Your home often reflects the stage of life you are at. For example you are not going to have a house filled with china and glass breakables when there are young children running around or have a house painted in bright vibrant colors when you are getting on in years. Your home decor often reflects the stage of life you are at.
When we were students and having just moved out of our parental home, none of us cared really about how the place looked. The norm was to find a dirty and old apartment with run down kitchen and ropey carpets. The joy of being away from our parents compensated for everything else. But as we got more mature we began to appreciate more the surroundings we lived in and tried to make the places look better and more appealing.
Then we get to the stage where we are trying to buy our own apartment or renting one when we have just started working. Here we are trying to impress our friends and family, showing them we are successful so we live in a clean place with lots of ornaments and interesting decoration, sort of art nouveaux. The classic term" bachelor pad" is derived from this period in our lives when a young man has an impressive home to impress the girls with.
The next stage has to be thought of as the nesting instinct. Here we have just settled down with our partner for life in a nice apartment or house and want it to look homely and comfortable while also being practical. Hopefully children will come along soon, so there are little reminders all over the place of potential play rooms, soft carpets and so on.
The young children stage is when the house really could look nice but the parents just don't have the energy to keep it tidy any more since they spend most of their time running after the little ones. There are often pen marks on the walls and toys all over the place. Soon the kids grow up and instead of toys you see computer games and computers all over the house. Doors are kept shut as teenagers want their privacy.
The last stage is most definitely the one with the most potential. The kids have moved out and occasionally come to visit; you now have more disposable income to use and time on your hands. Your house is a dream, everything you ever wanted it to be and it is kept spotless. This might be an emotionally lonely stage but for your home it is the most beautiful and inspiring stage.