The classic embodiment of this was A Twitter trend months ago of people posting pics of the "room of couches you aren't allowed to sit on" in their parents houses, or "cupboard full of dishes we never used."

was the "room of couches..." trend immediately after an episode of The Goldebergs aired with exactly that scenario? (except the 80's version)

also the "stuff we never use" is probably mostly just parents fed up with their kids breaking stuff just by looking at it and they'd like to emerge from parenthood with at least some sentimental items still intact. (source: a parent with 7 and 2 y/o energetic, clumsy boys who I'd very much love to share my own personal memories with lest they be destroyed on contact with one of the whirlwinds of destruction...)

This is so very true. I've got an 8- and 6-year old, and we've resorted to using mostly disposable Ikea furniture because it's a lost cause. Even so, in a few years I'm going to have to do a light remodel of the house to fix all the damage.

Anecdotal counterpoint: my friends and I are slowly being given all that stuff we weren't allowed to touch, by our parents who preserved it to "pass it down"....and it's mostly stuff we have no space or need for. A china set? Antique clock? None of us wants it.

That I get. I have no desire to keep my parents crap but I also don't want my kids destroying my stuff while I can still enjoy it. There is no expectation for them to "inherit" it just respect that I want to keep it. If they actually want any of it great but I'm not forcing anything on them