Visiting a household, ostentatious symbols of wealth are always easy to notice, but some relatively inexpensive decorations often exhibit the true wealth of the owner in a more subtle manner.
Many people believe that living in a mansion, driving luxury cars, and wearing designer clothes should signify affluence. In reality, most billionaires are understated in their actions, but they also value practicality. While there are indeed some tycoons who enjoy flaunting their wealth, the lives of many low-key super-rich individuals are filled with more subtle signs of wealth, with most of them not actually being as expensive as one might think.
The wealthy do not chase TikTok-style living rooms or seasonal decor updates. They invest in timeless designs and then retain them for a substantial period of time.
Below is an excerpt from The Wall Street Journal, listing some discreet selections of household items made by truly wealthy individuals, through which one can understand that this is a home of the affluent.
London-based designer Vicky Charles, who procures home furnishings for the British royal residence, has chosen Heritage Egyptian cotton sheets from London & Avalon (priced from $204 to $277 each) and has embroidered stripes on the lower corners: red for king-size and blue for queen size.
On the other hand, Sferra Giza 45 Egyptian cotton sheets range in price from $788 to $2,713 each and have garnered over 35.6 million mentions on TikTok, largely due to their exorbitant prices rather than their softness.
New York interior designer Jeffrey Bilhuber suggests buying fresh local flowers two days before guests arrive, so the flowers have time to bloom and “slightly wither.” His clients include hotel mogul Jeff Klein and the late fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy. Fendi heiress and art advisor Paola Saracino Fendi places her unassuming bouquet of flowers in a vintage Rosenthal porcelain vase (priced between $200 and $500) in her New York apartment.
In contrast, Venus et Fleur is a New York-based brand of preserved flowers that are said to stay fresh for at least a year. One box of rose arrangements from Venus et Fleur, containing 42 to 49 identical roses, is priced at $399 and packaged in a satin box imprinted with the brand’s logo.
When Morgan Stanley’s vice president and his family summer in the Hamptons, their trusted chef Licia Householder states, “If there’s a large box of kosher salt in the kitchen, you know someone has a well-trained personal chef.”
During her work, Householder loads boxes of kosher salt into her car. Kosher salt (Walmart’s kosher salt costs $0.35 per ounce, and pink kosher salt costs $0.39 per ounce) is saltier than other types of salt, “making it easier to control the taste.”
On the other hand, some Hollywood celebrities have been promoting the “electrolyte-balancing” benefits of cooking with Himalayan pink salt on social media.
Melissa Barrett MacLean decorates her residences in Miami Beach and the Hamptons with Oluce brand modernist metal lamps (priced around $1,975). MacLean is a partner at AOI Capital and has previously served as the design director of Harper’s Bazaar and Elle Decor magazines.
However, in luxury penthouse apartments in New York skyscrapers, crystal chandeliers with a hint of Art Deco style hang, resembling scenes from real estate ad campaigns. Lalique brand crystal chandeliers are priced at around $114,000.
In addition to the four categories of household items mentioned in the article from The Wall Street Journal, many super-rich individuals are not particularly fond of ostentatious items or trends that exhibit surface luxury, such as designer luxury cars, lavish watches and jewelry, brand-name clothing with conspicuous logos, or high-end health and fashion fads.