I've always felt like people don't take full advantage of owning a home. A prime example of this is the way in which people choose to decorate. People have so much freedom to turn their living spaces into a reflection of themselves, and their personality, and yet, for the most part, people all seem to decorate the same way. They buy their "Live Laugh Love" decals and their wine cork holders in the shape of an "&", and choose to paint their walls one of the four acceptable shades.

I'm not claiming that I'm any different. I own my own house, and, as I look around it, there are very few things that leave the impression that this place is unmistakably mine. My walls are white, my countertops are a sandy granite, and my coffee table is one that would feel at home in 90% of houses.

This leads me to the driving question of this post, which is "why don't people personalize their houses more?"

Why isn't this my coffee table?:

Its way cooler than the one that I have, and is a much better match for my personality. Why don't people have giant murals painted on their walls, or why does no one paint their ceilings like the Sistine Chapel? I understand why not everyone chooses to do this, but you can't tell me that there isn't a significant percentage of the population that would find that cool. Why don't people choose to paint every room of their house a different, fun color?

While I don't know the answer to these questions, here are the best explanations that I can come up with:

1. Cost

2. Decrease in "bespoke" decor

3. Decrease in family estates

4. Conformity