At some point in the 80s someone up high in some New York skyscraper had the brilliant idea to financialize the housing market. This man’s singular stroke of genius made him not only rich but also created the hell hole that is the modern home. Square, grey, massive and surrounded by a seam-allowance strip of grass that is manicured within half an inch of its life. Devoid of warmth or personality with just enough bathrooms and walk-in closets to optimize resale value, the suburban house has traded the function of a home with that of a commodity.
One would be forgiven to think that after the 2008 financial crisis we would have corrected course. That we would have seen the error of our ways and returned to the comfortable warmth of a dwelling. What a foolish thought! Doubling down is what we did! Frantically committing ourselves whole heartedly to commodifying the house we dove in head first into the new phenomenon of faux luxury.
We now model our homes after the British manor house inspired by its opulent rooms and vast lawns, only to cherry picked the features that would work best on a spec sheet. Who cares about the hand carved wood railings or the romantic silk wallpaper, no, we wanted the million different roof lines and a bathtub no one ever used. Then we got in our heads that walls were for the poor so the kitchen, dinning room, and living room were all put in one big open space. Of course unlike the lords and ladies of the manor, the middle class didn’t get an inheritance to build their little boxes of opulence. So to finance their humble little 5 ½ and 3 baths, the wood floors were traded in for laminate, the solid doors for wafer thin ones that quiver at just a light breeze. We now lie in our bedrooms while being lulled to sleep by the sound of the person breathing in the next room over.
Our fascination with the manor house is no accident. Our focus has completely shifted from building a home to building a status symbol.
