Lifestyles of the Rich and Tasteless

Today we will take a look at high-end real estate and what folks with too much money and not enough taste (or sense to get a designer) do to the houses. First up:

This is a $6.3million home directly on Puget Sound in Washington State. Rather nice looking although I would have done a little more in the landscaping but I wouldn't mind having this one myself. I was thinking that this was an uninhabited home with Realtor supplied furnishings set up for showing the property but in the breakfast area photo you can just see the pop-up baby playpen and the living room has more than just a few tchotchkalas. Oh dear!

Details: Newly built in 2008 on approx. 8.17 Acres with 108 Feet of low bank Puget Sound water frontage. The Main House has 9,700 Sq. Ft. with 3 Bedrooms and 5 Bathrooms as well as a Gourmet Kitchen, Open Plan Living and top quality finishings throughout. There is also an unfinished area above the separate Garage with Bath, a Guest House with 2 levels, Sports Court and upper property Barn.

Price: $6,300,000
Size: 9,714 Sq. Ft.
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 5
Speciality Items: Built in 2008, 8.1 Acres, Boat House, Sports Court, Recreation Room, Hot Tub, RV Parking, $39,010 Taxes. (Uh-oh... RV parking? This doesn't bode well.)

Here we have the living room. The built-ins and coffered ceiling are really nice and the floor is just lovely. I'm afraid that I really don't like TV's over a fireplace. I think that if you have a formal house with a beautiful living room and you really feel that a TV is necessary, it should be in a cabinet or something to hide the thing. This mish-mash of furniture would be called by some "eclectic". But even "eclectic" has some central premise that would bring the disparate elements together. Maybe a beautiful carpet would "soften the blow" a little bit. Oh, and another thing... What's up with the notebook computer on the TV table?

I really like this kitchen. Lots of space, great light, handsome cabinetry, nothing wrong in here.

Here we have a view of the back of the house. Lots of room for a pool (but for some reason there isn't one). Maybe they feel that with the Sound in the back yard that one is not necessary but I think that if you're going to spend $6.3 million on a house you should have a nice heated pool in the back yard for late season swimming. Still a great looking house.

This is a view of the Garage/Guest House. I do like having Guest Quarters. I hate getting up in the morning and bumping into guests while I'm still in my nightgown and curlers, don't you?

Beautiful view of the Sound from the back lawn (where the pool should be).

Again with the TV over the fireplace... Also if I were going to spend $$$ to build this place I would have the contractors do something about all of those devices and switches on the wall. It looks like the hook-ups you have in a hospital over your bed for heaven's sake. Plus, look at those awful curtains in the windows. Did you run out of money for draperies? And one more thing before we go to the next room.... COLOR!!!

Here in the breakfast area we have nice marble tiles and french doors out to the deck. All very nice. Plenty of light in here too. However, I feel that the Chippendale furniture needs something softer to stand on. A beautiful oriental rug would soften this up a little and make it less clinical. And once again we have a bad TV set-up.

$6.3 million and you have plastic lawn furniture on your deck. Seriously... shame on you!

Where do I begin with this mess? These folks have some seriously nice furniture in the house but look what they have done with it. The desk is sitting on a rug that is way too small for it, the printer is way out of character for that beautiful chest of drawers and we have the switches/outlets problem on the walls again. I think I would have paneled the entire room rather than cover the wall with cheap looking fabric that you can see every seam on.

Nice looking bathroom here but a (again) bad TV and tacky, ill-fitting curtains. It would also seem that the owners are going for a "white" motif in this house. Those black towels should go... NOW!

The dining room has possibilities. There is beautiful light, great lighting fixtures and lots of space but where are the doors for the kitchen? Where are the dining room chairs? And could you not afford to get a tablecloth that fit the table? Perhaps you should've just left it off.

Well I hope that you have enjoyed dishing this expensive home with me. If you folks like this post we will do it again when another place comes across our desk that needs a good "bead reading".

A tout a l'heure!