Monday, May 16, 2005

Aesthetics

Recently, my boyfriend’s mother came to town and spent an evening at our new place. She arrived just two days after the move, so things were in a state of disarray (to say the least). Being the very generous person she is, she asked us what we needed for the place. We demurred, but she prodded for more information, “What’s your style?” she said, eyeing the blank white walls, the piece-meal furniture, the futon, and the bed mattress on the floor of the bedroom. Um, my interior decorating style…well, I suppose whatever is given to us (dining table, rug, bureaus, desk, chair), snagged off the sidewalk (coffee table), or under $70 (bookshelves). I couldn’t come up with an answer for her. But maybe that’s just because I’m still a little intimidated by a woman who has an incredible sense of style, and who is, after all, the mother of the man I love. So in the days since her visit, I have been thinking about my “style.” I do have a distinct aesthetic taste – or at least it’s not only what Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel feed me.

I had a chance to further explore my aesthetic taste, and affirm the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” at The Org’s annual art show fundraiser. I bought a watercolor, and am going to also purchase a collage-like piece in bright yellows and reds. However, the piece now sitting on my desk, waiting to be retrieved by the artist, falls into my “trash” category. It is stone sculpture of a parrot (made out of glued pieces of blue sodalite, green serpentine, and onyx), perched on a piece of quartz, and around its feet are lots of smaller parrots in various poses. I hate it. But I’m glad that the other day, when a co-worker passed by and gasped, I didn’t reveal my dislike. After pausing to take in the full affect of the statue, this woman launched into a 10-minute monologue about how beautiful the statue was. (Oh, it has these heinous gold talons, by the way). I just bit my tongue and nodded as she professed her love for the parrots. So if you’re gonna buy me a housewarming, definitely stay away from the multi-colored stone statues with gold accents.

Parrots aside, for a girl who still can’t quite identify just what her style is, I’m very picky about how I decorate my space. As I’ve mentioned before, I dislike clutter. Clean lines are good, wood is good – especially cherry, and not so much ash or oak; metal and glass are two other materials I’m a fan of, but used in moderation; antiques are good if they’re usable, but fake antiques (ie: sandpapering off some paint to make something look old) not so good; big bookshelves filled with favorite reads (and a few aspirational reads) are a must; hand-me-down oriental rugs in reds and blues are marvelous (but hard to come by, of course), and in their stead sisal rugs, or bright block rugs are good; items from various journeys (your own or your friends’) are great as accents to rooms; original art (either by yourself, friends, family members, or local “unknown” - read affordable - artists) is awesome; in general, I stay away from frills, florals, and pastels in favor of crisp primaries, warm yellows and whites; if it’s going to be cheaply made, let it be simple; and for God’s sake, keep the chatzke’s to a minimum. And that, my friends, is the short list of the driving principles of my interior decorating style.

1 Comments:

Blogger Ms. Runner said...

Oh I wish I could post a picture of the hideous thing, but alas I have neither a digital camera nor a scanner.

9:54 AM  

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