Feeling kind of brain dead from the heat...

Things Jen doesn't like, in regard to living quarters:

• Carpet. Carpet holds dirt, smells, stains, and no matter what you do it's still teeming with nastiness even when it looks clean. It is difficult to keep it looking good when children are around. Rugs which can be removed and shaken, washed, etc are preferable.
• Drywall. Whose bright idea was it to cover walls with something fragile like drywall and then to paint it white, besides? Wood (real wood, not fake wood paneling) wainscoting looks so much better, holds up better, feels solid and dependable.
• Lawns. A little bit of lawn is OK. By "a little", I mean enough to spread a picnic blanket on it and have a foot or so of grass leftover all around the blanket. More than that is ostentatious, wasteful of resources, boring, labor intensive, etc. Edible gardens, perennials, herb gardens, trees, native plants, rock gardens...there are so many other choices which look better and need less upkeep or give you much more in exchange for their upkeep.
• Plastic anything. You know those plastic faucet handles that are supposed to look like cut glass? That's so tacky! Plain metal or porcelain knobs look better and are easier to clean.
• Low ceilings, particularly if the room is small or has dark colored walls. Depressing.