Here are 6 real estate photos that caught my attention for all the wrong reasons.
#1. Watch out for falling decor.
#2. That toilet-seat mirror might be taking the whole recycling/DIY craze a wee bit too far.
#3. Where’s my Allegra? I’m about to sneeze!
#4. I’m guessing there aren’t any men using this bathroom. Okay, I’m hoping there aren’t. (I’ve seen dressed-up toilets before, but at least they were more sanitary!)
#5. I bet when she hung that blackboard in her kitchen, she had visions of writing things on it like we see in Pottery Barn catalogs: “Estate Sale on Sunday!” and “Plant Sweet Peas for Annie!” But then the kids refused to do their chores…
#6. Nothing says “family home” like an actual family in the real estate photo.
Thanks to the readers who found these photos: Sherine, Sabrina, Heidi, and Roma. If you find something unusual in the MLS, send it to me!
{ 54 comments… read them below or add one }
Question. Where does one cook in that kitchen??? EEEEK for all of them.
I had the same reaction! Either they eat out all the time, or they move that stuff off the stove every time they need to use it. No matter what the case, can we say “Fire Hazard?”
Gosh, when we sold our home, our real estate agent told us to declutter. Apparently not all agents share that tidbit — or not everyone listens! LOL They photos are something else. That KITCHEN!!! Oy!
Sally, I know a few Realtors and I’ve asked them why homeowners don’t listen to the basics. They have all said that people get so emotional about selling their house, and they think that if you tell them “You know, maybe you could box up your doll collection for the showings,” you’re criticizing THEM.
Crack me up! There are some wierdos out there, that’s for sure. I loved your comment about the chalk board. And that bathroom is very creepy…..
Wow…lace on your toilet….no Thanks!
No words…
I can see it now: tons of Pinterest users will now start boards entitled Lace Covered Toilets.
Ha! Yeah, maybe it’ll start a trend!
These people obviously don’t watch HGTV.
I never thought I could laugh so hard over real estate photos….what could you do in that kitchen? You certainly can’t cook!
Your comment about the chalkboards from Pottery Barn is hilarious! So true. I love your funny photos posts.
Haha … I always love these!
And I kind of think, even if they don’t realize it, all these folks are hoarders at heart!! (get these people some garbage bags!)
*snort* *snort* Wowzers! But hey, whatever floats your boat! I would love to live in a world of lace covered toilets! What a world that would be!
I do strongly relate to the chalkboard mom though!
Holy cats! What are these people thinking!? Awful and hilarious at the same time….
I just took all the magnets and things off of my fridge…it looks so much better now. I’d have a nervous breakdown in these houses!
I can’t even imagine what my husband would say over that lace covered toilet!
What would really be scary is if this was all from the same house!
Too funny–esp the doll and lace twa-let.
I just spit coffee all over my monitor…and then I dopped my bowl of oatmeal when I got to the blackboard photo. Priceless stuff…
also love your chalkboard comment! Refreshingly true photo – the P.B. ads make me feel bad about my family
I know a few people who decorate like this and they really believe that they have great taste! I want to tell them but I bite my tongue that they have incredibly tacky and gaudy taste…It’s amazing. And like what a previous person posted, there are no words, not any that will do those hideous pictures justice anyways!
Love, love, love bad MLS photos! They make the world go ’round.
I just have to remember to erase my notes to the kiddos next time I’m selling a house.
Julia I wish you could see me laughing through this post! Each pic is hilarious.
The Realtors certainly didn’t stage these homes for sale. I wonder if Sunflower Lady has a collection in each room of the house.
Xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Unbelievable. Really.
wow, each picture seemed to outdo the last! They are all pretty crazy, but the one that really got me the most was the toilet seat mirror. I mean, someone really had to go out of their way to add that to their decor.
I can’t pick a favorite, although that toilet seat mirror is coming close.
What kind of animal head is that over the fireplace in the first photo? It almost looks like a donkey.
I missed that when I first looked at it and went back to view it after reading your comment. I think it’s a fake stuffed animal head! Yikes!
WOWZA!!! You would certainly think that will all of the shows about “GET IT SOLD” the Realtors would have made mention …. hahaha!
(I do think that the owner of that crowded kitchen shot was probably having a boutique in her house that day!)
What scares me is the area code on the chalkboard is mine!
Wow. I wonder what odor they’re masking with all those flowers…
That first photo is like where all the decor rejects from TGI Fridays go.
Also: mantillas for your toilets. Next. Big. Thing.
oh dear, the one with the damn chores looks to be in my area. The first several digits on that phone number listed on there is from around my parts!
All the photos would make me not want to look twice at the house, well maybe not the chore one, though tacky it’s kind of funny.
Where do I start? Better yet, “Let me not comment”. Thanks for the chuckles!
Your PB chalkboard comment is the highlight! Pottery Barn HAS been getting more and more … un-real-life-like in recent years. Still, as this post shows, TOO real isn’t good, either …
These are really funny. Thanks!
Julia,
So funny!
Also, I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to let you know that I listed Hooked on Houses as one of my go-to inspirational blogs. Thanks for being so inspiring.
Laura
Ahhhhh! So fun to see what some people are thinking! Hilarious!
I would hate to be inside the first house during an earthquake.
That toilet seat is pretty ugly, but at least it can easily be taken down. I noticed there’s a roll of paper towels on the counter. What’s that for? I thought paper towels were kept in the kitchen? Not in this house.
That kitchen is making me feel claustrophobic just looking at it. I couldn’t imagine working my way around the plants.
Think about how gross that lace would get? I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s stains on it already.
As for the last two photos, I am at lost for words.
You are all so right. What were they thinking??? I have seen a vase with a single flower fills the whole picture and after that a sofa or just a table. Seriously!!!! Would anyone buy a house because of that??? Or maybe its a to hide the fact that the house is crab and need a serious make over. But in the end….its gives you clues to what not to do
The picture at #4 – the #1 and #2 room – there is another tragedy in there.
The toilet paper is feeding under vs over – what were they thinking!
It’s amazing to see some of the photos people (or realtors) post on sites for selling homes….they were better off in the days when photos were not available. Even showing a bathroom with the lid up is bad taste…. but these take the cake.
Thanks so much for giving me a good laugh on a day that I really needed it! As posters before me have said, there just aren’t any words. . .
If Miss Havisham had indoor plumbing…
Thank you, Julia! These are hysterical!
LOL! I thought the toilet seat mirror was bad, until I saw the kitchen garden!
..oh my goodness…i am going through my house and collecting things for the kidney people to pick up RIGHT NOW… i don’t know who is suppose to do bathroom chores…but i suggest he or she do them RIGHT NOW…and your last comment made me laugh out loud…
I think these are the worst offenders yet. Too funny! Just what I needed to crack me up this morning.
The bed in the last photo is bad enough (covering the window and what are those things acting as finials), but then throw in the family.
You wonder what some people are thinking.
I discovered your blog a few weeks back when I watched the movie “Practical Magic” and did a quick google search for the home they used. I immediately bookmarked your blog and have been following along ever since.
LOVED this post so much I had to chime in and say hello. 
Looking forward to more fabulous posts! I’m definitely hooked on houses thanks to your blog!
Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself. Nice to meet you, Krista!
I always look at these posts and go “No Way!”. Why would someone put their house on the market looking as these do? Then I saw one just like this in my area. And believe it or not, the house sold. I think in one of the pictures there was a person sleeping in the bed. I’m totally a believer after looking at your funny real estate pics, Julia.
Now that kitchen is what you truly can say.. Flower Power!!
The more crap piled in the better the deal for those with vision but I will say any real estate agent that doesn’t hire a staging consultant for any property in such visual turmoil is incompetent. Even on low priced listing its better to pay for a single consultation & apply the advice DIY.
I think the lace covered toilet scared me the most. That’s just *wrong* on so many levels.
I think the lace covered toilet scared me the most. That’s just *wrong* on so many levels.
My husband and I viewed a home and it was ridiculous. The husband considered himself a photographer….tons of photographs of his wife…and most of them nude decorated the entire house. GROSS. Didn’t give that house a second thought!!
You know what the greatest part of these photos are? That if they were taken in Toronto, (and similar ones are taken all the time), there’d still be a bidding war over the house in our current utterly insane market.
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