I've never liked laundry pairs where the dryer is wider than the washer, it makes an otherwise matched pair look a little un-matched. I also dislike most woodgrain on control consoles, in particular the 1-18s, as nobody would use real wood in such fussy patterns. One of the first rules of designing using materials wisely is to use any artificial material in the same manner as you'd use the real thing. "Garage door" Lady Kenmores are some of the better designs using fake woodgrain but they are an exception. Modern consoles with swirly or wave-like designs marching randomly across the front are another dislike, why can't buttons and knobs be presented in an elegant fashion with a nice surface behind them? Frigidaire in the early '60s had probably the prettiest of all.
Regarding steering wheel controls on cars, I really hate them because the relative position changes when the wheel rotates. I can't count the number of times I've made an emergency maneuver in the VW to avoid someone else doing something stupid and hit the horn only to get nothing because the actual button isn't in the center of the wheel, probably due to the airbag. It's below the center identified by a tiny embossed horn that can't be seen without a careful look. In the straight ahead position it works but twirl the wheel in an emergency and you'll never see it. My Saab had buttons on the spokes that worked better but were too easy to hit when looking backwards to parallel park. Give me an old-fashioned stalk and I'm happy. Citroen had my absolute favorite for many years on the right side of the column, it rotated to turn the lights on, flicked back and forth to dim them, and you pushed in for the horn. A little push got the town horns, a big push town and country horns, and if you did the big push and held it you got town horns, country horns and the compressor for the air horns would cycle. Nobody could miss those!
