The 9 period features you don't want to find when buying a house, including 70s nightmare

• Sought-after period features like Victorian fireplaces and ceiling roses can add value to your home
• But other features showing your property’s age can be less desirable - even if they were once the height of fashion
• Below are some of the vintage home design touches you probably don’t want to find

Estate agents love to talk about a property’s charming period features.

Sought-after touches like ornate ceiling roses, beautiful Victorian fireplaces and colourful stained glass windows often leave homebuyers swooning.

But not all period features are equal, and some which were once all the craze have fallen dramatically out of fashion.

While few people turn their noses up at Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian-era stylings, the same cannot be said of some home design ‘crimes’ of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

Below are some of these ‘period’ features you probably don’t want to find when buying a house.

If you do inherit any of these, you could rip it out but you might learn to love it or simply bide your time and wait for it to come back in vogue.

Pebbledash walls

Pebbledash first became popular between the 1920s and 1950s, when builders would often slap a mixture of concrete and small stones onto walls to cover up poor brickwork.

Some people like the look but many don’t and in 2006, a report claimed that pebbledash could wipe up to five per cent from a property’s value.

Woodchip wallpaper

This is another home design crime of the 1970s, when it was seen as a quick and low-cost way to cover walls - sometimes used to hide imperections.

Textured wallpaper has fallen out of fashion, and it can be difficult to remove.

Avocado bathroom suites

Avocado green baths, basins and toilets were popular during the 70s and 80s, when bold colours were all the rage - long before avocados themselves became a staple in the nation’s kitchens.

Today, most homeowners want a plain - some might say boring - white bathroom suite.

Popcorn ceilings

Popcorn, or stipple, ceilings were particularly popular in UK homes during the 1960s and 70s.

Today, they divide opinion, with some people liking the effect while others hate the look and find them a nightmare to clean.

If the popcorn ceiling was added before 1999, when the use of absbestos was fully banned in the UK, then there’s a chance it contains the hazardous material so it’s important to seek advice before attempting to remove the effect.

Stone fireplace

These were added to many homes during the 1950s and 70s, but today they divide opinion.

While brick and wooden fireplaces can lend a touch of elegance to your living room, stone fireplaces are a bolder choice and many people dislike the look, though others are fans.

Sunken floors

Sunken living rooms were a big home design trend between the 1950s and 70s, before falling out of fashion.

Some people feel such ‘conversation pits’ add character, creating a cosy feel to the room, and they are starting to make a comeback.

But others view them as dated and impractical, especially with younger children or older people to whom they may pose a trip hazard.

Serving hatches

These were a popular feature in UK homes during the 1950s and 60s, admired at the time for their convenience.

They made dinner parties at the time more sociable affairs, enabling the hosts to chat to guests while preparing food in the kitchen.

Serving hatches have fallen victim to the modern trend for open plan kitchen/dining rooms.

Shag carpets

These were added to many homes during the 60s and 70s, and it’s easy to see why when you’re luxuriating in the comfort of the deep, thick pile.

But the modern trend is for wooden floors, which, while unarguably less comfortable, are at least much easier to clean.

Curtain pelmets

These are still found in many homes but are not as common as they were in the 1980s, when their popularity peaked.

Some people feel they add a touch of glamour but others find them overly showy and dated.

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