New Poster.
I have to say, I don't get people's attraction to Old Money WASP culture. It sounds so...stuffy and stingy! I feel like saying, "live a little people!" There's lots of fun out there to be had if you are willing to spend a little money. I suppose you would say we are "nouveau riche" and I like it! It's fun to splurge when you can! I don't want to live like a miser when I don't have to. Luxury cars, luxury vacations, eating out at nice restaurants all the time, sign me up! (of course we still save so don't @ me) |
finance + selling stock in an IPO |
We like Stickley. |
Old Money WASP culture is derived from Puritan culture. Puritanism, as the old saying goes, is the fear that somewhere, someone is having fun. We don't just love our dogs, we have to put them in stuffy dog shows with a lot of standing around waiting. And there's usually a lot of bland food and washing aluminum foil to re-use (even though the food is served on good china with a very traditional pattern, nothing modern) at family dinners. |
why though? Just to save money for the next generation? |
You use a decorator who orders from trade-only brands. A lot of it is the same stuff from the same makers in NC as retail brands, but having that same basic piece in a coordinating, nicer fabric makes a difference. Decorator can also help you mix in some antiques (which don't have to be expensive!). What makes a room look good and pulled together imo is not mainly the "quality" of the furniture, it's whether the scale and style of the furniture make sense in a layout that makes sense with a cohesive color scheme and some personality. You can drop a mint at Thomas Moser or go on Craigslist, but if your furniture is the wrong size or doesn't make sense in context it will look terrible. |
"Upper Middle Class" isn't a thing. It's a story affluent working people tell to themselves and their children. Having $5m in the bank (particularly if you also own an expensive home, etc) means you're not any level of middle class. You may not feel that way because you're usually looking up and not down, and because your nest egg isn't so big that you can stop working (given current lifestyle) or guarantee the same level of success for your children, but it's true. Figure out how to describe yourself to yourself without leaning on the words "middle class" because doing so contributes to generations of little assholes who think they've bootstrapped themselves into life as a debt-free college grad because they were "upper middle class." Also the classiest thing imo is a destitute but socially prominent long-term houseguest, preferably in an accessory building. |
I get what you're saying. But my point is, we aren't like the UC people the profile writer is talking about. We fit into the UMC profile. In other words, I'm asking if money alone changes your social class. |
So Kato is our upper class model? |
^ As an example, we are planning to go to Portugal for next spring break, lol. Eh gad. |
|
|
The points about scale and color are excellent for any style of decorating. But hiring a decorator is how you end up with generic-looking, “new-new” furniture of the Restoration Hardware ilk (good quality, at least) and strange accent pieces. If you want modern furniture, I’m all for that, so long as a decorator doesn’t make your place look like a BigLaw lobby. If you want the Restoration Hardware look, save the midddleperson decorator, go to their showroom, and buy a suite. Same BigLaw decorating issues apply. But this won’t be an “old money” look, if that’s what you’re going for, being the subject of this thread. My parents, who have old money, briefly hired an interior decorator to work on their 200-year-old house. She wanted to put eagle sconces everywhere, among other things. In the end, they did it themselves (or rather my mom did it) and went with a combination of inherited quality antiques (grandfather clock, Queen Anne chairs, etc) and Danish modern living room furniture (you can get a Danish Modern chair on eBay for about $1,500, not that you’d want to do exactly that, but to give you an idea). The word “suite” anything is pretty much an anathema, except in the dining room, because the point is that your furniture was collected over many generations, and of course none of it matches. Yet with some reupholstery and careful placement you can absolutely get a harmonious and pleasing whole. The result is a more personal look. |
|
|