Ordinary folks when presented with an object have to perform a mental calculation over the cost/inconvenience of storage vs. disposal and if wanted again, replacement.
Cluttered old homes with lots of things all over the place make it a bit less jarring when there's a stack of work left out on a table.
Which is fine to be honest, its nice to see clearly the type of person on the other side of the table, no need to dig through empty speech clutter for clues. But impressive it is not.
that's wrong: my minimalist (in looks, not in equipment) all white kitchen looks completely fine even after a dinner party, because even then it doesn't look full, dirty or cluttered. The old one (and it wasn't that old, only there were more and darker colors and lines and objects) decidedly didn't. The art of designing modern spaces lies in the ability to make the space visually appealing (in my case minimal) while still able to function correctly. Too often the designers and their clients forget about the practical aspects.
Reminds me of the reason that grass yards exist: to show the world that one can afford land for the sake of owning it, rather than for growing crops.
There’s definitely more to the story and there are myriad factors.
There's plenty of evidence the rear gardens were used for growing food and drying laundry back then
Children would also play there where they could be seen from the kitchen (which was always in the rear), rather than playing in the road (as much)
Rear gardens also served as a space where you would converse with your neighbour. Typically fences between neighbours were low and wire (tall 6ft wooden fences came later)
The other thing is the only toilet in a 4 bedroom property would also be out there, as an outdoor WC, accessible from outside
I doubt much read space was reserved for lawn back then
The neighbourhood of "Cabbagetown" in Toronto is so-named because yards were not used for 'ornamental' plants:
> Cabbagetown's name derives from the Irish immigrants who moved to the neighbourhood beginning in the late 1840s, said to have been so poor that they grew cabbage in their front yards.[2] Canadian writer Hugh Garner's novel, Cabbagetown, depicted life in the neighbourhood during the Great Depression.
I've lived in a few row houses with fully paved outdoor areas. I don't really see the point of that either, but at least it doesn't require regular maintenance so it only has to be occasionally useful to come out ahead.
It then took this association with rich and better and was used in the US to denote affluent and therefore segregated housing developments.
Generations ago those field would have been allowed to grow over because they could be cleared again on a whim.
These days you need six figured of engineering and permitting to clear acreage and ain't nobody gonna do that without a commercial use that can justify it.
Historically, using land with such properties for grass instead of crops was as sign of wealth, especially for large estates.