and had been changed to a bathroom twenty years back by the substitution for the bed of a deep, copper, mahogany-framed bath that was filled by pulling a brass lever heavy as a piece of marine engineering; the rest of the room remained unchanged; a coal fire always burned there in winter. I often think of that bathroom — the water colours dimmed by steam and the huge towel warming on the back of the chintz armchair — and contrast it with the uniform, clinical, little chambers, glittering with chromium-plate and looking-glass, which pass for luxury in the modern world.”

My last post was R145. There's nothing in it about the two topics you freaks and stalkers with OCD keep mentioning. Please sign off and find something constructive to do while I discuss politics, movies and other topics while I'm attempting to relax and enjoy my weekend!

-145

I think this is a thread where people should identify where they're from. Clearly cultural differences play a part but also simply weather.

That said, as a Californian, I have zero use for a formal dining room. I do have a space that I use for an office that I reformat if there will be a special dinner, but even then, almost everyone hangs out in the great room or by the kitchen. Other times, I have zero use for a separate dining room. I need to convert maybe two times a year at most.

Having read many threads on DataLounge I'm convinced homosexuality shares a comorbidity with autism. Some of you ping on the spectrum.

R151 Growing up, in the 1990s/early 2000s, we used the formal dining room not only for Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, but also weekly for Sunday dinner.

R157, you wouldn't know a ping if it bit you on your ass. I've had an intensive medical background my entire life. Something like that wouldn't be "hidden" from me. I know what my IQ is. It's not compatible with autism.

intensive medical background

What, you're a shop bottom at a discount pharmacy? You're also a fucking idiot, If you had the medical background you profess to have you would know some autistic people are exceptionally intelligent.

'Something like that wouldn't be "hidden" from me'

Some people also live their entire lives going undiagnosed for high functioning autism. I was also joking and you took me serious. But that's also a trait of autism; not understanding humour or irony or sarcasm.

But you'd already know that, being the medical professional you are.

R160 you should know there's no test for autism like there is for cancer or HIV. Autism is entirely subjective.

Where's The DL moderator about comments being off-topic?

R145 Please fuck yourself with a rusty lead pipe.

I don't claim to be a medical professional..... You can't read English.

Editor! F&F R162, please!

If you have an intensive medical background but you're not a medical professional, what the fuck are you? Besides a fuckwit?

I have a trash compactor and it's one of the best upgrades I put in my kitchen. I end up with one bag of trash per week, sometimes even longer.

There's no test to diagnose bipolar or psychosis or schizophrenia but you can certainly be diagnosed with them by behavioural symptoms

R167 I could see that being useful. I think some of the smart home kind of stuff is good, too.

DL Moderator, DL Moderator!! Where are you! Sheldon Cooper can't cope when he's been caught out in a lie

"pearl-white slim-line push-button digital telephone with automatic last-number redial"

r171 with a phone number that is not the Chinese takeaway

Balconies off bedrooms...they're always presented as spaces where you can enjoy your morning coffee or a drink at sunset. Who's going to lug a cup of coffee or drink upstairs just so you can sit on a balcony?

R173 Do you not have a coffee maker and liqueur cabinet in your bedroom? Or, a maid?

R173 I had a roommate where I had the master bedroom with a private balcony. It was amazing!!

We have a fireplace at our country house and we damn well use it every chance we get. The pool, not so much.

I use our balcony in the city to sneak cigarettes, keep plants, occasionally have a coffee or cocktail with the spouse or occasional guest. I also put laundry to dry in the sun, which probably is an eyesore to the building across the street, but so what.

r176 well la de fuckin da!

R176 is your fireplace wood-burning or gas?

I would rather have a fireplace than a pool. I've had both, at the same time, and I used the fireplace any chance I could and in the 18 years I lived at the house I used the pool maybe 7 times. My fireplace was wood burning and if I had stayed there I would have converted it to gas.

I always recommend a gas-burning fireplace. Just my opinion, but I think a jacuzzi/hot tub is better than a pool

Depends where you live I guess. If you lived in a hot climate you wouldn't need a fireplace but you would certainly use a pool

I have never used my fireplace. I hate maintenance and cleaning it sounds like drudgery. I don’t see how anyone does it

I use my fireplace often. Sure, it's some work cleaning the ashes out but definitely worth it.

Shopping mall.

I hate cleaning stuff. That’s why I don’t cook

[quote] I have a wonderful finished basement. I spend most of my time down there because my office is there. It looks out to my 2 acre backyard and a lake. I'm in Georgia and it stays 10 degrees cooler there in the summer.

R129, your basement sounds useful. I'm guessing Georgia winters aren't so cold, but is it also 10 degrees colder during the winter? How do you stay warm down there? TIA.

I just moved out of a condo and everyone insisted they wanted rooftop space. But everyone who had it used it maybe two or three times, and then realized that unless you have a bit of shade, it's misery, or you have basically a small window of time between when it gets dark and when you have to shut the fuck up, because they'd be shut down or fined for having a loud party above their neighbors at 1 am.

It's one of those things that are increasingly realtor selling points - as in, it's trendy and a status symbol but rarely practical.

Most everyone I know with outdoor space in NYC has said that there are a few weeks in May/June and then in Sept/Oct where it is pleasant to be outside, but otherwise it's too hot or too cold.

But in LA, everyone seems to use their outdoor space all the time.

Toilet spy-cam. Turned out it had a mind of its own.

garbage disposals. someone always puts the wrong thing down them or too much food and they end up smelly, broken and gross.

also, gift wrap rooms. just have that shit strapped at the store.

R142, a Morning Room is surely a house feature everyone would use if they had it? It is a room especially built to capture the morning light, and even in gloomy Victorian houses it was designed to be bright. What's not to like?

"Breakfast nook" seems useless.

I know someone will say, "I use my breakfast nook every morning and at night, as well."

How are you defining "breakfast nook" R192?

Isn't it just another way of saying "eat in kitchen" only the part where the table goes is sort of off to the size, in front of a window, etc?

Or are you thinking of something else?

R193, What you described is correct (as my definition of a "breakfast nook").

So then why wouldn't people eat there? Do you think they eat in the dining room instead?

I find most people eat in the kitchen just because it's easier --shorter distance to stove/refrigerator

Um if you have allergies triggered by burning wood - did you open the flue on your fireplace first? Ont he one we have you pull it full down and that opens it right up. To test just burn a little kindling and see where the flames rise and smoke goes.

Pools are a huge waste in most of the country. It reduces resale value usually.

I love wood fireplaces. Gas is like watching your stove. Wood is romantic and fascinating filled with energy being created and transformed by nature.

^Exactly, all the prisspots here whining about mess, allergies and smoke filled rooms, don't know how to use them.

Does anyone use the convection feature on their oven? I tried using convection to bake some cookies and they puffed up like balloons. I've never used it since.

Whenever I buy something, I always debate whether to buy the more expensive model with more features, and then I remember that I never use those extra features because they're too complicated. The simpler the better, as far as I'm concerned.

[quote] Pools are a huge waste in most of the country. It reduces resale value usually.

I'll bet that's true. The only house with a pool that's ever appealed to me had a big, deep, empty pool that had been neglected for years, overgrown with vines -- so creepy, looked like it belonged to Alfred Hitchcock or Count Dracula. I saw it on a gloomy, overcast day and loved the atmosphere, but that's probably not a big selling point for most people.

Skylights in bedrooms. Bidets.

Showers

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

I agree with all except for the fireplace. I use mine all the time.

R184 is out of his mind. I shop in my basement mall ALL the time.

R199, you're smart. A famous General Motors engineer said this. Features not included do not fail or require maintenance. R195, you're correct. R192, respectfully, you're incorrect. I'll explain. Several close friend's homes had breakfast nooks. There was a formal dining room, only used for dinner and entertaining guests. The kitchen was so small, its only use was storing and preparing food. The breakfast nook was in a beautiful sun room where the families ate meals around theirs table and communicated. My family rarely ate meals together. The food was too heavy and fattening for me, but no exceptions. My mother recognized that, so she and I often dined out.

-Gen Xer

Bidet

Shallow lap pools feel like you’re swimming in a fountain. In warmer climates, I’d like a deep pool to dive down into, to stretch and cool off. But I know they’re impractical. If I did put one in, I’d put in a traditional square or rectangular one, not the free form ones that looked dated right away. I’d also have a small cabana with a shower and toilet, and ice maker.

R208, sounds like paradise!

R207 sounds like a stalking psycho freak!

There wood burning stoves fueled by timber from my forest. Currently sitting in front of a blazing fire with a brandy and port waiting for a Miss Marple mystery to begin

R210 do you mind if ask if you're alone? I hope you're not unless you want to be.

Open or floating shelves in the kitchen.

Waterproof mattress, not used very often

Home exercise equipment.

R212, those do look a little tacky, but they're not uncommon in certain parts of the world.

R212, that reminded since I have friends in other parts of the world, even when one buys an expensive home, they have to buy free-standing storage units like wardrobes and armoires because the darned houses do not come with closets!

-215

Totally @ R212. No one wants to see dishes, utensils, pots and pans on display.

R211 indeed I am all on my lonesome.

R218 my positive thoughts out to you.

R215

R210, do you mix the brandy and port together, or one in each hand?

Guest room. I’m moving from a two bedroom to a three bedroom and am debating whether to make the third (the second is husband’s home office) a dedicated bedroom or set it up as a lounge with sleep sofa and place to park my desktop for the rare occasions I need it. I don’t expect overnight guests but for a couple times a year and it seems like kind of a waste of space.

R221, Seems a waste to have a dedicated "guest room" if you only have guests a couple times per year. What is a "sleep sofa"? What do you mean by "lounge"? TV room?

Ranges that cram two ovens into the space of one. It makes both ovens too small. And the broiler is in the smaller oven, so you can't broil anything more than a few inches high.

Don't any of you retain live-in help? What do you call the maid's quarters?

In a pinch, that could be multi-functional space.

The whole issue of the dining room is an interesting one. I think about the use of my own dining room and it really depends on how many people come to the house. I have a breakfast nook which is in a bay window but only seats two people. I have my breakfast there in the morning or if family is visiting that’s where people start their day.

But after that we tend to go to the dining room. This has a larger table that generally sit six people. Right now this is a separate room in my house but I am thinking about opening it up to the living room. With that change I would close the door way into the kitchen and make it a pass-through. It seems this kind of use would be more consistent with that of a modern family. I dislike large open rooms. So blowing out the walls to combine the dining room with the living room or even further blowing out walls to the kitchen seems like a waste of money to me. Besides those large rooms always echo. I am interested to hear what others think about this.

IMO, a dining room that has 4 walls is rarely used. Assuming space is at a premium, people are lucky to have one designated eating/table space, much less 2 or 3 (dining room, breakfast nook, island with bar stools).

I would have no problem blowing out walls if it increased functionality. Nobody says your whole kitchen has to be on display.

R224, in most of the homes I've visited that have a "maid's quarters," the room is so small that only a child could live in there. I'm not particular, but I certainly couldn't live in most ii saw. What's the use?

Some of those "less well-documented types" are quite compact in stature, R227. They don't eat much and they move about quite quickly. Don't need much more than a roof over their little heads, apparently.

Overall, a good return-on-investment, IMHO.

R225. Definitely open things up. There is a reason you see that so much of that these days. It allows easier flow through all the rooms and guests can spread out a bit instead of being crowded in one small room. Older houses with many small rooms tend to be choppy. They were not designed for modern living. Opening up will help resale too, if you care about that.

[quote] Don't any of you retain live-in help? What do you call the maid's quarters? In a pinch, that could be multi-functional space.

I think this was a joke, R227.

R229 I disagree, I like to have multiple rooms where people can separate and congregate rather than everyone in one large room. Especially if they are separated with french doors that can be opened during parties, to allow flow without doing away with the feel of separate rooms/spaces. I also like separate rooms so that each room can be decorated and themed. Growing up we had a large modern style family room, a neo-gothic style dining room, and a living room retro styled to the late 1940s/early50s.

Houses designed for "entertaining" in general, which is something most people only do a few times a year.

[quote] Definitely open things up. There is a reason you see that so much of that these days. It allows easier flow through all the rooms and guests can spread out a bit instead of being crowded in one small room. Older houses with many small rooms tend to be choppy. They were not designed for modern living. Opening up will help resale too, if you care about that.

Thankfully that trend is dying!

[R47] The open plan you cite was developed in the US as early as the 1870s, and is a hallmark of the Prairie School and later forms of Modernism. Australian architectural influence in the US has been pretty much non-existent.

Where the version you reference probably first started was in LA and then spread through fashion and design magazines.

[quote]island with bar stools

R226, in the absence of a separate dining room or dining alcove off the living room, this implies eating dinner in the kitchen. Some people feel strongly about this, including (surprise!) many at the DL.

The issue was aired fully in a discussion earlier this year about open floor plans. (See link below.)

Also, what R232 said. How many people entertain large groups of guests often enough to make it a deciding feature of a floor plan?

[quote] Pools are a huge waste in most of the country. It reduces resale value usually.

Of course. Some people don't swim, would swim only very rarely, have small kids, would rather have a courtyard or garden space than a pool, hate the maintenance, live a place where a pool has a very limited season... There are a few houses I didn't buy because the difficulty/cost of getting rid of the pool weighed too heavily against the property.

Freestanding bathtub. I have one now, chosen because it doesn't interfere with the historic tile in the room and a stand alone tub was for me the best solution for not ripping apart the room. It's small but you can take a shower in it without feeling claustrophobic, but mostly I prefer baths anyway so not a loss.

I bought a house with a pot-filler faucet at the stove (cold water). I was surprised to find it slightly useful. Of course you have to haul the pot to the stove to empty it and it had a habit of being easily turned on by brushing against it even lightly. I would never add one.

Wood burning fireplaces I love, except for the business of cleaning them. They made me yearn for a parlor maid.

I have an open-shelf kitchen but agree with the concerns about them. In the place I have now it's a small kitchen that doesn't see heavy duty. It's a place to make coffee, have a bowl of cereal, make a sandwich, heat something in the microwave or cook (rarely) on the stovetop or oven. It's possible to make a respectable dinner from scratch but it's a rare thing. I'm surrounded by restaurants and eat out all of the time so it's easy to avoid having untold ugly small appliances and contraptions and utensils and containers and all that. If I have a kitchen with all of that stuff I would have doors to put things away.

Open plan kitchens are, with few exceptions, wretched though. I don't understand a refrigerator purring away its electric charms in sight light of a front door or a sofa.

Massive master bedroom suites puzzle me, too. In a big family house with a riot of kids, I can understand somewhat. But in a small house or a one or two bedroom apartment? The idea of an expansive private retreat space makes no sense - who are these people escaping from?

Double-height ceilings in living rooms, etc., Especially if you're sacrificing second-floor space.

I use the dining room as a home office. Occasionally for dinner with hubby and twice a year for big dinners. I like it as I don’t feel closed in when working, am right next to the kitchen on the first floor, have a nice view of the yard but also don’t have too many distractions.

Device that shoots a handgun at anyone who enters the home. Sounds good in theory, but after the first time it goes off, you'll never use it again.

Toilet in the living room. I thought it would be good for doing my business while watching TV.