47 Atrocious Before And After Home Renovation Pics That Prove Money Can’t Buy Good Taste
I spent years working for a contractor, and I’ll tell you the part of the job nobody warns you about: it’s not the long hours or the drywall dust. It’s standing in a gorgeous 1920s home — original millwork, solid oak floors, a fireplace with hand-laid tile — and being handed plans to rip it all out and replace it with gray vinyl plank and a wall of greige.
I lost count of how many beautiful houses we “renovated” into oblivion. Houses with character, craftsmanship, and details you literally cannot buy anymore, gutted so they could look like every flipped listing on Zillow.
The clients always had money. What they didn’t have was taste. And I learned the hard way that those two things have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
So when I found the Crime Designs account on TikTok (@crimedesigns), I felt more than a little vindicated. Finally, someone documenting these architectural felonies — before-and-after photos of homes that went from timeless to lifeless, from classic to characterless, from actual design to a beige box with an open floor plan and a barn door for some reason.
What follows are some of the worst offenders. Pour one out for the crown molding. It deserved better.
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