Weird features spotted while house hunting

[jayhawk]

My parents' house where I grew up had bright Christmasy red carpet and red flocked wallpaper. They couldn't afford to replace it when they moved in, so my early childhood memories involved playing dolls on the floor of Dante's Inferno.

*snorf*

*Note to self, do not eat yogurt and read ehell*

I went into the ladies' room of a church at which my band was singing.  The carpet was red shag.  The walls were covered in red, gold, and white striped flocked wallpaper.  The lampshades were red, gold, and white to match the wallpaper, and were very frilly and ruffly.  There was a huge gold-framed mirror on one wall.  It looked for all the world like a bordello's waiting room.

and you would know this how??? 

[Elfqueen13]

I'm going to look at one on Saturday that lists an "incinerator toilet" among the amenities. I'll report back.

[magicdomino]

I'm going to look at one on Saturday that lists an "incinerator toilet" among the amenities. I'll report back.

Please do.   

[Harriet Jones]

One house we looked at had a bathroom that was so narrow you had to turn to the side to enter.  I think that was the same house that had some light switches that were at knee-height.

One of the things that really drove me crazy when we were looking for a house -- the listings that said the house had four bedrooms but only had three -- maybe these 4th bedrooms were all secret rooms!

[Shoo]

One house we looked at had a bathroom that was so narrow you had to turn to the side to enter.  I think that was the same house that had some light switches that were at knee-height.

One of the things that really drove me crazy when we were looking for a house -- the listings that said the house had four bedrooms but only had three -- maybe these 4th bedrooms were all secret rooms!

Was there a den or office?  Our house has 4 bedrooms, but one of them is downstairs and is used as an office.  If it weren't for the closet in there, you'd never suspect it was really a bedroom.

[Elfqueen13]

We looked at an old farmhouse that had been built before indoor plumbing was common.  The bathroom had been tucked into the eaves in what was probably storage space before. The shower was under the pitch of the roof and only about 4-and-a-half feet high. The Man would have had to shower on his knees.

[Harriet Jones]

One house we looked at had a bathroom that was so narrow you had to turn to the side to enter.  I think that was the same house that had some light switches that were at knee-height.

One of the things that really drove me crazy when we were looking for a house -- the listings that said the house had four bedrooms but only had three -- maybe these 4th bedrooms were all secret rooms!

Was there a den or office?  Our house has 4 bedrooms, but one of them is downstairs and is used as an office.  If it weren't for the closet in there, you'd never suspect it was really a bedroom.

No extra room at all.  Unless they were counting the completely unfinished basement.

[Elfmama]

We looked at an old farmhouse that had been built before indoor plumbing was common.  The bathroom had been tucked into the eaves in what was probably storage space before. The shower was under the pitch of the roof and only about 4-and-a-half feet high. The Man would have had to shower on his knees.

You might not remember the details of the house in Italy.  No shower at all, and the curve of the ceiling meant that your dad couldn't stand upright in the tub anyway.  He had to be very careful getting out after a bath!

[MsMarjorie]

I looked at a house a few years ago, that had been vandalized and had graffiti all over one of the lounge room walls (the real estate agent called it a "feature wall" - I think he was joking). 

Anyway we walked into the lounge which also had a large fire place and this odd man just sort of slithered out of the fireplace and joined us while we were talking to the real-estate agent.  None of us had noticed him and I still don't know where he came from.  He just greeted us and sat down with a bottle of scotch.  I don't know if he came with the house or not.

Another one was a house my friend lived in.  In the corner of his bedroom was a painting, about 1m or 3ft high, there was a hole behind the painting with a ladder in it that led down to the combined bathroom/kitchen.

[TeamBhakta]

I looked at a house a few years ago, that had been vandalized and had graffiti all over one of the lounge room walls (the real estate agent called it a "feature wall" - I think he was joking). 

Anyway we walked into the lounge which also had a large fire place and this odd man just sort of slithered out of the fireplace and joined us while we were talking to the real-estate agent.  None of us had noticed him and I still don't know where he came from.  He just greeted us and sat down with a bottle of scotch.  I don't know if he came with the house or not.

Another one was a house my friend lived in.  In the corner of his bedroom was a painting, about 1m or 3ft high, there was a hole behind the painting with a ladder in it that led down to the combined bathroom/kitchen.

That sounds like an episode of Ghost Whisperer. Or one of those urban legends that should end with "and then we passed a portrait that looked just like him, but he was nowhere to be seen  "

[Paper Roses]

We were shown a house that was listed as having 4 bedrooms and a family room.  Well, one of the bedrooms (the "master bedroom," which makes it even more odd) was in the basement, and it consisted of 4 unfinished walls in the middle of the basement, with a bed in the middle.  Oh, and the ductwork was hanging right above the bed, from a ceiling that was low to begin with.  We joked that if we'd bought that house, every morning would begin with a loud clanging sound, followed by a couple of expletives, followed by all the kids saying, "Oh!  Dad's awake!" 

Then there was the family room.  Which was actually the attached garage, except they had put cheap carpeting down over the cement floor, and outfitted it with a wood-burning stove and a sofa (and maybe a chair or two, I don't remember).  But it still had the garage door at one end, plus it was about a 4 or 5 steps down from the rest of the house.

[snowfire]

I once looked at a house that was earth sheltered and had been built by a man who did spray on concrete swimming pools.  Each room was sort of a bubble and each was on a different level from the next one by 2-4 steps.  Arranging furniture would have been challenging & I think my carpet guy would have pitched a hissy fit since there were no straight walls anywhere.  The master bathroom had a kind of grotto with narrow steps down into a hot tub.  The realtor & I called the garage the Batcave.  It was two cars wide and three cars deep.  DH would have LOVED it.  It had 15 foot ceilings & he could have installed a hoist.  It also had a canning kitchen right beside the garage.  It even had an indoor swimming pool & hot tub in their own bubble.  All of these were earth covered except for a skylight in the center of each dome.

It would have been kind of a fun house to have, (and my legs would have been in great shape from all the stairs), but it was a bit stiff price for us at the time.

[Zenith]

One house we looked at had a bathroom that was so narrow you had to turn to the side to enter.  I think that was the same house that had some light switches that were at knee-height.

One of the things that really drove me crazy when we were looking for a house -- the listings that said the house had four bedrooms but only had three -- maybe these 4th bedrooms were all secret rooms!

Was there a den or office?  Our house has 4 bedrooms, but one of them is downstairs and is used as an office.  If it weren't for the closet in there, you'd never suspect it was really a bedroom.

There is a house for sale not too far from me and it's online on 2 real estate sites. It reads 2 bedroom on one and 4 bedroom on the other. the house isn't that big and there is no mention of a study/spare alcove or whatever. Odd how do you miscount rooms?

[TeamBhakta]

One house we looked at had a bathroom that was so narrow you had to turn to the side to enter.  I think that was the same house that had some light switches that were at knee-height.

One of the things that really drove me crazy when we were looking for a house -- the listings that said the house had four bedrooms but only had three -- maybe these 4th bedrooms were all secret rooms!

Was there a den or office?  Our house has 4 bedrooms, but one of them is downstairs and is used as an office.  If it weren't for the closet in there, you'd never suspect it was really a bedroom.

There is a house for sale not too far from me and it's online on 2 real estate sites. It reads 2 bedroom on one and 4 bedroom on the other. the house isn't that big and there is no mention of a study/spare alcove or whatever. Odd how do you miscount rooms?

Schrodinger's house. There are 4 rooms in the house, however, opening the door may cause 2 of the rooms to disappear. You won't know until you open the door

[exitzero]

I visited a friend of a friend once who had a really cute apartment with one odd feature...there were large (Like a foot across) pipes running the length of the bedroom, about 5 feet off the floor. It was perfect for her, since she was a smidgen under 5 feet tall.

I would have had to have a standing appointment with the paramedics to come get me every morning when I whacked my head and knocked myself out cold.