Do wealthy people have fewer possessions in their homes? - Page 2

Originally Posted by StephenHero

Most wealthy people are too busy experiencing things that actually bring happiness rather than accumulating shit for its own sake.

Originally Posted by dhaller

I think a large measure of this is having a maid... not in the obvious sense, though.

Since I hired a maid, I find myself much less likely to keep things cluttered. On the one hand I sort of feel "bad" messing up the house, and on the other hand I know if I clutter things up it makes her job harder and irritates her

It's funny, in a way... having a maid at times makes ME feel like "the guest": she has her little flourished and way of doing things (for example, she arranges a tissue in a sort of origami rosette atop all the tissue boxes in the bathrooms, and she folds the towels in a certain complex, decorative way). I'll even sometimes reposition a statue or something, only to discover later that she's put it back in the "right place".

Now, I'm a complete pushover, obviously, but I suspect that wealthy folk are often somewhat beholden to their staff, in the same way we often are to our assistants (anyone who has ever had a really competent executive or personal assistant knows that sometimes it feels like they're more boss than employee).

Certainly I don't dare clutter *her* house!

DH

Originally Posted by StephenHero

Why do you think they invest in garden gnomes?

Originally Posted by jenlain

I think that the wealthy who are included in AD have less crappy stuff. Their sense of style is why they are included in AD. Most wealthy have lots of crap accumulated over time. They have no better taste then less wealthy people.

Originally Posted by Blackhood

She?

Originally Posted by CouttsClient

When A.D. comes to the home they heavily stage the house so in photographs it looks it's best.

Originally Posted by Don Carlos

Err, no. It's usually not their sense of style, but their interior designer's. And many will hire a designer who's well-known and well-connected precisely because he or she has a reasonable shot at getting the home into AD. Secondary benefits include getting access to rare or unique pieces.

A good designer will take the owners' tastes and preferences as her starting point, and she'll let the owners give a thumbs up / thumbs down to tactical purchases and decisions. But she is the mastermind behind the overall layout.

This is what separates wealthy people from teh poors when it comes to taste.

Originally Posted by RSS

In one case it was a near disaster for a gallery that loaned a painting to my client for a photoshoot. The owner who had consigned it to the gallery saw it in AD and called to ask why they had not been paid.

Originally Posted by Pantisocrat

Rich people tend to live in smaller spaces with MUCH MORE stuff. I speak from experience assisting a New Orleans architect some years ago. Most of them are loners too, so living in a big house scares the shit out of them.