Stupid People Should Not Be Allowed to Own Fabulous Old Houses

“Sue”  purchased a 1930s house with this stunning original bathroom. A friend of hers said that it would be “a crime against Los Angeles” to alter the bathroom in any way. But…Sue thought otherwise. Wanna see Sue’s wanton criminality? Scroll way down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incredible. I will never never ever understand this level of stupidity. Something rare and historic was thrown into a dumpster and replaced by…this. This utter banality. To confirm Sue’s stupidity, she stated that the new bathroom “retained the feel of the original.” I just feel sick.

 

 

32 Comments

  1. Kelly on February 20, 2019 at 9:53 am

    “In the end, Sue rhetorically asks, “Was our 1930s bathroom remodel a ‘crime against Los Angeles’ or a respectful upgrade?” Definitely the latter.”

    Sue is a Moron.

    • Ross on February 20, 2019 at 9:58 am

      Bigly so!

  2. Devyn on February 20, 2019 at 9:54 am

    Grrrr, This is pretty awful. It retains NOTHING of the original feel. This is a direct result of what HGTV has told America to do. Even those shows which proclaim they are renovating old houses do this kind of banal crap.

    I must confess that when I saw the notification for this post in my inbox, I saw the following: “Stupid People Should Not B…”
    Which I interpreted as “Stupid People Should Not Breed” before opening the email up. 🤪🤪

    • Ross on February 20, 2019 at 10:00 am

      Note Sue’s cat in the Before image?

      Note how Sue’s cat is smarter than Sue, and is nowhere to be seen in the After bathroom?

      • Architectural Observer on February 20, 2019 at 10:07 am

        Or perhaps Sue “respectfully upgraded” the cat into a stuffed animal which is now in a drawer.

        • Ross on February 20, 2019 at 10:13 am

          That made me laugh!

          And it’s almost certainly true!

      • Rick S on February 20, 2019 at 6:04 pm

        At least she reused the mirrored “snowflake” over the bathtub… maybe that was the feel of the original bathroom she meant.
        I would bet anything the kitchen is next on list for “ improvement “

    • Architectural Observer on February 20, 2019 at 10:05 am

      Friends don’t let friends watch HGTV. This is just awful.

    • Mary on February 22, 2019 at 7:46 pm

      Breed…Hahaha. I like your style!!

  3. Jenine on February 20, 2019 at 11:04 am

    “Retained the feel of the original”… well maybe if you squinted, a lot, or maybe just closed your eyes and didn’t look at it. I would imagine that the rest of the house also had 1930’s features, so this atrocity probably looked even worse. If you want a modern style, buy a modern house.

    • tiffaney jewel on February 20, 2019 at 4:30 pm

      You know what would also retain the feel of the orignal? RETAINING THE ORIGINAL! These people make me so mad.

      I 100% agree with you: if you want modern, buy modern.

  4. E.J. on February 20, 2019 at 11:08 am

    Another smashing example of removing the timeless, and replacing it with something which will be out-of-date in 5 years. I could try to understand if it was poorly laid-out, or the fixtures were beyond help, but that doesn’t appear to be the issue here. It’s called “remuddling” folks.

  5. Sandra Diane Lee on February 20, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Sue is a certifiable moron.

  6. michael bazikos on February 20, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    Ditto for me. Such vandalism makes me heartsick. Worst of all, it is promoted by TV renovation shows like ‘This Old House’ and even worse, ‘Bargain Mansions’. I watched an episode of ‘BM’ and she called a Cotswold Cottage an English Tudor house. It had a beautiful staggered butt, purple and grey Vermont slate roof in excellent condition. Rather than repair it, she replaced it with dimensional shingles. She painted the woodwork- it was natural- and did every renovation cliche. I can never watch that show again, lest I have a stroke. In my own ca.1900 Victorian home, I try and keep as much original as possible, and any changes are reversible. Also, I try and make sure that what I do is repairable, not something meant to be used up and thrown away. BTW, the slate roof on the cottage house could easily have had another 100+ yrs. of life left, but was torn off by a heartless renovator.

    • Kelly on February 20, 2019 at 1:47 pm

      That one was actually a Tudor Revival but…holy hell…I mean, excuse me Ross, but fuck that show to Hell’s basement. I lasted a few minutes just to see what she was going to do.

      Here.

      • Ross on February 20, 2019 at 1:52 pm

        Kelly?

        You let me say damn on your blog so you can certainly say fuck on my blog!

        • tiffaney jewel on February 20, 2019 at 4:29 pm

          The quintessential Ross comment.

          You’re the best 🙂

        • Sam's Mom on February 21, 2019 at 9:01 am

          uumm….What might Kelly’s blog be? I love finding new blogs to read…

          Thank you!

      • michael bazikos on February 20, 2019 at 6:23 pm

        Yes, the link you provided was a tudor revival. But it was not the house I was referring to. That was a different episode.

  7. glenn on February 20, 2019 at 2:57 pm

    Hey, my 58 year body retains the feel of my 20 year old body.

  8. Sue C on February 20, 2019 at 3:30 pm

    “Bargain Mansions” is the worst!

  9. tiffaney jewel on February 20, 2019 at 4:27 pm

    I’m all about crimes against Los Angeles, but this is so much worse than that. Why on EARTH would you buy a house like this if you just wanted to change it? There’s plenty of boring architecture in LA. Go live in that if you want this kind of nonsense.

  10. tiffaney jewel on February 20, 2019 at 4:34 pm

    Wait a sec, I’m not understanding the geometry here. Did they move the little window? In the original, it is NOT over the bathtub, and I’m assuming that the bathtubs in both pictures are in the same space. But the window in the original is to the right of the tub.

    I know I’m missing something obvious, but I’m very tired and hoping someone can just explain it to me so I don’t have to scroll between the two pictures for the next half hour. 🙂

    • Ross on February 20, 2019 at 4:37 pm

      Either the window was moved, or the whole thing was shifted to the right.

      • tiffaney jewel on February 20, 2019 at 4:57 pm

        I thought maybe the whole thing was shifted, but the wall on the far right seems the same. And moving windows is a pain, because you have to deal with it on the exterior as well. Ah, old house puzzles!

        • kizilod on February 21, 2019 at 8:46 am

          I found an article written by the home owner that stated that the window was moved because it looked too off center over the sink. There had originally been two windows over the sink, but one was blocked in the 1970s by a half-bath addition.

  11. Dawn Rocco on February 21, 2019 at 3:17 am

    This should be a crime. All the history is gone, just gone! It was so sweet! I’d love to have a bathroom like the old one. What else she is going to destroy. I hope she gets haunted by the souls that built and loved that home.

  12. Sam's Mom on February 21, 2019 at 7:35 am

    Why did she buy this house…

  13. Brendan on February 21, 2019 at 2:57 pm

    I have to say, I like the new bathroom, I wouldn’t mind having it myself…BUT…not at the expense of the old one. Like so many others have said, if you want a new house, buy a new house! For Heaven’s sake, have a little respect for what has gone before!

  14. Cindy Belanger on February 23, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    That should be against the law! The character and beauty in the original bathroom can never be replaced. The new bathroom is like any other modern look alike in a magazine. What was Sue thinking, obviously not much.

  15. Carl on February 26, 2019 at 9:57 am

    I had a bathroom once that had 80s garish emerald green marble 12×12 tiles that looked like something straight out of Trump tower. I needed to do something as I was about to sell. I really didn’t want to gut the room. I tried to tone it down with accessories and painting the walls. Wasn’t working. Then I thought instead of going against the emerald I would try going with it. I literally put a small boxwood plant on the vanity and matching towels. Bam! Magic. Don’t ask me how it’s possible but the bathroom looked great. That lilac & black tile bathroom could have looked amazing if Sue was any good at what she was doing. As it is the bathroom she put in looks 20 years dated already. The original may not have been everyones taste but at least it was memorable.

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