Hmmm, I think it's fun....sort of like a hobby. Why knock something that brings me joy (not stress)?

Horse puckies.
I'm not trying to impress anyone. I just want my environment to be visually pleasing. I find that when I decorate to meet my own needs, I enjoy spending time in those rooms.
So, do men who spend too much time on their yards also have a self-esteem problem? After all, that's much more visible than the interior of a house.

Ditto KHinNJ. Sheesh! Must've been a slow news day. This is the Age of Anxiety in many ways, but insecurity about one's home? If I can keep the place tolerably tidy and dirt-free, I feel good.

Also- if someone truly has a self esteem problem this extreme, they are going to act it out in one way or another. If it's not continually fixing up their home, then it will be something else.

I think it's an outlet for creativity, a source of pleasure and comfort, and I dont' give a flip whether what I choose is high end or trendy. Reading design books, watching design shows, and ESPECIALLY reading this blog every day has helped me to hone in on what MY style really is.
I used to wish I could have a room in every style that I loved: stark Japanese true zen style, hard core urban loft style, super organized with "clean lines", brooding English country home style, and more.
I finally realized that I love love love furniture from the late 1800s (great granny style?) and global decor (concentrating on India, Japanese geisha dolls) plus lots of art from arts to paintings by my friends (and my own) and comfy reading chairs.
Oh, and a wall or two of walls completely full of well loved books. Which I am no longer getting rid of.

Oh Puleeeze, find a real problem to worry about. Decorating is an absorbing and fun hobby and having a nice place to live makes life better. For the vast majority of us, it's just fun and interesting.

Apparently anything a woman does that implies interest in domestic things means she has low self esteem. *eyeroll*

I like to cook. I like my house to be warm and comforting and welcoming. Yes, I read design blogs and cooking blogs and pin things on Pinterest. I feel no need to keep up with "trends" but I do like to see what's out there and get ideas from things others have done. So sue me.

They are using way too broad a paintbrush here (oooo, I should paint something, ha!).
Do some people use their house to impress people and let the decor stress them out? Totally.
Do I love to decorate for my own pleasure and creativity? Totally!
A does not always equal B.

I think of interior design as a hobby that makes me happy, but probably does waste too much of my time. As an artist, I can't help but view my surroundings aesthetically - it's an extension of everything I do (except, admittedly, daily clothes fashion - ha!) But I do think that fashion, and all of the shopping industries that are similar to new decoration ideas, can become an addictive problem - luring us into believing that we or our lives will somehow be better if we just buy _____ (fill in: new sweater, cute skirt, fancy sheet set, new armchair, unique dishes, etc.) That never-ending siren call of "you need new things to be happy or look cool" is a dangerous way to live. In fact, many studies have shown happiness is related to having fewer choices and owning fewer things.

Can't they write about something else?Now what do they call a person who doesnt much care about the appearance of their homes?
Our homes reflects our personality, it is our outlet for our creativity and a great stress reliever.
Can't we have fun in a decent manner?

I think majority of people who are going to comment on this are all going to agree that decorating isn't about having a low self esteem. I decorate & fix problems in my home because it makes me love my place so much more. To see how something can transform a room is very rewarding to me & I am proud of what changes I have made to my home. No self esteem issues here... I think if that were the problem with me, my outlet sure wouldn't be decorating. And what about all the great interior designers, would you say they all have low self esteem? Dorothy Draper? Andy & Kate Spade? I could go on and on...

I agree with home body. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I think that in my life there is some truth to it. I don't have bad self esteem because I don't have a nice rug in my living room, but I do *stress* and even obsess over it. It is an outlet for control for me, and I do spend more money and time than I should thinking about the layout and objects in my apartment. All of this is under the guise of making my home a more comfortable haven, and it is actually growing farther from that. Rather than being an escape from arenas where I constantly have to improve, it has become one of those arenas.

I dunno -- but could you tell/show us more of that great interior that comes with the article?

The explosion of decor programming on HGTV, online, and in magazines has certainly made me more conscious of it.

When you look at old movies - Hitchcock, for example, or Fellini, or the James Bond franchise - they have stunning but very idealized interiors; the kind that only the Paleys and Kennedys actually had back then. Yet thanks to the proliferation of decor shows and blogs, we expect that level of "wow factor" from everyday homes today.

When you see an average family getting a home make-over (not even an "extreme" one) that's includes thousands of dollars worth of free labour and materials, it does breed house envy. Sometimes I feel like our place isn't as big, as cool, as current as I'd like, but it *is* comfortable and funky, and I remind myself that it isn't about the things, it's about the people and experiences that make a house a home.

I think the story has a lot of truth to it, but is not limited to decorating. You could say the same thing about any number of things, like clothes, iPhones, cars, food and so forth. Basically any material good subject to trends and that is tied to cultural status is going to elicit social benchmarking behavior.

Agreed with Home Body and Scoot.

... they do know that some men are into interior design too, right? And I don't see many headlines about men having self-esteem issues because they compete with their buddies over who has the newest tech or the best car either...

I agree that if you are loosing sleep over what color to paint your front door - you might have a little problem. And if you are getting so stressed over the little details and obsessively shopping for months for the perfect mirror - you might have a little problem.

Am I pleased when how I decorate my home is appreciated by others? Sure. But that's not the only reason I work on my home. I'm a design/decorating junkie and do it because making a beautiful, warm home is a passion of mine and I've learned over the years that I am happiest when I have a little project to do (like painting the dining room a new color or recovering dining room chairs or making a headboard). It's how I get my creative juices flowing.

I also agree with this part of the article ... "Bombarded with design updates, blog followers have become hypercritical of innocuous objects they see in online house tours, such as a table lamp or piece of art that is not quite on trend." When I see these hypercritical comments on AT I always cringe. I know we can all get in a snarky mood once in a while and not think when posting, but geez, sometimes the negative comments are so over the top. Lighten up people!

I, too, think of decorating/home design as a hobby. My job is stressful enough. Decorating my home allows me to be creative, and I enjoy learning about various design techniques and designers. Maybe it is a compulsion for some people, but for me it's an outlet.

When I'm low or my ego has taken a hit, that's when I don't decorate or have dyi projects. Like my other hobbies, it takes a back seat when I'm wallowing in pity parties.

As sistervashti said, it's an outlet for creativity and by reading design books and blogs like AT it helps me hone and fine tune my style. Decorating and fixing house issues makes me love my home even more and I take great pride in it, I do it for me and my comfort, not to show off though that is a great side effect.

Hahahaha, yeah right. People are into decorating & browse pintrest & the like, because they've been poor for so long now, they want a pretty distraction to dream about.

In my job, I end up touring occupied apartments in upscale-to-slummy buildings throughout LA & ventura county. I can assure you, nobody has a decorating "addiction." most people live with furniture they've rescued from dumpsters & sleep on air mattresses. The ones who CAN afford a well-decorated home pay designers to decorate for them.

Do we really care about anything that is written in the Globe and Mail? I mean srsly? It's a rag.

I don't think we are the right people to comment on this article, given that we are all here :)

Having said that, decorating is absolutely an esteem issue! I want my place to look nice, because I have esteem for myself and want to live in a place that is comfortable and pleasing to my eye. I'm not a consumer of decorating shows on TV, I do pick up the occasional Arch Digest, Wallpaper or Dwell magazine, but I don't make decorating a focus of my life ...or day.

You just reminded of a guy I used to know who kind of went off the rails after his young wife died. He brought a house that he renovated and decorated down the the insane detail. After he was "done" he couldn't stay to enjoy the house so sold it and brought another house and repeat the cycle, and again. It's been going on for 5 years now and I heard it isn't slowing down.

Its not just women its also men as well..........kind of sexist if you ask me.

3-pronged response:

1) I decorate my house in a way I find aesthetically pleasing, and in a way that suits my needs. When my house is decorated, things get put away, and it is much easier to clean, which leads to a clean, comfortable space that I like being in and that I am comfortable bringing friends to. I wouldn't invite friends into a space with milkcrate bookcases, grey walls, and a bare mattress, just as I wouldn't go out for drinks dressed in an old sweatshirt and flip-flops. I do it because I enjoy being in a space that makes me happy AND because the space that makes me happy says something about me, and I wouldn't show a representation of me that's in bad taste to others. Yes, this is the WASP in me speaking.

2) I find it vaguely annoying that anything a woman does/cares about/demonstrates interest in/is willing to spend money on somehow gets brought back to low self-esteem. Come on. Also: A LOT OF MEN CARE ABOUT DECOR TOO, why are we not saying anything about the crisis of self-esteem for men, fer...

3) I do tend to want to change my house as a way of wanting to change something about myself ("if I have a workspace, I'll sew more. A bigger bed would mean more etc" - commonly seen in others as "if I have a treadmill in the house, I'll exercise") so I do find it helpful to figure out what I'm trying to achieve before going out and rearranging everything.

I had no idea this would stress someone out that much, that is unfortunate.

My house stresses me out because it's been a contruction zone since we moved in 18 months ago. Getting to the design/decor phase would actually be a relief and a joy :)

I know that it's not AT's intention, but reading the articles on this site more than once a month or so really creates a discontentment with what I have. I understand that AT seeks to inspire creativity but often times it inadvertently frustrates me with all the thing I *wish* I could do with my home or wish I could afford but can't. I don't know how this can be avoided except by spotlighting a fabulous person's life and then showing their shabby, styleless, cheap and utterly ordinary digs. Is that appropriate for a design site? Dunno. But it sure would help keep me grounded in the reality that a fabulous life does not have to include a fabulous home. I'd definitely visit the site more often, too.

....says papers heavily obsessed with celebrity culture.

P.S. For example, Joseph Campbell. He lived in a 2 room apartment for most of his career and what an inspiring life!

Barton's article contains no substantive data to back its assertion that home decor has become "a full-blown obsession for North American women." These types of false-trend stories appear regularly, and media critic Jack Shafer used to point them out gleefully in Slate magazine. It's sad, though, that Barton appears to have no perspective on the comment section of a blog like this one, which really is an amusement for most people, rather than a serious pursuit. People comment on lamps and shelves because it's fun, not because their egos depend on it.

I think the generalization is a little off the mark. I have a wealthy and very snobbish relative who is full of insecurities, tends toward jealousy, and is deeply competitive by nature. Her way of dealing with the decor wars of her social circle has always been to avoid making design decisions...for years. She claims she's too busy, short of funds (as if), not really that interested. In truth, she's afraid of choosing the "wrong" thing. She's symied. On the other hand, someone who is constantly tweaking his or her home is probably more secure in who they are and in what they like. But if that person obsesses on staying two steps ahead of trends and quakes in fear at the thought of a design misstep (antlers anyone?), then maybe it's true image problems are at the heart of that drive. The tragically hip are tragically insecure. I'll buy that.

I fiddle with my home decor to please myself (and my husband, to some degree). I really don't care whether anyone else likes it. The only thing I worry abut when I have guests is getting the house reasonably clean.

My husband is a fisherman. Not professionally, but obsessively. He went to great pains since he was in college 40 years ago to make sure he had a career that would take him places he could fish (he succeeded). Every home we have had always has a room where he can display all things fish, fishing and even vaguely fishing-related. Our vacations are often planned around it and much of our disposable income is earmarked for it. Now some clever person please write an article explaining how this is not the result of low self-esteem yet my passion for improving, both practically and esthetically, my home is.

I can see both sides of this story. On the one hand, some people are very critical of home decor, and will voice their opinion if they don't like something. That kind of scrutiny can have a negative effect on people who are more sensitive to criticism. And I do know several people personally who decorate to impress others, or to be trendy. It drives me nuts.

On the other, I almost never decorate or add something in my home for the approval of others, so I don't think this kind of behaviour actually applies to me. Then again, my home is my sanctuary, and I don't often invite many people over. I keep it personal and private on purpose. So I'm not opening myself up to criticism.

This isn't the forum for the thesis of that article to get an enthusiastic hearing. And it's no big deal to say that some people go over the top with decor/fashion/eating/exercise/any damn thing. But there are two quotes that might be worth remembering to stop oneself running too far and too fast.

Saki (always an acid drop): "Francesca herself, if pressed in an unguarded moment to describe her soul, would probably have described her drawing-room. "

And one from a book about child psychology that said in essence: "If you don't know who you are, you become what you have."

I'm not sure obsessive buying behavior is necessarily rooted in self-image problems these days. Sometimes it's due to an exhausting abundance of information about EVERY LITTLE THING you choose for your home. For example, kitchen towels... there are probably 60 million places to buy them, in every color, texture, and print, or you can DIY, you can buy local, you can buy from Etsy, you can buy American, you can buy vintage linens, you can buy from Nordstrom or Target or West Elm or Ikea (or you can drive around and CHECK THEM ALL before you buy), you can put a bird on it, you can buy organic cotton, or ones with recycled content, or you can buy sustainable organic bamboo, or you can buy from that cool place that you saw on AT about 2 years ago that you think you bookmarked or maybe told your friend about but can't remember the name of but it was SO COOL ... it's an absurd amount of information over a miniscule decision.

And it's even harder if the item is being purchased as a gift & especially so if children are involved. Recently I saw what I thought was a cool product for a new parent, only upon further research to find that a child somewhere had died in one (maybe or maybe not due to the product design). Tragic & not gift material. Keep looking.

It's enough to make you just not want to give anything but gift cards anymore ... but where to??? Walmart? Target? Macy's? Etsy? Does the local farmer's market or vintage boutique sell gift cards? What's their stance on marriage equality? Do they pay fair wages & stock sustainable seafood? What does their CEO believe in?????

Oh there's plenty to obsess about. And maybe being concerned about these things is related to being Earth-conscious; or maybe it IS rooted in wanting to show that you've made thoughtful purchases of good things and curated a home full of quality, interesting things,... and maybe that IS a little about wanting to impress others. Or maybe it's about feeling like you deserve to live surrounded by cool things you love. I think it's interesting to think about.

I think it actually takes quite a bit of money and plenty of time to obsess over ones abode-two things which I just don't have much of. I'm happy covering up my Ikea couch with a new slipcover once a year, but to change couches several times in one year is a bit outrageous.

ccatx, that's so awesome.

Decorating is my creative outlet. I never thought of myself as creative until I realized that I have an okay eye, can make things look awesome on a dime, and I have so much fun.

I suck at fashion, so yes, this is my way to show the world that I sort of have it together, even if I do look like that mom in sweat pants and greasy hair.

I just knew that the responses to this post would heavily deny any "problems". But (although I didn't read the article) I can see some truth in the concept, even if AT readers as a group aren't as much on this wavelength as others out there in the world.

Witness "trends". Why are things like Chevrons or particular colors So Important to many people that they HAVE to find a way to work them into their decor or else feel out of step with contemporary culture?

Why does "Keep Calm and Carry On" resonate positively for one group and so very negatively for another?

Decor is a hobby for me (although it was fun to be able to do it for work in my Library's renovation.) I seldom change things once I get them to a point where I'm happy. I do it for me (and my partner) but I certainly do care and am proud when friends and visitors comment positively. (Oh, by the way, KHinNJ? *I* do all the landscaping and I'm a woman, so I kind of take issue with your observation about MEN not using that as a yardstick for measuring self-esteem! Bias goes both ways!) I don't base my self-esteem on what I have, but it definitely IS an ego-boost to get compliments. So at least vestiges of the concept lurk beneath my surface, and I suspect that of many others.

I'm sure it can become an unhealthy obsession, much like any other hobby in the hands of someone with mental health issues. Like most other hobbies, though, wanting to maximize the beauty of your environment is just something that some people like to do.

Ridiculous! another so-called expert finding fault in women. Next thing you know there will be another so-called expert inventing a therapy for it. Enough! My therapy is AT, thank you very much.

The article doesn't seem to consider the fun and excitement of the DIY movement and the fact that people are interested in learning how to do things like sew, knit, refinish furniture, etc., that many people took for granted knowing back in the 1950s. It also doesn't consider that people are more mobile and a lot more people are living in rentals due to the high expense of ownership (and being mobile). People are also living in much smaller spaces as urban centers grow, and there's nothing like living in a small space to make you more intentional about how you decorate. Instead, the writer sort of dumps on people who love finding the "right" things for their spaces. Should anyone lose sleep over the color of their door? No, that seems silly. And, I'll admit that I do take a lot of pride in working on my apartment and other projects, and if I devoted half the time I spend looking at design blogs, and other things related to decor, at the gym, I'd be in much better shape, but I'm pretty sure that the use of the "decor addiction" is unfounded.

So, this is just another idiotic article stating that women are shallow, jealous, and insecure? Yawn.

So many great responses here. Personally, I am a very visual person (artist and graphic designer), and I am affected by my surroundings. If it's messy, I feel stressed and disorganized myself. If it's soothing, I'm relaxed, if it's vibrant, I'm inspired. So not only do I enjoy aesthetics, home or otherwise, but I want a home that I feel good in. Also one that functions and flat out makes me happy.

Since the advent of modern media, women have been pitted against themselves, that we need to measure up physically or otherwise. On one level, this is difficult to escape even if you claim not to care because we are bombarded everywhere. But unless focusing on what we have/are/look like/can do is purely keeping up with the Jone's, I think this can also lead us to simply better ourselves and our situations.

Of course, home decor is hardly the primary outlet for such pressure, for many of us our homes are fairly private and outside of close family and friends, so we tend to mostly decorate for ourselves. But, I have known people that went through pricey home renovations to impress their neighbors, so it certainly does happen.

Life is so busy, and my decorating budget is small enough that it wouldn't qualify as an obsession. I don't have a keep calm poster or chevrons because it didn't wow me the first time I saw it and it still doesn't. I can't imagine this being a big enough issue to warrant concern. Most women are busy working, raising kids, and doing things for other people that she doesn't have time for a decorating hobby, much less being obsessed, right? Decorating is fun, but life should be filled with family, friends, and more important pursuits.

Aren't you overreacting a little to this article?
It seems that so much fell attacked.
Who lives aware and mindful has not to worry, or?

Besides i must recognize the article make some points: the obsession with perfection (sleek and neat interiors shot with professional lighting and stylist), our overdesigned environnements and lifes, the paradigm of control,
the futility (in regards to the gravity of our times)...

Though i don't think it is a specific feminin problem but a much more general that probably has to deal with the craving for desirable objects and artefacts paradigm for a capitalistic cult of merchandise.

While I don't think the fixation on decorating necessarily reflects self-esteem issues, I do believe all the attention to home decor says something about the increasing instability of our lives. I believe that we pay so much attention to decorating because it is the one area of our lives in which we feel some control. So we may have lost a job, we may not be able to afford healthcare, we may not know how long our contract work or freelance position will last or how we are going to afford to put our kids through college, but we know, at least, that we can have fresh flowers on the table or a set of matching dish towels or a clean and clutter-free environment. I myself spend more of my time making my home environment nice, precisely because I feel I have so little control over life outside my door. I have heard other people say exactly the same thing.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/leah-richs-evolving-patina-house-tour-167165

Better than bulimia though so what's the harm?

I got married at a young age and immediately felt the pressure to make my house 'perfect', even though we had no extra money whatsoever. It's only been very recently that I realized that my hobby of decorating was bred out of fear of what others thought of me. I stopped caring about what others thought and now I'm able to fully enjoy my hobby the way I should. I have found though that when I for some reason am not able to check blogs, AT, Pinterest, etc. for an extended period of time, it forces me to make my own decisions. If I have immediate access to those sources, I may get a cool decor idea but think, "I'll just get online and see if anyone else has done it." So I would say it's not so much a self-esteem issue for me as much as it is a fear of failure. I'm sure it's true that some people have self-esteem issues that come through in their decorating, but for the most part I think we just enjoy it as a hobby and as a domestic skill (which have mostly gone out of fashion in the name of women's rights, anyway).

I didn't read the article but the premise immediately reminded me of a friend who just bought a place and who is decorating and finding it very stressful. She does read AT and other blogs and is having a hard time reconciling her ideals with her budget. Looking at all the gorgeous rooms and homes on this site, it is easy to feel inadequate because you don't have the money, time or eye for decorating.

As a designer I do feel a certain pressure for everything to be done well. It is expected but I spend so much of my time doing others homes that mine is last on the list. My budge it not like that of my clients either! This is an interesting thought and I do fall prey to this often I'll admit it!

Low self-esteem maybe... an home with those special touches that makes me, my friends and family feel good - priceless.

The article is much-a-do-about-nothing. I have been decorating my own space since I was 16 because that's when my mother allowed me to paint my walls. Granted, she didn't know I was going to paint one wall large blue and white checkerboard. Ah, well. It looked great although the blue didn't go with anything else in the room because my mom thought I looked like the pink daughter.

I'm an artist. I also sew. I even make quilts. My great grandmother also made quilts. I knew her for 16 years. Her daughter made quilts also. They changed the quilts on the beds with the seasons. The crocheted doilies they made also changed regularly. The embroidered tablecloth and kitchen towels, bed linens and even the kitchen curtains change whenever the mood hit them. My mother made crocheted afgans, bedspreads, doilies, edgings for drapes and towels. She embroideried and even needlepointed. All of these women changed their decor to match their moods or the seasons or both. Considering that my great grandmother was born in 1860 I would say that pretty much rules out decorating addiction.

My husband is a geek. He rented an apartment full of furniture and thought it was just fine. Apparently his X was the same. When I moved in with him the first thing I did was hang some of my art on the walls, buy some plants, put an afgan throw on the sofa, make some throw pillows and buy some quilted placemats. I have heard him tell people that I am a talented homemakers.

Do I have a low self-esteem? Errrr... I am a type A personality. I've been called aggressive and unyielding. I can't think of a single person walking the face of this earth who would ever so much as suggest that I have a low self-esteem. I like to change things. Plants in the garden pots, clothing I wear, my hair style, laws that are unfair, etc..

As I said the journalist and Ms. Brandon just have nothing better to do than to find smoke where there is no fire.

BTW, Grats on getting your site link into another newspaper.

This article actually rings pretty true to me. When I was in college and just out of college, I got what I liked out of what I could afford -- which was usually low-quality stuff from Wal-Mart and BB&B -- and I didn't even know enough to care about what anyone else thought. It's all blue, therefore it all matches, sweet! Check this plastic bath caddy, it has cutout stars!

After getting a more serious job and seeing really nice spaces at some dates'/friends' apartments, I figured I should class it up a little. I wasn't sure what that entailed, so I started by checking out Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, and a half-dozen blogs. They all feature gorgeous spaces, and yeah, I wasn't feeling great by comparison. I started to feel worried that I was being judged when I invited friends over. Is it really that gauche to have a chrome/glass coffee table even if it's a great shape? I found that chair on Craigslist and I thrifted the fabric to recover it, but is anyone looking at the wobbly upholstery tacks? Why doesn't my repainted furniture look like Centsational Girl's? How come Manhattan Nest guys can put so much effort into their rented places, am I expected to too? My Tupperware cabinet isn't tidy NOOOOOO

I also get paralyzed by choice sometimes -- it's weird because it never happens in other areas of my life, but home design, constantly. I moved in the spring and I haven't unpacked half my boxes, partly because my time is limited, partly because I can't even figure out what kind of bookshelves I want or how to arrange my main room.

The more I read about home design, the more it bugs me. I take periodic breaks from AT and other sites when I get into BUY ALL THE THINGS or STRESS ALL THE THINGS, but I still feel like people are judging my apartment and taste, and I need to create an absolutely ideal place if I want to be taken seriously.

I'm obviously not the only person who feels this way. I noticed this on AskMetafilter just today.

Oh, and I think the lack of reality on Pinterest/AT/etc. really contributes to it. If photographers remove cords, remove trash cans, remove storage, rearrange furniture, etc., before a shoot, then what's being reflected isn't a real living space. So how can a real living space ever measure up? To me it's the same as models being photoshopped into impossible faces or features; it just creates discontent.

I feel this article has some truth to it. Friend nicknamed me Martha Stewart a long time ago and it hurts me because I feel like I need to live up to the image, but I really can't. I want nothing more than for my home to look perfect which isn't easy to achieve. We hope to sell out home in the near future and I hope that it will be a starting point for something much better and happier for me in a new setting

Women? Because of course all of us guys just live in undecorated man caves! And remember, be happy with what you have. If we judge ourselves for what we lack or keep obsessing on what we don't have, of course we will expect others to judge us that same way, that's when insecurity sets in. Life is not a competition with every other person on the planet, just a chance to be and do the best we can. No amount of 'gorgeous' in a home will substitute for being content with one's lot in life. Relax people. Be thankful. A happy heart can fill the humblest home with beauty.