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?

Yes I hate homes without personality , they scream serial killer. I'd rather dislike your taste of individual decor than think you don't have any personality

My personality isn't expressed through interior design. I read widely, those books are on my kindle. I have a huge stash of photo albums behind that cupboard door. I love to cook and if you were there at a meal time you'd be well fed but most of the time its not on display. The piano isn't an artistic choice, it gets played by DS and I every single day. My house is full of memories of friends and families but I don't need physical mementos of our time together.

Some of houses don't lend themselves to decor
I do know of one large house full of large cheesy feet bare photos and little else.

You really don’t need to justify your home to some random posting nonsense on line. 😂

I want a home that is calm not busy , a haven

Which I guess reflects my personality - often out, busy living and doing , more into music - not visually inspired

I have never killed anyone , rather a pacifist, and am certainly not a serial killer

Why are some people on MN so determined to paint anyone who expresses tastes that are different from the majority's as being boastful/up themselves/thinking they're superior to others?? 🤔

Well the op does come across as rather dictatorial in what a home should look like and the crass assumptions she makes as a result

Yes @sixtyten OP has called these homes boring and soulless with no personality.
The replies would have been different if she'd just focused on the sort of homes SHE likes , and why it's not common. Instead of insulting others.

So what, though? It’s the internet. It’s not as though she’s posting photographs of named peiole’s houses with disapproving captions. She’s as entitled to her opinion as those funsuckers who post primly about how getting a Quooker gave them their ultimate dream, the totally empty work surface.

Yes @sixtyten OP has called these homes boring and soulless with no personality.
The replies would have been different if she'd just focused on the sort of homes SHE likes , and why it's not common. Instead of insulting others.

She's not insulting others. She's giving her opinion on their homes. There's no need for people to take it personally.

I have a lot of strong colours on my walls but I wouldn't take it personally if someone called it a technicolour nightmare (as has indeed happened in the past 😄) because to many people it would be. And that's fine.

Horses for courses, but fwiw I do agree with you. Cant say I’m at all bothered by a bit of dust, but then again my house is circa 300 years old and full of stuff; that’s my idea of homely and cosy.

I don’t agree with her, I refrained from commenting on my own home, but it is likely more the ops taste, however I like quirky and unusual antiques and artwork, a lot of art.

hoever I’d never judge my friends or families homes as the op is doing. As it’s not how I’d decorate.

she specifically says it’s one she sees in real life as well as online, so people are trusting her and inviting her into their homes and she’s judging them as having boring large homes devoid of personality, slagging them off on line.

‘of course. I’m not sure I believe she’s some globe trotter shipping artesan affects home to be displayed, and as she’s focused on size, I do wonder if envy plays a part on this. She sees her own small cluttered home and compares it to some large homes she sees on line and is having a go.

My aunts house has mismatched furniture and knick nacks, art, photos etc everywhere and I love it, it just works. My house is the opposite, minimalist. When I moved here I decided I couldn't be bothered with all that 'stuff' anymore, my house always looks clean and tidy and people always comment on how nice it is. My place is full of loads of sun and natural light, as well as texture and natural fibres so that might be one thing that stops it looking 'soulless'. I'm glad I no longer have all that extra stuff to clean and dust

Hmm, no idea if you’d like my house.
Plenty to look at though that reflect my travels.

There’s my Florida room, with a big wall mural of saw palmetto and Spanish moss. Furniture is green. My lamps are alligator heads. I have little lizards on the walls and red glass cardinals on the bookcase.

Another room is full of shelves of my beautiful collectible Disney dolls and other Disney collectibles; glass slippers; crystal wands; beautifully framed paintings of Elsa and Anna, or the Haunted Manson stretching walls etc

Another has walls adorned with sand dollars and hand made rustic hammerhead sharks. Driftwood sculptures of sharks and rays and glass turtles.

Or despite my home clearly showing my personality and memories of travels you might just hate it anyway, as perhaps you wouldn’t deem my particular interests sophisticated enough?

Point is, we are all different and that’s what is actually interesting. Even if it means our homes reflect more varied tastes. I’m sure your home is as lovely as mine is.

I think it's possible to achieve a bit of both - minimalist but also personalised. My place is pretty uncluttered but the items on display, like cushion covers, art, blankets, even my key bowl and coasters, are meaningful to me in some way - generally a gift or picked up during travels. I don't have a single thing that I just bought from a local interiors shop for the hell of it. But it takes the best part of a lifetime to accumulate a house-worth of things like that and people have to start somewhere!

I’ve certainly seen plenty of homes, especially online, that look as though someone is going through the motions of home design, creating a look that is nothing to do with the people who might live there.

But the description you give of a house full of “personality” sounds like it only reflects one kind of personality and way of living. Some people don’t want their home to be a book about their life, they want one that will make them feel calm or envelop them in their favourite colour. Other people are more practical and want something that will give them time for the things they love so prioritise low maintenance. And so on.

These are also reflective of people’s personalities, just not the direct way you’re looking for.

One thing I have noticed is things aren't original or quirky anymore, and I feel that's because people don't build/renovate to what they want but what they think a generic buyer in thr future will want so everything has become the same

@WhiteButtonMoon I think that's really sad. Why do you get your way over this? It's his home too but you've decided it all, bar one thing, goes in the loft,? Can't he at least have one room where he can have a selection out? Regardless of if posters personally like or dislike "stuff" I'm surprised you've not had more comments about this.

I would have to agree OP. Absolutely boring with no originality but then mine looks like the 70s had one too many ciders and threw up everywhere so I can see it would be too busy for sone.

Great post.

Yes, this.

My house is full of ikea and stuff we've been given. It would be nice to have an antique chaise longue picked up in a market in Marrakesh but real life isn't like that. Most people's homes reflect their means and are about living, rather than cultivating some kind of aesthetic.

People make their homes comfortable for them, not for you

I wondered that
And makes it harder to dust.

I remember the IKEA campaign from the late 90s/early 2000s “chuck out your chintz”. That for me was a turning point in home interiors - there was a move away from hand me down furniture as everyone could afford new things. And because of house prices, many of us live in smaller homes, so it’s preferable imo to make the most of the space that we do have by extending and reducing all the stuff cluttering up the place. I have a relative with a flat full of objects she has collected over the years. It’s very stressful to visit as there are things precariously piled up, and so much is boxed up never to be seen again as there isn’t the space for it to be displayed. It would be safer and more pleasant with less stuff in, even if that was deemed to be soulless.

Why did you care about other people's homes?