I'm a rather observant person, a habit I've retained from my years on the police force.  In my current job hauling pizzas, I get to see the inside of a lot of people's houses, just as I did when I was on the force.

I've seen the interiors of houses and apartments from every walk of life, from shacks that ought to be condemned as uninhabitable to spacious, palatial near-mansions in exclusive subdivisions.

Usually, I tend to notice to notice interesting or unusual decorations in people's homes, regardless of the income level of the customer.   For example, one regular customer has a half-size mummy case in her foyer, with the rest of her living room filled with other interesting, quirky items.

I also tend to notice common patterns.  I've noticed that a lot of people are painting their walls darker colors, such as maroon, hunter green, royal blue, mustard yellow, and so on.  I like this, as it tend to give rooms a warmer, more comfortable look.  It's a welcome change from the boring beige and white that was almost ubiquitous in years past.

Another trend I've seen is that more and more people, especially in newer homes, have hardwood floors.  This is a big departure from the 60s and 70s, when carpetless, hardwood floors were seen as decidedly downmarket.  I remember when we moved into our new home in 1967, the first thing my parents did was to have carpeting installed in the house, in all rooms except for the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room, and bedrooms.  Ten years later, when my father moved to Texas, his home came completely carpeted with the exception of the kitchen.  Even in the bathrooms were carpeted, which I found a stupid idea, considering all the water that gets splashed around when someone gets out of the shower.

But even though I think carpeting in bathrooms is unpractical, I'm not particularly keen on the idea of an uncarpeted living room or bedroom.  There's nothing quite like rubbing tired feet across a carpeted floor, and there's nothing at all pleasant about getting out of bed and putting one's feet on an uncarpeted floor on a cold winter morning.  And, in my opinion, there's something stark and sterile about bare, hardwood floors.

But I know that, eventually, this trend will pass, and carpets will be all the rage again.   I'm just amazed at how many people quickly jump on the bandwagon of whatever is currently trendy, instead going with their own tastes, regardless of current trends.  Twenty years ago, you hardly ever saw hardwood floors, except in older homes where the residents couldn't afford carpeting, and now, it's just the opposite.  I'm certain that if coating the floor with tar suddenly became the fashion, that these same people would run out to Lowe's to get buckets of tar.

As for me, my house came carpeted, and it's a good thing I like it that way, as I couldn't afford to have it all ripped out for hardwood floors, even if I wanted them.

Thoughts?

tags: trends  carpet  hardwood floors  

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