Better to be ugly than to be boring.
That’s the motto proudly displayed in the bio of the iconic Instagram account Ugly Belgian Houses. Over the years, we’ve featured the page plenty of times, and judging by how much love you’ve shown it, pandas, their philosophy seems to hold true. So today, we’re taking it a step further with a special tribute to some of its best (or worst, depending on how you see it) posts.
If this is your first encounter with Belgium’s most questionable architecture, brace yourself. If you’ve been following along, let’s take a trip down memory lane. But most importantly, upvote the pics so we can pick the ultimate favorites together!
#1 Malebox
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#2 Felix Da Housecat
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I don’t know about you, but when I think of Belgian architecture, the first thing that comes to mind is the 2008 comedy thriller In Bruges. Specifically, the hot-headed gangster boss Harry Waters and his obsession with the city. He describes it as a “fairytale town”—the canals, cobbled streets, and historic churches, all that picturesque “fairytale stuff.” “How can that not be somebody’s f-ing thing, eh?” he exclaims, completely baffled that anyone wouldn’t love it.
#3 When U Wanted To Live In A Fairytale But You Chose To Live In Shrek’s Swamp House
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#4 Architect: ‘What Kind Of Windows Would You Like?’ Client: ‘Yes’
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But Ugly Belgian Houses, the project started by freelance digital creative Hannes Coudenys in 2012, has nothing to do with medieval architecture like that of Bruges. Instead, it documents—well, shames—modern homes that defy traditional categorization but share one undeniable trait: they’re hideous.
#5 Aah Weekend
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#6 Game Of Stones
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#7 Welcome To My Shiteau!
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In The Architectural Review, Coudenys himself calls Belgium a “nightmarish architectural Legoland” where “everything is possible” and “everything is permitted.” Unlike the Netherlands, where inspectors regulate how homes are built, Belgium offers near-total freedom in architectural design. “Except it feels as if you’re stepping on Lego blocks the whole time. An excruciating torture which can only be endured if you are Belgian.”
#8 Cut My House In To Pieces This Is My Last Carport
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#9 When You’ve Got The Cheapest Street In Monopoly But You Bought Two Hotels
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#10 🎵 Our Street In The Middle Of Our House 🎵
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But what exactly makes a house ugly by Coudenys’ standards? We know boring doesn’t count. Beyond that, his criteria are broad. He dislikes house facades that resemble faces—“grimacing in terrible anthropomorphic glee at its equally bad neighbors.” He’s also not a fan of pharaoh statues, gnomes, or any kind of terrible sculpture. Ridiculous mailboxes? Definitely not his thing either.
#11 When You Have A Beautiful Belgian House But You Really Want To Be On My Website
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#12 Ugly Belgian House On A Budget
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#13 Textures Loading
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As a Kyiv native, I completely understand Coudenys’ frustration. Ukraine’s capital boasts plenty of stunning architecture, but after suffering heavy destruction in World War II, its reconstruction led to a strange mix of styles—contrasting neoclassicism, Soviet brutalism, and everything in between.
#14 Reminds Me Of 'The Scream' By Edvard Munch And That's Exactly What I'm Doing
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#15 I Wanted To Include A Joke About Carpentry But I Didn't Think It Wood Work
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#16 I Need That Emoji
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Things only got worse when high-rise apartment buildings—9, 16, even 20 stories tall—became the go-to choice for investors and developers. Their sheer size allowed for more apartments (and bigger profits), but they were often built in an overwhelmingly dystopian manner, stacked on top of one another and destroying the skyline. And to make matters even more depressing? They’re not just ugly—they’re boring.
#17 Ugly Belgian House
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#18 Looks Like Frodo Finally Settled Down In The Suburbs
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#19 Say Cheese!
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One thing Ukraine does have in common with Belgium, though, is a lack of architectural regulation. That’s why high-rises keep appearing in places where they clearly shouldn’t. However, large-scale developments aren’t the only issue—Kyivans, and Ukrainians in general, take plenty of liberties with their own properties. This has led to some truly curious choices, like our nationwide obsession with balcony extensions.
#20 My House When You Came In The Backdoor
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#21 By Frank Lloyd Wrong
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#22 Ugly Belgian Houses. Literally
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These extensions pop up on all kinds of buildings, old and new, all in an effort to turn balconies into extra storage rooms. The problem is, the execution is often horrendous. Imagine a beautiful early 20th-century building with a clunky metal-and-plastic box pasted onto it. It’s chaotic. It’s bizarre. And yet, in some strange way, it’s uniquely ours. Personally, I have an inexplicable fondness for them, though they also make my eyes bleed.
#23 Don’t Say Cottage To Gothage
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#24 Architect: What Do You Want Guy: Legs Of A LEGO Man Architect: Say No More Fam
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#25 Insane The Spain
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At the end of the day, taste is subjective. Every architectural choice, no matter how strange, is cherished by someone. For them, it’s not ugly—it’s unique. One-of-a-kind. Eccentric. Maybe even fun. But whether you love them or hate them, one thing is certain: they get people talking. And that, more than anything, is what matters. Because in the world of architecture, the one thing worse than being ugly is being boring.
#26 Slide 🎶 To The Left
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#27 No, Your Other Left
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#28 Windows Not Installed
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#29 Angrytecture
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#30 Mayday Mayday! The East Wall Is Sinking!
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#31 If Snake And Tetris Made A Baby
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#32 Please Restart Windows
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#33 Purple Pain
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#34 D. I. Why?
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#35 Go Home House, You’re Drunk
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#36 Shiteau
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#37 When You’re On A Field Trip And You Loose The Rest Of Your Group
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#38 For That Cosy Under The Bridge Feeling
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#39 Pytagorage
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#40 It Is In The Darkness That One Finds The Sh**e
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#41 When You Wipe Your Architecture Too Hard
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#42 When Windows 10 Keeps Randomly Crashing And Freezing
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#43 What Is That Thing?
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#44 Keep Your Distance People
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#45 50% Shades Of Grey
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#46 At Least The Neighbors Have A C View
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#47 When Your Architect Fell Asleep
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#48 Even The Neighbours Are Scared
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#49 I’m Not Supporting This. Just Like Those Columns
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#50 The Roof, The Roof, The Roof Has Expired
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