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It is obvious that 1970s "ranch" houses were designed by men. In a rush
to churn out neighborhoods like ours, blueprints were stamped and approved; wood framing,
fiber board walls, wall-board, stucco, and roofs were thrown up, and
painted.
I know the houses were designed
by men for two reasons: kitchen cabinets, and placement of the bathrooms.
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| See the corners? |
If pots or cook ware are placed in
the bottom shelf of the cabinets, they will creep further and further back into
dark cavernous corners from which nothing emerges.
A female or child must take a flashlight and
crawl in to retrieve the damn things. (My husband closed off those corners and
who knows what lives back there right now.)
Also, placement of the appliances of the U-shaped kitchen makes working
in the kitchen with two people difficult.
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| Up the stairs, to the left, and over the living room... |
Bathrooms? The main 1970s ranch-style house bathroom is
off the hall and next to the living room, dead center of the house. Anything that goes on in the bathroom is
heard by the whole house—seriously.
Archie Bunker, re-enacted. Newer houses have these bathrooms next to the
dining room and kitchen. Again, is that intelligent design?
No female architect would have allowed
houses with these designs off the drawing table.
For anyone whose house design resembles the above, no offense is intended. Our house is in serious need of re-modeling, and has all the design flaws listed.
lol yeah bathroom placement is kind of off in many of them. Pots and pans, I'd fall into the same trap
ReplyDeleteKitchen designs then were disgraceful. I have almost gotten stuck in one of the corners, while my kids laughed. From then on, they were the ones crawling.
DeleteBathrooms should always be in a corner and away from all central activity. Privacy, people, privacy!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. What happens in the bathroom should stay in the bathroom and go out the vent.
DeleteWhen you open our front door you look straight down a hall into the bathroom...full frontal toilet welcomes your guests. Until we redid the kitchen the dishwasher was miles away from the sink on the other side of the cabinets. Men for sure. No offence guys but you really don't have a clue as to how a family works.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have been in the club. My hubby has finally agree that the bathrooms need to be re-modeled. Hallelujah.
DeleteSo back up from your seventies ranch to a 1940 basic cottage. When we filled out the papers to adopt a rescue Cairn one question, do you live in a small, medium or large house? Large chuckle as I checked small, with "very" inserted in front. My bathroom is six by eight, for crying out loud, and in 1940 probably was a huge improvement from the outhouse on the original farm property. My remodel date is set for late October and is only to install more modern fixtures. However, I cannot wait. Counting the days.
ReplyDelete6 X 8??!! Our main bathrm is also 6 X 8, while our master bath is 4.5 X 8. Oh, we are so due.
DeleteBetter than an outhouse, for sure.
Guys like to have that bathroom close, and unless they're newly dating the person in the house, they don't seem to care who hears what's going on behind that closed door. ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree, I could do a great and very functional house layout... but I'd need a guy team to build it. ;)
As long as a woman made the blueprints, those guys could be trusted to build wisely.
DeleteOur home was built in 1978 may,june, july and august and September, ceilingheat ohmy living god, one full bath in the middle of the hall, and a tiny shower with toilet in the main bedroom, only thing of it is when one is using the facilities one can hear anywhere in our tiny home 1,205 square feet, huge kitchen nice living room and the insulation is shot now and the window need replacing and no heating system in an area of 270 days of incelemnt cold, raining weather, it was a bargain for our money but not so much after we have replaced almost everything now except a heating system..Ranch house, the only thing I love is it is on one level and I won't fall down and break my neck retrieving my clothes etc..It is fine but I know Men designed these homes...toilets in the middle of the house no insulation, ceiling heat that made our heads warm but no other parts of our bodies, but at least we have a home, food, hydration and each other, our daughter grew up in the house, but she lives in a tiny apt. in NYC and loves it there! One cannot have heaven on earth more like the other way around, one must be grateful for a home no matter what it looks like, cause one can always redo it when one can!!! I say be grateful or a home plain and simple, it is denied to manymany more human beings in the USA than ever before..ciao!
ReplyDeleteI am also grateful. We bought our home at a time in our life when this was what we could afford, and now have been here 25 years. We have many of your problems, but finally replaced the windows. Our daughter lives in Switzerland, where homes are build to last and to deal with the weather.
DeleteThanks for writing.
I meant to say be grateful for the ability to own a home if one can and do not complain, it is denied to many in our great country..Even when it is cold here most of the time, our home is a refuge and we keep warm with sweaters, jackets and fleece, which is readily available at a neat thrift store pratcially brand new at that..we have those in droves, fleece and warm clothing..But if one can't ever buy a home that is the big bummer..ciao!
ReplyDeleteGlad you returned. We deal mainly with heat here in So. Calif. so our problems are with extreme heat. A/C is a blessing.
DeleteHave you ever read Chic Sales' The Specialist? A carpenter who specialises in building outhouses. With little gems like ensuring they are on the far side of the wood pile - so the hired help can bring wood back from each trip. And, if embarassed to be seen using it, will make many abortive trips to the facility - bringing wood in each time. Not to mention squaring off the seat so it doesn't get tooo comfortable.
ReplyDeleteInside facilities are such a boon - though I agree about the placement.
I remember well the trips to the outhouse. every winter, the pipes froze. No hot water. No septic system. The chamber pot at night. I am happy to have a bathroom/water closet, very happy. But couldn't it have been placed in a different place in the house?
DeleteSquared off seats? Oh, that is plain cruel!
I never understood the philosophy behind the bathroom being adjacent to the kitchen. I don't want to hear bathroom "happenings" when I'm eating my dinner lol!
ReplyDeleteThe only answer to that is I think the water pipes back up to each other--a money saver in construction. I think.
DeleteHey Susan,
ReplyDeleteI shall keep this comment short. I have a lot of multitasking to do :) Looking forward to your re-modelling your home :)
Gary
By the time we finish such a job, we will be ready for the old folk's housing.
DeleteBy George, I thinks you're right! Of course you are...you're a woman!
ReplyDeleteI (thinks) therefore I am and I really do know how to spell correctly!
DeleteWe have the same houses out here in Aus. Bathrooms opening right off dining rooms for heaven's sake!
ReplyDeletePoorly designed kitchens. Really badly designed kitchens.
You should see my older daughter's new kitchen! Designed by her and built by her hubby and herself. It's a dream come true.
God bless them both! Can you put up her design on some post? Please?
DeleteP.S. I have a folder full of pictures of everything I would love to have in my "dream home", also a house plan drawn by me. It's perfect, all I need is a block of land and several hundred thousand dollars to build it.
ReplyDelete