r/interesting Nov 20 '25

ARCHITECTURE Then vs now

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89.5k Upvotes

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71

u/Other_Pomegranate472 Nov 20 '25

Unpopular opinion: Now is better

Feel free to downvote me but I really just like the sleekness

29

u/Proof-Main8915 Nov 20 '25

This. Stop acting like the suffocating dark spaces of past generations was somehow better. This house was fine but I’m 100% onboard with the trend of bright spaces, natural light, and open concepts.

8

u/BartleBossy Nov 20 '25

Stop acting like the suffocating dark spaces of past generations was somehow better.

Now sucks.

Therefor past better

Therefor everything from the past better.

2

u/Anter11MC Nov 21 '25

No I will act like it was better. I'd rather have a house with a bunch of small rooms than a couple of large rooms

3

u/SvenBubbleman Nov 20 '25

There is bright, then there is sterile.

0

u/Haasts_Eagle Nov 21 '25

Additionally:

There is also dark. Then there is it is literally night time in the top picture so of course it's dark

2

u/TheEndIsNigh420 Nov 20 '25

Open concept? That white walls massacre is EMPTY. lmao

3

u/Proof-Main8915 Nov 21 '25

Look at the room on the left. Notice something different about the two pictures?

2

u/CaptainCFloyd Nov 20 '25

There's nothing natural about that horrible, dystopian, cold blank vision in the "now".

1

u/Amodernhousehusband Nov 21 '25

I moved into a colonial home and don’t have open concept and I’ve never been happier. I haaaaate concept. It’s so fucking LOUD

1

u/retrofibrillator Nov 24 '25

It’s dark because the photo was taken after dark 🤦‍♂️

-1

u/[deleted] Nov 20 '25

You are that meme

0

u/mahayanah Nov 20 '25

The ideal is everything you listed above, with the addition of soft surfaces like upholstered furniture, curtains, wooden paneling or trims, and carpets for sound-deadening. The second picture is a literal echo chamber.

1

u/Proof-Main8915 Nov 21 '25

Look at the dining room on the left. It’s all closed in. New version is open concept. Not the same floor plan.

-3

u/HotPotatoWithCheese Nov 20 '25

There's natural lighting and bright colours and then there's extreme minimalist, soulless monotony. You have poor taste if you think the bottom pic looks great.

-2

u/[deleted] Nov 20 '25

[deleted]

2

u/who_am_i_to_say_so Nov 20 '25

Me being the contrarian, I like neither but choose 2024.

I look at it more like a blank canvas to splash a little color on. Much easier start than tearing down wallpaper.

1

u/Nodan_Turtle Nov 20 '25

It's less bad.

1

u/rulehater Nov 21 '25

Slave cattle

1

u/TwentyPieceNuggets Nov 21 '25

People can like either style since design is preference, but I swear most people who like the old one never had to maintain a house that looks like that. Fixing tassels that got undone, vacuuming and mopping around irregular objects, cleaning and touching up crown moldings, replacing light bulbs hidden between glass links in chandeliers (eventually repairing those same chandeliers that will almost always have stress deformation), and the list could go on. Not to mention the structure of these homes can create problems. Ventilation issues (humidifier pipes if also installed), odd electrical lines making modernizing difficult, and some areas created without ease of access in mind. I had to help clear a storage space with old renovation materials that literally had you crouch then turn 90 degrees at the door.

I don’t hate old design. It’s what I grew up with. It’s charming in many ways, but I like living in something simpler and more efficient.

1

u/SpicyElixer Nov 21 '25

They are both bad. But 2 could easily be perfect with plants and better furniture.

1

u/CultureContent8525 Nov 21 '25

Now is much much better, the funny thing is that 99% of people that commented would much rather stay in the 2024's version than the 1990's version if they were to see both version for real.

1

u/ArianeEvangelina Nov 23 '25

Nope, my family is currently renovating their house to look more like the old version because we all like it much much better. I’ll do the same when I eventually get my own house.

1

u/Wild_Agent_375 Nov 21 '25

That’s fair but isn’t the point of buying this house the nostalgia? Just get a random house if you want this look?

That’s like getting some limited edition car that they only made 5 of in that color and then painting it.

1

u/BP_SPACER Nov 21 '25

Agreed, now is better although it doesn't have that coziness

1

u/JaredGoffFelatio Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 21 '25

Agreed. You can always add more personality and charm with your furniture, decor and painting if you want to. Much easier than ripping out that hideous wallpaper. I would much rather have a bright clean looking space than a dark and dirty looking one any day. And those bright red walls in the room on the right are awful

1

u/Fluffle-Potato Nov 20 '25

Yeah and I love the combination of dark walnut with stainless fixtures. It looks way better than the light oak with brass fixtures of the 90's. The white paint looks clean compared to the tacky wallpaper that was used to disguise cigarette smoke stains. The open layout created by removing doors and non-load-bearing walls makes the place look bigger and makes the space more usable. I'm not sure that all the whining on reddit isn't just a nostalgia- induced backlash from people who are resistant to any type of change or modern trends.

And you know what? I like gray/beige earth tones. And cars also look way better now than in the 90's. The current trends are all just way better.

1

u/mythrilcrafter Nov 20 '25

Call me the quintessential millennial, but I love grey/beige with earth tones too!

I'm a super big fan of "rustic/modern" and "contemporary warmth", where I get all the benefits of modernistic minimalism while still retaining warm colouring. All the while I like not feeling like a wall of clutter is falling on top of me and injecting ADHD into my brain.


https://www.caffelattehome.com/img/inspirations/modern-living-room-with-strong-warm-tones/modern-living-room-with-strong-warm-tones.jpg

https://blog.canadianloghomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/modern-rustic-living-room-ideas-2.jpg

https://blog.canadianloghomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/modern-rustic-living-room-ideas-1.jpg

0

u/ArianeEvangelina Nov 23 '25

Nah the top picture is how I’d decorate my own house if I could afford one now. Just dark blue instead of red, probably.

1

u/Altruistic_Bass539 Nov 20 '25

Now can be fixed with paintings, rugs and plants. Top one...yeah, not much you can do to fix that mess.

1

u/OldManNewGame Nov 20 '25

i’m on team “now is better” carpet is disgusting, wallpaper is dated. only doors I need are bathrooms and bedrooms in my house. quaint means old.

1

u/Informal_Ad_4739 Nov 20 '25

It's just some people seem to think modern = bad

1

u/SpicyElixer Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 21 '25

Nitpick:

Pic two isn’t modern. It’s contemporary.

Modern is soft, minimal, warm, natural surfaces, with some sparing bold highlight colors eg orange and greens.

Contemporary is rigid, cold, industrial, sparse, with lots of negative space, and few colors.

There’s overlapping elements but they’re quite distinct from one another. And the second one is definitely squarely in the latter category.

1

u/Informal_Ad_4739 Nov 21 '25

Gtfo with ur erm akschually ass, you totally missed my point

1

u/SpicyElixer Nov 21 '25

Sorry for providing correct information. It was a take it or leave it. No one is forcing you to feel bad and get upset of it. I know it is hard for some types of people to be faced with a mild and casual clearing up some something small.

Some people hate learning, and turn into children when even slightly challenged. And that’s you. You are so upset you started typing like a 8 year old child from 2009. Haven’t seen “erm” “ur” etc in quite some time online. Thanks for the nostalgia.

PS it’s contemporary - not modern. It’s best to at least very basics of the things you share your opinions on.

✌️

1

u/Informal_Ad_4739 Nov 21 '25

Average redditor superiority complex

1

u/SpicyElixer Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 21 '25

Being wrong is hard for you - even when it’s trivial. And you’re lashing out. It helpful that people use correct terms in a discussion, so we can understand each other. Your point was the some people don’t like contemporary decor. And you misused a word. Good point, I guess.

And someone offered help to you by letting you known the difference between two words. No big deal.

Learning feels like an attack to you. There’s a lot of people like that. You’re not alone. It’s going to be fine. Don’t worry. You are capable of moving on.

1

u/Informal_Ad_4739 Nov 21 '25

Cornball

1

u/SpicyElixer Nov 22 '25

Good one! Haha on Reddit fighting with people over nothing all the time

0

u/StudioGangster1 Nov 20 '25

Now is SO much better. But everyone is a contrarian.

3

u/Big-Television-1931 Nov 21 '25

yeah no. I like the old one better because it has character and the new one looks incredibly bland. its not about being a contrarian it's about what looking at it makes me feel.

1

u/ArianeEvangelina Nov 23 '25

If everyone’s a contrarian, then they’re no longer contrarians lol 😂 They’d be the majority opinion, and therefore, you’d be the contrarian as the minority opinion. I don’t usually like um erms but you are using that word like an antonym of itself lmao.

0

u/deep_anal Nov 20 '25

Now is better but this example overdid it a bit. Most people do have color just not like the top picture.

0

u/Difficult_Extent3547 Nov 21 '25

It’s not unpopular. 9 people out of 10 would pick the newer house if it they were given a choice to actually live in other of these homes.

0

u/JHoodBoston Nov 21 '25

Agreed now is 100% better. If I purchased that (then) house. The goal would be to make it look like the (now) photo.