Me: This video isn't about anyone in particular... Also Me: Clearly has it in for Tan France's Tudor mansion in Utah.... For the record he seems lovely, I just I filmed this 20 minutes after watching the AD video... Oh! Check out my newsletter here! ➡ bitly.ws/3dpKu
But Nicks so right about all the points he made. It’s more a critique of AD than Tan. Exactly what Nick said - tell it like it is: I have lots of money and I can build exactly what I want! And what did Tan say “sorry I’m The star of the show” not his giant mantle above the stove. AD is not about Architecture it’s about celebrities - and they shouldn’t promote themselves as such.
What we need to have is an AD celebrity house tour bingo card. Sustainability, wood history, humble beginnings. What else? We could turn it into a drinking game!
As a seasoned designer(40 yrs), I respect and agree with about 95 % of your opinions and observations. Sincere praise!! The sad thing about our industry is it is now so monetized that actual good design takes a back seat to celebrity, trend, $$$ and throw away materials. 😢😢
If you really care about sustainability regarding your home, you would a) limit your square footage because of heating/cooling, and b) buy a home that already exists and remodel/renovate it. This is the most sustainable you can get when it comes to housing.
Our home is larger than we were looking for (but certainly not as big as the homes Nick was talking about). Unfortunately, we weren't able to find a home in our city that was new-ish AND small. We had a baby and pets and wanted something new enough to be lead paint free and asbestos free. Anything new enough to fit those criteria was larger than what we wanted. We did put up solar panels and we do try to make other sustainable choices, but I wish newer construction wasn't always ridiculously huge. (Or insanely small-- tiny house living, at the other end of the spectrum -- is also not for me.)
@@acaciawilliams9015but these are all opinions that you have. .. I. E. Older homes are full of lead paint, and that your family cannot live in them..... Just other people. As nick says, just own the choices you've made and be done with it. You don't want to live with the smallest carbon footprint. Got it. No point lying and trying to convince ppl otherwise lol
@@anyaboscovich7938 lady, I don't wish for ~anyone~ to have to live in a home with lead paint. I was lucky enough not to have to. Many people would give anything to have any roof at all over their head. I get that. But my baby was crawling around on the floor while my cat clawed my door frames and paint chipped off everywhere. I prefer not to lead poison my family if possible and I wasn't about to re-home my cat. I'm not sure who crapped in your coffee. 🙄
My philosophy (as a professional who makes reaction content about their profession) is that it's ok to react when you are punching up and not down. Celebrities who hire professional designers/architects and open their house to show the world are absolutely fair game. Also, another weird thing about Tan France's out-of-place home is that it wasn't built using the state-of-the-art construction materials/infrastructure. For example, he used loose Tyvek for the WRB; that's going to be a leaky, inefficient house. If you spend that kind of money -- in a climate like SLC -- with a really out-of-place style, you'd think you'd design it to be completely bulletproof. Weird. Not my style but arguably well-designed; just not well-engineered.
Thanks for your perspective on reaction content. I do roast my subscriber videos on my channel and I'm usually a lot kinder in those videos as they are regular folks opening up their homes to my audience - not an easy thing to do. So I do approach those videos differently than I did this one.
Ooh, he is going to regret shoddy construction. I live near Salt Lake and in the last few years we've had summer get as hot as 107F and winter lows down in the negatives. If your house isn't insulated well, you're going to have approximately 2 months of the year when that isn't a big deal. But I guess they built the mansion, they're happy to take all the resources to heat and cool the place and water that not at all desert friendly landscaping.
@@paveladamek3502 if salt lake gets up to 107 in the summers like the other commenter said, then they'd boil alive in the summer with traditional British building techniques. Those houses are ment to keep you warm year around. The massive heat waves in the UK the last couple years haven't gotten much above 90, but it's caused so many issues because the buildings trap heat so badly (plus no ac)
I agree with all of your points! I would like to add one of my pet peeves about these celebrity home tours: it seems like every single kitchen is equipped with a $100k French stove which the homeowner has absolutely no idea how to turn on because of course they don’t cook! 🙄
Ok I literally filmed that and it had to be cut because the sound was doing weird things! YES! The crazy appliances that will never get used except by the private chef!
Omg THANK you for the sustainability conversation! Don't ever be convinced that anyone making millions of dollars and is flying around the planet constantly gives any kind of damn about you, the planet, or anything other than making more money and maintaining that wealth.
I don’t think these celebrities don’t care about sustainability at all but we have to see that the entertainment industry itself is unsustainable for the environment and it’s probably not changing too much or too fast. So if someone is surrounded by that all their life, making sustainable(-looking) choices are a bit different for them than for an average person.
@@nineteenfortyeightI was trying to put "caring" into perspective. It's a very subjective term, and no one except the individual knows what it means to them. Basically, it's not up to you to say if they care or not. From a zero waste person's perspective, nobody actually cares except them. Does that really mean that others don't care at all? Don't gatekeep words that have subjective meanings, it leads to a very divided society. Sure, celebrities might have a responsibility to be role models but they can't be all be role models for everything. Calling them out as a singular group is extreme. Dolly Parton is famous for her charity, she's done undeniably incredible things for people in need. If her house doesn't run on 100% renewable energy and she flies everywhere by private jets, does that make her a pos person? Perspective, people.
as if you care about sustainability do you move everywhere with a bike hun? are you throwing your wealth away? Nah you are just farming likes on the internet
I love Tan and I don’t have an issue with his chosen house style but yes it REALLY bugged me when they talked about travelling the country to source out the brick and had the gall to say it was a “sustainable” choice
The overtone window for most famous people is so shifted compared to the rest of us that he probably honestly thinks it is "sustainable", because relative to taking a private plane to pick up a small décor piece in another country, it is!
I’m glad u spoke about celebrities and sustainability bc I’m quite frankly sick of them acting like they don’t do anything wrong and rest of us r huge polluters.
Yes to all of this! Especially the sustainability stuff. There's nothing sustainable about gigantic houses. Also, it's not sustainable to reuse materials if you have to ship them across the country.
Sustainability Specialist here. Depends on the material. With metals, using recycled ones makes all the difference, even if you ship from China. I wouldn't say so about bricks though.
I don't give a rat's tutu about how celebrities live. I prefer seeing regular people's homes, and the possible transformations with a modest budget. In essence, people living in the "real world". Nick, thanks for keeping it REAL.
@@vg7985Does it though?There is a fallacy here somewhere. You are equating regular peeps with boring and celebrity with interesting. But as so many AD tours have proven by now celebrities don’t necessarily have things that are stunning or interesting; they just have things that are costly. If it is stunning and interesting we want I think we can find plenty of that with regular people who care about design and have put thought into designing their spaces.
When you apply Nick's natural sass (which we all love) to calling out hypocrisy, what you get is so good and so accurate that it just makes me go "YES, YOU TELL 'EM!!!" But seriously Nick, I love interior design, but sometimes I just come here to listen to you talk about whatever, and I always leave thinking, "Ah man, he's a gem!" So thank you and much love from the UK!
Haha, you haven't missed much to be honest. Just a bunch of spoilt, virtue-signalling celebrities showing off their ginormous mansions on Architectural Digest.
“This guitar was crafted from Jimi Hendrix’s grandma’s old bungalow” 🤣🤣🤣. I am going to think of this and laugh every time I watch one of those videos from now on.
One of my favorite architecture channels is Never Too Small--tiny apartments. Honestly, I don't like most of them but I find it fascinating all the same, and the biggest bonus is that I don't have to see some celeb talk about their wallpaper.
Holy crap Nick you knocked it out of the park with this one, especially the sustainability and privilege sections. Thank you for making your videos with such intelligent considerations and integrity.
Orville Peck has my favorite AD tour and I feel like his home is the antithesis of all these points. It is unique, warm, and filled with character that reflects him so well. UGH I love it.
And the “vintage” car collection of twenty V8 muscle cars? We have a McMansion going up next door and the garage for their car collection is bigger than our house. We call it the Garage Mahal. So sustainable!!!
As a realtor, I have seen so many regular homes that is more stylish and tasteful than celebrity ones, big or small. Nick just pushed the interior design to a different level! Thank you!
All these things are subjective. Just because you think you have good taste doesn’t mean you do, other people might think your taste and style is garbage. If these homes were so bad they wouldn’t be selling for $80 million and above. lol
@@strawberrydialectics, slightly random comment and also something of an exaggeration? I, in no way, support Churchill’s actions in India, but to say he CAUSED a famine is over egging it a little. He did not start the Second World War (we can thank Hitler, Mussolini and the Japanese for that) and neither did he cause either a drought, or the effects of the Second World War. I know it’s unfashionable to stick to the facts nowadays, but let’s try and keep the 2 + 2 = 12 stuff to a minimum
I completely agree. I have 20 year old AD mags at home and there were so many interesting homes featuring the designers or the architects’s perspective on why they built what they built and their use of materials. It was so much more inspiring then a celebrity telling us that they got that cool thing that once belonged to someone cooler than themselves.
Nick, you are so darn funny! That's why I can listen to you talk for 25 minutes about Ikea or anything. Love your channel and I agree with you 99% of the time.
@@Van-hb4gi i watch every youtube video(other than music lol) at 2x speed. i actually dont know what nicks real voice is like. just this speed up version i listen to haha
The house that we now own is a cottage style. The previous owner was a “designer “ and redid the entire interior of the house in a combination ultra modern and mid-century modern. It was very jarring to walk inside. When we bought it it had sat on the market for over a year despite being in a very desirable location. We also paid substantially less from the original asking price. We spent the first year undoing everything he had done .
I know exactly what you mean. I would love to own an old townhouse, but they all have been redone so that ALL of the historical features were demoed instead of retained. They all look like brand new condos. It's a real shame.
Simply said. I love it “I bought it at crate and barrel” . You nailed it. FYI I rather watch restorations of old homes that are reclaimed and restored by ordinary people with amazing talent. 😊
This is your best vid, period! I’ve worked in “Hollywood” for 25 years and have been to these celebs homes. I’ve lived in them. Lol. You nailed it. They generally have no idea what they’re buying nor why, but everyone loves tell a story about their pieces… Hollywood is the land of make believe after all, and is far less fancy IRL verses how it’s portrayed on TV. This vid needed to be made. THANK YOU! I digress… Ps… “Nepo babies” do not get me started on that dirty little secret. Again, nailed it, Nick. 👏🏾
I do think he left out one important point: these homes are not at all "lived in" but are basically display pieces. I find it hard to believe that any of these celebrities get up in the morning and make their own coffee on that fancy espresso machine, let alone do ANY cooking in their fancy, massive kitchens, (except maybe microwaving some organic popcorn or boiling water in an electric kettle).
@@kekica11 Kinda true but not completely. Meaning, some of these celebs make far less than you’d think. True, some are loaded and do have live in caretakers make their food etc. And/or that’s their 10th home and are rarely there. Depends. But the richest celebs I know tend to be down to earth and do normal things like clean their own toilet if that’s in order. It’s the lower level (new) celebs who tend to be the most bougie, entitled, and starstruck with themselves. A lot of the stereotypes are true. Just, they’ll go to the Oscar’s and get Taco Bell on the way home. Best I can describe it.
I do miss the Architectural Digest I grew up with in the 80's. I don't remember there ever being a celebrity story, it was simply about good design. It was aspirational... but readers were aspiring to beauty and functionality of design not aspiring to shallow celebrity culture.
Unfortunately you can’t escape it. I remember being at some marketing conference at the very end of 20th century ( yes, I am old) where presenter argued that if you would not build strong brand or trademark in the next 20 years, you’re toast. All celebrity brands and influencers is just way to survive in the world with huge income inequality. There is no middle class anymore, so you have to target upper classes.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciated this. Last summer my bestie and I binge watched AD celeb home tours and ended up feeling kinda shitty about ourselves. Our favorite was when Rupaul gave the advice to “just be happy” at the end of his insane home tour. I love Ru’s show and I respect how hard he’s worked, but it’s kind of annoying to have a celebrity who has a mega mansion and endless amazing clothes tell those of us struggling in life to “just be happy.” What I learned from these tours is that celebs are even more out of touch than I thought.
RuPaul grew up poor and was abandoned by his father, guarantee you had a way nicer and cushier childhood than he did. He's not out of touch, he worked hard and made it.
@@venom5809 I mentioned that I respect how hard he worked and I am fine with him buying a huge mansion. But telling people to "just have joy" from the comfort of your mansion? That's a tad out of touch.
@@focusedflow5785but you can have joy without being rich. To equal happiness with money seems more like YOUR issue than theirs. These shows are not meant to make anyone feel good or bad. They’re meant to showcase design, creativity, and what people with money could do in relation to design. Even this video missed the point completely and came across as bitter. It’s obvious these famous people ALREADY did want they wanted with their money and their homes so who cares about them justifying anything they did. It’s done. Again, it’s about the design process and the final product, not if they’re sustainable, or if they were poor before, or if the wood should have history or not. All of that is just extra to not make a show flat and boring.
Thank you thank you thank you, Nick, for calling out the UNsustainability of giant homes for a family of three or four people. I will never forget when I had a young woman as a guest in my house. She was from Calgary and I live in Toronto in a post-war four bedroom house (that we tacked a fifth bedroom onto when I unexpectedly became pregnant again). I am also very privileged to have hooked my wagon to a star in the accounting (yes a star!) industry who made buckets more money than he felt he deserved. We were (are) not poor. And not that everyone who lives in Calgary lives in a giant mansion, but she was an only child and she had expectations about how people were supposed to live and she expressed alarm and disgust at the fact that five of us shared one bathroom on the second floor. I just shook my head. We never had any problems living in our smaller house. We were lucky enough to have a finished basement and we all were able to carve out our own space whenever we needed it and, contrary to the Hollywood trope of a family with three girls always banging on the bathroom door and screaming at one another to get out, our second floor was quite civilized and tidy. Although my husband made buckets of money (I was paid minimum wage), we didn't feel the need to throw it around on increasing our carbon footprint. I think I have a somewhat stylish and well appointed home and I am proud that we don't have a giant house (less to clean, amiright?) and I raised daughters who are grateful for what they have, are not spoiled and know how valuable it is to live within a smallish footprint. I suppose this rant was a little off topic, but just your inference that "just because you have a lot of money doesn't mean you shouldn't care about actual sustainability and carbon footprints" reminded me that we live that motto.
I watch the AD UA-cam channel, but not the celebrity house tours. I like two of their series: 1) when they have a space and ask three different designers how they would remodel it. You get to see the designers’s thought process, ideas, and aesthetics l, and the results are so different. So much fun to see different possibilities when creative people are given free range. 2) I like the series where they have architects break down famous architectural features in movies: the architecture of Disney castles, the architecture of Hogwarts, the architecture of the big house in Hitchcock’s psycho. You can learn quite a bit about history, culture, and architecture from those.
This is by far my favorite episode so far. Thanks, Nick, for pointing out that having success does not automatically bring with it good taste and sensitivity. I live in Kentucky and the wealthy are buying up large tracts of land in Appalachia and building mansions in the middle of one of the poorest parts of this country. It makes you think about how revolutions get started.
Yes for calling out misfit environments! It's a huge issue in the US west for example, aiming for English country garden neighborhoods in the middle of a high desert. Water issues are a major problem, to start.
Preach, Nick! Finally. Saying it aloud. Success born of hard work is fabulous. The gifts of success are fabulous. But the mega mansions are really quite ludicrous in terms of sustainability and of the owners talking about how "green" they are. No, they are not. I understand the need for size if you entertain routinely, if you have some of your extended family residing there. And of course, in homes that size, you need live-in help, so rooms for them. But it's very wrongheaded all around. Beautiful things can be accomplished in smaller houses with creativity and consideration.
The YT videos of abandoned mansions & buildings throughout the US astounds me. They could be used for so many great & helpful purposes. Many have land for gardens & space for creating sellable beauty (sustainable!). As humans, we have so much creativity, love, care & kindness to share. When ego, fear, me, mine, greed, etc. kick in to drive our creativity, we see & experience separation vs unity, them vs me. Jealousy is a sign of insecurity. I see it in myself sometimes. Spotting the fear in ourselves is a great step towards healing it and becoming a more loving human.
I think this is a really fair review of these tours. I totally agree with all points. I felt that the Kirsten Dunst tour however was actually quite refreshing, as it seems like a real reflection of her style and personality, having collected things and worked with the same designer for years, she's not really following any trends. But yeah, I mean you see celebrities who basically just buy in to current design concept and that's kind of reflecting the society and culture we live in. Another exception was Mandy Moore's tour. She just has great taste and also worked together with a designer. She has a relatively small home as it is a mid-century modern home she renovated, not a mcmansion. So you can tell the fakes from the imposters when it comes to celebrity homes. Most of them are...yeah...whatever money can buy you.
When I was a kid, my father used to bring home those giant wooden spools that were made to hold telephone cable... we used them as backyard picnic tables. Way to up-cycle Dad!! You were ahead of your time ❤
Nick, thank you. I hate when smug celebrities try to justify a huge mansion by saying they sourced something from an old boat or whatever. And have the audacity to use the word “sustainable.”
I lived in a historic district for many years, and we gave house tours. It was common for docents to make up stuff. About the house, Maybe they weren’t necessarily lying, but they greatly embellished certain stories and quasi facts.
You are correct about Architectural Digest (I'm 70). I bought the magazine even as a poor college kid because the architects they featured (including past architects from the Bauhaus era) were so inspiring. Once I was stuck in Paris during a train strike, so I just walked around going on tours of the homes of artists and semi-famous writers, scholars, etc.. At some point I would get a sort of frisson, feeling almost overwhelmed by a sort of nostalgic sadness, suddenly becoming very aware of the brevity of human happiness. It's all gone now, leaving a sort of creepy, though beautiful, haunted house. If these celebs could experience this, I think it might put things into perspective, at least for a few moments.
At 70+ , I too loved the " old " AD . My first real job while in high school was for a locally owned upscale furniture store w/ professional designers - AD was my bible ! Loved reading ( studying !! ) it & then actually seeing Baker , Henredon furniture , etc. , Scalamandre , Thibaut, etc. , original art , etc. featured in AD in " our " store . Wonderful hands-on education & the designers were amazing mentors ! 💟
Indeed. I’ll soon be 69 and AD was one of my first subscriptions out of grad school. It’s sad when I look back at some of my earliest issues to be reminded of how good the interiors and architecture that were featured used to be. When IG’s Caleb Smith recently gave a tour of the charming, book-filled NYC apartment of the art critic power couple Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith, it was appalling how many people couldn’t get over the fact it didn’t meet their expectations for “celebrity design”, offering in the comments to upgrade their bathroom, re-do their kitchen and so on.
Yes! Every video is surprising and interesting and the people are just themselves. I know there are sponsors somewhere, but it’s not obvious at all. She features tiny cottages, huge beach homes, East Coast colonials, a big range of styles and people. I think it’s the best one in this genre.
Homeworthy mostly features people and houses that do not fit everyone’s taste, also not my taste in many instances - which is exactly why I watch it. I don’t want to see the 10.000st minimal beige box. I want to get inspired and expand my mind.
I love the point about honoring the architecture of where you live! I moved to New England a couple of years ago and one of the first things I noticed was that even newer houses seem to be built to mimic the old style of houses here (there's a thing called "big house, little house, back house, barn" here and you see newer houses replacing the "barn" part with a "garage" and it totally works). It made me so happy to feel that character and that history pulled through to now.
If I want to get my fix of luxe home tours, my go-to is Quintessence. I may not have the same sq footage or budget, but they feature homes of some really great designers and architects and I love hearing them walk through the process of what they chose for their home and why.
one thing you didn’t mention is showing celebrities homes that they haven’t even lived in yet! it’s all well and good that your designer picked a great wallpaper but if you’re doing a tour tell us about living in the house what you really love about it.
Not only have they not live there yet, they might show up there a couple times a year otherwise they're in their other houses. It's not really their house. On paper may be, but it's not their home.
Overconsumption and sustainability, you are spot on. I'm so tired of people being false, all day every day on social media, it's a relief to hear realness, thank you! You do keep it moving, I checked I was watching on normal speed and not 1.25. x
Firstly, I have NEVER commented on a UA-cam video before, but I loved this one so much that all I can say is, well done Nick! I agree with you 100% and always find you spot on and so very witty! ❤😂
My dad repurposed bricks from old buildings being torn down. This was the 1960’s. I remember many a Saturday when he would come into the kitchen to tell my mom about his great find; then grab us kids-8 in all-to help him unload and stack the bricks on the side of the driveway. He and my brothers built brick walls, half walls, walk ways, floors, and a cool patio. My parents lived there for 55 years and probably tried out a lot of the furnishing styles you have mentioned. One of the reasons I like your show is the ability to say, oh, we had that, and that….love you Nick!
PREACH to building houses that make sense with the location!!!! We have a monstrous English Tudor/Gaines farmhouse mashup going up next door here in Olympic foothills south of BC and it is just tragic.
i LOVE how regularly you bring up sustainability and multiple facets of environmental issues!! i work in sustainability and it's really soothing to hear concrete and impassioned points be brought front and center :) thank you!!
This has been one of the best commentaries I have heard from Nick for a very long time! I always come here for advice and ideas. However, I totally agree on everything having to revolve around celebrity instead of substance. If you are an architectural type magazine/Internet page why not feature just that. Why do we have to have the cult of celebrity attached to it? Well done, bravo Nick! Microphone drop!
You nailed it. Kitchens with eight burner stoves and tag lines staing “I never cook.” Or entrance way tiles from the parking garage of the Egyptian Pyramids. Cuckoo for Coca puffs.
When in interior design schools they teach us to create something that works with our customers' habits. In a way, it's more sustainable than adding things you'll never use like a massive kitchen if you don't cook.
Came here to recommend Never Too Small as well. Sometimes the projects are crazy tiny and about buildings being carved up into micro units that ARE too small but the majority are fascinating and innovative.
In addition to The Local Project, I’d like to add Everhouse, Open Space and Never Too Small to the list of suggested channels. They’re all wonderful, design-and-architecture based channels with a slow, meditative vibe that really focuses on the sense of place and not some random celebrity owner.
Yes, I agree with those! In a similar slightly-meditative vein, I'm also quite fond of some of what "The Modern House" puts out - they're an English real estate agency, so there are a lot of not-necessarily-interesting sales listings, but also lots of architects/designers/creative-types talking about their homes (in like 2-10 minute bites).
Thank you for those! Homeworthy is another good channel. Most are definitely on the high end of "upper middle class," but there are more modest homes as well. Gentle pacing, and the homeowners are interesting.
Spot on! You have a perfect analysis on these tours - especially with regard to sustainability! They throw the word around and have no idea what it really means beyond upcycling a piece of wood! AD should just change its name to CH - Celebrity Homes, then we can revel in it the same way we do People Magazine!
BRILLIANT COMMENTARY!!!!! OH! MY! GOD! I watched Tran France's show about the house he built in Utah and all I kept thinking about is "Who in the HELL is going to clean that place?!?!!" All the chotchke, dust collecting detail work. Just WAY more house than any one (or two) person needs.
I love Local Projects home tours. The pace is part of their uniqueness and I DON'T think they need to speed it up. The calm, "take it easy" style they shoot in is perfect for the homes they tour. And they actually pick it up sometimes, I feel, if the house calls for it. Local Project, please continue what you're doing. It's great.
This is by far my favorite video you've done. I know you said that you don't want to call specific people out, but I would love it if you made a reaction videos to AD house tours. You nailed all of these 😂
I just spent all of yesterday watching the AD videos on Tan France's Tudor mansion and had a lot of these same thoughts. It's absolutely gorgeous and I love a lot of the design decisions he and his team made...but, yeah...not sustainable, a bit much, so on and so forth. On the other hand, a hundred years from now, it will make for a nice local architectural story. "Yeah, so this guy grew up poor in England and then made it big and longed for the home he couldn't have there and made it here."
Nick thank you for this video it is my favourite of yours yet. Thank you for discussing the sustainability and overconsumption aspects of society and for holding people accountable! I think it's so amazing that as a society we are starting to have these open conversations and it makes my heart smile.
Nick, I absolutely loved this one! Just going back through your stuff and watching or re-watching. I'm with you on AD. I used to love Architectural Digest. Not interested anymore. Definitely not interested in a bunch of overly wealthy egos and what big box they live in. You cracked me up with the everybody has to share where their wood is from. Love!
She has a pretty dry sense of humor, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was a joke. And the lemon/lime thing I think was specifically because AD dresses the homes beforehand so there will be decor items that the homeowner has never seen before and wouldn't ever have in their house. 🤣
I think Kirsten Dunst's AD home tour is one of the few that felt more grounded coming from a celebrity. No ridiculous amount of square footage, has personality on the decor and the pieces are interesting (well, she went for that Jackie O door story😁😁 but it seems its impossible when you are on that celebrity bubble) but its one that felt more authentic IMO.
Nick, just keep talking. I love you and your opinions! You make me laugh and smile after a long day and make design not so serious. Thank you for your work and insight! ❤
I live in a fairly affluent area outside of Washington, D.C. and there are so many of these homes being built that absolutely do not belong in the neighborhood! Stand-alone, they are beautiful. But amongst the smaller, older, more charming homes they look ghastly!
I love the UA-cam channel Never Too Small which focuses on really tiny apartments all around the world. These homes are far more interesting to me and the techniques applied by te designers are both sustainable and clever.
Thank you so much for bringing up the whole sustainability thing. People totally miss the point with this one. It makes me crazy!!! Love your channel. And yes, you do keep it moving. Can't wait to see your newsletter.
Yes agreed! ❤ I am tired of celebrity culture but I recognize I also participate. I want to check out more home tours by actual designers. Also I am so so tired of self righteous, hypocritical celebs, politicians and ceos lecturing the rest of us on sustainability while they keep several mansions and fly around in private jets.
My former neighbor is a Fortune 50 CEO and I have Fortune 50 VPs in here too. They have to regularly be in different states and different countries all the time. Please let me know how they could do this without private jets when time is at an absolute premium? I have to go to two different states to deal with properties I have next week and I wish I had a private jet because I am going to lose a ton of time at the airport.
Nick you are so right. I don't watch celebrity videos as they are not realistic. I want to see regular people's homes , that's where I get my ideas from.
Nick, I love your commentary, it's bang on! Used to love finding new architects and their incredible designs on AD, I sincerely don't care how celebs live. Thanks for the local places recommendation, will check them out.
You cannot eat popcorn and watch this particular segment about a guitar from Jimi Hendrix’s grandma’s old house. I almost choked on the popcorn, laughing. Lordy…
honestly while it is not that bad within the guitar community typically.. One of my close friends is a luthier and you don't even have to be particularly rich to be picky (and proud) of what wood your guitar is made of. That was one of the few issues i could actually understand. I hear him talk about the various types of woods and how it effects the look and resonance as well.
@@ultrakitten674 that I get..I am a music person freak and enjoy the YT sites on guitars, etc. And looking at all the guitars that Tom Petty HB had when they were at the Clubhouse and which guitar was used for its particular sounds..it’s early so this makes nonsense but coffee will help me be semi- nice. Your input on mark. Thx .. peace.
To your point about location: native/traditional plants do well in English cottage gardens for example, based on, as you said, the weather and precipitation etc. In another place those plants won’t necessarily thrive. In fact maintenance might be a nightmare and very expensive/ environmentally costly. Building and landscaping in tune with the location is also ecological and efficient.
France hired an expert in the matter if you watched the video, Nick lives in an apartment, I wonder who knows more about how the plants will or won't do. lol
I recently discovered "The Local Project" and now it is one of my favorite channels. I get the magazine AD and have for years, but I also am getting very tired of looking at celebrity homes. Most of them are over the top and often very quirky. When my AD subscription expires, it won't be renewed. I'd rather go on UA-cam and watch people like you!
Me: This video isn't about anyone in particular...
Also Me: Clearly has it in for Tan France's Tudor mansion in Utah....
For the record he seems lovely, I just I filmed this 20 minutes after watching the AD video... Oh! Check out my newsletter here! ➡ bitly.ws/3dpKu
I used to watch AD, but God it's so boring now. I do love the local project
@@mihai.ceausescu Yes! At 1.5 speed though. I can only do so many slow pan shots.
THANK YOU!! also the scale of a tudor home is TOTALLY off the Mega Mansion he created. It's giving awkward fusion. I hated it.
OOOOOOOOO newsletter! Count me in!!!!! 🎉
But Nicks so right about all the points he made. It’s more a critique of AD than Tan.
Exactly what Nick said - tell it like it is: I have lots of money and I can build exactly what I want!
And what did Tan say “sorry I’m
The star of the show” not his giant mantle above the stove. AD is not about Architecture it’s about celebrities - and they shouldn’t promote themselves as such.
What we need to have is an AD celebrity house tour bingo card. Sustainability, wood history, humble beginnings. What else? We could turn it into a drinking game!
❤😂 You said it so perfectly
Shoe room
Interior water feature
“Bespoke” anything
Pop of color.
wine room?
Whatever works I guess. Ha ha.
“Own that you do not care, because we are not stupid.”
Perfectly said! ❤
They’re lying to themselves that they do care.
@@mynameispeaches Yes! They choose to live in ignorant bliss, because they don't want to see the truth. They've deluded themselves.
My favorite video you’ve ever done. Bravo.
As a seasoned designer(40 yrs), I respect and agree with about 95 % of your opinions and observations. Sincere praise!!
The sad thing about our industry is it is now so monetized that actual good design takes a back seat to celebrity, trend, $$$ and throw away materials. 😢😢
Absolutely; love the truth here
“Just be honest, you don’t care about sustainability” 😂 I’m dead! Yes 👏🏼 yes 👏🏼 yes 👏🏼
If you really care about sustainability regarding your home, you would a) limit your square footage because of heating/cooling, and b) buy a home that already exists and remodel/renovate it. This is the most sustainable you can get when it comes to housing.
Yes!!! Or at least use other forms of power like solar or wind energy
Our home is larger than we were looking for (but certainly not as big as the homes Nick was talking about). Unfortunately, we weren't able to find a home in our city that was new-ish AND small. We had a baby and pets and wanted something new enough to be lead paint free and asbestos free. Anything new enough to fit those criteria was larger than what we wanted. We did put up solar panels and we do try to make other sustainable choices, but I wish newer construction wasn't always ridiculously huge. (Or insanely small-- tiny house living, at the other end of the spectrum -- is also not for me.)
@@acaciawilliams9015but these are all opinions that you have. .. I. E. Older homes are full of lead paint, and that your family cannot live in them..... Just other people.
As nick says, just own the choices you've made and be done with it. You don't want to live with the smallest carbon footprint. Got it. No point lying and trying to convince ppl otherwise lol
@@anyaboscovich7938 lady, I don't wish for ~anyone~ to have to live in a home with lead paint. I was lucky enough not to have to. Many people would give anything to have any roof at all over their head. I get that. But my baby was crawling around on the floor while my cat clawed my door frames and paint chipped off everywhere. I prefer not to lead poison my family if possible and I wasn't about to re-home my cat. I'm not sure who crapped in your coffee. 🙄
What gets me is when they stand in their kitchens, the size of Madison Square Garden, and say "I'm not much of a cook".
Their chefs need a nice large kitchen to cook in so it makes sense… especially for hosting parties
My philosophy (as a professional who makes reaction content about their profession) is that it's ok to react when you are punching up and not down. Celebrities who hire professional designers/architects and open their house to show the world are absolutely fair game.
Also, another weird thing about Tan France's out-of-place home is that it wasn't built using the state-of-the-art construction materials/infrastructure. For example, he used loose Tyvek for the WRB; that's going to be a leaky, inefficient house. If you spend that kind of money -- in a climate like SLC -- with a really out-of-place style, you'd think you'd design it to be completely bulletproof. Weird. Not my style but arguably well-designed; just not well-engineered.
Thanks for your perspective on reaction content. I do roast my subscriber videos on my channel and I'm usually a lot kinder in those videos as they are regular folks opening up their homes to my audience - not an easy thing to do. So I do approach those videos differently than I did this one.
Ooh, he is going to regret shoddy construction. I live near Salt Lake and in the last few years we've had summer get as hot as 107F and winter lows down in the negatives. If your house isn't insulated well, you're going to have approximately 2 months of the year when that isn't a big deal.
But I guess they built the mansion, they're happy to take all the resources to heat and cool the place and water that not at all desert friendly landscaping.
If you build that kind of house, you use brick and mortar like, you know, the Brits you are trying to copy. Not a lame wood frame.
@@paveladamek3502 if salt lake gets up to 107 in the summers like the other commenter said, then they'd boil alive in the summer with traditional British building techniques. Those houses are ment to keep you warm year around. The massive heat waves in the UK the last couple years haven't gotten much above 90, but it's caused so many issues because the buildings trap heat so badly (plus no ac)
Wild cross over seeing you here!
I agree with all of your points! I would like to add one of my pet peeves about these celebrity home tours: it seems like every single kitchen is equipped with a $100k French stove which the homeowner has absolutely no idea how to turn on because of course they don’t cook! 🙄
The personal chef they hire appreciates it tho.
Yet they have these big, honking kitchens that they don't use. Go figure!
Tam does!
Ok I literally filmed that and it had to be cut because the sound was doing weird things! YES! The crazy appliances that will never get used except by the private chef!
And requires a commercial specialist to fly across the country to do any repairs.
Omg THANK you for the sustainability conversation! Don't ever be convinced that anyone making millions of dollars and is flying around the planet constantly gives any kind of damn about you, the planet, or anything other than making more money and maintaining that wealth.
I don’t think these celebrities don’t care about sustainability at all but we have to see that the entertainment industry itself is unsustainable for the environment and it’s probably not changing too much or too fast. So if someone is surrounded by that all their life, making sustainable(-looking) choices are a bit different for them than for an average person.
@@vanclemmons nah they REALLY don't care. Nothing in their lives shows they care.
@@nineteenfortyeightI was trying to put "caring" into perspective. It's a very subjective term, and no one except the individual knows what it means to them. Basically, it's not up to you to say if they care or not. From a zero waste person's perspective, nobody actually cares except them. Does that really mean that others don't care at all? Don't gatekeep words that have subjective meanings, it leads to a very divided society.
Sure, celebrities might have a responsibility to be role models but they can't be all be role models for everything. Calling them out as a singular group is extreme. Dolly Parton is famous for her charity, she's done undeniably incredible things for people in need. If her house doesn't run on 100% renewable energy and she flies everywhere by private jets, does that make her a pos person?
Perspective, people.
@@vanclemmonsour government flies private -the climate tzar flies private -they are lying to you -wake up
as if you care about sustainability
do you move everywhere with a bike hun?
are you throwing your wealth away?
Nah you are just farming likes on the internet
I love Tan and I don’t have an issue with his chosen house style but yes it REALLY bugged me when they talked about travelling the country to source out the brick and had the gall to say it was a “sustainable” choice
Yes the sustainability thing is always funny you saved the barn wood but trucked it across the world is a gas guzzling truck.
The overtone window for most famous people is so shifted compared to the rest of us that he probably honestly thinks it is "sustainable", because relative to taking a private plane to pick up a small décor piece in another country, it is!
think of the shipping involved
He definitely doesn't care about sustainability. He said there have been many times he flew from Salt Lake to Canada on a day off just to get Nandos.
Celebritards
I’m glad u spoke about celebrities and sustainability bc I’m quite frankly sick of them acting like they don’t do anything wrong and rest of us r huge polluters.
“Just own it. We’re not stupid.” Yes! Great episode Nick
Yes to all of this! Especially the sustainability stuff. There's nothing sustainable about gigantic houses. Also, it's not sustainable to reuse materials if you have to ship them across the country.
"This is a big log." 😅
Right? “We shipped three barns across the country. So sustainable!!!”
@@paulajaneabel5205Troye being a size queen is on brand though 😅
Sustainability Specialist here. Depends on the material. With metals, using recycled ones makes all the difference, even if you ship from China. I wouldn't say so about bricks though.
I don't give a rat's tutu about how celebrities live. I prefer seeing regular people's homes, and the possible transformations with a modest budget. In essence, people living in the "real world". Nick, thanks for keeping it REAL.
You see, to get views you need to surprise, stun. Regular people are just regular, nothing extraordinary. It’s getting boring after few minutes.
Bravo - that is exactly how I feel about this!
@@vg7985Does it though?There is a fallacy here somewhere. You are equating regular peeps with boring and celebrity with interesting.
But as so many AD tours have proven by now celebrities don’t necessarily have things that are stunning or interesting; they just have things that are costly.
If it is stunning and interesting we want I think we can find plenty of that with regular people who care about design and have put thought into designing their spaces.
I actually care more about how someone put a tutu on a rat tbh.
@@Nick_Lewis yeh couldn’t be easy.
When you apply Nick's natural sass (which we all love) to calling out hypocrisy, what you get is so good and so accurate that it just makes me go "YES, YOU TELL 'EM!!!"
But seriously Nick, I love interior design, but sometimes I just come here to listen to you talk about whatever, and I always leave thinking, "Ah man, he's a gem!"
So thank you and much love from the UK!
Php.. I thought it.. YOU said it.. well.😅
Yes! I think this is my favorite video of his and I don’t even know what videos he’s talking about. 😂
Haha, you haven't missed much to be honest. Just a bunch of spoilt, virtue-signalling celebrities showing off their ginormous mansions on Architectural Digest.
yes yes yes
Can we all start a petition for Nick to be on Queer Eye? I would watch every episode.
May I say I LOVED the sustainability rant . I enjoy your honesty, perspective and style!
“This guitar was crafted from Jimi Hendrix’s grandma’s old bungalow” 🤣🤣🤣. I am going to think of this and laugh every time I watch one of those videos from now on.
That was hilarious 😂
I love it because it's a very Vancouver reference -- Jimi's grandma did live here, I'm sure in an old bungalow lol
The sustainability issue: thank you and Amen, Mr. Lewis!
One of my favorite architecture channels is Never Too Small--tiny apartments. Honestly, I don't like most of them but I find it fascinating all the same, and the biggest bonus is that I don't have to see some celeb talk about their wallpaper.
Yessss, NTS is one of my favorite channels! They take sustainability really serious.
Have a look at Gemma Wheeler Architecture. She does designs for tiny, odd spaces, and is really good!
*searching for this channel to add to my property/house obsession*
Yes! Incredible. Also love Local Project and the Design Files.
Fascinating. Exactly. Love NTS😊
Holy crap Nick you knocked it out of the park with this one, especially the sustainability and privilege sections. Thank you for making your videos with such intelligent considerations and integrity.
Orville Peck has my favorite AD tour and I feel like his home is the antithesis of all these points. It is unique, warm, and filled with character that reflects him so well. UGH I love it.
You're telling me that a few LED lights and some reclaimed wood won't make up for a 9000 sq ft home and 2 Land Rovers?
And the “vintage” car collection of twenty V8 muscle cars? We have a McMansion going up next door and the garage for their car collection is bigger than our house. We call it the Garage Mahal. So sustainable!!!
@@donnadebrodt1778Garage Mahal🤣🤣🤣
I know, what a bombshell. 🤯
@@donnadebrodt1778 I’m crying laughing over Garage Mahal. 😂
AMEN!
As a realtor, I have seen so many regular homes that is more stylish and tasteful than celebrity ones, big or small. Nick just pushed the interior design to a different level! Thank you!
Exactly, we think they have money, they are well traveled and so they must have great taste...oh brother, most are a disappointment.
All these things are subjective. Just because you think you have good taste doesn’t mean you do, other people might think your taste and style is garbage. If these homes were so bad they wouldn’t be selling for $80 million and above. lol
@@venom5809 P. T. Barnum would have loved you.
FYI - according to a very quick Google search that led me to the International Churchill society, Churchill never owned a yacht in his life.
I didn't think so. I was a kid in the UK when Churchill died. Never came up in any history class.
But he really really seamed like the fellow to own one... not
@@karenbc99 He wasn't exactly a wealthy man, although he was a guest several times on a yacht owned by Onassis.
And then saved France so.....@@strawberrydialectics
@@strawberrydialectics, slightly random comment and also something of an exaggeration? I, in no way, support Churchill’s actions in India, but to say he CAUSED a famine is over egging it a little. He did not start the Second World War (we can thank Hitler, Mussolini and the Japanese for that) and neither did he cause either a drought, or the effects of the Second World War. I know it’s unfashionable to stick to the facts nowadays, but let’s try and keep the 2 + 2 = 12 stuff to a minimum
Nick on the guise of "sustainability" SNAP!! Integrity! Honesty! Truth! 👏👏👏👏👏
I completely agree. I have 20 year old AD mags at home and there were so many interesting homes featuring the designers or the architects’s perspective on why they built what they built and their use of materials. It was so much more inspiring then a celebrity telling us that they got that cool thing that once belonged to someone cooler than themselves.
Nick, you are so darn funny! That's why I can listen to you talk for 25 minutes about Ikea or anything. Love your channel and I agree with you 99% of the time.
"I talk for 25 minutes, But I keep it moving. " Love you Nick!
He absolutely does and I still speed him up for my ADHD. Lol😅
@@Van-hb4gi i watch every youtube video(other than music lol) at 2x speed. i actually dont know what nicks real voice is like. just this speed up version i listen to haha
@@Aleph-Noll he's a 1.25, but mostly I do 1.5-1.75. :)
The house that we now own is a cottage style. The previous owner was a “designer “ and redid the entire interior of the house in a combination ultra modern and mid-century modern. It was very jarring to walk inside. When we bought it it had sat on the market for over a year despite being in a very desirable location. We also paid substantially less from the original asking price. We spent the first year undoing everything he had done .
I know exactly what you mean. I would love to own an old townhouse, but they all have been redone so that ALL of the historical features were demoed instead of retained. They all look like brand new condos. It's a real shame.
That's called vandalism. People do it to old homes all the time.
I hate when the inside doesn’t match the outside.
For real though, a round of applause to you for having a good tempo in your videos. I’ve never felt the need to speed up your videos. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Simply said. I love it “I bought it at crate and barrel” . You nailed it. FYI I rather watch restorations of old homes that are reclaimed and restored by ordinary people with amazing talent. 😊
This is your best vid, period! I’ve worked in “Hollywood” for 25 years and have been to these celebs homes. I’ve lived in them. Lol. You nailed it. They generally have no idea what they’re buying nor why, but everyone loves tell a story about their pieces… Hollywood is the land of make believe after all, and is far less fancy IRL verses how it’s portrayed on TV. This vid needed to be made. THANK YOU! I digress…
Ps… “Nepo babies” do not get me started on that dirty little secret. Again, nailed it, Nick. 👏🏾
I do think he left out one important point: these homes are not at all "lived in" but are basically display pieces. I find it hard to believe that any of these celebrities get up in the morning and make their own coffee on that fancy espresso machine, let alone do ANY cooking in their fancy, massive kitchens, (except maybe microwaving some organic popcorn or boiling water in an electric kettle).
@@kekica11 Kinda true but not completely. Meaning, some of these celebs make far less than you’d think. True, some are loaded and do have live in caretakers make their food etc. And/or that’s their 10th home and are rarely there. Depends. But the richest celebs I know tend to be down to earth and do normal things like clean their own toilet if that’s in order. It’s the lower level (new) celebs who tend to be the most bougie, entitled, and starstruck with themselves. A lot of the stereotypes are true. Just, they’ll go to the Oscar’s and get Taco Bell on the way home. Best I can describe it.
I do miss the Architectural Digest I grew up with in the 80's. I don't remember there ever being a celebrity story, it was simply about good design. It was aspirational... but readers were aspiring to beauty and functionality of design not aspiring to shallow celebrity culture.
Unfortunately you can’t escape it. I remember being at some marketing conference at the very end of 20th century ( yes, I am old) where presenter argued that if you would not build strong brand or trademark in the next 20 years, you’re toast. All celebrity brands and influencers is just way to survive in the world with huge income inequality. There is no middle class anymore, so you have to target upper classes.
I wouldn’t call celebrities “upper classes”.
Elite architectural specimens do exist that stand on their own and celebrity has nothing to do with any of that.
Same! I loved AD and Southern HOMES.
AD doesn't digest anymore, they just regurgitate 🤭
I can’t tell you how much I appreciated this. Last summer my bestie and I binge watched AD celeb home tours and ended up feeling kinda shitty about ourselves. Our favorite was when Rupaul gave the advice to “just be happy” at the end of his insane home tour. I love Ru’s show and I respect how hard he’s worked, but it’s kind of annoying to have a celebrity who has a mega mansion and endless amazing clothes tell those of us struggling in life to “just be happy.” What I learned from these tours is that celebs are even more out of touch than I thought.
Exactly. It’s just a reboot of MTV Cribs.
RuPaul grew up poor and was abandoned by his father, guarantee you had a way nicer and cushier childhood than he did. He's not out of touch, he worked hard and made it.
@@venom5809 I mentioned that I respect how hard he worked and I am fine with him buying a huge mansion. But telling people to "just have joy" from the comfort of your mansion? That's a tad out of touch.
@@focusedflow5785but you can have joy without being rich. To equal happiness with money seems more like YOUR issue than theirs. These shows are not meant to make anyone feel good or bad. They’re meant to showcase design, creativity, and what people with money could do in relation to design.
Even this video missed the point completely and came across as bitter. It’s obvious these famous people ALREADY did want they wanted with their money and their homes so who cares about them justifying anything they did. It’s done. Again, it’s about the design process and the final product, not if they’re sustainable, or if they were poor before, or if the wood should have history or not. All of that is just extra to not make a show flat and boring.
Thank you thank you thank you, Nick, for calling out the UNsustainability of giant homes for a family of three or four people. I will never forget when I had a young woman as a guest in my house. She was from Calgary and I live in Toronto in a post-war four bedroom house (that we tacked a fifth bedroom onto when I unexpectedly became pregnant again). I am also very privileged to have hooked my wagon to a star in the accounting (yes a star!) industry who made buckets more money than he felt he deserved. We were (are) not poor. And not that everyone who lives in Calgary lives in a giant mansion, but she was an only child and she had expectations about how people were supposed to live and she expressed alarm and disgust at the fact that five of us shared one bathroom on the second floor. I just shook my head. We never had any problems living in our smaller house. We were lucky enough to have a finished basement and we all were able to carve out our own space whenever we needed it and, contrary to the Hollywood trope of a family with three girls always banging on the bathroom door and screaming at one another to get out, our second floor was quite civilized and tidy. Although my husband made buckets of money (I was paid minimum wage), we didn't feel the need to throw it around on increasing our carbon footprint. I think I have a somewhat stylish and well appointed home and I am proud that we don't have a giant house (less to clean, amiright?) and I raised daughters who are grateful for what they have, are not spoiled and know how valuable it is to live within a smallish footprint. I suppose this rant was a little off topic, but just your inference that "just because you have a lot of money doesn't mean you shouldn't care about actual sustainability and carbon footprints" reminded me that we live that motto.
carbon footprint is a scam made by BP
entire countries are poisoning the planet but hey, at least you live sustainably
I watch the AD UA-cam channel, but not the celebrity house tours. I like two of their series: 1) when they have a space and ask three different designers how they would remodel it. You get to see the designers’s thought process, ideas, and aesthetics l, and the results are so different. So much fun to see different possibilities when creative people are given free range. 2) I like the series where they have architects break down famous architectural features in movies: the architecture of Disney castles, the architecture of Hogwarts, the architecture of the big house in Hitchcock’s psycho. You can learn quite a bit about history, culture, and architecture from those.
This is by far my favorite episode so far. Thanks, Nick, for pointing out that having success does not automatically bring with it good taste and sensitivity. I live in Kentucky and the wealthy are buying up large tracts of land in Appalachia and building mansions in the middle of one of the poorest parts of this country. It makes you think about how revolutions get started.
Yes for calling out misfit environments! It's a huge issue in the US west for example, aiming for English country garden neighborhoods in the middle of a high desert. Water issues are a major problem, to start.
And palm trees in downtown San Francisco. Hate it
Preach, Nick! Finally. Saying it aloud. Success born of hard work is fabulous. The gifts of success are fabulous. But the mega mansions are really quite ludicrous in terms of sustainability and of the owners talking about how "green" they are. No, they are not. I understand the need for size if you entertain routinely, if you have some of your extended family residing there. And of course, in homes that size, you need live-in help, so rooms for them. But it's very wrongheaded all around. Beautiful things can be accomplished in smaller houses with creativity and consideration.
The YT videos of abandoned mansions & buildings throughout the US astounds me. They could be used for so many great & helpful purposes. Many have land for gardens & space for creating sellable beauty (sustainable!). As humans, we have so much creativity, love, care & kindness to share. When ego, fear, me, mine, greed, etc. kick in to drive our creativity, we see & experience separation vs unity, them vs me. Jealousy is a sign of insecurity. I see it in myself sometimes. Spotting the fear in ourselves is a great step towards healing it and becoming a more loving human.
It’s crazy the sustainability when you used so much energy to find sustainable items.
I think this is a really fair review of these tours. I totally agree with all points.
I felt that the Kirsten Dunst tour however was actually quite refreshing, as it seems like a real reflection of her style and personality, having collected things and worked with the same designer for years, she's not really following any trends. But yeah, I mean you see celebrities who basically just buy in to current design concept and that's kind of reflecting the society and culture we live in. Another exception was Mandy Moore's tour. She just has great taste and also worked together with a designer. She has a relatively small home as it is a mid-century modern home she renovated, not a mcmansion. So you can tell the fakes from the imposters when it comes to celebrity homes. Most of them are...yeah...whatever money can buy you.
I love Kirsten's house.
You should check out Bryce Dallas Howard’s AD house tour as well! It is so so charming
When I was a kid, my father used to bring home those giant wooden spools that were made to hold telephone cable... we used them as backyard picnic tables.
Way to up-cycle Dad!! You were ahead of your time ❤
We had one for a picnic table too!
We used those to put shop benches on, made the ends into rafts, and even has one to hold up our kitchen island for a while!😅
@@sewmeonekenobi639 What memories!! I can almost taste the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches right now :)
@@joshua_a_boehm LOL!! Wire spools were the best - you could do anything with them! 🤣
I’ve been wanting one for ages! I want one to use as an umbrella table in our pasture.
Nick, thank you. I hate when smug celebrities try to justify a huge mansion by saying they sourced something from an old boat or whatever. And have the audacity to use the word “sustainable.”
your comment about sustainability is so spot on!! Amen!! So many celebs are total hypocrites in that regard!
Never out of line. Always on point. Usually brilliant. Well, actually, always brilliant.
I can absolutely believe that Dakota Johnson made up the Winston Churchill table story to fuck with everyone 😂
I think it would be hilarious. Remind me to do that if I ever become a celebrity who then let's AD do a tour of my ridiculous house.
I lived in a historic district for many years, and we gave house tours. It was common for docents to make up stuff.
About the house,
Maybe they weren’t necessarily lying, but they greatly embellished certain stories and quasi facts.
You are correct about Architectural Digest (I'm 70). I bought the magazine even as a poor college kid because the architects they featured (including past architects from the Bauhaus era) were so inspiring. Once I was stuck in Paris during a train strike, so I just walked around going on tours of the homes of artists and semi-famous writers, scholars, etc.. At some point I would get a sort of frisson, feeling almost overwhelmed by a sort of nostalgic sadness, suddenly becoming very aware of the brevity of human happiness. It's all gone now, leaving a sort of creepy, though beautiful, haunted house. If these celebs could experience this, I think it might put things into perspective, at least for a few moments.
At 70+ , I too loved the " old " AD . My first real job while in high school was for a locally owned upscale furniture store w/ professional designers - AD was my bible ! Loved reading ( studying !! ) it & then actually seeing Baker , Henredon furniture , etc. , Scalamandre , Thibaut, etc. , original art , etc. featured in AD in " our " store . Wonderful hands-on education & the designers were amazing mentors ! 💟
Well said 😮
What you said about fleeting happiness, scared me a lot but it is a reality we like to lie to ourselves about. Thank you for reminding me ❤
Indeed. I’ll soon be 69 and AD was one of my first subscriptions out of grad school. It’s sad when I look back at some of my earliest issues to be reminded of how good the interiors and architecture that were featured used to be. When IG’s Caleb Smith recently gave a tour of the charming, book-filled NYC apartment of the art critic power couple Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith, it was appalling how many people couldn’t get over the fact it didn’t meet their expectations for “celebrity design”, offering in the comments to upgrade their bathroom, re-do their kitchen and so on.
Homeworthy makes beautiful videos of non celebrity homes and they’re not all LA focused. Highly recommend. Just regular people really into design
Yes! Every video is surprising and interesting and the people are just themselves. I know there are sponsors somewhere, but it’s not obvious at all. She features tiny cottages, huge beach homes, East Coast colonials, a big range of styles and people. I think it’s the best one in this genre.
Homeworthy mostly features people and houses that do not fit everyone’s taste, also not my taste in many instances - which is exactly why I watch it. I don’t want to see the 10.000st minimal beige box. I want to get inspired and expand my mind.
Yes! I like Homeworthy as well. The designers homes are not the same cookie cutter ones you normally see.
I also love Hone & Garden
I love the point about honoring the architecture of where you live! I moved to New England a couple of years ago and one of the first things I noticed was that even newer houses seem to be built to mimic the old style of houses here (there's a thing called "big house, little house, back house, barn" here and you see newer houses replacing the "barn" part with a "garage" and it totally works). It made me so happy to feel that character and that history pulled through to now.
If I want to get my fix of luxe home tours, my go-to is Quintessence. I may not have the same sq footage or budget, but they feature homes of some really great designers and architects and I love hearing them walk through the process of what they chose for their home and why.
one thing you didn’t mention is showing celebrities homes that they haven’t even lived in yet! it’s all well and good that your designer picked a great wallpaper but if you’re doing a tour tell us about living in the house what you really love about it.
Not only have they not live there yet, they might show up there a couple times a year otherwise they're in their other houses. It's not really their house. On paper may be, but it's not their home.
Overconsumption and sustainability, you are spot on. I'm so tired of people being false, all day every day on social media, it's a relief to hear realness, thank you! You do keep it moving, I checked I was watching on normal speed and not 1.25. x
Nick, your sass, the shade... you inspire me. I love you seeing right through the bullshit and telling it like it is, no apologies.
Thank you sooooo much for speaking out about architecture that should should work in its place.
Firstly, I have NEVER commented on a UA-cam video before, but I loved this one so much that all I can say is, well done Nick! I agree with you 100% and always find you spot on and so very witty! ❤😂
My dad repurposed bricks from old buildings being torn down. This was the 1960’s. I remember many a Saturday when he would come into the kitchen to tell my mom about his great find; then grab us kids-8 in all-to help him unload and stack the bricks on the side of the driveway. He and my brothers built brick walls, half walls, walk ways, floors, and a cool patio. My parents lived there for 55 years and probably tried out a lot of the furnishing styles you have mentioned. One of the reasons I like your show is the ability to say, oh, we had that, and that….love you Nick!
Your request for honesty about over consumption and 8k sft houses is so refreshing!
PREACH to building houses that make sense with the location!!!! We have a monstrous English Tudor/Gaines farmhouse mashup going up next door here in Olympic foothills south of BC and it is just tragic.
i LOVE how regularly you bring up sustainability and multiple facets of environmental issues!! i work in sustainability and it's really soothing to hear concrete and impassioned points be brought front and center :) thank you!!
This has been one of the best commentaries I have heard from Nick for a very long time!
I always come here for advice and ideas.
However, I totally agree on everything having to revolve around celebrity instead of substance. If you are an architectural type magazine/Internet page why not feature just that. Why do we have to have the cult of celebrity attached to it?
Well done, bravo Nick! Microphone drop!
You nailed it. Kitchens with eight burner stoves and tag lines staing “I never cook.” Or entrance way tiles from the parking garage of the Egyptian Pyramids. Cuckoo for Coca puffs.
When in interior design schools they teach us to create something that works with our customers' habits. In a way, it's more sustainable than adding things you'll never use like a massive kitchen if you don't cook.
I subscribe to Local Project and love seeing their space come to life. Also recommend NEVER TOO SMALL. Incredible use of space around the world.
Never Too Small features really great design. I never get tired of those tours.
Never too small and Everhouse. Also Homeworthy.
Came here to recommend Never Too Small as well. Sometimes the projects are crazy tiny and about buildings being carved up into micro units that ARE too small but the majority are fascinating and innovative.
Love all of them but the Local project is my favorite along with Pineapple Decor.
In addition to The Local Project, I’d like to add Everhouse, Open Space and Never Too Small to the list of suggested channels. They’re all wonderful, design-and-architecture based channels with a slow, meditative vibe that really focuses on the sense of place and not some random celebrity owner.
Love Never Too Small! Will check out the other two you mentioned.
Yes, I agree with those! In a similar slightly-meditative vein, I'm also quite fond of some of what "The Modern House" puts out - they're an English real estate agency, so there are a lot of not-necessarily-interesting sales listings, but also lots of architects/designers/creative-types talking about their homes (in like 2-10 minute bites).
Thank you for those! Homeworthy is another good channel. Most are definitely on the high end of "upper middle class," but there are more modest homes as well. Gentle pacing, and the homeowners are interesting.
All of my favorite channels 👍🤩
Dang, Nick came out swinging today. I LOVE the radical honesty here. love love love.
One of my favourite things about your channel is its one of the only ones that I watch at the original speed. Love your work.
Yes!!! You are saying everything the voices in my head have been screaming for years!!!!
Spot on! You have a perfect analysis on these tours - especially with regard to sustainability! They throw the word around and have no idea what it really means beyond upcycling a piece of wood!
AD should just change its name to CH - Celebrity Homes, then we can revel in it the same way we do People Magazine!
BRILLIANT COMMENTARY!!!!! OH! MY! GOD! I watched Tran France's show about the house he built in Utah and all I kept thinking about is "Who in the HELL is going to clean that place?!?!!" All the chotchke, dust collecting detail work. Just WAY more house than any one (or two) person needs.
A cleaner will clean Duh? I mean isn't that Obvious?
I love Local Projects home tours. The pace is part of their uniqueness and I DON'T think they need to speed it up. The calm, "take it easy" style they shoot in is perfect for the homes they tour. And they actually pick it up sometimes, I feel, if the house calls for it. Local Project, please continue what you're doing. It's great.
This is by far my favorite video you've done. I know you said that you don't want to call specific people out, but I would love it if you made a reaction videos to AD house tours. You nailed all of these 😂
I just spent all of yesterday watching the AD videos on Tan France's Tudor mansion and had a lot of these same thoughts. It's absolutely gorgeous and I love a lot of the design decisions he and his team made...but, yeah...not sustainable, a bit much, so on and so forth. On the other hand, a hundred years from now, it will make for a nice local architectural story. "Yeah, so this guy grew up poor in England and then made it big and longed for the home he couldn't have there and made it here."
This is NOT what I thought this would be, and I stayed for the whole thing. Bravo
Bougie people being humble. It's hilarious.😂😂😂
The humble brag is definitely a prominent AD theme these days. Also, seems common among celebrity media in general.
Nick thank you for this video it is my favourite of yours yet. Thank you for discussing the sustainability and overconsumption aspects of society and for holding people accountable! I think it's so amazing that as a society we are starting to have these open conversations and it makes my heart smile.
Nick, I absolutely loved this one! Just going back through your stuff and watching or re-watching. I'm with you on AD. I used to love Architectural Digest. Not interested anymore. Definitely not interested in a bunch of overly wealthy egos and what big box they live in. You cracked me up with the everybody has to share where their wood is from. Love!
According to the Churchill society: "Churchill never owned a yacht in his life" lol
I think it was a joke that didn't land. She also jokingly said she loved lemons/limes and is allergic. 😅
She has a pretty dry sense of humor, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was a joke. And the lemon/lime thing I think was specifically because AD dresses the homes beforehand so there will be decor items that the homeowner has never seen before and wouldn't ever have in their house. 🤣
TBH you can like/love things you are allergic to. I was allergic to chocolate as a kid, it didn't stop me liking it.
Snarky Nick is my favorite Nick, and OMG. The AD clips are soooo absurd. Do rich people have no sense of the ridiculous?
They live in a bubble
LOL, Nick was about to do the same thing before he broke up with his significant other. Go back to his videos a few years ago.
I think Kirsten Dunst's AD home tour is one of the few that felt more grounded coming from a celebrity. No ridiculous amount of square footage, has personality on the decor and the pieces are interesting (well, she went for that Jackie O door story😁😁 but it seems its impossible when you are on that celebrity bubble) but its one that felt more authentic IMO.
I agree.
Nick, just keep talking. I love you and your opinions! You make me laugh and smile after a long day and make design not so serious. Thank you for your work and insight! ❤
I’ve always vibed with you, but this video is when I decided you are the people’s spokesperson! Love it!
Thank you from France for your remarks about sustainability and overconsumption... I agree with every word you said.
I live in a fairly affluent area outside of Washington, D.C. and there are so many of these homes being built that absolutely do not belong in the neighborhood! Stand-alone, they are beautiful. But amongst the smaller, older, more charming homes they look ghastly!
Could not agree more with EVERYTHING- but I especially about the “sustainability” and “reclaimed wood” 😂
I love the UA-cam channel Never Too Small which focuses on really tiny apartments all around the world. These homes are far more interesting to me and the techniques applied by te designers are both sustainable and clever.
I love your commentaries! This feels like we're sitting around with a drink, going off on little rants. Keep being you, Nick!
This video made me laugh out loud 😂. What you say is so true. it's what I've been thinking for years.
I like the slide show tours that go slow. The Instagram reels, on the other hand, that flash before my eyes 1-slide-per-second drive me insane!
As somebody who lives in Salt Lake City, UT, there are SO MANY English Tudor style homes here. Don't ask me why, but it's actually very popular here.
I think it was just a super popular style in when all the houses I the avenues were being built.
Thank you so much for bringing up the whole sustainability thing. People totally miss the point with this one. It makes me crazy!!! Love your channel. And yes, you do keep it moving. Can't wait to see your newsletter.
Thank you for highlighting the sustainability aspects which no one talks about. And yes to other channels who are keeping it real!
Yes agreed! ❤ I am tired of celebrity culture but I recognize I also participate. I want to check out more home tours by actual designers. Also I am so so tired of self righteous, hypocritical celebs, politicians and ceos lecturing the rest of us on sustainability while they keep several mansions and fly around in private jets.
My former neighbor is a Fortune 50 CEO and I have Fortune 50 VPs in here too. They have to regularly be in different states and different countries all the time. Please let me know how they could do this without private jets when time is at an absolute premium? I have to go to two different states to deal with properties I have next week and I wish I had a private jet because I am going to lose a ton of time at the airport.
Nick you are so right. I don't watch celebrity videos as they are not realistic. I want to see regular people's homes , that's where I get my ideas from.
I love to watch the channel NEVER TOO SMALL. It's on the other end of the spectrum, but those homes are so much more inspiring.
The take on sustainability is refreshing.
Nick, I love your commentary, it's bang on! Used to love finding new architects and their incredible designs on AD, I sincerely don't care how celebs live.
Thanks for the local places recommendation, will check them out.
You cannot eat popcorn and watch this particular segment about a guitar from Jimi Hendrix’s grandma’s old house. I almost choked on the popcorn, laughing. Lordy…
honestly while it is not that bad within the guitar community typically.. One of my close friends is a luthier and you don't even have to be particularly rich to be picky (and proud) of what wood your guitar is made of. That was one of the few issues i could actually understand. I hear him talk about the various types of woods and how it effects the look and resonance as well.
@@ultrakitten674 that I get..I am a music person freak and enjoy the YT sites on guitars, etc. And looking at all the guitars that Tom Petty HB had when they were at the Clubhouse and which guitar was used for its particular sounds..it’s early so this makes nonsense but coffee will help me be semi- nice. Your input on mark. Thx .. peace.
To your point about location: native/traditional plants do well in English cottage gardens for example, based on, as you said, the weather and precipitation etc. In another place those plants won’t necessarily thrive. In fact maintenance might be a nightmare and very expensive/ environmentally costly. Building and landscaping in tune with the location is also ecological and efficient.
France hired an expert in the matter if you watched the video, Nick lives in an apartment, I wonder who knows more about how the plants will or won't do. lol
I recently discovered "The Local Project" and now it is one of my favorite channels. I get the magazine AD and have for years, but I also am getting very tired of looking at celebrity homes. Most of them are over the top and often very quirky. When my AD subscription expires, it won't be renewed. I'd rather go on UA-cam and watch people like you!
You completely nailed it, this video is a breath of fresh air.