Why is American interior design so ugly?

[Cerveza mas fina]

Honest question.

Everything looks so tacky. New houses made to look old.

Its hard to call it a style since things are just thrown together, but you can see its a us interior in a glance anyway.

Why is everythinh so big too?

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Better than eurojank   

(Image removed from quote.)

[Tasty]

What an odd thing to get annoyed over.

[Mupepe]

Looks pretty nice to me.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Not annoyed, it just baffles me that they feel so dated design wise. Just watching some american renovation shows and keep thinking, why renovate something to look like that?!

Ireland is bad too

Think Scandinavia is spoiling me.

[Madrun Badrun]

Cause every home owner wants to live like its the 50's

Also everything is big because houses are huge and Americans are fat.

[Rufus]

The only thing that puzzles me is the grey carpet and the white doors.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Maybe ugly was a bad choice of words; dated is better.

Dandy: thanks, why though?

[Mr. Gundam]

Eh, I've got a 1932 house. Old for the Seattle area, but just a youngin' for Europe. My wife and I like to respect the original design aesthetic while still having some modern touches. No need to tear everything down and IKEA-ize it.



Only pic I could find on my phone.

My house is not big, though. 1,680 square feet or so divided among three levels.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Maybe ugly was a bad choice of words; dated is better.

Dandy: thanks, why though?

Because we have land and money.

My house was built in 1879 as a hotel for westward travelers back in the day. (4700 ish sq feet)

[Cerveza mas fina]

Eh, I've got a 1932 house. Old for the Seattle area, but just a youngin' for Europe. My wife and I like to respect the original design aesthetic while still having some modern touches. No need to tear everything down and IKEA-ize it.

My house is not big, though. 1,680 square feet or so divided among three levels.

Yeah I mean if you have a period house like this, having older looking furniture makes sense.

I live in a appartment from 2005 and everything is modern inside.

Im talking more about modern american houses with this kind of old interior

[CatsCatsCats]

My house is a cute little 60s gustavian chalet in the woods, so idk either.

[Dennis]

It is not just the interior design.

The quality of building materials is shit and cheap.

[Mr. Gundam]

It is not just the interior design.

The quality of building materials is shit and cheap.

This so much. I built out my unfinished basement five years ago and I was amazed at the quality of wood support beams that were more than likely from the original construction of the house. No knots, super solid. Nowadays everything is crap and all about maximizing profits.

[Rufus]

(Image removed from quote.)

I like this visualization best.

[bork]

Honest question.

Everything looks so tacky. New houses made to look old.

Its hard to call it a style since things are just thrown together, but you can see its a us interior in a glance anyway.

Why is everythinh so big too?

(Image removed from quote.)

Because 'MURICA.

If you're talking interior design, that's just one style, duder.  Contemporary American or whatever.  I'm not a fan of that myself and only buy modern furniture-- on the cheap because IKEA is the only place around here that has anything.   There's plenty of modern design, both in architecture and interior design, out there.  The U.S. is a big place.  I want to say that modern styles are more popular on the west coast.

Also fuck wall to wall carpet.     Getting a place with hardwood floors was tops on my priority list.  The only carpet in my place is this tiny patch that's inside one little closet.

[bork]

Eh, I've got a 1932 house. Old for the Seattle area, but just a youngin' for Europe. My wife and I like to respect the original design aesthetic while still having some modern touches. No need to tear everything down and IKEA-ize it.

I would so leave the outside as is and completely gut and redo the inside. 

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Honest question.

Everything looks so tacky. New houses made to look old.

Its hard to call it a style since things are just thrown together, but you can see its a us interior in a glance anyway.

Why is everythinh so big too?

(Image removed from quote.)

Because 'MURICA.

If you're talking interior design, that's just one style, duder.  Contemporary American or whatever.  I'm not a fan of that myself and only buy modern furniture-- on the cheap because IKEA is the only place around here that has anything.   There's plenty of modern design, both in architecture and interior design, out there.  The U.S. is a big place.  I want to say that modern styles are more popular on the west coast.

Also fuck wall to wall carpet.     Getting a place with hardwood floors was tops on my priority list.  The only carpet in my place is this tiny patch that's inside one little closet.

I'm 90% hardwood floors

[Tasty]

Fuuuuuuck carpets. That's like, in my top 5 priorities when looking for a new place.

1. Closeness to a T stop
2. Internet service
3. Low bills
4. Hardwood floors
5. Mupepe

[Mr. Gundam]

Eh, I've got a 1932 house. Old for the Seattle area, but just a youngin' for Europe. My wife and I like to respect the original design aesthetic while still having some modern touches. No need to tear everything down and IKEA-ize it.

I would so leave the outside as is and completely gut and redo the inside. 

We've done a ton of work on the house, but still retain the bones of the structure. Full basement build-out, redid the main floor bathroom completely (I'll be redoing the upstairs bathroom this coming summer), repainted, added trim and crown molding, etc. But there are some great old built-ins that I wouldn't want to get rid of, and the hardwood floors are solid.

The only carpet in our house is the living room area in the basement. Everything else is tile or hardwood.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I was mostly talking about furniture brehs

Look this would be pretty danish

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Carpet has its use. I chose carpet because I live in an apartment building and the ceilings/floors are thin as fuck. And carpet reduces noise. Hardwood floor is vastly superior in terms of looks, but carpet is soft and makes a room sound better. And I never spill anything. Well, no drinks anyway.

Why is everythinh so big too?

(Image removed from quote.)

You know how insecure people drive big ass trucks with engines with so much horsepower they'll never use? The above image is the equivalent of that. General insecurity makes people want stuff more than they'll ever need. I'd argue Americans, overall, experience feelings of insecurity more than Western Europeans. Although I suppose with the Islamibarackobamazation of Europe that might change. Then Western Europeans will also cling to shit they won't need.

Or you know we have big families and need space.

[Mr. Gundam]

Carpet has its use. I chose carpet because I live in an apartment building and the ceilings/floors are thin as fuck. And carpet reduces noise. Hardwood floor is vastly superior in terms of looks, but carpet is soft and makes a room sound better. And I never spill anything. Well, no drinks anyway.

Why is everythinh so big too?

(Image removed from quote.)

You know how insecure people drive big ass trucks with engines with so much horsepower they'll never use? The above image is the equivalent of that. General insecurity makes people want stuff more than they'll ever need. I'd argue Americans, overall, experience feelings of insecurity more than Western Europeans. Although I suppose with the Islamibarackobamazation of Europe that might change. Then Western Europeans will also cling to shit they won't need.

A lot of Americans also move out to the middle of fucking nowhere suburbia and get a new house on a huge lot in a development. Not my thing but it's really common.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Haha Gundam I checked and my place is 860 sq feet.

[Mr. Gundam]

Haha Gundam I checked and my place is 860 sq feet.

My place is good sized for Europe, but it's small for America. I also don't have backyard and share an easement driveway/alley with my neighbors.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Yeah I know man, I could get something double or tripple size for less in the countryside. But im 10 min train or metro ride from the city centre of Copenhagen.

Think once we pay off some of the mortgage we might move.

You live in seattle right?

[Fifstar]

I remember thinking this when I watched MTV room raiders. Something about the furniture where each home had 5 completly different styles of furniture thrown together coupled with those cheap looking carpets. Not that sutudents in europe just live in designer lofts but it always felt like little money would be needed to make those rooms a lot more modern.

[Mr. Gundam]

You live in seattle right?

Yep. It might look like I'm in the burbs from that shot, but directly across the street from my house (and elevated fortunately) is Interstate 5. I'm in a dense urban village setting with apartments, townhouses, some single family homes like mine and also a good amount of stores/restaurants/bars and a large lake/park nearby. Whole Foods is about a five minute walk in one direction and the co-op grocery is a five minute walk the other way. Separate bike lanes and I also live three blocks from a light rail station that will be complete in about five years. The walkability in my neighborhood is awesome.

[Shadow Mod]

Stop watching HGtv man, the interior design they do in those homes will make you cringe. They keep trying out these awful hybrids. Last time I watched they were really into monotones with a splash of red. And oh god subway tile fucking everywhere.

That being said, what's wrong with big furniture if you actually want to seat company that comes over.

I'm in a craftsman and inherited a set of mission style furniture for the bedroom, so that's the room that looks best. All the pieces are coordinated. Other rooms are kind of a mix and match of vintage stuff because who has the money to really ensure that every piece is exactly alike. If I did have the dough I might go full obsessive asshole and do it, craftsman/mission style is nice. I gotta watch myself though, those pieces have brutal corners. 

[Madrun Badrun]

Dandy: thanks, why though?

Because they eat too much, because they own big plate to sit on their big tables. 

[naff]

Dat ignorance. I could google "modern european interior design" and post the first ten or so results asking why yurops modern shit is so dated and gauche.

[Dickie Dee]

It is not just the interior design.

The quality of building materials is shit and cheap.

This so much. I built out my unfinished basement five years ago and I was amazed at the quality of wood support beams that were more than likely from the original construction of the house. No knots, super solid. Nowadays everything is crap and all about maximizing profits.

Pulling up 30 year old carpet and finding premium hardwood floor underneath.

No feeling in the world like it. Currently living in a turn of the century townhouse in Halifax, NS. Loving it and all it's quirks. Every particle board sprawl house I've lived in both the States and Canada in the past decade always gave me a sinking feeling inside.

To the OT: not quite my style, not quite gauche, just catalog meh - too many fucking shiny pillows would be my main grip, first thing you do to make those couches usable is to throw them on the fucking floor. Maybe they shouldn't have been there in the first place.

[Mupepe]

That's a parlor. You don't sit in it because mom will hit you with her shoe.

[Madrun Badrun]

It is not just the interior design.

The quality of building materials is shit and cheap.

This so much. I built out my unfinished basement five years ago and I was amazed at the quality of wood support beams that were more than likely from the original construction of the house. No knots, super solid. Nowadays everything is crap and all about maximizing profits.

Pulling up 30 year old carpet and finding premium hardwood floor underneath.

No feeling in the world like it. Currently living in a turn of the century townhouse in Halifax, NS. Loving it and all it's quirks. Every particle board sprawl house I've lived in both the States and Canada in the past decade always gave me a sinking feeling inside.

To the OT: not quite my style, not quite gauche, just catalog meh - too many fucking shiny pillows would be my main grip, first thing you do to make those couches usable is to throw them on the fucking floor. Maybe they shouldn't have been there in the first place.

That sounds awesome.  I'd love to live in Halifax.