Old Money - Aesthetic or Attitude? 

People with old money know they don’t need to prove anything to anyone. That’s what distinguishes them from people with new money, who haven’t acquired the same confidence, yet.

The best way to make an Old Money look is to get your hands on lots and lots of old money.

"No amount of money can buy Style"! Amen to that Statement.😊

Yup. I was raised this way. The only real difference was that my Mom reupholstered her inherited antiques periodically, and wasn’t fond of animals in the house! She was a social worker (unpaid) in her twenties and always taught me to respect people who didn’t have “my advantages “. We were never keeping up with the Jones’s, I’ve always lived within my means. All in all, a pretty good upbringing!

100 percent raised by parents who exuded the old money attitude. My dad's mother WAS old money (a Cameron) in Massachusetts, but did not inherit much of the family fortune for reasons that aren't completely clear to me, but may have had something to do with marrying an Italian immigrant. She, however, had an absolutely, in my opinion, incredible eye for decorating, and influenced me so much in terms of how I decorate my own home. I never really thought about it before, but I LOVE a great curb find, and often tell my husband and kids that my appreciation for an object in our home often is inversely proportional to how little I paid for it. I am an avid Homeworthy fan so I was familiar with all of the decorators that you mentioned and their homes, all of which are aspirational but also achievable. Thank you for this video!

Whether old money or new money, no style is complete without a dog or cat curled up on a couch!

I loved this video! Your research, commentary and analysis described Old Money style beautifully.

Oh Lauri, that was an excellent video. I like your gardening and cooking videos, but my favourites are your home decorating ones. I've said before that you are a wonderful teacher, who knows the value of good visuals...which must have taken some effort to locate. Thank you so much for all the education that you have provided to me.

Can't even begin to relate to Old Money. I did see Libby's Homeworthy tour and just loved everything about her home and treasured collections. And her love of all those dogs. Her home felt like a home, not a mansion with no soul, as so many ostentatious homes do.

Thanks for expanding my horizon about "OLD MONEY AESTHETIC." I accumulated a lot of nice vintage clothes and furniture from thrift stores . Quality of vintage is undeniable. So, I opted for the "old money " mindset even before becoming a thing in the world of consumption. ❤

This resonated so much with me that I'm showing my husband the video. My husband and I did not grow up with money, but our mother's both had a flare and a knack for decorating, gardening and etiquette. My mom had such an eye for finding things and incorporating into the house. Now, our son and daughter feel the same way. Over the years we have bought and stored items for their future home that will one day instantly give their home style, comfort and uniqueness that their peers won't have. Thank you for such a wonderful video, an absolute needle in a haystack of ticky-tacky homes on RU-vid.

I think the idea that one 's home is personal is often lost on today's homeowners and decorators. Many homes you see, even in design magazines, put more emphasis on featuring " high-end" furnishings and finishes than personality, and end up looking more like a furniture showroom than a home. Thank you for a thought-provoking video.

This was most interesting and really what it seems to come down to is confidence in oneself. My mother comes from a "blue blood" family, who went into education (i e., one was the president of St. Lawrence University), so definitely comfortable, but not "old money." However, the style and attitudes were the same, just on a smaller scale. They had (for generations) a "camp" in the Adirondacks, rather than a large house, that was pretty rudimentary. But, it overlooked the lake and I remember walking down to swim in the frigid water, teeth chattering while trying to warm up on the beach. Such fond memories. Thank you for this video.

Palaces and large country estates in Europe, typically have grand state and reception rooms to both impress and entertain guests. They were the " public" rooms as opposed to the private areas where the family and staff lived. Enjoyed your video.

Much like class , good taste combined with old money aesthetics is not for sale and as a rule you either have it or you don’t.

I occasionally watch your videos but I must say this one is my most favorite! I suppose we are old money; on my mother’s side. We all usually inherit our items but sometimes buy new. I am the fourth generation owner of lovely dining room furniture and a lovely diamond ring. The oriental rugs were divided between cousins. If there are items no one wants, I usually take them. That’s also true with the paintings. If no one wants them, I’ll take them. We were very fortunate to have family with quality items and furniture.

I love treasures that were passed down through generations but I don’t think our kids do. I was raised with that attitude! I was considering selling a beautiful French country dining table but you’ve made me reconsider the antiques I have. Maybe, just maybe in years to come a grandchild will think like I do!

As I'm watching this video I'm realizing just where my style comes from. I think as a child I wished we had better than what we had. Without going into detail. My father once told us to buy the best you can afford. Granted I like a good hand-me-down but I find now I'm more interested in what's comfortable. I realize it's more important to me that my home be and feel lived in, not a museum. Thank you for your video.

At one time I was an errand boy for a famous society decorator. As such I saw homes of both old and new money. Far and away the most interesting was that of a youngish old money couple with phenomenal taste. Ancient sculpture juxtaposed with contemporary art.... 18th c. gilt wood chairs mixed with steel and glass..... and overall, an air of haute bohemianism, bordering on the outlandish. Their taste was original and daring.... not exactly typical OM.

My mother came from old money. She lived through the depression and they would refer to hers and other families as the “impoverished” wealthy. They were still society just without the enormous capital. The silver was always kept polished, and the China wasn’t just displayed it was used. Live-in or daily staff, cooks, maids and nannies, were part of the family and you’re correct: even the middle class hired them until the late 60’s early 70’s. A present for my 9th birthday was a book on etiquette called “White Gloves and Party Manners.” I still have it. 😁😉

The key to the old money aesthetic is very simple: Quality. Each item must be the best of its type. In the end, it is tte result of mixing items of all different ages into one space. For that to work, each item must stand out as a prime example. When it comes to those magnificent carpets, many were hand knotted in Persia (Iran). However, Axminster and Wilton in England still hand weave these incredible carpets. They are not inexpensive but they do last lifetimes. Properly cared for, an Axminster carpet purchased now will look as lovely in a hundred years.

Oh this is wonderful, thank you. ❤ I enjoy history and consider myself an old soul, your insight is spot on.

I love this! Thank you.

Loved this both the photos and the narrative. Thanks

So interesting and informative, I confess I just viewed Bunny Williams home on Homeworthy and I was incredibly impressed with her laid back style and heart warming home that she obviously loves to share with others! Thank you!!

Excellent! So glad you brought this to our attention ❤ I have things that were my great great, great, grandparents and my parents. I’m looking forward to going to a thrift shop today 😊

Absolutely right! Thank you for making this informative video. I hope it provides new insight for those "in need", 😂😂😂❤❤❤

A wonderful video, Thanks for sharing.

Wonderful ❤Loved this ❤️ So true 👍

Libby Cameron’s house is genuinely nice Reupholstered furniture is the only way to get a well made piece of furniture, furniture is badly made nowdays and is disposable It is a horrible way to live- everything disposable

I really enjoyed this video. My goal in our home is that it is as comfortable as my Grandmom's shore house. Classics. I spend more time than I should looking at vintage furniture for the exact pieces that make our home comfortable. It's a process and takes patience. Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, I have some handed-down items. I treasure them. I'm looking for other treasures too, and my home continues to evolve.

Such an interesting presentation----loved listening. Now I was raised in the west of Ireland with the same mind-set and attitude as you described BUT I did not come from wealth in the monetary sense whatsoever ,rather the very opposite. My mother had to provide for us a family of four in the 60s and 70s as my father was struck down with multiple sclerosis. My mother loved to be stylish and she would buy the very best she could afford and she would justify that by saying "The dear thing is the cheap thing in the long run". How right she was as buying quality she always looked so well and of course she wore those same clothes year in year out just changing her accessories. She often referred to "The new rich" flaunting the latest trends but never bought into that. Her advise to me was always buy the very best you can afford and care for it. Also education was a big deal for her ,saving her money in jam jars to have for our music, dancing and elocution classes. She managed to make it all work. Thanks Mam for all the values

My home is never completely finished either!! Loved that statement!! However I do not have patience when decorating a room. I go thrifting to fill in the blanks until I find the right piece!! Recycle, Reuse, Enjoy!!

Very interesting video, Thank you, I enjoyed this lesson today 😊😊

Such a great topic! Enjoyed the history of how the other half lives! Something to think about...

I truly enjoyed this video. I know people that came from old money, and they were and are down to earth. My mother and father brought my my brother and me to be polite and respectful to our elders. She taught me how to set the table properly and be a lady.

Love this. Thank you.

Loved 🥰 Thank you 💐

No --- do not borrow money for education -- figure out how to pay for it and graduate without debt ! That education debt will be an albatross around your neck for a lifetime and will influence every aspect of it! Bunny Williams is my go - to for decoration and design. She is practical with an impeccable eye.

Robert Kime was a wonderful human being he and his wife just did what they loved. He said he just knew how to arrange things he wasn’t really a designer.

❤❤❤ Great video!!!

I think Bunny Williams has a pretty specific idea of junk shop. Now those shops are often online and the key for me is to find something the seller doesn’t know they have. I’ve gotten some amazing things that way. But, too, you can find a thirty dollar table that’s worth refinishing or painting - but then you’re looking at the lines of it (form and function). Not every thirty dollar table is great. The vast majority are not. Williams started designing furniture when she couldn’t find enough of what she wanted.

Nothing wrong with old or new money. It's how you use it. I would say I have some quirky examples of old money. My grandmother's 100 year old planter that is still producing the same succulents she planted in it, my father's paint brushes he used to paint his boat, my other grandmother's tea pot that I recently found the matching creamer and sugar bowl to it in an antique shop, and the metal aluminum pot my grandfather used to boil water in. There are other examples around my house, but I like to think those items were so valuable to them that they are now valuable to me. Great video!

🥰, thank you!

I love 💕 this so much ❤

LOL - so I have old money attitude... I feel all of that. We have always just made due with what we have - I was raised that way and passed that to my kids.

Spot on.

I raised my children this way. I always told them that you didn’t have to “be rich to look rich”. And by this I simply meant that those items that held the most value to you should always be the ones you surround yourself with. They should have a story attached to them, whether it be the art of a friend, a relative or your own design, a gift from your grandparents or a friend, something you found on your travels or on the curb, and if you have fine china, use it … daily if you are compelled to do so. But don’t be ostentatious, it’s unseemly and rude. I live on a very modest income and after my divorce, I raised my four children on my own. Our doors were always open to others and we treated them like family. I am still called “mom” by many of my children’s friends and other neighborhood children that came through our doors throughout the years. I have always had an eye for design, and have always been told I have style. It’s almost funny that people who come in to my home nearly always assume I come from old money and am simply slumming it. I tend bar at a local dive bar. Lol.

Without wishing to be unkind, Americans often fail to grasp what “old money” truly is. The interiors are too fussy and labored. Old money in the States might go back 100 years, in Europe it’s centuries and it shows. Europeans don’t need to make interiors that impress. They grow up with antique furniture and possessions gathered over many years. When I walk into American homes what hits me is that things all look as if they have been acquired at the same time and match. It just creates a false look. There are some wonderful American interiors but these play to the nation’s strengths, which Europeans envy. The scale of the houses lend themselves to interiors which the average European can only dream of.

In England some of the upper class will actually refer to people who "had to buy their own furniture" meaning the are not from a wealthy family that passed down furinture.

I have thrifted since I moved out at fifteen. grand mother would have me drive her to thrift stores to shop for everything from clothes to furniture. most of the plants in my yard were things I got from the curb on the days the city would scoop them up. I don't know why people have to buy everything new.

Like Bunny Williams home & her designs also. I have family heirlooms and some are not in the best of repair, that are well loved & are blended with newer or other effects I've picked up through estate sales and garage sales. I love Princess Anne's style-not fussy and comfortable.

Well said. Trying to emulate that would actually be considered ‘common’, lol. Nothing worse than seeing a castle int he middle of a middle or even upper class neighbourhood.

I'm clutching my pearls right now....

Hahaaa...yes! Great video.

I agree with lots of what you say - attitude is a lot of the old money look. But certain items are also key. If your family hands you down a not very well designed, and not even beat up pink flamingo, or broken piece of farm equipment with no aesthetic value, these pieces are not going to contribute to an old money look. The good taste that old money is known for comes through education, especially about aesthetics. Also, just to point out one thing about cochineal and red. Red does come from cochineal bugs (pronounced CO-shin-eel), but because of the difficulty of amassing enough bugs to make red, it has always been expensive, even in it's native South American countries. Europeans had to import it, through highly restrictive trade practices, so only wealthy people could afford it. A custom designed and made large rug that had a lot of red in it was an extremely expensive item. And because the good quality ones were made of wool, which wears extremely well, these rugs were, as you say, were often handed down from generation to generation.

👍💯

3 generations is not seasoned enough to be "old money". It's usually 6 generations or about 150 years in the US. In Europe, it's usually around 200 years.

It is amusing that one of our current presidential candidates who would like to be thought of as old money, is instead ostentatious, with the well-publicized gold toilet. Toned down appears to be far more elegant.🤭

Interesting observations...also, the word design in the plural is 'designs' - not 'design's'!

I really enjoyed this! I've always appreciated unique items and out-of-the-ordinary designs. I'm an artist and, for awhile, I served on public art committees. I discovered that most people choose art/design based on other people's opinions. It was a sad experience, watching fantastic art get overlooked because committee members were scared of what "other people would think" of their decision. Most people's homes are a reflection of this very lack of confidence and, as a result, BORING! An aside, as someone who lives on a farm, I've always been perplexed that so much of "Farmhouse style" is white! Anyone living on a farm knows better than to paint anything WHITE! LOL

When you have plenty of money it is not part of your daily thought process allowing fredom of thought !!!

Old money does not feel the need to buy/wear/display labels.

You cannot copy taste, you either have it or you don't. You can LEARN how to decorate but it will not replace real authentic inbred good taste.

Bunny Williams - geez - I think her house is too cluttered. Though, her apartment is nice

old money LOOK is comfort THESE days homes look like County JAILS

Nothing is more ridiculous than cheap plastic mass-produced Louis XV furniture spray painted gold. And of course upholstery in a cheetah print.

IF you love an OPEN FLOOR PLAN get over it and BUT a damm Gradge

Yikes! This feels a little catty and mean-spirited. I haven't watched this channel often, but this is a bit of a turn-off to be honest.

I know what you are saying. It is such BS

Interesting content, could have stood on its own without making an example of another less experienced content creator, rather poor form…