We’re pretty sure about one thing—nobody was born an architect. It takes years of study and practice to become an expert in the art, history, and engineering of the built world. Yet, some think that designing a house from the ground up is a task they can do themselves.
Even if we agree that architecture is subjective, sometimes there’s no denying the flaws people make. In fact, some home designs turned out so wrong, they’ve made their way into the You Should Have Hired An Architect Facebook group, which is showing why not hiring a professional is a mistake.
From weirdly shaped roofs to open concept toilets, take a look at some of the pictures we have collected from the group and make sure to upvote the most bizarre ones!
Also, scroll down for our interview with Allison Beer McKenzie, the admin of this Facebook group, where we talk about the errors people make when designing a home themselves and the benefits of hiring an expert.
This post may include affiliate links.
Challenging Physics, Mathematics, Gravity, Engineering, Space, Time, Nasa, Einstein And The Holy Spirit!
I will laugh at stupid money, but making things work in total poverty is not funny, it is both sad and impressive.
Agree. First thing I thought was how poor one has to be to risk your life to have a place to sleep and not be on the street, which is probably infinity more dangerous.
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This image is photoshop. Here is the original image and the report about this space in Venezuela: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/pico-estudio-transforms-urban-venezuela-with-5-spaces-for-peace-part-1-11-9-2014/
Thank you mucho for your research! I also didn't believe it was real, but gave up googling for source after 15 minutes...Edit: How did you find it?
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Are the owners of this house related to the Weasleys, because I don't see how that is staying up without magic?
"The owners denied that their property was a deathtrap, and insisted that their children NEVER used the basketball hoop during times of busy traffic"
How to build a violation. Yes, if you were to actually build a tangible violation, this would be it
Old news Bp. How many times do you constantly repeat articles 🙄
Not everyone catches it the first time around🙄(previous post)
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Just found the rope that leads to the hammock from the roof! Stared forever, now I need to know what the inside looks like. I can hardly stand it. I still have too many questions.
This looks like a really poor fabella.. don't see anything to be amused by at all
Aside from the fact that it looks like a death trap, it has a sort of naive charm.
The 'lean' on this is an illusion created by a dodgy camera angle. Look at the other structures around it - they are all at the same angle too. It's the ground that is tilted, not the house.
It saddens me that people are forced to live like this. But at least they are making the best of it.
Miss the hoop and demolish 2 of the 4 planks of wood holding the whole thing together.
At least it's got air conditioning...even tho the units look 800 years old and probably blows out asbestos.
In Victorian times, they'd sorta build like this to get off with paying ground taxes. But this takes the biscuit! It looks like an upside down boot.
50k powerlines (probably zip tied together) & Love the air conditioner in the windowless room... the architecture looks like where we live in Mexico!
OMG, Where? Why? How is ANYONE living there? Why isn't it condemned?
This one looks more like a social problems than a poor design choice. If you have to build sideways instead of upwards, that's called not enough room.
Wow looking closer I realize the extension is actually a counter balance to the original structure
The extension is actually counter balancing the leaning of the original part of the structure 😳
Someone actually designed this? It looks like an explosion in a ticky tacky house.
How the heck did they build that 'extention'? Hard pass lol.
Nope. I Am, However, Impressed That Someone Took This Photo Without Being In It
In just a few months, the group has attracted more than 31.2K members who share some of the weirdest design fails every single day. According to the group’s description, much of the built environment in the United States is not designed by architects.
“This group is dedicated to examples of why that is a bad idea with occasional examples of why buildings designed by architects may be superior for variety.”
Bored Panda reached out to the admin, Allison Beer McKenzie, who is an architect and the director of sustainability at SHP Leading Design in Cincinnati, Ohio. She explained that there are mainly two reasons why many people choose to forgo hiring an architect.
Home Of Brave
It Looks Like Someone Couldn't Stop Adding Floors
“One is definitely that they are cost-conscious or think they can’t afford an architect. The other, I believe, is they don’t know about or appreciate the value that an architect can bring to their house design,” she explained.
McKenzie continued: “This value can certainly include beautiful design but can also include things like a house that fits seamlessly onto the site it is on and is ideally designed for the climate it’s being built on.”
This Is So Atrocious That I Just Realized There Are Two Dogs In The Front Yard
Future Er Visit
Whether it’s creating a poor design, going way over the budget, or not meeting the current codes and standards, there are plenty of ways people can make errors without expert guidance.
The architect thinks that many of the mistakes people make when designing homes themselves “stem from the fact that most people have trouble thinking in three dimensions without training in how to do so. This often leads to houses with weird proportions or awkward connections between materials and elements.”
What Should We Do With All This Space? More Toilets!
Isn't that nice. That way you can still spend precious time with your whole family while you're suffering from diarrhea. ❤️😂
Lack Of Alignment
McKenzie admits that some houses that are designed without the help of architects turn out fine. “However, building a house is probably the biggest investment you ever make and is going to require you to make hundreds of decisions in a condensed amount of time,” she said.
“Having an architect at your side to guide you through decisions ranging from where the house sits on the lot, to room size and location, to what color grout you want for your bathroom floor can help ensure that you end up with a result you love and maintain your sanity!”
Accident Waiting To Happen
Murder Vibes
Boob Lights
My Ocd Is Having A Breakdown
Trouble is, that first thought is immediately followed by a second thought, and a third, and a fourth ...
According to architect Bill Whittaker, hiring a professional might seem like an unnecessary expense for your building project. Yet, an expert can bring quality, professional design, and project management to “help you complete a beautiful building on budget and schedule.”
He provides several reasons why you should hire an architect instead of tackling challenges all by yourself. First, when it comes to the design, they help your house to have a consistent flow and comfort.
Huh. Never Seen A Commercial Toilet Partition In A Single Family Home Before
Figured You Guys Would Get A Kick Out Of It
Such A Welcoming Front Door. This Gets Worse The Longer I Look At It
“An architect provides a professional design that takes the client’s preferences into account, along with building codes, and good design practices to create the best possible space for your project.”
Next, experts can efficiently manage a construction site and “ensure that everything is being completed according to the current codes and standards.” The same goes for the budget. It’s easy to get distracted and spend extra on things you don’t actually need or to cover up the mistakes you made.
Bathroom Carpet
That's not carpet. That's clearly moss growing on the natural water feature. ;-) /s
Eeeek! But Whyyyyy
There's something oddly touching about that new pack of screwdrivers, as though the owner wants to fix the problem but, by golly, they're going to do it themselves despite having no DIY skills
Hope Your Guests Are Observant
“Architects help keep communication clear and can steer the project in the right direction to keep costs where they are originally projected,” Whittaker explained.
Still, if you’re really determined to self-design your home, you should consider starting out small. Plan and build a treehouse or a shed, or maybe a dollhouse for the kids. And if you notice that there are some blunders you make along the way, you should probably reach out to an architect for your bigger future projects.
New Construction In Dallas. "Interesting" Roof
World's Smallest Island
Solitary Stove
Too Many Turrets
Multitasking Too Hard
Vault straight out of bed into the tub, then nurse your injuries in the comfy rocking chair
This....
Open Concept Toilet
Kitchen Tub
Wtf Is Up With That Railing?
Addition? What Addition?
This Is A Luxury Hotel In My City (São Paulo, Brazil)
When it was built, everybody was like “ooooh, what an AMAZING piece of architecture!!!!”. It’s supposed to look like a ship, but all I can see is a rotten slice of watermelon. A boyfriend at the time, who was an architect, called me crazy for saying it’s ugly. Am I? It’s called Hotel Unique in case anyone wants to look up and see how weird the rooms look. They have a window between the bed and the bathroom. As for me, I can only see pictures, because it’s insanely expensive to stay there
Universal Design At Its Finest
Silly Shutters
Glad This Is The Back
Driving Down The Street In The Very Fashionable And Pricy West Loop Of Chicago. I Literally Had To Stop Dead In My Tracks To Comprehend And Then Photograph This. So Very Much Wrong
"Available soon: unique apartments at GIRAFFE TOWERS! Book a viewing NOW as this opportunity CANNOT LAST!!"
I Have To Give Them Credit For Utilizing All Of Those Awkward Spaces
The Next Evolution Of Barn Doors Looks Captivating
It's a jail cell door. And looks big enough for kids and pets to get their heads stuck in
A Man's Boat Is His Castle!
This Isn't Ideal
The Only Way This Could Be Worse, I Think, Is If There Was A Sleeping Tawny-Colored Cat Right On The Middle Step
Cult Vibes
I Feel Like The Mason Had A Bad Day Near The Beginning
"Dave, we really shouldn't have let the apprentice work unsupervised. Just knock it down and start again." "Nah, they'll never notice"
If You’re Going To Insist On A Classical Column Wrap, At Least Align The Capital Correctly
Neck Pain And A Head Injury Anyone?
Summoning Infinity
Elevation Challenged
It Might Be A Cyclops
We have a front door, we just don't want anyone to visit us so we had the architect remove the walkway leading to it...
Listed For $1 Million In Austin, Texas (This Is The Front)
This Is A House In Tuscaloosa, Al. It's Near The Uofa Campus, I Assume They Had A Small Lot And Wanted Cram As Many College Kids On It As Possible
That kinda looks like the Amityville Horror House's little sister, who's just as psycho as her older brother. So is her chihuahua, who's right to her in this picture, btw...
Or At Least Someone Who Wasn't Drunk!
I don't mind the painted brick (it's very common in charming old houses in northern Germany - although they tend to be bright white, rather than purple) but the chimney isn't an eye pleaser. Maybe they wanted to draw the attention off it with the crooked porch? They definitely succeeded in that!
The entry's peaked roofed is indeed askew and awry. And easy to fix.
Tub On Wheels
Architects In Philly
Note: this post originally had 93 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Nearly half of these are really fine and a matter of tastes. There are some really impractical and some downright murderous ones though.
Most readers appear to be assuming that these less than ideal design features were designed by amateurs, but a number could have been professionally designed by qualified architects and interior designers. I've seen professionally designed buildings and interiors that are completely unaesthetic.
Many of these pictures have already been seen on this site a lot in the past, and many other are just not that bad.
All those big, wide, open rooms...they beg to be made into a jam room. They just really need a band and some folks to play for.
Why was I picturing people making jam in a dedicated room 🤭
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These all appear to be either the result of a greedy builder with no skill or a designer who has no talent and way too much cash. So sad when there are people actually going to bed hungry.
I love the really bizarre ones and would totally live in one of them as long as there wasn't a worry about building quality.
Nearly half of these are really fine and a matter of tastes. There are some really impractical and some downright murderous ones though.
Most readers appear to be assuming that these less than ideal design features were designed by amateurs, but a number could have been professionally designed by qualified architects and interior designers. I've seen professionally designed buildings and interiors that are completely unaesthetic.
Many of these pictures have already been seen on this site a lot in the past, and many other are just not that bad.
All those big, wide, open rooms...they beg to be made into a jam room. They just really need a band and some folks to play for.
Why was I picturing people making jam in a dedicated room 🤭
Load More Replies... These all appear to be either the result of a greedy builder with no skill or a designer who has no talent and way too much cash. So sad when there are people actually going to bed hungry.
I love the really bizarre ones and would totally live in one of them as long as there wasn't a worry about building quality.
