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

Another factor with home decor is that many people rent, and don’t have the same security of tenure as ownership. Some rental contracts don’t allow as much as a picture hook in the wall without the landlord’s permission. I think that’s a pity really.

I said upthread OP would like our house and it's true that it it's got things in it that tell a story of our lives and interests. Not really our travels because we didn't bring stuff back, but stuff we like.
But the key is that our home isn't about what we want to show somebody else, it's about what we enjoy living in and with, what we feel we need, what we can do without. Our house has nothing in it that is there to show somebody else our lives. Everything in it is for US. Because we are the ones living there. And from everything I have read on this thread, everyone, from the minimalist to the maximalist has a home that they need to work for them. Not the eyes of the visitors, busy or otherwise.

So if our second hand but not antique brown furniture, etc, wouldn't please somebody who likes IKEA stuff, it doesn't matter. They don't live here. If I don't like somebody else's grey walls etc, so what? I don't live there.
The only mistake you can make in home design/decor is to design your home with somebody other than those who live there in mind. If it doesn't work for you, there's no point.
Our homes aren't about telling someone else who we are. They are about doing the best we can with what we have available in finance and time to have a space that suits our needs and wants.

I work FT and have kids. Most people I know do. It doesn’t necessarily mean your aesthetic standards for where you live to come down to ‘Is there ingrained Weetabix or a dead mouse?’ I mean, there’s a lot of ground between ‘chateau de Versailles on a particularly froufrou day’ and ‘Who cares, as long as there are no trip hazards?’

Haha yes, so true!

i looked at Pinterest the other day as I was thinking of painting my living room a certain colour and I wanted to see how it looked on other peoples rooms. Some people are clearly into their accessorising, working out what works with what etc. Thats all very well, but a lot of us work full time and have kids, and so as long as there is no ingrained weetabix on the dining table, dead mice that the cat brought in lingering anywhere or trip hazards on the floor that’s a win. We can live with that. Our houses aren’t boring or soulless, they are joy-filled.

Well not they think you also buy artesan items. You little inferior design guru you. 😄

What part of the OP was polite?

The part where they called other people's homes (including presumably their own family members' and friends'), as soulless? Or when they suggested most people's homes lacked warmth and personality? Or referring to everyone apart from them as materialistic snobs without taste who only care about how big their houses are.

If that's reasonable and polite I wouldn't want to hear your idea of rude?

A reasonable and polite would have been 'What sort of decor does everyone like, personally I'm a big fan of....'
Not 'I like this style and everyone who disagrees is soulless, materialistic and boring.'

Which is not only rude but (for someone so apparently creative and individual) shows an embarrassing lack of critical or imaginative thinking - perhaps lots of people have comparatively minimalistic homes not just because they like them (which in itself is perfectly fine and says nothing about their personality), but because they can't afford lots of overpriced shitty little trinkets which just because they've been marked up in flea markets doesn't mean they weren't themselves mass produced in their country of origin, or move a lot so aren't able to transfer full houses of crap to each new country, or have recently escaped domestic violence, or who grew up in a hoarder's house and have now deliberately gone the other way for their mental health....

It’s also a very ‘narrow view’ that people can a) afford to holiday abroad, b) spend that holiday perusing antique stores and flea markets (I spend mine trying to stop my autistic child from injuring himself, mainly), c) afford to buy furniture there and c) afford to ship it home.
Most of my furniture of from IKEA. Is it what I prefer? No. But my autistic child habitually ruins/breaks things and if it’s from IKEA it
doesn’t matter too much. Do I value space over antiques? With 3 young children, one disabled who needs a lot of his own space, absolutely.
On the other hand, I can’t bring myself to care how others choose to furnish their houses.

I dislike 'stuff' but neither do I look at homes on instagram. I don't feel the need to broadcast my personality through my home either. It's where we relax, and our nearest and dearest know our personalities ( currently my personality is abject rage thanks to menopause ( and/or annoying people 😎)

The space thing I can get behind having brought up our family in a house that was a bit too small for us.

That's a very narrow view

Its no more "narrow" than assuming if you dont have lots of items from abroad in your home then its impersonal and "boring".

To be honest I live in a large period home with many unique and rare pieces, and even I would stand up and say would a ludicous pompous statement

I far prefer actually having fun experiences with my family on holiday rather than spending the time buying "stuff" which I can do just as easily when I'm at home

That's a very narrow view. I holiday alone a lot. No partner, DC grown up (although we do go away together sometimes). Not everyone is mum, dad, 2.4 children.

Part of the fun of a holiday for me is being on the lookout for quirky or unique items I specifically can't get here. So I don't go to big shopping centres or suchlike, which granted are much of a muchness. But I like browsing the places we don't have here. I mix it up with sightseeing etc. I still have plenty of "experiences".

You ship it home. It’s usually inexpensive if you’re happy to wait. And if you think you can find the same things ‘at home’ as you can in a house clearance brocante in the Gers or in a ceramics shop in Lucca, think again

Right, but I dont "need" fancy rare furniture items from abroad to express my personality through my home surely? I have lots of lovely pieces that reflect who I am already in my house. Why this weird need to get stuff specifically from abroad? and what about people who cant afford to travel- do they not have personalised homes?

the majority of the ones I see (in RL and online) tend to be very boring with no personality whatsoever and people mainly seem to be focussed on buying the biggest possible places with their money and then upgrading/extending etc rather than enjoying what they have and make it “theirs”.

this is about envy for large houses.

I do remember though posting a couple of Rightmove links to lovely fresh 'done up' looking homes here in Bath that were in the posters budget- done up but still 'with old features' only for people to say they looked a bit 'soulless' -looked lovely to me - decor is one of those things that really is a very individual thing - and money often comes into it too- if it looks like a vision of Ikea/dunelm it's possibly because someone is trying to create a lovely comfortable home 'on a budget'

You ship it home. It’s usually inexpensive if you’re happy to wait. And if you think you can find the same things ‘at home’ as you can in a house clearance brocante in the Gers or in a ceramics shop in Lucca, think again.

I like a bit of both- I do like books and music and as we work in music we have tons of it. Walls full of it in fact. I like candles and framed posters on walls etc - I also like big open spaces - don't like loads of tiny rooms .

However I have a H that never puts stuff away so my coffee table has my magazines on it plus bits of Hs job - as does dining table -it drives me nuts

I find a lot of people who have newer houses often tend to have less clutter , partly taste, partly storeage and usually liking ''clean lines' -

Same here- most flea market stuff or "souvenirs" are just tacky rubbish anyway. Cant be arsed to cart all that back home in my luggage.

As for amazing antique finds like an antique dresser or a reclaimed wood side table- how on earth would you get those things home, you cant carry them onto the airplane. You can buy that stuff online in your own country and literally get it delivered to your house.

I far prefer actually having fun experiences with my family on holiday rather than spending the time buying "stuff" which I can do just as easily when I'm at home.

For me personally, me pet peeve is spotlights. I find them so clinical. If I were in the market to buy a house, I'd have to calculate the cost of having them all taken out and replaced, ceiling made good etc. Likewise where people have got rid of the bath and just have a shower. That would cost a lot to reverse.

Walls can be painted over. Furniture and decor items would be removed by the previous owner. So I'm happy to look past that stuff.

Did she say she’s kids?

Agree! If I’m on holiday I’m doing stuff, not wading through local shops to buy shite to bring home. Ditto ‘flea markets’. Seriously, what do your kids do when you are buying this stuff? Would they not rather you were spending time with them?

locally produced crafts, not junk you buy in the souvenir shops, btw.

I've seen an awful amount of junk in so called artisan shops labelled 'locally produced crafts', horses for courses, one person's junk is another person's precious crafted piece.

Looking on line at potential new places, the minute I see the words 'recently renovated' I mentally factor in the cost of un-greying everything! If I'd wanted to live in all grey I would have joined the Navy and lived on a battleship, frigate grey should be a F&B colour.

So what? Exactly my point.
You are not the original poster I replied to. But they were complaining that people were determined to put the OP down/claim she acted superior just because her tastes were seemingly 'unique'.
My answer was that she started it! People were simply responding in kind.
Also you are agreeing with me that OP is painting herself as superior. PP I replied to, said that she wasn't she was just 'giving an opinion'.
The irony of saying that, but also complaining that others were getting offended when they're also merely giving their opinion on the shiteness of OP's taste/attitude isn't lost on me 🤣🤣🤣