There’s an epidemic in New Zealand. It’s an epidemic of blandness. And it’s been brought about by the mistaken view that we need to create homes that appeal to the widest possible market if we’re to maximise the price we get when we come to sell.
There was a song about blandness that was a hit for Pete Seager back in 1963. It was called Little Boxes, which went something like this: “Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky-tacky, and they all look just the same.” More than 50 years on, has anything changed?
There’s a lot of confusion about the difference between blandness and minimalism. Many people would say that the room pictured above is bland. But the beautiful timber floor, full-width folding doors, spacy-looking ceiling lights and gorgeous spiral staircase make it anything but bland. If it’s done right, minimalism is anything but bland.
Some people argue that bold design and colour can be tacky. For instance, you could argue that the old door above is beautiful in its own right, and that this home’s owner has cheapened the whole look by painting the wall around it yellow. But if the wall was white, would you notice the door and its beauty? Probably not, unless you painted the door a bold colour to draw attention to it as a feature.
What’s the difference between good design and just being over-the-top? This swimming pool running into someone’s house might have seemed a good idea at the time, but we wonder how many people would really value being able to dog-paddle into their home.
Visitors to this apartment building must find it enchanting when this intricate network of pipes plays music whenever it rains, but the people who live in the apartments must get driven nuts.
The big question, of course, is do bland homes sell more readily and for more money than those with some design aesthetic? The best way to answer that question might be with some other questions. Would anyone buy House and Garden if it was full of bland homes? Is it possible for people to fall in love with homes that the owners haven’t put any love into themselves?
If you love your home, chances are other people will too. People with your kind of style and taste.
So why worry? Be yourself.
And contact your local Pzazz Building affiliate to talk about turning your dreams into reality.
