[equestria]

Most homes of people who are reasonably well-off - including most people on HN - go through three distinct stages.

The first stage is right after you spend an insane amount of money to buy the property. At that point, you want to validate the investment, so you spend more on making it look nice, but you're probably oblivious to many realities of homeownership. So yeah, this is when people splurge on matched kitchenware, beautiful cutting boards, "smart" kitchen appliances, sleek-looking but impractical veneer / plastic / glass furniture, etc.

The second stage is when you get kids or pets, and you start losing the battle. You eventually throw in the towel, accepting that there are going to be dings on the walls and on stainless steel appliances, holes in window screens, and veneer peeling off after the fifth juice spill accident.

The third stage is when the kids move out and you can actually make the space look nice. Except now, you know that there's some wisdom to old-fashioned solid wood furniture, that cutting boards are for cutting, and so on. So your home acquires more of an "old people" vibe.

[MarkusWandel]

Ha! Stainless steel appliances. The new (Bosch) dishwasher gets nasty crap spilled down the front. No problem, it's stainless steel so get out the scrubby sponge. Ha. The stainless steel has a relatively delicate clearcoat on top of it which is now messed up. Stainless steel for show only, not for actual utility.

[matsemann]

Isn't it the opposite? Stainless steal is for utility, not show. Hence why it's used in all professional kitchens I've worked.

[stavros]

Isn't the problem that you got out the scrubby sponge?

[01HNNWZ0MV43FF]

I have 3 stages of flatware right now:

1. Relatively nice stuff I bought for myself when I moved into my apartment

2. Cheap stuff I bought after a friend used a yellow-green scrub sponge and scratched up all my nice stuff

3. Nice stuff I bought for myself after the divorce (Except that it's poorly designed, which makes me wish I'd bought something a little more standard. They all have round handles, which means the utensils try to spin in your hands.)

[foobarian]

I can in no way shape or form stand "impostor utensils." I throw them away ruthlessly (we sometimes acquire them when guests bring over food or by accident from vacations). When we run low I throw away the whole lot and replace it. Same with plates, glasses, or socks. Seriously, who has time to match up socks? Just buy 40 identical pairs and throw away the rest.