27/09/2026
I'm sure I've heard it said before, but if I haven't, I'm going to take ownership of the saying:
"If you want to test the strength of your relationship, do some DIY together." I'll extend that to renovating a house together as well!
And if you don't believe me, head down to your local DIY store on a Saturday morning. It won't take long before you witness an argument between a couple, usually with one of them gripping an abused tape measure while all rational communication has broken down.
Luckily, my wife and I have been through, and come out the other side of, a house renovation. We're still doing projects though, and our latest was an outdoor kitchen.
Funnily enough, the problem this time wasn't our lack of teamwork.
It was AI.
The kit we bought showed a continuous L-shaped stainless steel worktop with matching base units. Simple enough.
What actually arrived was anything but! The units were different depths and heights, the worktop had batten dividers and it was, quite frankly, an entirely different beast to the advert online.
On closer inspection, we discovered the advert image was AI generated.
By day two I wanted to burn the lot.
My wife calmed me down and we persevered. It now looks great, but we basically had to redesign it and spend over £100 on extra bits to make it work.
I'll spare you the details of the 'lively' email my wife sent the company, but hats off to her, the refund was impressive.
But it still left a very bitter taste in my mouth though.
The expectations were high because of the advert, the cost wasn't cheap and the reality was incredibly disappointing. If we'd known what we were actually buying, we wouldn't have bought it.
And that got me thinking about property and how do you feel about AI being used to advertise a house?
Personally, I'm not a fan.
I've said it many times, including on a viewing yesterday, I want my properties to look honest online.
The advert should set an expectation that is, at the very least, met when someone walks through the front door. Ideally, the reality should exceed it.
I've noticed a couple of properties this week where the grass has clearly been 'AI-ed' to make it look lush and perfect. You can even see the real brown lawn through the window in one of the internal photographs!
Perhaps that's an innocent bit of Photoshop.
But what about virtual furniture and digital staging?
Don't get me wrong, a furnished house always looks far better. Furniture gives rooms purpose, helps people understand how they might use the space and gives them a sense of scale.
But AI generated furniture has become so good that sometimes it's difficult to tell what's real and what isn't.
And that's where I think the problem starts.
The advert might look fantastic, but if a buyer hasn't realised they're looking at a digitally created image, what happens when they walk through the door and find an entirely empty room/house?
That initial balloon of expectation has been popped, and you can't undo that.
AI has, and will continue to have, some amazing uses for all of us.
But when it comes to seeing a house online, what do you think?
A-ey or A-no?
Happy 'real' Sunday everyone 😎
