The first is more my style. The second reminds me of a comment a friend made early this week about his daughter’s new house: It looks like the inside of a refrigerator.

The two abodes could not be more different. One is warm, inviting, colorful and imbued with symmetry and traditional style. The second looks (to me) like a staged RE listing, devoid of any lick of personality or style that would offend any age, sex, nationality, creed creed, religion or political affiliation. Staged badly, I might add, as the stager did not know enough about interior design principles to at least sit the two front legs of the LR chairs ON the area rug although there is ample room to do so.

The first looks like GardenWeb aspirations. The second looks like Houzz pros whipped it up from Wayfair.

^^ My thoughts exactly.

More of the Houston house:

https://jenniferhunterdesign.com/project/houston/

“It looks like the inside of a refrigerator.”

😂

Neither room fits me, altough I like the first room better. The second room, I like the flooring. The overall colors not at all.

Inside of a fridge, LOL. I not only dislike the decor in that one but find the architecture awkward.

The first room is lovely, a bit different without being at all whacky, and kind of a throwback in tone.

Ida! Yeah.

I see people in the first, enjoying the dinner, complimenting the hosts, and lingering over coffee and conversation after.

In the second, they chow down, maybe take their plates to the couch, and clean up clattering while a few are still at the table. And throughout, all the last-minute mess is dumped semi-out-of-view in the sink.

The first dining room is handsome but to me points out that there is apparently Nobody in the US who can make drapes that hang straight from their pleats anymore, and you used to be able to get something like that at Sears. I saw drapes in a very expensive listing, very expensive fabric and the leading edge was curled around so you could see the lining on one of the pair.

I think the second picture is at least partly virtually staged. The second is awkward and dull but seems to be what appeals to practically everybody in that buyer demographic, or they wouldn't be styling/marketing it this way.

The relationship between the rug and the map artwork in pic 2 is interesting; maybe the only interesting detail in the space.

The second picture is hotel lobby meets furnished rental. I like the first photo, though not really my style.

Different rooms for different tastes. Hooray for different!

I’m not fond of either.

Thanks for the link to the Houston house, Jinx. Did anybody else notice how the art matches the room in EVERY case? Ugh!

Maybe they already had the art and the decorator decorated around it???

I agree with Pal. The construction/hang of those drapes is disgraceful.

I hate the decor in both.

Emptied out, the second one is ready to move in and the first needs to be fixed up. New paint, new wallpaper, and I hope the previous owner takes that ridiculous chandelier with them. The second one is a blank slate. Very very blank, but at least it doesn't have to be painted.

The first one has a good base but I'd want to change out all the blah tones. "Filthy Driftwood" may be a Farrow & Ball color, but it does not belong in my home.

The second one is soulless but once the furniture is donated and all my crap is put in, you'd never know it.

(I prefer older styled homes with rooms instead of open spaces so I'm pretty sure I'd like the house that holds the first one better.)

The first room is much closer to the look I prefer than the second one. I think the second room is a boring. I don't see Hobby Lobby in that room at all. Even Hobby Lobby has more attractive artwork and decor than what I see in that room.

The first seems dated to me.

The second I see as a place for the younger crowd. Open floorplan, modern decor.

Inside of a refrigerator! Hahaha!

If they'd just turn the lights on in the first picture I might like it. The room is dreary without any lights.

I hate open concept living. It is, imo, devoid of any character and ironically, the killer of any sense of communal living.

The lack of color and warmth in both is not at all appealing to me.

Im with Jo. I dont like open concept, i dont even like the term open concept. So the first picture, if i have to pick one.

What really struck me was the warmth of the first with color and fabric and softness and a more human proportion and cozy feel given the shape of the room. The other feels, yes refrigerator! It feels cold to me. I think I'd have to wear a sweater even on a summer's day. The noise and echoing would be awful, especially if you have quite a few people in there doing things...clattering dishes, cooking, watching TV, talking, etc. And physically colder trying to heat the volume in that space would be difficult. And as far as luxury, the former has it for me far more so than the latter.

We have "open concept" in our kitchen/breakfast nook/family room area...though it's not a large space. It's large enough for entertaining as everyone hangs out in the kitchen anyway and this way there's room for everyone. It's cozy enough for just the 2 of us. Even at that it can get noisy when one is doing dishes or cooking and one is watching tv. DH uses wireless headphones in the a.m. so I don't have to listen to his station. It definitely is a shared space. We have lots of other "away" spaces in the house which we also make use of frequently. I'm not sure I could live with having the bulk of my home completely open though. Once rooms reach a certain proportion, they feel more public than private..