Homes and the Homeless--the Trends

The Times missed a remarkable opportunity by electing to publish “The Trend in Homes: Build ‘to the Max’ ” (Part I, Sept. 18), your most recent showpiece for conspicuous consumption, without a roomy companion piece on either the homeless or the overcrowded, squalid living conditions of the poor.

No, I was not overcome with awe and admiration on a grand scale as I encountered the seemingly endless descriptions of mansions, each one huger than the last.

After making my way to the final vulgar detail--”the etched-glass dining-room floor overlooking the indoor pool,” which followed notice of “an eight-car garage”--I simply felt disgust, not only for the smug self-satisfaction and moral complacency emanating from both print and photos but also for the clear loss of a chance for The Times’ writers to expose this ostentation for the corrupting monster that it is.

To celebrate these architectural grotesqueries by omitting to spotlight their abjectly humble counterpart is, I believe, shameful.

JAYNE LEWIS

Orange