A person doesn’t have to be an interior designer to appreciate a nice piece of furniture or a unique decor element. That’s likely one of the reasons some tend to enjoy watching home tours of all sorts of people and browsing what items they have in their dwellings.
The New York-based comedian Dan Mahboubian Rosen seemingly does. Not only does he pay attention to the items exposed on the home tours of some rather wealthy individuals, he also notices which ones quite a few of them have. From designer couches to mirrors “the size of a barn door”, he’s seen it all, which is why he addressed the rich in a series of TikTok videos that went viral and asked them to mix it up a bit when it comes to home design.
"Here are the furniture pieces that rich people need to stop using"
Image credits: cannibalmilkshake
"It's not that I don't like these, but you have money so why not also have your own taste? You don't have to copy people."
"Togo Sofa by Ligne Roset. You can stop buying these. If you're a poor person, you can stop wanting these"
Image credits: Ligne Roset
"Update your fantasy, okay? Have original fantasy. What are you going to get? Money? And then you're just going to copy what everyone else has? No, no, you don't have to get a sofa that looks like a shar-pei dog."
"Pierre Jeanneret chairs. They're classic. They're modern. They're definitely not comfortable."
Image credits: Pierre Jeanneret
"So just find a different chair to indicate to people that you're cultured and you have taste. I just can't see another home office with this chair. I'm done with it."
"The Bellini sofa. Every Arch Digest tour has one of these"
Image credits: B&B Italia
"There has to be a different sofa. Right? Okay, rich people, celebrities, interior designers, find one that's not this. It exists. I know. I've seen other sofas in stores, on the internet. Us poors can't afford any of this. Okay, so just give us some variety to hate you for. Just a variety of envy. That's all I ask."
In his viral video, Dan shed light on several items rich people should stop buying
Image credits: thedanrosen
The comedian, creator, and co-founder of Cannibal Milkshake Comedy, Dan Mahboubian Rosen, has put a smile on quite a few netizens' faces with his witty remarks. His video about “furniture rich people need to quit” racked up over 565,000 views on TikTok, and many comments suggesting what other items the rich should stop buying. The part two of the sequel was viewed more than 1.3 million times on the platform; the third one, uploaded some months later, didn’t get as many views, but featured some on-point comments nevertheless.
"Part Two of 'Furniture rich people need to quit'"
Image credits: cannibalmilkshake
"The Hermès throw. I don't care if it's soft. It's boring. It's inoffensive. You see it in the staging of every single grotesque penthouse in New York"
Image credits: Hermès
"Megan and Harry have one, which means it's officially not cool. Once it reaches royalty, it's over"
"The Ultrafragola mirror"
"We get it. You're cool. You're funky. You like millennial pink. Every time you take a mirror selfie, you have to let the whole world know you have great taste. Get a grip, okay. It's a fine mirror but you can find other nice mirrors out there that aren't the size of a barn door. If you like Memphis design so much, you can get this bookshelf, which has not yet been ruined but is probably close to being ruined."
"Aesop soap"
"Rich people, Aesop is not actually for you. Aesop is a luxury soap for people who cannot afford it. It's for broke creatives who want to feel fancy and impress their guests. If you actually have money, you should be using a soap I've never even heard of, that's made of, like, lithium batteries and the leftover buccal fat. It's not that any of these are bad, it's just I hate watching celebrity home tours. It's one of the few pleasures that the masses have. And I'm just bored 'cause they all look the same. So get some new [stuff]"
The second video of the series garnered more than a million views
Image credits: Adrien Olichon (not the actual photo)
Similarly to Dan’s videos—maybe to a slightly larger extent, though—celebrity home tours, too, have been watched by many, many people. From the old but gold MTV Cribs—which started the trend of inviting one’s friends inside with a “Welcome to my crib”—to celebrity home tours by Architectural Digest, people have been presented with numerous chances to catch a glimpse of the homes and the life of the wealthy. And, according to some experts, it’s not only marveling at interior design elements and furniture that draws us to it.
“We have always been invested in the illusion of intimacy with celebrity figures and under regimes of neoliberal entrepreneurialism, the domestic space has become a central part of many celebrity brand identities,” Dr. Jessica Martin, lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, told Dazed magazine.
She added that what makes such content especially popular nowadays is the way COVID-19 has emphasized the importance of residential areas. “Homes became the spaces from which many people worked, and for public figures this often meant giving interviews from their homes, which were intensely scrutinized and enjoyed.”
While some people simply enjoy the interviews and pay no close attention to the surroundings, others—like Dan and some of his fellow netizens—can’t help but notice certain repetitive patterns or popular items that seem to appear in many of the luxurious homes.
"Okay, these are the design trends rich people need to quit, part three"
Image credits: cannibalmilkshake
"Get some new stuff, because I'm bored."
"Banana leaf wallpaper"
"This is in Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale's house, But you don't live in the Beverly Hills Hotel, okay? Having this on your wall does not make you Faye Dunaway, it makes you look like you have a tiki bar in your house. It's, like, nice, but it only refers to itself. It's too famous."
"This is Demi Lovato's house. She has it there. She also has a Ribbon chair and a Togo sofa. How many iconic design things can you have in your house? They don't make sense."
"Then we got these tiny little wooden stools or chairs"
"This is Kirsten Dunst's bathroom. They're usually in the bathroom for some reason. They're not for sitting. They hold like one item. And the item is like another even smaller little wooden chair."
"This is Kendall Jenner's bathroom. And look, I get it. You want a nice little crafted object. You want everyone to know you went to Santa Fe one time. I think, unless you're, like, Geppetto, I think you can pick a different crafted object, just for a few years."
"Pierre Jeanneret chairs"
"Listen, these are beautiful chairs. Okay, I'm broke. I would love to have one of these chairs. But this is Kourtney Kardashian's - like, it's reached Kardashian. It's time to find a new chair.
That's just it. So I just ask rich people: do better. You're the only ones with the money to make these dream homes, and we're all just living vicariously through you. So just keep the masses pacified by mixing it up a bit. So less of this, and more this. I want to see some [weird stuff]"
In part three, Dan discussed everything from what makes one’s home look like a tiki bar to wooden stools in bathrooms
Fellow netizens shared their opinions in the comments under Dan’s videos
