To think a lot of homes are “soulless” and all people care about is size?

I personally can't bear clutter and tat . A house full of stuff from a flea market would have me on edge, all that dust! No thank you.
I'm not that interested in decor, I like my home to be neat, tidy and functional, not a trip hazard!
Each to their own. Luckily I'm not as judgemental as OP 🙄

My dad refers to lots of pretty knicknacks as "froo froo", pointless stuff.

Twice I have stayed briefly with gay men whose homes were stuffed with froofroo. One of them had travelled around the world, had multiple careers, met Prince Charles, he had such an interesting history & many of his things were beautiful. All nicely dust free, I add. His garden was also stuffed with plant pots, he just liked lots of stuff. But he said he needed to downsize & I think he was going to struggle knowing what stuff to keep.

I will have a soul-less house because I'm kind of indifferent about sentimental stuff. I want to find my stuff, I want useful stuff, I have too much useful stuff so I'm not going to have additional stuff just because it's pretty or memorable. I don't care about decor.

Genuinely astounded the op started a thread saying she can’t beleive folks buy big houses and don’t decorate to her personal taste.

i mean seriously/ 😂

Me too. I dont like loads of clutter in my house - it makes me feel anxious. I like seeing wide open spaces, its mentally calming and attractive to me.

Having bits and bobs from flea markets everywhere doesnt indicate "soul" to me in any shape or form. People can have whatever the fck they want in their own home and a lack of clutter certainly doesnt indicate a lack of soul LOL

OP you're a superior person with exquisite taste that has been crafted through years of independent travel.

Happy now?

Or maybe you're just a snob. I'm not sure.

My house is probably to your approval. I have spent a lot of time thinking very carefully about how to decorate my house and it's been a slow process. I've inherited some furniture, trawled flea markets and antique shops for others and my home is full of things I love and reflect our lives, interests and personalities.

However, much as I wouldn't or couldn't live in a grey box and find a lot of what's fashionable soulless, I try very hard not to judge. People like what they like and they live with what makes them happy.

I do wonder if the relative cheapness of redecorating and the transient nature of our lives means that people's homes are just a reflection of how we live now. Gone I suppose are the times of owning one house you worked your life for and filled with your worldly goods. My grandparents' generation all lived in houses of hand me down furniture and adored trinkets, Methodist embroideries and hand made rag rugs. It was all so individual and hard won. Everything mended and cherished and little thrown away. I acknowledge of course that it was also bloody hard work and money being tight and no free access to other options was so hard. But it does play a part into the way we live.

There's a conversation to be had about this social change but the tone of your op will just attract a lot of knee jerk ire.

It's horses for courses really. Some people don't want to put in a lot of time and energy and just look around for what's popular and do that, which is fair enough.

The same way some people like to drive nice cars and keep them pristine, whereas, while we could afford a nice car if we wanted to, we just consider it a thing to get us from A to B so we drive around in a battered 2nd hand tin box we've had for nearly ten years, it's just not where we put our effort in life.

The oddest home I’ve ever been in was that of some neighbours from years ago. We thought they had just moved in (as had we) the first time we were in their house, because other than the furniture, no possessions at all were evident. The hall didn’t have any stray shoes or keys or bags on the hall stand, there were no pictures on any walls, the kitchen had completely bare work surfaces and table, not even a fruit bowl or mug tree (kettle taken from a drawer and returned to it), the dining room had a long table and ten chairs, and bare walls. So far, so minimal, you might say, but their taste wasn’t at all ‘minimal’ — it was chintzy floral fabrics, flouncy patterned blinds and curtains, elaborately-patterned wallpaper, patterned carpets. Is minimalist cottagecore a thing?

Your soulless is my carefully considered

Your personality is my stress inducing “stuff”

Does anyone else feel this way about home decor?

No.
I hate clutter. It attracts dust and makes me feel claustrophobic.

I grew up in a house that was so full of clutter and dust. I prefer light and airy and spacious.

That said my house does not look like a show home. I have bookshelves filled with books, photos, paintings, plants etc, but I don't have clutter.

@Spicegirl1234 You do you, but please don't judge other people's home decor preferences.

I think having a strong, independent interior design style is quite difficult and not very common (just like a lot of people don’t have a strong sense of personal fashion style and tend to wear whatever is convenient, comfortable and smart).

yep

I think some people have a knack for making a house into a home. Most don’t.

My late mother’s homes and gardens were always admired, from the large 6 bedroom house I grew up in to the two bedroom flat she bought after her divorce. The opposite was my best friend’s very wealthy parents’ house when I was growing up. It would probably cost £20 million today but was utterly soulless and children weren’t allowed in the living room except for special occasions.

I like to think my house it tasteful and homely, but doesn’t everyone?! The thing is that we all have different taste.

I think the most important thing is to make a home your own. Interior decorators do the polar opposite of that and generally create generic flashy homes, the opposite of homely.

But size does matter! You can redecorate a house easily. Increasing size (and especially room dimensions and ceiling heights) is far harder.

@Frasers Im sure some do, I think many think they like something simply because it’s popular.

There is a strong trend for minimalism at the moment. It’s not my style but it works for lots of people. These things go in and out of fashion, it will change again. There are already signs of it on social media - people moving towards deep, moody greens and blues, lots more curated-looking objects etc. In another few years everyone’s houses will look like that.

I think having a strong, independent interior design style is quite difficult and not very common (just like a lot of people don’t have a strong sense of personal fashion style and tend to wear whatever is convenient, comfortable and smart).

I also like a home which shows personality and individuality but I recognise how easy it is for those things to just become disjointed clutter.

Whenever I see sales particulars for houses they often look very similar to one another and, to me, quite bland. But they’re usually also calm, organised, and easy to maintain. I can see why those things are attractive.

No, I don’t think that’s true at all. I think there’s been an absolute explosion of interest in home decor and a lot of women, particularly, get really into their mood-boards and Pinterest pages and buying decorative items.

So your taste is different from others !

Thank goodness we all like different things or life would be interminably dull. 😀

Lots of stuff makes me stressed. I like art of the walls. I'm fine with second hand furniture from different eras. But I am not into lots of objects everywhere in my home.

Obviously if that's how someone else wants their home and they achieve it, I am happy for them.

I'm not sure I understand why this bothers you so much! Maybe I don't get out enough because I'm hardly ever in other people's homes; if I'm there, I'm visiting friends/relatives and not staring at the decor.

I have one of those boring houses. I genuinely couldn’t care less about decor or my home having personality. My home is warm, clean and practical and probably 90% furnished by IKEA. I would always value space over character. I do “enjoy” my home, whatever that means, but I don’t view it as an extension of my personality.

Frankly I’m very grateful we have a comfortable home. It seems immensely privileged to even have a decent home, much less the means to be travelling around the world picking up knick knacks in flea markets. Or the family to have family hierlooms. That’s just not reality for many people, surely.

A lot for sale around here are so grey, like carpets, sofa, wallpaper etc. Every room.
I prefer each room to have a different colour and I realise that's my personal taste but I just look at them all on Rightmove and my first thought tends to be "nice house but I will would have to redecorate every room".

I think if it's homes you're looking at that have been 'neutralised' in order to sell, it can feel this way. My house is tiny, full of colour and pictures and items from my past. It makes it feel like home. But I'd definitely have to put everything in storage and 'greige' the place to ever sell it.

I have nice personal pictures up etc but cluttered surfaces and knickknacks make me feel stressed and if my bedroom is messy or cluttered it affects my sleep (I can get weird dreams where I think objects are creatures or people or other things 🙄) I think it might be a sensory overload thing too.
also much easier to clean if surfaces are clear

Or maybe they just like that style?

You'd like mine 😉 bookshelves with other stuff, my own paintings in the walls, musical instruments, fluffy blankets and cushions in bright colours, art stuff out on my painting table, the cat on the back of the sofa.

It's just how I live. I can't be any other way.

Lots of people don’t have much imagination or confidence it’s why so many houses on instagram are the same and then copied in real life.