Thursday, May 31

To style or to stop? When staging goes too far...

Interesting new site I came across called "Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table". You know, this table that every class A designer has:
This tumblr pretty much makes fun of every on-trend interior design concept, from chalkboard paint to terrariums to everything union jack. This is a great release for those of us that are tired of all things "keep calm and carry on".


It brings up an interesting point- are we too styled, too trendy, too affected by shelter mags and blogs? The ever on-point Raina Cox called it the "Pinterest-fueled race to the bottom of individual expression" in her post on the subject, and I think she has a great case: since when is arranging your books by color the convenient, functional, or logical way to manage your reading material?


Jamie Schwaberow for The New York Times
A recent NYT's article, How to Tell if You're Living an Over-propped Life, touches on this idea as well. Their rant on bar-carts was questionable, in my humble opinion (we all know I love bar carts):

Ah, the bar cart. If there’s one thing that typifies the self-consciously styled home, it may be that. Evoking a mythical Hollywood Regency glamour, the bar cart telegraphs that the resident leads a life as rich as a socialite in a Slim Aarons photo and is constantly entertaining at home, though in reality it’s a prop that mostly collects dust.

But, like, wait. I love my bar cart. I LOVE it. I may not roll it on out like a stewardess over the Atlantic, but we do store all our booze and bar-ware on it, keeping things organized. And it looks cute! What's wrong with looking cute??

I think their main criticism was staging that doesn't seem practical (books you can't find) or cohesive (deer antlers on the walls of your down-town loft). What do you think?

No comments:

Post a Comment

how you like dem apples?