Then And Now

Back in the day, many people had a table like this in their kitchens or dining rooms.
But this set would be a bit too small by today's standards.

A more popular choice is the bar height model.

Or a larger, more plush upholstered model.

Back in the day, a sofa like this would have been considered as top of the line by many.
(Okay, it would have better upholstery.)

This sofa would have matching side chairs and marble topped coffee tables and end tables.

(Anyone whose parents or grandparents were from the South probably has at least one living room set such as this.)

But in our "Bigger Is Better" society, this model is a popular choice for most of America's middle class.

Back in the day, a full size rice bed was standard in the homes that were considered to be a little more affluent.

(Back in the day, there were basically two bed sizes; twin and full. There is no such thing as an Antique King Size Bed. Back in the day, people would just push two twin beds together to form one large bed.)

But today, this king size bed would be considered as spare and under-decorated.

Maybe it's a better diet, maybe it's having more money, maybe it's seeing what others have and having more free time - but what was considered as "Doing Well" in decades past, is now considered as "Being Poor" by many today.

(Although that old stuff is appreciating in value while the new stuff lost half it's value the moment it left the showroom floor.)