I was walking around downtown this evening and as I walked by I was looking in peoples’ houses. Hey, they left their blinds open and what else am I going to look at? It’s dark, it’s not like I can see where I’m stepping. Anyway, I noticed that a vast majority of the homes had boring, boring, boring interiors. Off-white walls, maybe a painting or two, possibly a plant. Boring. A couple were moderately better looking because they had:
a. wood paneling
or
b. an arch instead of a doorway.
And this runs the gamut of wealth and poverty. Because a great thing, sort of, about downtown Coeur d’Alene is that on any given block there will be something like a million dollar Bed and Breakfast, a few nice middle-class homes, a starter home or two and a rental meth-lab.
But I was thinking, and here’s the point of this, we need to go back to those Victorian type wallpapers, the bold colors, the stripes, the floral prints. And displays of things, stuffed birds, pinecones, possibly even books, anything. For all their alleged prudishness those Victorians had some amazing looking houses.
Of course, I rent, so I can’t actually apply too much of this to my life, but if you own a home, do the neighbors a favor and consider sprucing the place up. Or close your blinds before it’s dark.
Not So Fast 
Hey just because it’s in a rental doesn’t mean the meth labs should be at the bottom of the list. Most of those make more money than the GNP of Beleize.
I think I make more than Belize. The point is, the three vehicles parked on the lawn, the peeling paint and the brown lawn (which is a cardinal sin here) come out on the bottom of the home decor list.