If you have good taste or interesting taste in Objects and you collect and very rarely purge, this is actually a very simple look to achieve because you just pile it on and it doesn't really matter or not if things go together in a conventional sense--because you don't care. (If you have terrible taste and a bunch of cheap junk, it would be a form of hoarding, more or less).

I think it would be much more difficult to do this with a sense of discipline.

That's why I think some people call it a "curated" style. This was over the top, even for me, because some of it looked silly to my eye, but not in a terribly way, just in a "whatever floats your boat but not mine" kind of way. I'm constantly trying to purge things that no longer "spark joy" in my home, and some of that is just because all the layering makes you enjoy each individual piece less. I'm not sure at what point stuff gets in the way of living in the home, but right now I am there, but really trying to move towards functionality. I just finished "reclaiming" my dining room today, from clutterville. It's still cluttered, but much of that is because my adjacent kitchen is so small with minimal storage, considering how much I like to cook, preserve and entertain. At least I was able to move some things out of there that didn't fall under those categories . . .

Those guys clearly love art. I could get that way myself with books and art, but I have pretty much told myself that no new art or books can come into the house . . . sigh.

I am not even sure I would consider this highly curated. To me that involves more disciplined collecting (like my 6 dozen danish modern candlesticks, or my mother's friends collection of hundreds of nutcrackers). This is more impulsive than that, I think--not that it's bad, necessarily.

Of course I approach this from a perspective of just today throwing out rolls and rolls of rough draft designs from design school courses going back 20+ years (and feeling rather depressed about doing it).

It's beautifully done - Victorian horrors, and all.

Does e hit is ead on the beams??

They are shopaholics. :-)

If you love art, you have to kind of curate, or else you have to be able to afford to have a storage facility and rotate stuff. And you have to LOVE dusting!!

My mother's friend with the hundred nutcrackers had objects in the thousands and employed a woman full time to clean her collections, she would come a few hours a day and work her way through the collections in an endless cycle. (This was in addition to whoever cleaned the house in general).

Your mother's friend's house sort of sounds like The House on the Rock in Wisconsin, Pal. Ever hear of it?

I think the low ceilings would bother me more than the clutter, um, I mean collections.

I was stationed in England for several years (I am a retired US Air Force Captain). I call that decor as “British, busy and beautiful”. It is colorful, happy, and eclectic.

@sheesh, no I had not heard of that before. I took a look.

Actually this couple's house was very organized. It was a pretty typical midcentury house with modern furniture but some of the rooms were lined with narrow glass shelves covered with categorized artifacts, like a museum. And then other collections covered tables. It was mostly Asian artifacts in the house, and there was an outbuilding with other collections.

I live in a town where so many homes look either like a budget version of HGTV’s “modern farmhouse” or on the higher budget end a Serena and lily catalog. Often even when I visit good friends I do not get any sense of who they are from their home. Sue’s home could as easily be Karen’s home. They all look so similar they just blurr together.

This house tells the story of its occupants and to me that is the definition of a beautiful home. It is not something to use as an inspiration because a copy of this is as souless as the ubiquitious copies of HGTV, Serena and Lily or any Raymore and Flannigan show room. Trends are soulless filling a house with meaningful to you items gives a home a voice with heart.

Roarah: I totally agree with you: my home is a reflection of who I am and where I came from. I have lots of family heirlooms on display, and treasured items fron my travels in the US Air Force.

Roarah, you are so right, soullessness in a home is so very sad, and boring. Also, my father always called R&F ”Paymore & Shenenagins”, which is apt, their sales and marketing practices are highly suspect.

ETA that I love this house, but I’m a layered room fan, especially when it incorporates warm and vivid wall colors.

Rorah, so well said. I came back to this thread because I felt badly for only declaring my appreciation for the house without any real comment. For me, to quote the late Anglophilia, It works. It works because it is well put together, harmonious and comfortable. I love seeing objects that connect to peoples past and their interests. I love the excitement over a green serpentine picture frame catching the light. I love how the house is clearly a comfort to the couple. I love how they were not willing to pay extra for updated bathrooms.

I feel the same way about displaying "personal objects" in homes. My collections include "Japonaise" art, including pottery, fabrics, etc. my late mother brought back after a year living and teaching in Japan after the war. Lots of nature inspired art and just odd natural bits and bobs, which sparks my joy, old rather worn out dishes and kitchen stuff from my late grandmothers, an inordinate amount of books but no regrets there, (mostly), lots of old blankets and rugs, embroidery samples made by my late mother and some of her friends, photos everywhere of friends and family, and a rocker and clock for every room, lol! I'm always interested in trying to find a name that folks will understand for my style, I often use "curated" or "layered" or "British" although that is way too general, and also because that style is found all over Europe where they aren't as anxious for "out with the old, in with the new" as Americans, for the most part. One of my favorites that I heard on here was "Boho Granny."

As a point of discussion though, there is a fine line between collections and hoarding. These guys aren't at that point, but it's a slippery slope which I struggle with. The slipping starts when you get too tired to keep it all up. When the storing, display and maintenance of your collections becomes and impediment to relaxed, efficient living in your home, then perhaps you have crossed a line . . . and I also think that goes for the "minimalist" lifestyle also, when you are constantly having to leave your home to shop for things you don't have but need, or replace fast breaking/wearing out items. And then most of that is throwaway and the hamster wheel chugs on . . . To me this is the art of home decorating, thinking about how the environment of your home can be best arranged to facilitate your best life. Ah that I had the space and time for some of these curated homes that I see on here. But by the time I will have the time, I will perhaps be too old . . . One of the things that I struggle with is that having family heirlooms around me sparks some joy, but also source of sadness because once I am gone, the stuff and the memories they hold will be consigned to the junk heap, I have no one to pass them on to. This is also a striking difference I have found between American and Europe, how little we value personal items with history. And then ironically buy items made out of cheap materials, "distressed" to look like they have some history . . . One of the saddest looks for me is old tools used as decorations . . . meanwhile I can't find a new tool that lasts more than a few years to actually use . . .

Oh my gosh, I will never again apologize for the eclectic mix of fabrics and art in my home (LOL)! Still, if they’re happy with their home, that’s all that matters.

I know (or have known) a lot of people in San Francisco who live like that, and I am not at all comfortable with it. Plus, I cannot pick out a single item that they have that I like, possibly because of how everything is displayed. Not a fan of this style at all - it gives me a headache and makes me a bit dizzy.

If it were Italian instead of British, I might like it better. The only British style that I somewhat like is Neo-Classical (Robert Adams), and that is heavily influence by Italy.

Thanks for sharing!

I agree....that there's not a single item in there I would like to own....yet it does look like quality pieces. It's just too much....over whelming. It's interesting tho.....I like that the "stuff" makes them happy.

I find it lovely.

I liked the sitting room, DR and even the K quite a lot. Love their non-style style. The Office (?) was a mess and bedrooms not restful, to me.Overall, the ceiling seemed awfully low, and I think that was a detriment.

I totally agree about wanting a house that has not been re-done (at least not the K and BA). Rarely do I see a K or BA i really like, so I'd rather not pay for someone elses' reno.

“People want you to pay more for their bad bathrooms” - so relatable!!!!

Occasionally watch the “escape to the country” style British shows and I’m continuously appalled at the low ceilings! It is such a culture clash because to me the people are evaluating basically hovels that they are prepared to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds for.

When you have to hand art on your doors, I think that’s a sign that you have too much.

And here I’ve been convincing myself not to buy a 12” square painting because I have enough art...

Hovels, ouch! 😁Those houses date back to a time when people were shorter, building materials were not as plentiful and taxes in different counties and countries were based on things like width of the building, or height, or number of windows. The Grade 1 structures are sacrosanct and many people are proud to live in them with all their limitations. But I imagine that’s also why barn conversions that allow for height and light and more open plans are so popular in the UK.

I agree with you—-low ceilings are my non-negotiable—-but for some history is more inportant than comfort. We are still trying to get used to the nine foot ceilings here.

I read some of the comments before viewing some of the video and was prepared for much worse. I think I've seen 'high style' curated homes here that looked much more cluttered than this. I found most of what I saw charming. If this was an antique shop or an estate sale, I would have had a terrible time not selecting a lot of what they own. I especially liked the comment about having a small mirror in part of a wall collection (he had a charming term for it, but I forget what it was) as a piece of living, moving art.

Also lower ceilings much easier to heat. But in the summer, kind of stifling, but low ceilings popular in cooler climates anyway. In the hotter climates they went for breezy, the classic "shotgun" house with maximum ventilation, bare surfaces because of high humidity, etc. Ya know, ye olde "farmhouse" style. Perfectly fine in the right setting, but I find it unbearable here in the cold north where the same palette is playing outside as inside for much of the year. And one of the last things you want to try and heat is a whole "open concept" if you're not using the space most of the time. Cozy works when it is damp and bleak outside, so curl up by the fire and have a spot of tea. Ya can't fill up one of those 12 ft. ceiling houses very easily with bodies and animals to warm it up. Ask me how I know . . . but it's cooler in the summer as all the heat rises up around the ceiling and you can open the windows at night to let in the cooler air . . .

I like it. What we don't see is the real ambience of the house because none of the lights are turned on. Imagine how much nicer the rooms would look with the lights on.

I see fire hazards everywhere.