A Palace No One Wants To Live In

The first thing you’ll notice at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam is how varied and beautiful the rooms are. There are Dutch influences, French influences, Japanese influences, even Roman, Greek, and Egyptian elements, and it goes to show: Art is a blend of centuries.

As marvelous as it was to stroll around and explore this blend, however, I did notice something else: You could not pay me to live in these rooms. Some were stuffy. Others dark. A handful outright smoldered you in paintings and ornaments. The beds seemed stiff and dusty. The cabinets weren’t practical. And anyway, where would I put my TV?

It might not be a surprise that our preferences for interior design have changed in the last 400 years. But these weren’t just any rooms. They were the rooms of royals. And yet, if you had shown any one of them a 2026 living room in the very same city where they reigned, they’d have promptly called for some advisor to prepare your witchcraft trial—before returning to their stuffy, not-all-that-great chambers.

There’s a reason most places of old splendor have been turned into museums: No one wants to live in them anymore. What was barely good enough for a king a few hundred years ago won’t even satisfy a proverbial peasant today.

Progress happened long before we were even there to see it. By the time we show up, all we can do is be grateful for what we have. Enjoy the view and not having to live in a space where the walls are cold and the sheets are itchy.