1 00:00:07,170 --> 00:00:10,490 Hello and welcome back to home and hosting with me. 2 00:00:10,530 --> 00:00:13,210 The today's episode is a fun one. 3 00:00:13,450 --> 00:00:17,650 A little design 101 of some of your favourite topics, trends 4 00:00:17,650 --> 00:00:21,650 and style, but also taste and class. 5 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:24,920 Recently I shared a short TikTok talking about the difference 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:30,800 between taste, class, style and trends because the idea of taste 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,000 itself has been sparking some really interesting conversations 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,120 online lately. But to be honest, it always 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,600 does. People talk about style a lot 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,160 but almost avoid the word taste as though it's a very bad word. 11 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:51,440 But very rarely do we clarify what taste actually means. 12 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,360 Often it gets wrapped up in class and ends up feeling 13 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,440 exclusive or divisive, when really it shouldn't be. 14 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,360 And given this is such a big part of my life and job, I 15 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,720 thought I would take some time today to properly outline what 16 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,720 all of these words actually mean. 17 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,320 As some of you know, I grew up in my family's restaurants, 18 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,600 accommodation and vineyards in regional NSW. 19 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,800 And of course food and wine come with their own rituals of 20 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,240 hosting and presentation. After learning all of that and 21 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,720 then went on to learn how to define these rituals more 22 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,680 formally. Aesthetic design worked in the 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,680 field across interiors and fashion, and now spend a lot of 24 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,840 the time teaching and talking about it online and in the 25 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,880 design classroom. When studying art or design, one 26 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,680 of the first things you're asked is why? 27 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:54,880 Why do you like something? Why does that work and that 28 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,840 doesn't? Where and who does that come 29 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,000 from? Where else can we see this? 30 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,800 Why, why, Why? It's really interesting because 31 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,120 I think this conversation around taste has happened at the 32 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:13,800 perfect time because I talk about it a lot in different ways 33 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,800 on my profiles. My content can sometimes be 34 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,920 misconstrued as a flex, or as showing off fancy labels or a 35 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:27,920 particular lifestyle, but that's not what I'm doing, nor am I 36 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,200 interested in gatekeeping style or avoiding particular brands. 37 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,600 My regular followers know what I'm actually trying to do, which 38 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,680 is share the tools and practises I've learned over time to help 39 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,600 people make their spaces feel more like home. 40 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,400 And that happens in lots of different ways because the 41 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:52,920 Internet asks for quick form content that educates, inspires, 42 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,560 and entertains people. You take the parts of my taste 43 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:01,720 and style that I share, like making a bed, setting a table, 44 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:05,200 or a morning routine, and apply that to your life. 45 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,720 And you leave the parts that don't fit. 46 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,120 Because taste is not about copying someone else, it's about 47 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,560 understanding and adopting what works for you. 48 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,960 So with that in mind, let's start by clarifying what taste 49 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:24,320 class, style and trends actually are. 50 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,960 Because these words again have different meanings. 51 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,880 So a trend is what the market is pushing at a particular moment 52 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,040 to sell a product. Like trends come and go. 53 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,280 They are cyclical and commercially driven. 54 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:46,600 Yes, trends influence style, but trends themselves are not style. 55 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,840 The reason trends and style work hand in hand is because brands 56 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,320 want to show you how one item can work for as many people as 57 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,760 possible, so they style it lots of different ways to speak to 58 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:04,400 lots of different people and sell as many units as possible. 59 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,000 Style on the other hand, is personal expression. 60 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,400 It's how you literally put things together. 61 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,399 Two people can own one item that's exactly the same and 62 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:21,519 style it completely differently, which is why you often hear 63 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:25,320 people say I'm discovering my personal style. 64 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,600 So style is really the act of composing and presenting things 65 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:36,400 in a way that reflects you. And how you learn to style is 66 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:41,920 based on your taste because taste is an understanding. 67 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,880 It's an understanding of proportion, balance, materials, 68 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,800 restraint, knowing when something works and when it 69 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,560 doesn't. It's based on life experience, 70 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,720 things you learn from day to day life from friends and family, 71 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,040 education and culture. Lots of influences. 72 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,080 Which again explains why two people can own the exact same 73 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,800 trendy item but present it completely differently. 74 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,280 Taste guides the decisions that shape your style. 75 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,560 Now, I also think part of the confusion around taste today 76 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:21,760 comes from the way that we have started describing everything as 77 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,800 an aesthetic. Over the last few years, 78 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:30,560 particularly online across TikTok, a lot of design language 79 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:32,920 has been replaced with aesthetic labels. 80 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:35,280 Everything has become an aesthetic. 81 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,320 But what often happens is that the trends start being described 82 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,920 as aesthetics, which then makes people think that those trends 83 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:48,040 are style or even taste, when in reality they're not. 84 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:51,920 They are simply trends packaged as visual identity. 85 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,840 I don't know if that shift happened intentionally or not, 86 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,520 but I do think that has changed the way people think and 87 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,160 approach taste. Because when everything becomes 88 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,720 an aesthetic, it can feel like taste is something you either 89 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,880 have or do not have, depending on whether you're participating 90 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:15,120 in the right trend. But that's not how taste works, 91 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,840 which is why it's helpful to define these words properly. 92 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:23,000 Because once you know what a trend is, what a style is, and 93 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,360 what taste is, it becomes much easier to understand what you're 94 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,440 looking at. A good example of this right now 95 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,520 is the fascination of JFK and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. 96 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,240 What is happening there is not really about taste. 97 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,160 It is a story that has been turned into a trend. 98 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,640 Brands and media have packaged that visual language into 99 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,360 something people can replicate through clothing. 100 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,880 You wear certain pieces and you style them in a certain way to 101 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:58,200 look like them, and suddenly you're participating in that 102 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:01,040 aesthetic. Now, there is nothing wrong with 103 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,520 that. You can absolutely learn from 104 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:05,760 it. You might notice the tailoring, 105 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,960 the materials, or how certain layers work together. 106 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:14,040 That can inform your taste. But wearing those clothes do not 107 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:18,440 suddenly mean that you have acquired or arrived at having 108 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:20,400 taste. It simply means that you're 109 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:23,960 participating in a trend and learning from it. 110 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:28,840 Which leads me onto where people often get confused with the idea 111 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,120 of class. People often assume taste is 112 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,480 connected to class or wealth. And historically, that 113 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:39,720 connection makes sense because for a long time, developing 114 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,600 taste required enormous amounts of wealth, because wealth gave 115 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:48,120 people the time and the exposure to travel, see art, study 116 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,600 architecture, and experience culture, and work with 117 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,960 professionals. But taste is not only for 118 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:59,280 wealthy people. As we now know, taste develops 119 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,760 through life experience. One thing that's worth 120 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,240 acknowledging here is the work of sociologist Pierre Boudoux. 121 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:11,320 In his book Distinction, published in 1979, Bordeaux 122 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,120 argued that taste is closely connected to class, what he 123 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,480 called cultural capital. In other words, the cultural 124 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,520 knowledge people acquire through things like education, art, 125 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:28,280 travel and social environments. And that analysis made a lot of 126 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,920 sense in the time and the place he was writing about. 127 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:37,720 Access to cultural institutions, travel and education was far 128 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:43,159 more restricted than what it is today, and the world has changed 129 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:47,720 quite dramatically since then. The Internet, social media, 130 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:52,280 globalisation and the speed at which images, ideas and products 131 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,840 move around the world have dramatically expanded people's 132 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,400 exposure to culture and aesthetics. 133 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,720 So whilst wealth can still provide broader access to our 134 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:07,760 travel and cultural experiences, is not the only pathway to 135 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,520 exposure anymore. And something we also see today 136 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,280 is that the broader exposure sometimes gets treated as 137 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,760 authority. Like any form of education or 138 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,440 experience, people can weaponize their knowledge as a way of 139 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,200 signalling that they know more or have better taste. 140 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:31,440 But more exposure to something doesn't necessarily mean better 141 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,600 taste. Taste is contextual. 142 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,680 It develops through environments people live in and the 143 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:41,680 experiences they have. Someone with years of experience 144 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:44,600 in fine dining might have incredible knowledge of that 145 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,000 world, but that doesn't necessarily help them operate in 146 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,960 a fast food restaurant in a small country town. 147 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,080 Those are very different environments and skill sets, and 148 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:59,400 taste works in a similar way. Having more exposure to 1 149 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,440 aesthetic world doesn't automatically make someone 150 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:04,760 better equipped to operate in another. 151 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,320 Taste is shaped by the environments people move through 152 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:12,840 and the context they live in, not simply their income or 153 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:16,080 wealth. If we stick with the old school 154 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,320 wealthy context, larger States and households had people from 155 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:24,040 very different economic backgrounds living and working 156 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:28,960 within the same environment. Housekeepers, cooks, attendants, 157 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,880 gardeners and the family themselves. 158 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:36,160 Despite having very different incomes and social positions, 159 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,960 they were all surrounded by the same architecture, the same 160 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,800 objects, and the same expectations of how things were 161 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,680 arranged and presented. They were exposed to the same 162 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:51,920 standards of hosting, the same materials, and the same visual 163 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,720 language every day. And over time, that shared 164 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:59,400 exposure created a shared understanding. 165 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,040 In other words, a shared sense of taste. 166 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:08,440 Taste was and still is not locked into a certain price 167 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:10,680 point. It develops because people have 168 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:15,080 become immersed in the same environment and where you live, 169 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:18,800 where you work and the people you spend time with all 170 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,320 influence your sense of taste. A really simple example of this 171 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,280 played out in an interesting way when I was younger, because part 172 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:31,200 of my job involved making and serving coffee and I noticed 173 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:35,200 very quickly how different expectations were from people 174 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,400 visiting from Sydney and people who lived locally. 175 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,520 People from the city were used to a much faster pace, wanting 176 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,120 milk alternatives and their coffee in 30 seconds or less. 177 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,680 But locals had a slower pace of life. 178 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:52,560 People sat down, ran into people they knew, they talked and they 179 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,360 lingered. And I want to be clear, neither 180 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,640 approach is wrong. And this is of course 181 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,360 generalised, but it simply shows how different environments shape 182 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,520 people's expectations, which then in turn informs their 183 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,440 taste. Our environments shape what we 184 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,240 think is normal, what we think looks right and how we expect 185 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,480 things to function. And people often say that you 186 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,480 can't buy taste. And I do think that statement is 187 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,520 only partially true. You can't buy the development of 188 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,240 taste. You can't purchase the years of 189 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,960 exposure and curiosity that train someone's eye. 190 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:35,240 But you absolutely can buy access to taste, because this 191 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,080 happens all the time. When someone hires an interior 192 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,120 designer, a stylist, or an architect, they're essentially 193 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:45,920 buying access to someone else's understanding. 194 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,040 These are people who have spent years learning about proportion, 195 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:52,920 materials, composition, and space. 196 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,240 And when you hire them, what you're really doing is buying 197 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,920 their process and their eye. In other words, you're buying 198 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,520 their time. So you're either spending money 199 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:07,080 to give yourself the time to learn taste, or you're buying 200 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:12,000 the time back by hiring someone who's already done that work. 201 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,200 But what you're accessing in that moment isn't your own 202 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,480 developed taste, you're borrowing someone else's. 203 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,680 You might learn a little simply by being around them and their 204 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:27,960 environment, but not to the same depth as someone who has spent 205 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,200 years developing it. You might have a beautifully 206 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,360 styled event or a perfectly designed home, but unless you 207 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:39,760 develop that understanding yourself, you don't inherit that 208 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,720 taste permanently. That house might look amazing 209 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:48,400 initially, but without that understanding and curiosity, it 210 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,160 might not evolve. It might not change with the 211 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,920 season or develop a natural rhythm over time. 212 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,040 So you're accessing someone else's expertise for a 213 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,520 particular moment. And there is absolutely nothing 214 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,840 wrong with that. It's how many industries work. 215 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,760 But it is important to understand the difference now. 216 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:12,240 What's also interesting today is that the Internet exposes to 217 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,000 environments that we don't live in, like Scandinavian homes, 218 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:21,080 Parisian apartments, English country houses, coastal homes in 219 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,600 Australia. And that exposure can be 220 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,920 inspiring, but it can also create pressure. 221 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,400 Sometimes people see something online and feel like they should 222 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,720 completely adopt that aesthetic, even if it does not suit their 223 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:39,040 life or environment. A simple example could be 224 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,800 climate layering. Thick duvets might make sense in 225 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,360 a Scottish winter, but if you live in tropical Queensland, 226 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,320 that setup would probably be unbearable. 227 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,800 Taste is really about understanding your environment 228 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,040 and choosing what works within it. 229 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,200 The same applies to clothing. Someone's work wardrobe might 230 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,560 suit their job, their climate and their lifestyle perfectly, 231 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,480 but that doesn't mean that it will suit yours. 232 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,000 One comment I saw recently was someone saying they simply do 233 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,120 not have time or the energy to constantly develop their taste. 234 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,200 And I think that's such a fairpoint because the goal is 235 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,000 not that everyone suddenly needs to go out and actively develop 236 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,880 taste. You already have taste. 237 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,880 Your taste has developed through the environments you live in and 238 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:33,320 the experiences that you've had. If what you were doing works for 239 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,440 your life, there is no real reason to suddenly change it, 240 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,720 because taste should evolve slowly over time. 241 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:46,600 It grows through exposure and curiosity, not pressure. 242 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:51,360 People sometimes dismiss design conversations by saying you know 243 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,200 it's just a couch, but you know that couch, it's not just a 244 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,840 couch. There's scale, proportion, 245 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:02,720 materials, colour, balance that all influences how something 246 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,560 functions and feels within a room. 247 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:08,960 And learning these things has never been easier. 248 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,840 Like you could watch 10 YouTube videos about what couch works in 249 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,400 what room. You could watch another 5 tik 250 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:19,160 toks about living room layouts. You could even take an online 251 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:24,040 course about interior design. That information is all there 252 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,840 and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. 253 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,680 Like you could visit a store and speak to a retail assistant and 254 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,440 they could give you the information in 5 minutes or 255 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:37,000 less. But still, it could feel even 256 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:41,120 more overwhelming because you've done the YouTube videos, the Tik 257 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,880 Toks, the shop assistant, you've spoken to your partner, and 258 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,000 they've all given you different things. 259 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,600 But all of that information exists to help inform your 260 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,160 taste. It's also worth remembering that 261 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,640 large corporations would often rather you focus purely on 262 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,160 trends and styling rather than developing your own taste 263 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,240 because learning slows down consumption. 264 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,079 They want you to focus on the next trend and how you style it 265 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:10,960 in four ways their marketing team has shown you. 266 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:15,440 But everyone has taste. You simply develop it over time 267 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,040 and you should feel comfortable talking about it. 268 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,319 If someone makes a funny face when you talk about design, it 269 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:24,560 may simply be because they're happy operating at the surface 270 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:28,440 level of trends and style. And that isn't necessarily 271 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:32,240 wrong, but it should not stop you from looking deeper into why 272 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,400 you like and love something. Brings up another comment that's 273 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,960 someone made and said that class meant not judging other people's 274 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,160 taste. And I think this is where people 275 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:45,200 often confuse class with etiquette because historically 276 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,960 etiquette was closely associated with upper class environments 277 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,200 because people were taught very specific customs about how to 278 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,760 host, how to behave, and how to engage with others. 279 00:17:56,120 --> 00:18:00,080 But today, good manners are much more universal. 280 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,040 Etiquette is something people can practise anywhere, 281 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:07,240 regardless of income. So class mass is not really a 282 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:12,200 helpful word when we are talking about taste in a general sense. 283 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:17,320 It is much clearer to talk about taste, style, and trends because 284 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:21,560 those are the words that actually describe what we mean. 285 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,480 So to bring it back to the beginning, trends are the things 286 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:29,440 that come and go. Style is the way that you apply 287 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,120 things. It's personal, but taste is 288 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:35,200 something that you develop and deepen over time through 289 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:39,400 exposure, curiosity, and attention. 290 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,640 It is not a status symbol. So called expensive taste is not 291 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:49,160 the only taste out there, nor is it truly definable because it 292 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,920 changes culturally and from person to person. 293 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,440 Taste is not a fixed universal standard. 294 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,200 It is simply an understanding that grows as you pay attention 295 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:04,080 to the environments around you. Sometimes you develop that 296 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,160 understanding yourself, sometimes you borrow it from 297 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,200 someone who has spent years studying it. 298 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:14,160 But ultimately, taste is there to serve your life, not define 299 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,680 it. And it helps you create spaces 300 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:20,280 and wardrobes that feel thoughtful, comfortable, and 301 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:24,080 welcoming for those who live there and the people you invite 302 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,040 into them. Which at the end of the day, is 303 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,760 really what home and hosting is all about. 304 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,240 And that's it for today's episode of Home and Hosting with 305 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,520 me, Louis Burke. The goal of this conversation 306 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,560 today was simply to make you feel more comfortable and 307 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:43,120 confident talking about style, trends, and taste. 308 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:47,320 Because I know sometimes it can feel like a daunting topic, but 309 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:51,040 it really shouldn't be. Taste develops naturally over 310 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:55,680 time to curiosity, exposure, and experience, and the more we 311 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,160 understand what these words actually mean, the easier it 312 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,960 becomes to talk about them and apply them to our own lives. 313 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,160 Now, if you enjoyed this conversation, feel free to share 314 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,200 this episode with someone who might also enjoy thinking about 315 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,400 design spaces and the small details that shape the 316 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,280 environments we live in. I'll see you in the next 317 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:15,880 episode.