In the recent century, interior design and architecture has shifted from function to vanity.
Target sells mass-produced wreaths year round—an adornment previously reserved for Greeks of great wealth, achievement, or status.
Fireplaces—invented for warmth and, literally, because we needed a place for fire—now crackle across TV screens during the holidays.
Stoops are not immune in the shift from necessity to vanity.
A stoop’s (from the Dutch word, stoep, meaning “step”) original purpose was to protect houses from floods.
As their functional role dwindled, their aesthetic appeal increased.
Today, stoops are adored, adorned, and widely-instagrammed: and with good reason. Take a look at my roundup of the most instagrammable stoops in America.
the wanderita 