built to scale

Model homes are an interesting concept. I went to a few with my family a while ago, and honestly, I was kind of creeped out by the whole thing.

Books were deliberately stacked to give the image of order, though the slightly askew stacking suggested a casual order. Trophies lined the shelves, but there were no inscriptions on them. Pictures of people were displayed along the hallways and in the bedrooms, but who were these people?

I can't help but wonder what it would be like if the model homes actually belonged to families, and this was how they decorated. It'd certainly be an interesting family, albeit one that would probably be classified as idiot savants.

I understand the need to look like somebody lives there, and so somebody decorated everything. However, there were some really bizarre choices, such as giving the boy's room a bedside table with a basketball hoop underneath (which is normal-ish) but then placing thick volumes detailing 1800s economics on his desk. Given the basketball theme of the rest of the room (inscription-less trophies included), I would peg the boy that's supposed to 'live' in this room to be around 10. So whoever placed the books in there either wanted to suggest that buying this house would make your children smarter, or he just wanted to fuck with you.

(("Come playyyy with ussss."))
image from: http://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/images2/shining-twins.jpg

Ultimately, I think the model home would've made a more positive impact had it not been decorated. Everything about it seemed much faker than open houses, which are still manicured, so to speak, but with things that people actually use.

Or maybe I'm just out of touch, and 10-year-olds nowadays enjoy reading books analyzing French government in the 1600s.