“Interior design is not an Easter Basket to be filled with the more objects the better.”

Yet, many examples which are put forth as some of the world’s best continue to do such.

Many describe how unique, expensive, designer name, rarity, and blah, blah, blah are these objects.

Residential interior spaces includes all the walls, ceiling, floors, and all of their components into the composition.

Every thing seen in a space has it’s own design characteristics and should be evaluated as to how such contributes to the whole composition.

And interior design is a composition.

What is the ultimate goal of your residential interior design?

Is it to make the spaces as beautiful, functional, and reflecting the personalities of the residents as is possible?

Or is it to show the world your collection of objects therein?

Some of these object filled spaces look more like commercial show rooms instead of spaces where people live.

The most successfully designed, and most beautiful, residential interiors are those in which every thing seen in the spaces contributes to the final overall aesthetic composition of the spaces.

There are many aspects which determine the final results manifest for residential interior design spaces.

How many, and what, determined the results of the spaces in which you live?

Do you have aesthetically pleasing whole compositions or an Easter Basket of objects?

Food for thought.

Taste: “The sense of what is fitting, harmonious, or beautiful.” Webster

Good: “educated, refined, genuine” Webster

There have been comments in some of the international shelter magazines about the relevance of “good taste” in today’s culture.

Etiquette, religions, clothing fashions, et cetera still manifest traits, traditions, and habits from past periods of history.

Good taste supposedly originated when the lower classes began to get home furnishings that were mass produced as opposed to being locally made and the wealthy, partially to retain their status and to snob others, began the guide lines of what was good taste.

Residences and their furnishings are still today a big indication of one’s social-economic status in the world.

There probably will always be people who will unsupportingly critique what is different from what and where they are.

Your culture, education, intelligence, personality, and where you are in life will flavor your position of the subject of good taste.

The general movement of cultures today toward more casual and less formal living is definitely a factor to be considered here.

What role does the concept of good taste play in and of what importance in your life?

Food for thought.

A recently reviewed article from the residential building industry listed the results from polls of regrets owners have after building a new house.

The lists included more practical and useful rooms, more storage spaces, better lighting, and practical aesthetics.

Some of how residents use, view, and react to their living spaces is a result of life experienced during the pandemic.

While these aspects generally are good and desirable and practical, there are others which could be considered.

How does the to be built house fit functionally and aesthetically into the space where it is to be built not just for the now but for the changes that will come about during future decades?

As houses are usually constructed to be permanent buildings, what is the life time for use, maintenance, practicality, and aesthetics of the quality of materials, workmanship, and design used during it”s construction for the current time and future decades?

And what about the financial aspects of building a new house during it”s construction and for the duration of it’s existence?

“Once in his life time every man should build a house.” ancient philosophy

Building a new residence is a many layered and varied experience on many levels for which the expenditure of resources mostly results in a well worth the effort outcome.

Food for thought.

“regulation governing conduct” Webster

From early childhood, schooling, and through out life there are rules, written or not, that we are expected to follow in our lives for orderly functioning.

There should be a logical reason, to be of merit, to enhance, improve, make more efficient, etc cetera for a rule’s existence.

There needs to be a why.

In many situations, we encounter rules which are no longer relevant to their original purpose but are still practiced due to habit, tradition, not examined, et cetera.

In today’s world, some of these rules are being challenged, or ignored, which is a good thing for society and the advancement of civilization.

We need to be aware of history but not choose to irrelevantly live in it.

When you encounter within the scope of creative aesthetics any adhering to “the rule is”, beware.

As grandma said, ” There is more than one way to cook chicken.”

People who use “the rule is’ are are usually limited in their knowledge, experience, or creativity and imagination.

To reach the highest level of beauty, and function, for residential interior designing, intelligence, creativity, imagination, and quality are needed.

Be aware of these situations when observing, evaluating, planning, and manifesting the interior spaces in which you live.

Food for thought.

It has been said that the biggest commodity in the world is opinion.

And it’s usually free and in abundant supply.

Coming in at a close second is free advice of which much is not always sought.

Current media outlets are constantly presenting advice, trends, markets, what’s new , et cetera, of current information regarding the housing industry.

From this great quantity of possible choices how can one select a wise pathway?

From whom does this advice come?

What information, education, qualifications, skills, and experience does the giver of such have to validate their position?

What is the reason behind their giving of such?

Is it to manifest their personality traits, sell you some thing, express current culture, gain viewership, or what?

Is it advice or personal prejudices?

Is this advice relevant to your current life style situation and important there of for the fulfillment of who, what, and where you are?

What are the financial benefits qualities goals of this advice for both the giver and receiver?

Who is paid to give it and who pays to receive it?

It has been said that advice, sought or not, freely given is generally not worth the paper upon which it is written. (You do remember what information written on paper is don’t you?)

What is the aesthetic quality and source of advice that you employed for your current interior living environment and how important is such for you?

Your environment affects your experience there in?

Food for thought.

“Position in relation to another” Webster

Status can be economic, social, political, powerful, or famous.

Many of the media sources of residences which come across my desk often feature homes of upper status owners.

While it is of merit to use these guide lines to make money by attracting viewers , this trait, in and of itself, does not necessarily make for a higher quality level of interior design for said residences .

Expensive houses, regardless of old or new money, don’t automatically manifest high quality residential interior design.

Bigger and more parts are only better if contributing to the aesthetic whole.

Being well known, influential, or powerful does not directly affect the aesthetics of one’s residence.

Rareness, complexity, or source are of merit only by raising the aesthetic quality level where used.

Status has been a part of animal, including human, behavior patterns primarily from the beginning.

In different times and cultures the importance and degree and type of status varies in many different ways.

One’s status may be voluntary or involuntary chosen, required, or regarded by others.

What does one’s status say about them?

Those people for whom status is important, when able and voluntarily choosing, will do, in and of itself, what best fulfills their wants and needs.

Of what importance, if any, is the status of your residential interior design to you?

Do you really care about it?

Food for thought.

How do the interior spaces of where you live look?

Especially the ones that other people see?

What is the look they encounter upon entering?

Many of the residential designed interior spaces that have come across my desk recently make what I consider two mistakes.

The first is that there is an excess of too many kinds of stuff around which is not overall united.

Some of these spaces have so many things going on that if price tags were added it would look like a commercial space created to display home furnishings for sale.

A home should look like someone lives there and not like a display.

The second noticed mistake is that too many of these homes have a monotone color background, often not taking into consideration the outstanding architectural features, and filling the rooms with outstanding, and expensive, unique pieces.

These rooms came across as your wanting to show the world your financial and social status.

It looks as if the residents ultimate goal is to impress one with their selections.

These homes are from top people in their fields, including residential and fashion tastemakers, who are well known and knowing of the marketing and culture of today’s life styles.

In their homes, as well as in other aspects of their lives, people’s emotions sometimes trump their intellect.

And it is true that our personal living spaces should be emotionally fulfilling.

And it is also true, in my opinion, that designing the highest level of beauty, using the laws of physics and principles of aesthetics, can be a strong factor in enhancing, and elevating the level of, the emotional experience.

Food for thought.

Taste: “An artistic or decorative manner or style reflecting an attitude of what is beautiful or harmonious ” Webster

Of the variety, and there is a decisive variety, of the many residential interior designs that come across my desk, on an almost daily basis, there are many which are the personal homes of or have been designed by taste makers of up to international financial, social, and professional fame.

Many of these taste makers did not come into being through a traditional educational/training experience and may be self taught or have arrived from an out growth through another field of success.

The principles of aesthetics are basic for the human race and have grown, and continue to, to higher levels of quality experience and become more refined and intelligent,.

These principles reflect and are interpreted by the times, civilizations, and cultures in which they are manifest.

Many examples of these recently viewed taste makers projects show a lack of these principles and an unacknowledged more personal like or influence from fashions, media styles and influence, popularity, or just plain ignorance of aesthetic principles.

To be a truly quality aesthetic design result manifestation there must be a underlying basic intelligent aesthetic raison d’etre manifestation for the project which cannot be achieved solely by popularity, status, money, commercial, et cetra success.

Many of these taste makers residential interior design manifestations come across appearing as a sales show room or product display or advertisement to which I cannot cotton as being good residential interior designs.

There is always the situation of the emotional over ruling the intellect and the choices of personal taste.

Food for thought.

Today, in the information that comes across my desk daily, there is the announcement of another “Color of the Year”.

How many colors can be the one for 2023 or any other single year?

Regular readers of this blog are easily aware of this writer’s unsupported position for trends and colors of the year.

Yet they continue to be announced.

We are most fortunate in that today we have almost unlimited increasing numbers of choices for products, of which paint colors are only one, and services and opportunities that were not available to previous generations.

While the chemistry, research, and business practices of developing new colors are to be encouraged and lauded, their promotion as ” Color of the Year” is questioned.

Other than making aware the existence of these new colors what is this purpose?

Again, the colors used in residential interiors are not changed as often as lipstick and nail polish, or clothes, and should be chosen for long term aesthetics and not for fashion newness.

It is also true that certain fashionable colors used for residential interiors can, in time, begin to look dated.

What affect these “Color of the Year” announcements have on your personal living environment is solely at your discretion.

Is it of merit to choose solely because such is new?

When making a decision on the aesthetics, and other aspects of your residential interior environment as well as for other decisions, it is important to know why said choice is being made and what are the lasting length of time results.

Food for thought.

Over the course of time and history there are changes as life continues.

These changes affect the lifestyles of the populations living therein.

There are patterns of changes that occur in repeats of past civilizations.

All of which are factors in how people live in their experiencing environments.

Today, the pandemic, financial market, generational differences, electronic use, mental and physical health, global warming, environmental issues, advances in science, work and career, life purposes, et cetera are some of the changes altering our physical and residential living choices.

The best designed results came about when the laws of physics and principles of aesthetics are used in reflecting the times, situations, needs, availability, and goals of their manifestation.

When you look about where you live, what do you see and of what are you aware of changes in your personality and the world in which we all now live and be?

How do you react to these changes, what, if anything, do you do to adjust, and how do you use such as an opportunity to advance, improve, and increase said results for this planet and for you personally as well as for every one else?

Food for thought.