I will at some point stop talking about decorating, my own and others'. Probably when I'm done with my house, so...2013 or so? My blog readers will all be dead of boredom by then, but I can't be responsible for that.
So in the meantime, a few more comments.
It cracks me up endlessly when people on RMS offer up advice like, "Take the bookcase out and put a sofa there," totally ignoring the fact that furniture has a practical as well as an aesthetic component and a bookcase and a sofa do *not* serve the same purpose. What exactly is someone supposed to do when they get rid of their bookcase? Pile the books on the new sofa? I may not be an expert, but I think that's probably frowned upon.
Oh, but I do know the answer to this. You aren't supposed to have books. Or any personal effects, really, that serve any actual useful purpose. That's "clutter." I swear to god, if you post a picture of your living room and there's a freaking remote on your otherwise completely-clear coffee table, three people will immediately sniff that you need to get rid of your clutter. God forbid you should actually have a magazine out, unless of course, it's not a magazine that you read, but rather one that's chosen because the cover color-coordinates with your throw rug.
And kitchen counters! They are supposed to have nothing on them except for a very few chosen accessories that provide "pops" of color. Nothing useful. Not a coffee maker, not a freaking loaf of bread. Oh, yes, you need to put in a $40,000 kitchen with four acres of (granite) counter top, but nothing is supposed to be on those counters. Again, I may just be showing my own ignorance, but I personally don't need four acres of counter top to actually prepare a meal, so if I had them, I'd like to think it wouldn't be beyond the pale to keep my coffee maker and KitchenAid out on them, and y'know, perhaps some actual nonperishable food. (Sigh. I'm such white trash. We're apparently all about the clutter in our tenements and trailers. And some of us even read [own!] books. )
It's not like I don't even know how people live like that, it's like I don't even know why anyone wants to live like that. I mean, I am working hard on getting rid of my clutter that *is* clutter, but that doesn't mean I want to live in a space where everything I own is an aesthetic prop. That's just crazy talk.
xoxo
6 comments:
I can totally relate...being a housecleaner...I see many different types of homes. From the beautiful showcase homes with tons of "props" but no life in them...to the mom of 6 kids with clutter everywhere that I am more than happy to move and or clean around,because her home is full of life love and laughter...to the old bachelor or widow who *really* needs to throw some of the things theyve had for 60 some odd years away.
Give me the cluttered life filled homes anyday. :)
Oh, and I watched about 5 minutes of some show yesterday...they added some chairs to a room..which...didnt look comfy at all..and really werent that nice to look at...but they raved about how "modern and contemporary" they were...and when the people sat in them..they looked VERY uncomfortable. LOL
Give me an old overstuffed recliner anyday...thank you.
You know, I was thinking when you commented about the drapes the other day that I really ought to use *you* as my reference because as a professional housecleaner you are probably seeing way, way more interiors of people's homes than most of us. You can tell me not only what people are actually doing with their houses, but what ideas, while ok in theory, turn out to be sucky in practice (like cleaning around the dragging drapes!) :-)
The other thing is that not only do these people want to pick things only on the basis of aesthetics, not utility, not--as you point out--comfort, even the aesthetics have to be...sterile. You're not allowed to have things because you love them and find them beautiful or personally meaningful, they need to "go" whether with your theme or your color scheme. I may have a big fail with this, because god knows Boho Paradise isn't totally cohesive (or, yes, yes, I know, not to everyone's taste), but everything I've kept in or added to that room since I started redecorating it is something I think is beautiful and/or emotionally pleasing to me. That's how I want to live.
I've got a circa-1930 antique rocking chair now sitting in my foyer that never fails to receive questions (i.e. comments) about its perceived incongruence and decorating thumb-rule offense. I'll admit it might fail a strict utility test, but I'd say "emotionally pleasing" is the trump-card standard for all home decorating, especially where the "emotion" involved belongs to the resident(s), and those folks can all just pound sand and gnash their teeth in hopeless futility for how happy it makes me to see it there every morning. (In my defense, I'm neither slave to aesthetic props nor cluttered otherwise, imho, so I'm figuring I get at least one decorating mulligan).
Okay, I *just* read someone chiding someone else that "family photos don't belong in the dining room anyway."
Arrrgggggghhhhhhh.
I think one should be allowed to choose what one prefers to look at on one's own wall while chewing one's own meatloaf in one's own dining room, even if that *is* one's own children's photos. Am I wrong here????????????
I may just go bang my head against my own dining room wall. I wonder if that's within the bounds of propriety and good taste?
You may, but puleeezz dont use a photo of your child to cover the hole you make.
*rolls eyes*
LOL
Even better one today! In response to a dining room with a highchair in the corner: "Remove the baby furniture!"
I mean, yeah. How gauche. Don't you have an unfinished basement in which to feed that unsightly child with his tacky accountrements?
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