It’s the time of year when much of the world’s population celebrates some kind of holiday.

It matters not where you are on your spiritual journey in this life or at what level is your consciousness with the reality of what is. We are all made from the same elements and are all one with Creation,

As such, during this season, let yourself become aware of the pure tangible and intangible beauty that is every where expressed.     .

This beauty is ever present and all we have to do is open our selves up and experience it only if for no other reason than to know, appreciate, and enjoy it.

  Beauty is beautiful. It is awesome. It is joyful. It is delightful. Beauty is  fulfilling.

Make the most of this time of year regardless of your beliefs, non-beliefs, doubts, questions, religion, customs,or positions.

Let yourself go and become one with the aesthetics of your environment. It is beautiful!

Food for thought.

Tradition! Tradition! Tradition!

 
What is tradition and what role does it play in our lives?

  Tradition is an act, method, fact, or doing of something as it was done in the past and letting such be the main basic validity for doing it regardless of the changes since it originated or the conditions, associations, current times, discoveries,  et cetera.

  Traditions affects our daily lives in language, writing, manners, customs, clothes, housing, furnishings. religions, laws, politics, governments, families, et cetera.

  The majority of men’s clothing styles are very traditional. Most of the houses we see around this nation are traditional. Most of the home furnishings available are traditional, Religious observances are loaded with traditions. Government functions and operations are traditional. Much of legal interpretations of laws are based on tradition. Much of family behavior is based on tradition. The list goes on and on.

  Tradition can be good or bad.

  It is good to know, understand, and appreciate the past. It becomes bad when it is insisted upon, required, or done because it was manifest as such in the past but it has become outdated, irrelevant, inappropriate, non-functional, and meaningless.

  As human beings, our present, in all of it’s aspects, is a result of the flow of events to the current time so that what is past plays a large role in our choices and behavior and life styles and we usually let emotions over rule the intelligence in our behavior pattern.

  As we can only live in the present, let us become aware of, use, enjoy, and appreciate life here today for what it is and how it is and try to advance civilization with out the habit, reliance and custom of doing because that was the ” tradition ” in the past.

  Food for thought.

  From my personal experience as an interior designer for decades it has become my position that one’s personal taste (what one likes) for the interior design of one’s residence is like water in that it always finds it’s own level and settles there.

    For the holiday season, which we are now experiencing, that position rings true in spades.

  People let themselves go uninhibitedly at full speed and with a great deal of enthusiasm to express what they are aesthetically with no restrictions. Everyone has an opinion that needs to to be expressed and they get a snug satisfaction from being involved, expressing themselves, and doing it.

  The range of expressions in quality and aesthetics is widely varied around the world and often manifest itself in overkill, tradition, a low level of aesthetic quality, repetition, cheapness, and a lack of any kind of design composition.

  How many lights and decorative objects are needed for street views? (They don’t belong in this neighborhood. That belongs in Las Vegas.)

  With plastic greenery you can use it for years and it doesn’t shed. And when the holiday season is over  you can take it apart and store it in the attic. (So it looks tacky, cheap, artificial, has no fragrance, and is as common as dirt. Who cares?)

  We got these when we first got married. Aren’t they cute? Just look at that. We always have these and do it this way. It’s a family holiday tradition. I did it and made it myself. (And the list of examples goes on and on.)

  Try to be consistently aware of what you see as prevalent in all of the holiday season celebrations and go toward that which best expresses the spirit and reason for the holiday and try to avoid the vast too much, over done, too bright, ought to do, have to do, need to do, on sale, et cetera manifestations.

  Go with that which is real, appropriate, true, significant, and a quality designed composition. Avoid the too early done, overly commercial, and pressured expectations of the rest.

  How you choose to decorate your residence for the holidays is a manifestation of your aesthetic taste.

     It’s a holiday. Relax. Enjoy. Celebrate. Share.

  Food for thought.

 

 

 

 

The sun is the center of our universe. It’s there. Constant. Dependable. It affects all areas of our existence.

When you are designing a residential interior what role does the sun play in your designing? How much do you think about it when designing?

Do do you like to be greeted with the morning sun upon awakening? Or as you savor your morning coffee?

Do you like to view the sunset at home at the end of the day?

How much direct and indirect sunlight is the source of lighting for your interior space? Where and how is it used? Light is the biggest and most important affecting design factor for interior spaces.

Do you like to follow the patterns of shadows as they make their way across the room each day?

Are you aware and sensitive to to the sunlight in changes and how you see things differently as it progresses through the different seasons?

Do you need to be aware of sunlight as it affects heat and glare and fading of furnishings?

Do you like to sit quietly in sunlight and commune with nature? Or do prefer the shade with no sunlight?

Some of these questions are personal preference. Some are practical. And some are aesthetic. But they, and many more, need to be taken into consideration when designing an interior residential space.

Food for thought

  It is extremely important for some people to make that statement when viewing certain interior design projects and these people have that right to express their opinion.

The question to ask is: what and why?

Some people will make this comment about an interior design when they are not an involved factor in it. It was not done for them. It is not a space they will use. They did not pay for it. And, it is not a factor in their lives.

And yet, it is an automatic response they will express.

Some people even behave as if they were a three year old having a temper tantrum and end up being illogical, unreasonable, and ignorant of the design. Everything in life is suppose to be what they like. Do you know people like that? Are you one of these people?

Grow up and try to behave like a mature adult.

There are some valid reason to make that statement.

Most often is is because the interior design project is new and and different and a higher level of aesthetics than has been their life style.

Everything that happens in everyone’s life was new at one time.

If the design is good, it make take some time to adjust and appreciate and gradually like it.

If you really don’t like something, don’t automatically respond negatively. Look at the space. Analyze it. Think about it. What it it aesthetically? What does it do?

If you are paying for a professionally designed residential interior space, embrace it, use it, enjoy it. Get your money’s worth of aesthetic pleasure. Get out of your box and raise your aesthetic life style to a higher level.

Food for thought.

 Why should you want a professionally designed residential interior?

Because you are a person of intelligence and sensitivity who believes that life is best experienced in an environment that nurtures the heart, mind and soul as well as the body.

Because you believe that a life lived with beauty is a life well lived.

Because the intelligence that is the universe can be read in every aspect of beauty.

Because the experience of beauty delights the soul.

Because well deigned functions makes life more comfortable.

Because your life is an individual expression of your self and not a mass produced commodity.

Because you are a person who makes your own pathway and not a sheep who follows the herd.

Because you know who you are and need not trend others.

Because in an environment of intelligence, quality, and aesthetics you know the exquisiteness of the tangible and intangible.

Because you live your life at your own level.

Because you know who you are and what reflects you.

Food for thought.

The above quote has become a part of our culture in many manifestations and is especially prevalent in building houses among those people who have reached the higher levels of economic income.

Usually it is not that they have a large family and need more space or continually have large numbers of over night guests or entertain large groups of people.

No.

It is most often to one-up themselves by a “My house is bigger than your house.” position which implies that because it is bigger it is there fore better. 

Often in a subconscious or indirect way they are saying that they have more status and money than you which means that in a way they are better than you. Bigger houses become status symbols and it is important for them to show the world such.

And some times it is just to compete. Or show off. Or get attention. Or to be snobbish.

The merit of a house is for people to live in it. Some people like a lot of space in which to live which is a valid life style choice.

The problem in bigger is better in building a house is one of quality vs quantity. This problem becomes very evident in all areas of the design of a house.

When one gets to the stage of building a house, be realistic, logical, and intelligent. Are all of the rooms built really going to used and lived in? Is there a valid living in and use reason for all spaces?  Are two people living in a house really going to need and use five bathrooms?

  Design the space you want to live in and let the other stuff go. Instead, use that money to raise the quality level of your home. Which would you prefer to choose: two hundred and fifty fast food burgers or one complete excellent gourmet meal? Or thirty polyester shirts or one made of pure silk?

Which is more important to you? Quantity or quality?

Bigger houses make a statement. What does that statement say?

Get the point?

Food for thought.

 

 

  How many times over the years have I heard someone make that statement to me when the subject of interior design comes up? What happens when there is no couch or longest wall?

It’s interesting that none of these women ( and it’s never men ) always have couches or lounges and never sofas.

I am constantly amazed that these people confidently put an entire profession into one short sentence and am thinking: ” Are you really that ignorant of what is interior design? ”  and you have missed the boat when the two works are self explanatory. How could you have lived your life in our current society and be so unlearned?  Wow!

Another comment in the same genre is ” What do you do? You don’t paint or hang wallpaper. What do you do? ” Wow! Again.

In our current society almost anyone can call themselves an interior designer, decorator or consultant. It always pays to go with those who have education and experience and talent as in any profession.

If you really don’t know what is interior design, look it up on the computer and educate yourself.  Increase and expand your knowledge.

When you learn and know about interior design you will experience a higher level and wider depth of aesthetics and become more aware of beauty in all of it’s physical manifestations as well as it’s emotional and psychological benefits. Do it. The results will be rewarding. Don’t be like those people!

Food for thought.

 

 

Since the time when early man discovered fire, it has been a source of warmth for his comfort.

As civilizations advanced, fireplaces came into being and were the major source of warmth for residences for many hundreds of years using wood  ( and sometimes coal ) as fuel.

The fireplace was often the main design element in many rooms and was often also used for cooking and drying laundry.

In addition to the immediate warmth offered by a fireplace, it attracted and nurtured the senses  with the sight of colorful and flickering flames, the sounds of crackling, and the scents of burning wood.

The fireplace became a social, emotional, and psychological ” hearth ” for it’s users fulfilling needs other than the physical. It became a sort of magnet that appealed to our primordial humanity.

There have been many pleasant hours of my life that have been spent in front of a fireplace.

We now live in the 21st Century where many other systems keep our residences warm. But still today, fireplaces are a desirable feature for many people in their homes. In our current  world, fireplaces are usually more of a design and ambiance element than a sources of major heat.

Gas ” fireplaces ” are very popular today in that they are clean burning, easy to use, install, and maintain, and come in many sizes,shapes, and finishes and are a source of supplemental radiant heat. As such, they are often used in contemporary houses in ways that they end up being decorative flames rather than fireplaces which is all well and good if that is what you want.

The design aspect element to consider in these schemes: Is such being used logically, functionally, realistically, and aesthetically well? Be careful and intelligent in your approach. If not, you could easily up with something that looks out of place, gaudy, ostentatious, and simply stupid.

Food for thought.

“In the beginning God said ‘ Let there be light. ‘ ” ( Smart move. Good choice.) Genesis 1 : 1

Light is the source of all color. Light reflected off of a surface determines color. Without light, there is no color.

More than any of the other senses, light, and then color, is our major sources of the living experience.

There are incomprehensible numbers of colors in sight every where we look and they are changing constantly as the light changes with the daily rotation of this earth on which we live.

How many different colors are there to be seen in a plant, in the colors of the earth, or the reflections and shadows of a city view? Of all the colors we see, how many are natural and how many are man made?

How much brightness, dullness, lightness, and darkness do you see in the colors of every day viewing?

In addition to the reaction of the physical sense of sight upon seeing colors, we, as human beings, also have emotional and intellectual reactions to colors. Colors in and of themselves do not have these traits or characteristics or other intangibles. It is how we react to them that determines how they are described and used.

As in manners and customs, the same colors are given different meanings, significances, uses , and customs during different periods of history and different parts of the world. Let us not judge others by our own self.

To get the most out of life, we should feel free to experience and appreciate all of the colors that we see every day. Such us will help us to be more alive. Get out of your box and old ways of thinking about colors.

Don’t be afraid of colors. They don’t bite. I have never read of, heard of, or seen any information of anyone who had to be taken to the emergency room because of colors.

Live life with colors!

Food for thought.