Are show homes a new thing for people?

[Dojasayso]

Just musing through Instagram and I realised something.. most people's homes are borderline show home standard.

It's not a put down because my home is the same in terms of cleaning and nice decor with a lot of effort, time and expense.

But I growing up I don't remember the being as standard? I remember fridge magnets, pictures, ornaments etc.
I remember friends houses having carpets that don't match the sofas and a rug that was gifted 10 years ago that doesn't match the home but families kept anyway.

But now I can't think of a single friend or acquaintance with such a mis matched home.

Of course there were home fashions but these weren't the default standard in most homes.

Of course the grey homes with mirrored furniture were a thing (I hated that trend). But even so, people put a lot of money and time into creating that imagine.

I don't remember people putting as much into their home decor years ago.

Now most people I know have gorgeously decorated homes where things match and even family photos are up in black and white with stylish frames.

Is it a new thing to have a show home type house? What do you think has caused it?

I think it may be due to social media?

@fellrunner85

There's a social class aspect to this that I've noticed.

I'm working class, DH is much more upper middle class. The houses of my friends where I grew up are "show homes" of the type described - lots of grey, mirrors, crushed velvet, candles and artfully displayed photographs, no real "stuff" anywhere. Just as their parents and grandparents took great pride in their homes and kept them clean and tidy, they do the same. The difference is that now working class/lower middle class people can also afford new furniture as well; with the likes of Dunelm doing cheap stuff, and everything being available on credit. I have friends on minimum wage who will happily buy £3k sofas on credit, whereas their parents would've had to make do with the same one for decades.

By contrast, in the circles my DHs family move in, people don't need to prove themselves through their homes. There's much more of a cluttered arty/academic look going on. Nothing is matchy-matchy; there are piles of stuff all over the place, and a much more "lived in" feel.

Obviously these are generalisations, and there are exceptions ... but seeing so many of my friends from school creating the "perfect" clean and tidy home does remind me of the attitide my very working class gran used to have, as she obsessively polished my school shoes to the perfect shine when I was little.

Inclined to agree with you. I'd rather work with what I have and don't feel it necessary to replace it unless it is broken etc.Some of it is given to us from the family.

We are decorating the bedrooms atm and may buy some new stuff when IKEA reopens

I agree with the PP, there's a class element to it. Often lower middle class, typically moved up the housing ladder and onto new housing estates, will have that show home look. It's a bit like my nan's generation when everyone used to scrub their front steps in the streets of terraced houses. But now as things are cheaper people can afford to do more than just scrub the steps; their homes are a great source of pride to them. Whereas upper middle classes or "old money" are more likely to have mismatched "cluttered" houses. Aesthetically I prefer a more eclectic look and find the show home look very cold and sterile - but each to their own. Also, the type of people who put pictures of their houses on Insta are not representative of most people so there are a lot more people with shit tip.houses that we just never see.

@Mygardenisnotperfect

I have to say that these days I breathe a huge sigh of relief when I go round to someone’s house and realise that’s it is “normal” in the way I remember everyone’s houses being in the 70s and 80s!

I have different grades of tidying up... C) my similarly scatty friends, clear some where to sit, vacuum the crumbly bits, floors fairly clear B) my family, clear most surfaces A) in-laws, a weekclearing out the corners and actually putting things in the right place.

Come May, I'll need to phase invitations up the ranks in the absence of an IL level clean for nearly 18m

My home is full of stuff, ornaments and nick nacks, pictures given by family members, toys etc. The rooms have a vague colour scheme but I’ll find purple cushions on a blue sofa, stuff moved all over the place. For me it’s more important that my home is lived in, we have furniture I like, that it’s not a show home. It’s clean and sometimes even tidy but definitely lived in.

I do know what the OP means, and I have friends whose houses are matching, colour schemed and look lovely but it’s not for me.

Mine is a bit of a junk shop and that's how I like it. Nothing matches, nothing was bought new except the fridge, council carpet, piles of books and stacks of tins with stuff stored in. I know where everything is and it's always clean but it's no show home.

Genuinely, I have never stepped foot in a 'show home' type house. I've never (been aware of) knowing anyone with a house of the sort you describe, nor do I see them on social media (because it filters by your/friends interests). This crosses from people entirely on benefits, to someone with both old money and 500k+ a year.

I reckon it's just self selecting confirmation bias. You see it as normal OP, because you are friends with people with similar tastes/life style to you. I have not seen it for the same reason. It might be becoming more common with a social media, image and consumption obsessed society, but it's certainly not every house.

In this room I have:
2 grubby blue sofas from FB market place
Blinds made from my son's old curtains
A painting by a friend
An IKEA cheapo tv table
Patchwork blankets
A tiny side table that was £3 from the junk shop
4 million books.

I only really use handmade, repurposed or second hand things- not a style choice but it's cheap! I suppose it vaguely matches but I've chosen for love not match.

I think it's the opposite in real life. Everyone I know has lively houses with everything matching but I did home deliveries for a while and was absolutely amazed at how most people lived with mismatched carpets, curtains, most looked like they hadn't been decorated for years and this was big and small. Took me aback a bit tbh

As a kid in the 80’s, I remember our Fancy New Neighbour having an interior designed “do” her house. She asked for my old, outgrown wellies (“but please keep the mud on”) to go in her front porch, alongside the leather riding boots also bought for display.

They did have proper amounts of New Money though.

IMO the “look” is just very different now than it was then. The equivalent of slightly stark minimalist houses now would be all pelmets and swagged curtains in patterned taffeta with roman blinds held up by ribbony things, and artistic faux clutter (eg herbs drying from kitchen ceiling rather than clothes drying!).

I love interior design but it has to show individualism and personality of the people who live there.
Our stuff is a mix of beloved bits and pieces that we've collected over the years, plus stuff from salvage yards, army surplus, fb market place, holidays, as well as a bit of the Range, b and m, Next etc. I'm not snobby at all where I buy from.
Only question is do I or dp love it?
We have no niknaks or chintz and no curtains, only blinds.
Lots of natural materials - stone, metal, wood and comfy seating.

Hotels are nice to stay in on holiday but I wouldn’t want to live in one. Hence I like my home to be a home. It’s clean and tidy (I don’t have young DC or a partner, that’s why!) but I have ornaments, things I’ve picked up on my travels and the like, I have colour on the walls and furniture pieces that compliment each other rather than match. I absolutely love my home. Lockdown has made me appreciate it even more. I don’t need anyone else to like it because they don’t live here!

I don’t like it when homes look overly designed, whether it’s the show home look or what I think of as the ‘manufactured quirkiness’ look (eg casaoldcorn on Instagram). It looks crap when you’re accumulating stuff for the sake of it/because it fits the look rather than because it has any meaning. DP particularly hates slogan/saying ‘art’ for that reason.

I think there’s a middle ground to be struck between feeling like you don’t want to make a mess (show home) and dusting around every knickknack taking hours (manufactured quirkiness).

I agree that social media is probably a key driver. I have noticed actually that a lot of home accounts on Instagram rarely post pictures of their gardens rather than having both the perfect house and garden. It’s usually because in order to get their massive kitchen extensions to fit the must-have island and kitchen sofa they had to sacrifice a lot of outside space. Totally the wrong call IMO.

@PattyPan

I don’t like it when homes look overly designed, whether it’s the show home look or what I think of as the ‘manufactured quirkiness’ look (eg casaoldcorn on Instagram). It looks crap when you’re accumulating stuff for the sake of it/because it fits the look rather than because it has any meaning. DP particularly hates slogan/saying ‘art’ for that reason.

I think there’s a middle ground to be struck between feeling like you don’t want to make a mess (show home) and dusting around every knickknack taking hours (manufactured quirkiness).

I agree that social media is probably a key driver. I have noticed actually that a lot of home accounts on Instagram rarely post pictures of their gardens rather than having both the perfect house and garden. It’s usually because in order to get their massive kitchen extensions to fit the must-have island and kitchen sofa they had to sacrifice a lot of outside space. Totally the wrong call IMO.

This is so true, the designer Rita Konig talks about people 'propping out' their homes i.e going and buying props to create a certain look and that is exactly what you get on instagram

I think it may be due to social media?

I first took an interest in interiors through my boss who was renovating her home off Kew Green in the mid 80s. OMG it was fab-u-lous!

Then came the homes programmes in the 90s - Changing Rooms etc. Social media has, as usual, given people inferiority complexes.

(My mum downsized from our cluttered but homely family house to a one bedroom retirement flat in a beautiful converted building. She took the "best" of her furniture etc. chose beautiful curtains and soft furnishings etc and I swear it looked like a professional job. If only she'd known she had that talent all along!)

I've always been interested in my home and making it look nice but want to move so I've got a bit fed up with this house itms

My home is clean and lived in, my two cats don’t give a monkeys where they lie / scratch
I’ve collected bits over the years and thrown a lot away !
So sad to see someone chucking a gorgeous leather chair in landfill the other day.
I’m of the age ( mid 50s ) where if I don’t have the money I can’t have it.
DH is trade and earns his living from people changing their houses completely every couple of years !

I know a certain person who’s IG home honestly looks like something out of House Beautiful. It’s just divine 💗💗 However, when you go there, it’s still lush but a tip. Very funny. I’d link you to it but then if they see me posting then they’ll know it’s me 😂 I would imagine that most Instagrammer’s are the same anyway.

I have deliberately gone for the mismatched look in my home.

My house looks messy lived in, but when I actually bother to tidy, certain rooms are Instagram-worthy. They certainly aren't grey though, they're filled with bold colours, patterns, textures, and artwork. I'm a creative type though, so the vast majority of our decor was made by me (or someone we know). I've always been into interior design and used to design my dream house for fun as a kid. My house matters to me, and I curate it very much so that I am comfortable and happy living in it.

I think it is much more common now to see really lovely home interiors than in the past. It is perhaps an age thing, but I suspect that there is so much access to influence decisions, as well as lower priced items, that it is not just the Insta Crowd.

I always comment on how well people have decorated, furnished and accessorized their homes in the UK - and it is typically changed entirely the next time I visit, certainly if that is a 2 year gap. In the US I don't know anyone who redecorates their home often, and friends seem quite surprised when one does. Certainly don't know anyone who refurnishes it to match current trends.

I clean furiously for guests coming - working class pride, as well as hangover of growing up in squalor - and then get the comments that that there is not a thing out of place, or it looks like a magazine or the like. Not compliments, I know. It is hard to find a balance.

I agree it's driven by SM and facilitated by cheap tat objet d'art from places like the range where the glitter/rose gold/mirrored everything look can be achieved all for under a couple of hundred quid.
I quite like some of the things from places like the range and have a few bits in my home but I wouldn't go the whole hog of a mirror and gloss piano black contemporary or peony pink, white and green romance look for a whole house. That just screams of unoriginality.

Im supposed to decorate every 2 years!? I missed that memo, i dont have the energy for that...

I dont really know people who "keep up with trends" and decorate that often or for that reason. I wouldn't say that's a UK thing?

I'm so glad I found this thread. As I feel I've been very down and disheartened. I stay in a Victorian house, which is quirky but beautiful . My husband and I restored it back to its it's original beauty. It has antiques, and certainly not a show home. We also replaced the awful leaky central heating to old cast iron radiators. We've been trying to sell it now , yes the kitchen is still dated as we hadn't got round to fixing it up as we fell in love with a unique building and out in an offer . Unfortunately its not an single offer and it's under £20,000 valuation. People have said they want everything white and beige and cannot see the beautiful period features. It looks like it might not sell at all now. It's a unique house and not a show home.

I’m surprised at some of these comments on class. I actually know several upper middle class people and their homes are beautiful.. a lot of money has been thrown at it, think the Kate Middleton type home.

I think what people are quoting is the old stereotype of the skint titled person who inherits the family pile and can’t afford to maintain it.

Those with money do. Their homes are expensively and very tastefully.

People also seem to be equating “show home” with filling your house with dunelm crap and going matchy matchy like you see on right move in new builds. Yes these are show homes, but they are quite specific to the new build of old new build markets.

It’s all very very narrow stereotypical.

I work in lots of people’s homes every day and can assure you that most people’s homes are nothing like show homes, my own included.