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?

@Bluntness100

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 think that is exactly what people mean by ‘show homes’, because it’s the commonest type — new builds which are incredibly ‘done up’ to a specific women’s magazine style where everything comes out of the same lookbook. The dining tables are always set with ridiculously elaborate place settings and the kitchens completely empty apart from a solitary butternut squash in an architectural-looking bowl. It’s just a lot odder when this is taken beyond the actual show home and people try to replicate what is essentially an uninhabited stage set in houses they actually live in. (I mean, there are certain advantages to buying the actually show house, the snags having generally been caught, getting the highest-end customisable fittings, landscaping done in garden etc), but buying a different house and trying to make it look like the showhouse is plain odd, to me.)

I don’t know anyone UMC who makes their house look like an elaborate window display — or, in a current Mn thread, who would contemplate buying ‘fake’ coffee table books, blank books with pretty covers that tone with your decor. (Neither are they the cheery, tweedy tramps covered in lab hair so beloved of Mn, though...)

I have no idea what Kate Middleton’s house looks like,

I'll just add that I r got a mixture of ikea, dwell and made.com furniture, lights etc. So its not cheap matchy stuff.

The books on my shelves in the hallways, coffee table in lounge, bedside tables are boos ive either read or reading so not just for show.

My kitchen tops only have cook books, a kettle and microwave on it, why? Because I'm fortunate enough to have a larder cupboard so I cna out everything in their and fet it out when I need it. Thus giving me my minimalist look in the kitchen.

End of the day, I love walking into my house or rooms looking the way they do, it doesn't take much time to clean because I tidy as I go and for 7yrs I could decorate it as I wanted but now I have.

The minimalist look for me reflects my personality so you might think its too clean or has no soul, but the books in my house, the bike on the wall and other things show you my personality

So ill enjoy my lovely 'showroom' look.

I have noticed more on more on my fantasy house-buying Rightmove half hours here and there that there are more and more houses that look fully renovated. Some are newer houses which are very grey and soulless looking. Others are older Victorian terraces which also have a certain look to them but at least are more interesting to me (and more tasteful). Although all I can think of when I see them is how much it must have cost to get it like that, but how 2020 it will look in 15 years' time.

The same dark blue kitchen units with white marble (or marble effect tops), brushed metal taps, herringbone wood flooring. Similar for bathrooms. Lots of greenery. Industrial style ceiling pendants. I do love the look but it is definitely a trend, in the same way red and white was the only colour choice for an 80s teenager's bedroom. Or avocado bathrooms in the 70s.

It's really hard to do a room up in a timeless style, I think. And some newer houses they often seem to need a modern look.

Someone made a point about getting rid of garden space to build an extension. Well, in the UK the weather isn't brilliant most of the year and personally I'd prefer to have more inside space than look out at an overgrown garden from a claustrophobic tiny kitchen on the 10th damp cold grey day in a row (overgrown because very few people are SAHPs these days, or even work part time, so most don't have time to do a lot of work on the garden even if they'd like to).

Regarding clutter. I'm not minimalist and not hugely "plumping cushions" houseproud but I don't like a lot of clutter since I was executor to a relative's estate and had to clear her house. She had mountains of stuff she'd never even used, in spare bedrooms, never worn clothes etc. It just made me think how pointless and wasteful it is to accumulate so much STUFF. Swedish death cleaning should be a thing here.

I love reading but don't have bookcase after bookcase of books as I just don't see the point. I have reference books but as soon as they're out of date they're sent to charity. I mostly read fiction on my kindle but if I buy an actual book unless I think I'm likely to read it again I pass it on to a friend or relative or charity straight away. You might think it's ironic that I'm a librarian, but I think it's because of that that I cringe at rooms full of books in houses. They are mostly hardly looked at once read, they gather dust on the top, at some point SOMEONE is going to have to get rid of them (either when you downsize or die) and it will be a real ballache for them, and if it's someone grieving for you they'll feel guilty for getting rid of them too. I love the smell and feel of a real book, but in these days of e-readers I think there's something to be said for doing your bit for the planet and not buying yet more STUFF, even if it IS a book!

I do think there is a class element to decor but there’s also specific subgroups/looks within each class. It’s interesting comparing decor in eg Cambridge and Islington. Both middle class areas but very different looks.

Swedish death cleaning should be a thing here.

I’m scared to google but I need to know. What is that exactly?

I love reading but don't have bookcase after bookcase of books as I just don't see the point. I have reference books but as soon as they're out of date they're sent to charity. I mostly read fiction on my kindle but if I buy an actual book unless I think I'm likely to read it again I pass it on to a friend or relative or charity straight away. You might think it's ironic that I'm a librarian, but I think it's because of that that I cringe at rooms full of books in houses. They are mostly hardly looked at once read, they gather dust on the top,

I find this fascinating. Large quantities of books are so easy to dispose of when doing probate clear outs, but also very easy to dust and a large proportion of the novels in my house (and non fiction come to that) have been read multiple times, by myself, by my children, my two husbands....I’ve loaned them out to friends. I find it really odd to think of books as single use.

I mean, fascinating that you’re a librarian and think that way. Not just fascinating that you think that way.

I don't reread books in general and live in a house of avid readers. We used to have many many bookshelves and with moving and having kids and living in a small house decided to start culling them on a regular basis. We really haven't missed them. We keep the ones the eldest has read for when the youngest is older but she only keeps a few special ones herself. I never reread novels so they all get passed onto friends, and we use the library itself a lot (I applied for a library job and came second wail). It's made a huge difference actually. A couple of my family have asthma and its yet another thing not to worry about!

applied for a library job and came second wail)

This is clearly a ruthless librarian thing.

What about all the classics though? All the things your future teens might need or want to read?

I was thinking about this recently as I run a local reduce, reuse, recycle fb page and the amount of stuff listed “nothing wrong with it, just changing colour scheme” has made me question my own (early 40s) ways of gathering Knick knacks with meaning. I think it’s quite sad and very representative of the must have it now generation.

Classics are probably the easiest to obtain - any library (we have tons nearby) or amazon (secondhand) the next day for a few pounds!

Space is a real premium in our tiny house and never before has access to books been this easy.

It’s not a new thing, just seems that way due to social media.
1985-1990, my first house was a ‘show home’ black sofas, black units, black dining table etc. Painfully trendy - Fully Accessorised by Next 🤣

Then we lived in Germany/Holland for a few years and my choices became more eclectic.

@SavingsQuestions

Classics are probably the easiest to obtain - any library (we have tons nearby) or amazon (secondhand) the next day for a few pounds!

Space is a real premium in our tiny house and never before has access to books been this easy.

You’re making me question the amount of room my bookshelves take up now. 🙉

a large proportion of the novels in my house (and non fiction come to that) have been read multiple times, by myself, by my children, my two husbands....I’ve loaned them out to friends. I find it really odd to think of books as single use.

DH and I and the kids don't have the same tastes at all. DH reads non-fiction, very geeky stuff, and my 17 year old is heading that way too. There were a couple of young adult reads that we both read when he was younger, but these days he's more into science books, the odd bod! There's no-one else in my house who would read what I read really, so no reason to loan them out to friends when I can just pass them on to them instead, and they can then pass them on to THEIR friends. Spread the love, and save space in your own house. Win-win!

@SavingsQuestions is absolutely right. Reading the classics has never been easier. Most freely available online now, I have a couple on my kindle waiting to be read.

Books tend to get dusty on the tops unless they fit the shelves tightly.

I love a little library in a holiday home though, and they're sprouting up elsewhere too. I've read a few gems that other people have left, and left a few for others to read too. But @RickiTarr, it sounds like you would take your holiday reading back home with you - think of all that holiday enjoyment you're depriving other people of!

we are on the verge of moving and are swedish death clearing, it's great.

I don't think our bookshelves take up much room at all. They are built in along entire walls and we have high ceilings, so they go up to the cornicing but each shelf is only the exact depth and height of the average hardback, so they don't 'project' far into the room and are easy to dust. It's essentially a wall of books rather than a wall of paint or wallpaper.

I think bookshelves that are deeper than that tend to attract crap put on the shelves in front of the books, and are much more dust-attracting and fiddly to dust.

@RickiTarr You’re making me question the amount of room my bookshelves take up now. 🙉

Nah, if you get joy from just possessing them, and looking at them (and dusting them ) and re-reading them, why question it? It's just not for me. I just can't bear to think of all those books just sitting there barely enjoyed, I'd rather pass them on to fulfil their book destinies.

I wouldn’t steal them! OTOH, if I bought a thriller while on holiday I wouldn’t donate it to the cottage library either.

I was the eldest of five. Books and clothes were mandatorily passed down every year or so. Guess which two categories of things I hoard? Book and clothes. Maybe I need therapy.

@warmandtoasty2day - out of interest, how old are you, and how ruthless are you being? And are you downsizing? Are you feeling sad as you're doing it, or is it a bit of a weight off your mind?

Nah, if you get joy from just possessing them, and looking at them (and dusting them grin) and re-reading them, why question it? It's just not for me. I just can't bear to think of all those books just sitting there barely enjoyed, I'd rather pass them on to fulfil their book destinies. grin

Even if I did decide to have a drastic clear out, I’d chicken it. Also, yes, I adore having them. All of them, the crumbling second hand viragos, the inscribed hardbacks, the potboilers, the reference volumes. They make me really happy.

I do miss the book crossing thing, though. Do you remember that? Pasting labels into spare books and leaving them in phone boxes and train station waiting rooms and listing them online to be found. That was great.

Ricki, I didn't mean I think you'd steal books from the holiday home to add to your home library! I meant it sounds like if you bought some new books to read on holiday that you'd read them and then pack them to bring home again rather than leave them there.

I'm all for a good hand-me-down, books or clothes. It was the way I was brought up too. But I think moving round a lot when I was younger and having to pack and unpack boxes of books each time I moved, or store them in my mum and dad's garage if there wasn't room in my flat or something, made me think that if I hadn't read them from one unpacking to the next, then what on earth was the point? And the books (and other belongings) stored in my parents' garage were just sitting unloved getting a bit damp and smelly.

So now, I have the same attitude to a lot of stuff. It's slightly Marie Kondo, I think. If I don't LOVE it, and don't use it in a practical sense, then I'm happy to pass it on to someone who might.

I agree with all Curlyhaired says :) If it makes you happy and you have space - all is good!

If both my children have read a book then it's ready to be read by someone else. I think I have the same feeling that walls of books are just sat there Not Being Read for the most part. We started culling by culling books we hadn't read in 5 years....then 1 year etc. It was 1000s. I'm the same with toys and clothes I kind of feel sad if they're not being played with/worn and want to pass them on! I think I'm a reformed hoarder!

It’s still going! I’m going to resume doing that with my (few) spares!

www.bookcrossing.com/

It was moving a lot as an adult and moving so many heavy boxes of books that started my questioning of what I kept.

Btw - can I work in your library please?!

yes, I adore having them. Then don't stop! I do love a good library, always go searching for them on holiday.

I don't remember the book crossing thing. They're just left now at such places, aren't they, without being listed. That's what I like about such little collections - the serendipitous browsing.

We're totally derailing the thread. Better leave the library love here.....