ABSTRACT
In 19th-century Britain, amateur and architectural tastes were harmonious. Aesthetic arguments were conducted on high moral ground and ornament was considered next to godliness. In 19-century Britain the prosperous and proliferating urban middle class found its identity and values validated by the country's pre-eminent place in the world. In the United States former colonials and a miscellany of new immigrants began to evolve their national identity. They were unburdened by their own short history and, by the beginning of the 20 century, found themselves with a new way of living that seduced the world. Their diversely decorated homes were the places in which the children who have become the new professionals grew up. Eccentric clothes defined waves of young fashionistas who became interioristas and brought their enthusiasm for quirks of taste to the decoration of their homes.
