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People liked oak because the grain was so complex and obvious. It showed how wonderful nature could be.
Prior to that, in the 50's and 60's, veneers were thought to be decorative due to the intriguing grain pattern that could be pulled from a tangential spiral of wood cut from a log.
White or painted cabinets are a form of rebellion against that. More industrial, no element of "nature". All smooth and tamed.
Just a thought, but in the '80's and '90's there were a lot less outlets - less TV channels, the internet was in it's infancy, etc. - to influence everybody's idea of style. If people had less other people telling them what they should want, and a lot less people telling them that their style was "out" and they needed to spend money to update everything, then maybe they were more likely to do what they wanted back then.
In the 1980s I was heavily influenced by the shelter magazine, Country Living. It was influential for a number of years. Oak was part of the country look. Before HG-TV became influential and certainly before the internet, there were aspirational shelter mags.
For quite a few years the country look was very popular.
When a new look hits the consciousness of the public, most of us can’t afford making major changes right away. The look we want, but that is mostly out of reach, becomes aspirational. It takes years for a look or style to percolate down, and so some styles can last a long time at various levels as they become doable for people. I do think oak kitchen cabs lasted way, way too long though. I had oak from 1980 untill 1999, in two kitchens. I was truly ready for change. Next cabs were cherry. Present ones are maple.
Lots of people are lemmings. Some designer says x is the new thing they all jump on that bandwagon.
I think your post is just rude. You don’t know why people like the things they do.
Many times the new thing is a change, and often people do like change. I think changes in home decirating also often refllect cultural changes as well.
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My last house had oak cabinets in both the kitchen and all 3 bathrooms. They were the light oak, builder grade wood. I would have changed them had I stayed in that house. They were just too "average" but the rest of that house was not average.
My current house has a white kitchen with white wood cabinets. I am not wild about them, but they look clean and different from my last place. They go really well with the counter tops.
I think your post is just rude. You don’t know why people like the things they do.
Many times the new thing is a change, and often people do like change. I think changes in home decirating also often refllect cultural changes as well.
I do not believe people are lemmings, though.
Trust me, most people are lemmings. If it's "As Shown On TV", they're in. If it's denigrated "On TV", they want to rip it right out and replace it with whatever's today's fad.
Some people are unimaginative and go with whatever is presented as "popular."
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