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

[Spicegirl1234]

I love homes that are full of personality, stuff picked up around the world in trips, fleamarket finds, family objects, homes that are not perfect but keep your eyes “busy” when looking and fully reflect the life of people that live within them and make you feel warm when you go in.
I very rarely come across such 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”.
Does anyone else feel this way about home decor?

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.

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.

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.

This!

Any orange pine or cluttered ornaments never gets past me.

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!

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..

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.

@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

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.

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.

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

Agree, I think the sensory perception variety in people is fascinating.
I love large items of bright colour - so bright sofa /fridge/ pictures on walls/ bed sheets etc

So would also hate a grey/white/beige etc house

But lots of clutter (to me, treasure to others) (niknaks, ornaments piled of junk) makes me want to scream.

@IsThisCluttered

I love beautiful fabrics - cushions & throws & rugs etc

I have none of those. Hate them. Hate all the faffing around with them. Just more "stuff" to move, fold, fluff up, straighten, etc.

One of the first things I do in holiday lets is gather all the cushions and throws and put them in a corner out of the way. Rugs I tend to just ignore and don't bother putting them straight when they move, or if they move too much, I roll up and put in a corner somewhere.

Just can't be arsed with messing with things like that. I regard it as just more things to look after, re-arrange, etc.

My biggest hate is throws on sofas - just why? They always move around, get uncomfortably folded under you, need to be shaken down, flattened and re-arranged every time you sit on it. No thanks. Too much faff for no benefit.

To think a lot of homes are “soulless” and all people care about is size?
I very rarely come across such 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”
Wow lots of greige homes owners in here.
I just see a lot of houses looking exactly the same with grey everything and no other signs of the owners’ life or history or personality,

@Spicegirl1234 And you wonder why people who don't share a similar taste to you feel defensive?

Why couldn't you have said you don't really care for unclutterd homes with few pieces of extra decor?

Instead, you insult people who prefer spacious, unbusy, calm and uncluttered homes by calling them soulless, boring and lacking in personality.

And yes, many people don't want to live in a tiny, cluttered house. Your "cosy" is my claustrophobic.

My house is somewhere between your "clutter" and a house devoid of "personaiity" BTW.

My house looks like a lunatic decorated it but it’s mine and I like it I like my bits of tat and dusty books. When we were looking to move there were houses that were so grey that I questioned if the pics were black and white it looked lovely and clean but it’s not who I am

But a clean canvas is easy to change. You can repaint and fill the rooms with lots of "stuff". It isn't as if you have to repaint a green ceiling with several coats of white as I once did when we moved house.

I am not a fan of grey, but it is livable with until it gets redecorated. I mean grey is the new magnolia isn't it?

My home isn't great and very bog standard. I rent, so am less bothered by it and don't put much effort in. Maybe if I owned it would be different.

Money and time is a factor. Having young kids too as it's futile trying to keep a perfect home.

The only people I know who really care about this subject have WAY too much time on their hands and are bankrolled by their partners. I hate perfectly minimal homes, but also perfectly messy/boho homes too.

Why does a home need soul anyway? It's somewhere to eat, shit, sleep and hang out. Didn't realise my home needed soul. Shall I get Luther Vandross round?

Nail on the head.

It's easier to "personalise" a blank canvas, whether plain walls or a beige/grey sofa, or empty surfaces. Much easier to paint a magnolia wall with a bright colour, easier to "liven up" a bland sofa with bright cushions or a throw, easier to put a lot of ornaments on an empty sideboard or window ledge, if you want to.

It's the opposite with a "personalised" house. You'd need 2 or 3 coats of magnolia, light grey or white to cover a dark blue wall. You can't "neutralise" a brightly coloured sofa or carpet etc.

Basically, that's why people "neutralise" a house ready for selling. It creates a blank canvas for the buyer. The seller may like dark blue walls, but even if a buyer likes bright colours, they're unlikely to want dark blue - they may want orange, and it's a hell of a lot easier to paint a magnolia wall orange than a dark blue one!

I didn’t choose a smaller house - I have a 5 bedroom house. I said that when searching for my home, the smaller homes seemed to me to have more character.

I didn’t say you couldn’t. I purchased a large home as I needed one. However if you read my comment, it said that the large ones I saw online when searching for my own, had less personality than smaller. I was talking from experience in response to the OP

Yep! I’m with you @Simonjt. I hate clutter. It causes sensory overload and just makes the place look untidy.

Does anyone remember the 'twigs and pebbly shit' threads on here? Makes me smile every time I plug in my fairy light twigs in a vase
Taste is subjective really isn't it.

I remember it! Also referred to as ‘twiggy shit’

This is the style I was referring to, how can people say it's just clutter and junk?

Because it's cluttered and a lot of it is junk! I simply couldn't live in a place like that. Like those random books on the window ledge - going to constantly be in the way, collect dust, fall over, etc. Just no! And baskets of junk on the floor. Urgh!