To ask what things you consider to be of “good taste”

[Dylaninthemovies1]

Well... I was going to say “classy” but I don’t think that’s a particularly classy word!

Following on from the “tacky/common” thread. What sort of things would you say are “good taste” “middle class” etc

I’ll start... appletiser

I don't actually believe good taste has anything to do with class.

@Frankola

Ageed. Taste is so personal it's pretty much indefinable.

Agreed

Smooth plaster walls (no fucking woodchip)

I love Pauline's list (I suspect I'm more like Pauline than I really want to be!). Of course Michael is the classiest one in the show because he is secure in himself.

I find it odd that anyone should find it fascinating to put people into boxes and on some sort of hierarchy based on which soft drinks they enjoy etc. Wouldn't it be more fascinating to get to know people than make superficial judgements?

I think the first key aspect is that you do something because you believe it to be good and you have chosen well, so to speak - you are, perhaps, adept at choosing a fine colour, or wine, or flavours, or furnishings. You did not choose them because you knew of their names, brands or current trends, but because you simply have 'the knack' for it - and the knack might just be that you have some confidence in your own choices. You did what you wanted and followed your own taste, not a trend, and that is what is desirable.

It may sound strange, but I think a lot of “good taste” comes down to knowledge of materials.
Meaning you understand how well a thing is made, if it’s going to last, if it will suit you or blend in with what you already own.
So you avoid cheap, garish or badly made items. You’re not swayed by trends or labels. You analyse what you need, research it and track it down or have it made. A knowledge of history and a sense of continuity also keeps things in good taste, rather than jumping on new, untested methods.
So (ready for a flaming here)
Grandmother’s refashioned party dress vs. ££££ wedding dress.
Sturdy auctionroom furniture vs. Ikea flat pack.
Volvo Polaris(?) vs. RR Discovery
Radio4 vs. Netflix
Chocolate Labrador vs. Labradoodle.

@Laiste. I have ducking woodchip all over Many of the walls in our house right now.

The house is an 1880s house, I’m guessing the wood chip is from the 60s.

Thankfully it’s not in the living room, dining room or playroom, so I reckon we’ll just paint over it in the bedrooms and hope it comes back into fashion in 20 years lol

@CottonEyeJo. I’ve just bought the lidl version today! Very nice

My friend has 'class' with her furnishings and fittings: sources the lesser known brands ( generally German made) but it all lasts forever and is solid! You may have to pay out , but it does pay off in the end as your not always changing things or having them break down after five years!
She takes her time to get it right.

@Dylaninthemovies1
I apologise for my rather abrupt post on the subject of woodchip. I'm normally more eloquent and less sweary.

We have moved into a house which was built in the 30s/40s and at some point someone saw fit to put woodchip on each and every effing wall. On two of the bedrooms it's on the ceiling as well. The very high stairwell ect. Sigh.

I've been putting the removal off for 2 years. I began this week. I've done it in another house so i knew how bad it would be. The plaster beneath is perfectly fine - WHY WHY WHY did people want walls with lots of weird little bumps ??!!?!?? I mean what were they going for? ''Mmmmm, i really want my walls to conjure up in people's minds the texture of fucking porridge ''. ????? I mean really?

I'm off again. I'll get my coat.

@Laiste. my mum and mother in law cannot understand why I want to remove the woodchip. As from their point of view it means that I can just keep painting over it. In our last house we got rid of all the woodchip and it was a painful process that I would not want to repeat.

@Dylaninthemovies1

I would agree RJ!

Just seen this but definitely reckon we should add ‘Mumsnet names that quote Belle and Sebastian’ to the classy list

@Theploughwasshowingandorion

That’s the top class lol!

I was looking for a B&S t shirt for my toddler son. I found one that said simply the words “the boy with the Arab strap”

I don’t think it’s quite suitable

Enjoying and appreciating art.
Reading for pleasure.

Why did people have wood chip wallpaper?

Because it is very forgiving when you have walls that are not perfectly plastered as it hides all sorts of limits and bumps (and is much cheaper than getting a plasterer in)!

A greater mystery is why people had artex ceilings in the 1980s!

I nodding at Elisandra and Proudtocare's posts. I really wonder what the fascination is for this topic. It's banal but definitely not harmless. It's a cloaked mode for boasting for those inclined and/or wanting to have a pop at other people.

There are no arbiters of 'taste' and the constant need for validation of it is a bit tragic. Is it just a certain segment of women who do this? It's an awful thing to normalise for children.

Oh and catnip for fantasists too...

Always using cloth napkins, using the proper cutlery, such as cheese knives and dessert forks.
Never speaking slang .
Being clued up on manners.

The plaster underneath the woodchip i'm removing is smooth as a baby's bum. Wanky woodchip obviously held some other mysterious attraction other than it's blanketing abilities here

When I imagine someone "with class" I think of old, mismatched furniture in large rooms with huge windows. A Labrador or some type of hunting dog. A cupboard that is well stocked with a range of alcohol such as gin, sherry, port, whisky etc. Walls decorated with flock wallpaper and huge oil painted portraits of the owners' ancestors. A collection of Hunter's wellington boots and well worn Barbour jackets. An ancient Landrover or Volvo.

We're not classy and many things in our house are on the "tacky and common" list from the other thread though:

Yankee Candles - I also cleaned out the empty jars, put a loveheart label around their necks and some fairy lights inside. We live in social housing and still have an artex ceiling and walls in our dining room. In the hallway there's the anaglypta wallpaper from the previous tennant too. We can't afford to replace any of it. We also have vertical blinds in a few windows because they were there when we moved in and haven't got around to replacing them. We have photos of our children on the wall, including canvas prints and some from a studio shoot of dc1 as a baby. We have lots of glass ornaments on the fireplace because they sparkle and when the sun shines on them they cast little rainbows all over the room.

We are friendly and welcoming though (despite making any guests remove their shoes) and make a decent cup of tea. We're like Daisy and Onslow.

@EleanorOalike class is not about being wealthy.

@MotheringShites lol at Noovs

Good manners, above all.
Knowing your Syrah from your Riesling, and drinking wine because you actually enjoy it, not to get drunk.
Radio 4
The Sunday Times, although this is changing as newspapers go out of fashion. Everyone used to read it, though.
Holidays in France, Cornwall, Italy or the parts of Spain which British tourists normally don’t visit.
Holidays in US states other than Florida.