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Fad cycles like this will never go away. When a guest comes to visit and they are impressed by the interior, there are several things going on. First, you signa

Fad cycles like this will never go away. When a guest comes to visit and they are impressed by the interior, there are several things going on. First, you signal that you know what's the hot new thing, so you are socially connected, regularly visit similar homes. Second you signal loyalty to the tribe by being willing to adjust your living space to ape the hot new trend. Third, you signal financial stability/wealth because you can afford to keep up, to throw away functional stuff every few years. Just as predictable is the sneering and shaming of such behavior, decrying it as shallow etc. by people who can't keep up with this, or dislike the game. Then the most effective way to counter it is to make it about morality, to feel pride in not keeping up etc. But that won't solve anything, the fad may even temporarily follow that: see billionaires dressing in "normcore", rich people feeling kinda embarrassed by being seen rich. However there is still a big difference in Zuckerberg's normcore and the average person wearing cheap clothes. Just as there 8s a huge difference between a rich minimalist and a person whose apartment is almost empty because he can't afford to furnish it properly.

nomdep 5y ago
Are you telling me that are people that live their adult life that they still were in high school? That’s incredibly sad
- bonoboTP 5y ago
  Welcome to life. Who has more money, better cars, fancier job title, house in a better neighborhood, more academic publications and h index, more attractive partner, more impressive bookshelf, bigger muscles, better vacations etc. Yes people care about such things well after high school. But many won't admit it. Admitting caring about status is itself low status.
elevenoh 5y ago
"Fad cycles like this will never go away. When a guest comes to visit and they are impressed by the interior, there are several things going on. First, you signal that you know what's the hot new thing, so you are socially connected, regularly visit similar homes. Second you signal loyalty to the tribe by being willing to adjust your living space to ape the hot new trend. Third, you signal financial stability/wealth because you can afford to keep up, to throw away functional stuff every few years." Which cities is this most common/prominent in?
lotsofpulp 5y ago
> Third, you signal financial stability/wealth because you can afford to keep up, to throw away functional stuff every few years. There are better signals of this than stuff in one’s house. For example, the location and recent sale price of comparable homes, which is public information. Or one’s source of income, hobbies, and travel.
lucumo 5y ago
There's also the desire to just see something new. Style is typically something that people like to change up every few years. There's individual differences of course. Some people will live their entire life in a house that never changes, and like it that way. Others get bored and restless or a feeling of being trapped if they don't change their surroundings every two years. Most people are somewhere in between. As for the sourpusses, I agree: they are predictable and boring. Unfortunately, also very prevalent on social media.
selfhoster11 5y ago
> When a guest comes to visit and they are impressed by the interior, there are several things going on. First, you signal that you know what's the hot new thing, so you are socially connected, regularly visit similar homes. Second you signal loyalty to the tribe by being willing to adjust your living space (...) Or perhaps your guests just genuinely like the décor, and aren't playing some 4D Slytherin chess game. Some people just don't play the social signalling game.
- FredPret 5y ago
  I agree with you, though I’d like to point out that merely liking the new style and also implementing it for non-sociopathic reasons is itself a social signal
- bonoboTP 5y ago
  It doesn't have to be conscious. Plenty of people do it instinctively. It's deeply in our nature on a biological level.
derbOac 5y ago
Being as honest as I can, I really sincerely think I'm most impressed with someone who's house reflects a thoughtful individuality. What I mean by that is, it's clear they've put some thought into what they like, done some research or looking around, and have some sort of taste. It could be maximalist, it could be minimalist, could be ultramodern, or ultraclassical, maybe even ultrafunctional and eschewing aesthetic considerations altogether, I don't know. But it's really more a sense that this person has put some kind of thought into it of some sort, that they're not just jumping on what's being plastered all over instagram at the moment. Disliking the game means you don't like it. It's not interesting.

nomdep 5y ago

Are you telling me that are people that live their adult life that they still were in high school? That’s incredibly sad

bonoboTP 5y ago
Welcome to life. Who has more money, better cars, fancier job title, house in a better neighborhood, more academic publications and h index, more attractive partner, more impressive bookshelf, bigger muscles, better vacations etc. Yes people care about such things well after high school. But many won't admit it. Admitting caring about status is itself low status.

elevenoh 5y ago

"Fad cycles like this will never go away. When a guest comes to visit and they are impressed by the interior, there are several things going on. First, you signal that you know what's the hot new thing, so you are socially connected, regularly visit similar homes. Second you signal loyalty to the tribe by being willing to adjust your living space to ape the hot new trend. Third, you signal financial stability/wealth because you can afford to keep up, to throw away functional stuff every few years." Which cities is this most common/prominent in?

lotsofpulp 5y ago

> Third, you signal financial stability/wealth because you can afford to keep up, to throw away functional stuff every few years. There are better signals of this than stuff in one’s house. For example, the location and recent sale price of comparable homes, which is public information. Or one’s source of income, hobbies, and travel.

lucumo 5y ago

There's also the desire to just see something new. Style is typically something that people like to change up every few years. There's individual differences of course. Some people will live their entire life in a house that never changes, and like it that way. Others get bored and restless or a feeling of being trapped if they don't change their surroundings every two years. Most people are somewhere in between. As for the sourpusses, I agree: they are predictable and boring. Unfortunately, also very prevalent on social media.

selfhoster11 5y ago

> When a guest comes to visit and they are impressed by the interior, there are several things going on. First, you signal that you know what's the hot new thing, so you are socially connected, regularly visit similar homes. Second you signal loyalty to the tribe by being willing to adjust your living space (...) Or perhaps your guests just genuinely like the décor, and aren't playing some 4D Slytherin chess game. Some people just don't play the social signalling game.

FredPret 5y ago
I agree with you, though I’d like to point out that merely liking the new style and also implementing it for non-sociopathic reasons is itself a social signal
bonoboTP 5y ago
It doesn't have to be conscious. Plenty of people do it instinctively. It's deeply in our nature on a biological level.

derbOac 5y ago

Being as honest as I can, I really sincerely think I'm most impressed with someone who's house reflects a thoughtful individuality. What I mean by that is, it's clear they've put some thought into what they like, done some research or looking around, and have some sort of taste. It could be maximalist, it could be minimalist, could be ultramodern, or ultraclassical, maybe even ultrafunctional and eschewing aesthetic considerations altogether, I don't know. But it's really more a sense that this person has put some kind of thought into it of some sort, that they're not just jumping on what's being plastered all over instagram at the moment. Disliking the game means you don't like it. It's not interesting.