Observing and analyzing designs, beginning as a child over many decades, results in the development of acute sensitivities and awareness of aesthetics.

Designs are:

natural and man-made,

expensive and cheap,

professional and amateur,

mass-produced and unique,

of the highest and the lowest economic-social status,

internationally renowned and unknown,

of different countries, historical periods, locations, purposes, ambiences,

and celebrities and unknown people.

The question: Is it beautiful?

It matters not, to be successful, who designed it.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

How well, when viewing, does it manifest beauty?

The who, what, where, when, why, and how of who designs it matters not.

The manifesting aesthetic result is what counts.

Do you ever observe a well-presented design, of residential interiors or any other thing, and are not positively impressed or motivated to experience a sense of well-being and beauty?

How does this approach related to your life and your personal living spaces?

Food for thought.

If your mind is in sync with your desired goals, your interior living spaces can be designed effectively.

If in your mind, there are fears, doubts, and questions, you are headed for trouble.

When you know the users of the spaces, what are the functions, what is the life style, who is financially responsible, and what is the desired ambiance, then, you have the route to take.

The positions, opinions, likes, et cetera, of any one not in the above sentence should be ignored.

If trends, popularity, styles, fashions, traditions, and demand do not take you to your planned goals, they should be ignored.

Research, experiment, get facts and figures, and then go with what you like that best fits into the plan.

Then, be calm, composed, confident, and enjoy the process as the plan in your mind becomes your reality.

Never have I encountered a situation where this planet stopped spinning because someone chose the “wrong” color or piece of furniture.

You are you. Be you. Be home.

Food for thought.

A video, about luxurious living from an interior design college, recently came across my desk that emphasizes the importance of healthy residential environments.

A healthy residential environment is, or should be, a basic requirement for all persons.

It’s not just physical health but also mental, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and an awareness of nature that are necessary for a complete and healthy life.

The art and science of interior design are important routes for achieving such goals.

Their video points out the unhealthy damage caused by toxic chemicals and materials used in much of our current physical environments and the healthy alternatives

This planet is manifest by the laws of the universe.

When the intelligence, knowledge, and experience of mankind are used, in accordance with and in cooperation with these universal laws, our lives can be more healthy, balanced, happy, and fulfilled.

Think about everything you eat, wear, touch, or use every day.

Of what is it made? What happens over the lifetime of its existence?

Food for thought.

Colors are inanimate. They do not have personalities or traits thereof.

A recent article came across my desk concerning the stress and anxiety experienced by some people when selecting colors for their living spaces.

Is it the best, most beautiful, and most appropriate color for this time and place?

What is the ambiance and psychological effect of this color, and how will other people react to it?

What determines our color choices?

Every appropriate, ambiance, psychological reaction, aesthetic, and every other trait and characteristic people attribute to any color is determined by their culture.

This culture includes their country, location, time, intelligence, education, exposure, history, personality, and everything else they have experienced.

There are no cut-and-dry, carved-in-stone universality positions of traits and characteristics people attribute to colors.

Be bold. Be brave. Don’t be a sheep following the herd, an insecure person, or a not confident self who submits to others above self.

Select those colors that you like and that align with your personality and purposes.

How did, or do, you select colors for your personal spaces.

Food for thought.

Awareness of the subtle enhances daily living.

As seasonings added to food makes it more enjoyable, appreciation of little things makes daily living more enjoyable.

Experiencing the subtle takes life from ordinary to extraordinary.

Living rather than merely existing.

Looking helps find.

If you think a small thing can’t make a difference, try living in a room with one mosquito.

Your choices determine your living.

What subtleties are you experiencing where you live?

Food for thought.

Behaviorist state that within seconds of people first seeing another person, the atoms in their brain determine their reaction to that person.

It has also been stated that our body language, grooming, clothing, and speech, as seen by others, mirror our inner self-being.

The ambiance and environment of our living spaces show our personality and lifestyle.

How do you want others to react when first viewing your residential living spaces?

What is the look that you display to the world?

What is the importance of such to you?

What do you choose to do, or not do, about it?

Food for thought.

Realtors reveal what will sell and what hinders selling in the current housing landscape.

Building contractors divulge what’s wanted, or not wanted, in new home construction industries.

There are many views, pro and con, about the merits and long-term effects of current residential trends.

Financiers inform us about current housing prices, inflation, and markets.

Much is mentioned about current home buying relating to the American dream.

Interior designers state what they would, or not, do for residences today.

Surprise!

Not all of these people are on the same page or wave length.

How should one, not in this field, react to this flood of information in the common domain?

Don’t.

Think. Plan. Cull.

Think who you are, where you are, what you have, and where you want to go.

Plan your needs, desires, requirements, time frames, and employable means to reach them.

Cull and eliminate anything encountered that will not advance desired results.

Use intelligence, experience, and education, to create your own pathway and

not evolve into sheep following crowds.

Appropriate wisely between emotions and intelligence.

Food for thought.

Recent articles have come across my desk concerning “good taste” for current residential interior design.

When major changes in businesses enabled the lower classes to improve their finances, education, and achievements, best society set the credentials by which the world recognizes its chosen members.

What role should these credentials play in personality manifestation for today’s residential interior design?

What are the elements of the complete highest quality level for contemporary residential interior design?

Times change. Cultures change.

What are the best choices for an excellent life today?

Are these credentials of merit, or are they just mental classifications?

Do the standards for formal table settings of the past have relevance for dining habits of today?

Food for thought.

Many circumstantial factors evolved into humanity wearing body coverings.

Other purposes appeared beyond the basics.

Personality began to be a factor in clothes.

Current culture sees, evaluates, judges, and classifies you according to what you wear.

A parallel is made by the circumstances and choices in our personal living spaces.

Is your home manifesting your true self to the world?

How do you feel about the situation?

Food for thought.

Since the beginning of building enclosures for human habitation, most forms that have come into being have been variations of the rectangle.

We live primarily in boxes.

This form has come to be the best for many reasons.

Over ninety percent of what we see are the walls, floors, and ceilings of this rectangle.

Various openings, primarily for functions and light, are put into this box.

To achieve the highest levels of aesthetics, two aspects should be addressed.

What is the optimum design of the relationship between the space and the outside world?

What is the optimum design of the box itself and the surrounding spaces?

Ideally, the expenditure of design resources should be expended somewhat equally for the walls, floors, ceilings, and furnishings of the space.

Most of us do not live in an ideal world and have to make choices accordingly.

Living in the real world, what aspects are considered for the complete aesthetic and personal expression of the spaces in which you live?

Food for thought.