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

I am a maximalist that loves colour gallery walls and antique furniture, so I know a lot of people would hate my home. I love dark navy with gold accents. My PIL have a very modern grey and white home and I hate it. I hate renting as everything is white

Yes I do.

I know people whose white-painted living rooms contain a humungous TV and 2 black leather sofas. They like technology, I like antiques, paintings, books.

Each to their own, but I would hate that pared-down style.

A friend of mine was in Health and Safety and part of her role involved policing the clear desk policy in her workplace. There were five things you were allowed to have on your desk, in exact spots. She said it was the most depressing job she’d ever had.

@DancingLions totally agree.

What's restful & calming for some is depressing as hell for me. I just couldn't live without colour, texture & things around me.

And no, I don't live in cluttered chaos but neither do I live in a visually sterile environment.

My cousins house is v bare & to me it's cold & unwelcoming- nothing to do with actual temperature as its a warm house. But I feel uncomfortable in it. To me it looks like she's literally just moved in & she's been there years.

I love beautiful fabrics - cushions & throws & rugs etc

It is interesting what inspires calm in people.

I find that without colour I get really depressed. My last office I worked in was all white, grey carpet and chairs, white desks with a clear desk policy, fluorescent lights and barely any windows. God I felt so depressed there. Likewise stayed with a relative at her partners house. Again all grey and white, nothing on the walls or surfaces. I was there a week and I felt really low by the end of it.

I need colour and "things" on a large scale! A "pop" of colour isn't enough.

Yep. They always have little gold handles that are broken.

l did once stay in an amazing arts and crafts b and b. It was stunning, but all the furniture was beautiful and clean and fully restored.

l also hate that smell from ‘antique’ furniture, l won’t put clothes in it.

Anything with ‘bun’ feet is another hate

l once had the huge misfortune to stay somewhere that had soft toy pixies safety pinned all over the curtains. I’ve never recovered from that..

The worst are "antique" chests of drawers or wardrobes that are basically just old and past it rather than having an "antique" value. The doors don't close properly (and the catches are usually broken) and the drawers don't "slide", you have to give them a massive pull/push to open and close them. Basically, just bought from junk shops to make it look "period charm" but they're a sodding nightmare. Give me Ikea ones that actually work any day!

The old stuff also feels and looks dirty and grimy and often smelly too. At least with modern plastic coated ones, they're easy to clean and feel clean!

If there are lots of ornaments, I usually collect them and put them in a cupboard and leave them there. No doubt it annoys the owners/cleaners who have to put them back, but they're just cheap nasty clutter - anything valuable wouldn't be left in a holiday let! Especially nasty are the artificial flowers in naff plastic vases - straight into the cupboard - especially as they're dust gatherers!

This!

Any orange pine or cluttered ornaments never gets past me.

It's the same with holiday homes that we look to book. I steer away from those with loads of contents, bright colour schemes, old furniture, etc., and only book those with clean lines, neutral colours, no clutter, modern simple furniture etc. We've stayed in "period" holiday lets and those with lots of furnishings/paintings/ornaments etc., and I absolutely hate them. They're hardly ever cleaned properly, drawers/cupboard doors usually don't close properly, loads of dusty ornaments, etc. No thanks.

I don't like "stuff"

I lead a very busy life, we don't have time to be moving trinkets and ornaments around a couple of times a week to polish and clean properly. Houses that are full of treasures as you describe make my brain feel messy, i couldn't live like that and i certainly coundn't sleep if my house was like that.

Ditto.

I find cluttered spaces stressful. I say side eyeing the summer holiday mayhem. And the last thing I want to do is spend more time cleaning and moving stuff around.

Yet you and others are "looking down" on people with minimalist/clinical homes? That's the irony!

@PigeonFeatherInMyChair the rest is just amusing ourselves to waste time because there are no bears to hide from I love this!! and also so true

Exactly!! I get overloaded with too much in my house, I need a clean minimalist look to feel calm. Too many items around the house makes me feel chaotic. Too many colours makes my eyes hurt.

😁nailed it

I do enjoy watching home makeover shows and Grand Design , Location location location, love it or list it and all that .
I don’t think I have a “ style “ maybe because we lived in many very different homes ( had to rent a few different homes while overseas )
All these homes had different features , were from different eras , had different light if you know what I mean .
So the furniture we had been provided with , we added a few small pieces to that and had our family personal possessions too .
I’d say our current home ( we own it ) isn’t exactly what I’d choose in an ideal world but it mostly works for us and it’s calm with muted colours as I like the look and while we have books and ornaments , it isn’t cluttered 🤔
I can’t have certain things on some window sills because the dog might knock them off 🤪🤣
It is also about compromise and practicality as we all need to agree on the decor and soft furnishings.

Having read part of this thread I walked round my kitchen/ dining / family room and I wondered if I could get rid of any item .
But since I could remember where and when each item was bought or gifted to me , I would hesitate to give anything away .
I love the Scandi look , love the cottage look , love the Japanese aesthetic.
i also admire those who have bold colour pieces of furniture in their home too

Surely it's about how the house makes you feel? If Anna feels a sense of calm and peace in her empty white rooms and Barbara feels connected and loved in her rooms filled with ornaments then as long as they are haply and getting what they want everyone else's opinions are worthless.

Miaow.

I was responding to the idea that a house should ‘show your personality’. To who? You don’t need to show it to yourself, do you? I have an actual personality to show my personality to others, I don’t need my house to do it.
You know there’s a whole multitude of decor choices in between grey/greige and ‘thing filled houses’? I hate clutter and I hate grey.

Judgement, comparison and perception training are built in to the bones of 'individual taste'. See Bourdieu's book Distinction!

👌
This, I have a friend whose house is full of interesting objects - I love it!! Each item has a story, so interesting!
But I couldn't live there, it would be visual stimulation overload for me, I need visual calm to feel relaxed, so my apparently boring house is a soothing oasis.
Also I like easy cleaning and ornaments are like speed bumps in the dusting road.

I have other outlets for my personality.

Other peoples’ property fascinates me. I love to see how homes have been altered and to garner ideas regarding decoration and colour schemes, furniture etc.
As others have said, many homes are depersonalised and ‘sanitised’ when prepped for sale. It’s a sad fact the less ‘clutter’ and subtler the colour palate the more chance of sales success but then being honest an overly bright kitchen or bathroom suite can affect my view on purchase too.
Look at the predominant choice of car colour to ascertain we are in a very restrained period decor wise, fashion trends will no doubt dictate we all ‘brighten up’ in time.
I do understand what you mean though OP, with my slightly nomadic current expat life we are super careful to ensure we have enough distinctive ‘pieces’ to ensure the new place looks and feels like our home immediately.

But why would it be for other people’s benefit? If those who like bland, grey-walled Next minimalism do so to suit themselves, why wouldn’t people who like more thing-filled houses be equally decorating their houses for themselves?