“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.

Merriam-Webster describes beauty as “qualities that pleasurably exalts mind or spirit”.

Beauty is basic to the human experience and affects one physically, mentally, and emotionally all in a good way.

Beauty adds flavor, joy, depth and meaning to life up and above the basics of physical existence.

Scientific evidence has shown that an experience of beauty makes physical changes inside our bodies of which we are not aware.

Beauty exists in all aspects of the physical world as well as in the non-tangible.

Beauty can be experienced consistently in many ways through out our daily lives.

Beauty is natural and man made.

After function, beauty is the most important aspect of human interior environments for a fully complete and successful design.

When you experience beauty you experience God regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey in your life.

When thinking or experiencing where you live how much is beauty?

Food for thought.

How important is what you like to your residential interior environment?

How does what you like weight in against what is good design for your residential interior environment?

Every thing that has happened since the big bang up to the present time is a factor in what you like.

The good news is that you don’t have to be aware of all of it or how much all of it is a factor in what you personally like for your residential interior environment.

The emotional, physical, psychological, cultural, educational, intellectual, spiritual, sexual, financial, upbringing, et cetera aspects of your life that you have known, or are currently experiencing, are the most important factors that determine what you like for your personal living environment.

Evaluate, analyze, appreciate, prioritize, et cetera each of these aspects of your personality and their degree of importance in your current living experience to arrive at the best final choices, aesthetic, functional, and like, which may end up like a mosaic, in planning for your personal environment.

Then stay on track and adhere to this course of action with this plan.

Such a course of action will result in the highest level of beauty, pleasure, enjoyment, appreciation, and wholeness for your unique personality daily living experience.

Food for thought.

In the world of fashion, especially women’s clothes, there are often two types of selection.

Those who choose short term to follow trends with the latest designs which show names and labels.

And those who choose long term the best quality, best fitting, and best designs which are congruent with their personality and life styles and which have no visible names or labels.

The first broadcast to the world and the second is quiet confidence.

While the choices we make for our residential interior environments are more long term and not as subject to fashion changes, there are similar principles involved.

While there are constant updates, trends, and new things available in the home furnishing and building industries it is not always of merit to select such.

Before making a final selection for each and all of the different aspects that make up the total of your personal living spaces ask your self the following types of questions.

Why do I like it, does it fit me comfortably physically, psychologically, intellectually, and emotionally, is it functional for my life style activities, how will I react to it several years down the road, does it’s aesthetics excite me, will it become dated, will I become bored or tired of it, is it a good investment for the resources expended to obtain it, et cetera?

Are the selections being made for me or what will make the residence more saleable in the future?

Trends, what’s new, popular, et cetera are not good or bad in and of themselves but why they are selected that is of quality merit.

Food for thought.

Several different paint companies as well as various home shelter magazines have come out recently with their “color of the year” and the “Barbie” phenomenon has flooded the world with the color pink.

Viewing these colors is of intellectual interest because there are many given of which each is the “color of the year”.

As residential interior colors are not changed as often as nail polish and lipstick the presentation of theses colors of the year are primarily geared toward the masses for manufacturing, building, current events, and trends especially for consumers who drawn toward such.

Depending upon the intelligence and quality of the aesthetics used for such manifestations they can easily become negatively dated.

At the highest aesthetic level these colors should not be a choice factor for your residential interior design unless their use is the best choice for the long term of the space as all quality residential interior design projects should be.

Do you choose as your direction in life to become one of the masses or to going your own personal route?

There is an old ism that yesterday’s news lines today’s bird cage.

Food for thought.

Why are we doing this?

Above and beyond the physical, legal, safety, convenient, functional, climate, financial, et cetera parts of a residential interior design what is the why, especially for aesthetics, behind the non-physical choices made that are going to make it personally successful for the people who live there?

With personality being the sum total of unique physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual characteristics of an individual what personality trait decides why what is done is done?

What aspect of the project is going to make it personally successful?

Is it to follow a trend, what is popular, a reflection of social-economic status, what they like, make it saleable in the future, make a statement, level of quality desired, how other people may react, satisfying some inner emotional, intellectual, or psychological need or desire, et cetera?

It is often times wise when designing residential interior spaces to step back from the project and take a critical, realistic, and all aspects objective look at the project from the why it is being done before it is done for personality satisfaction when it is completed.

What is the non-physical personality why where you live?

Food for thought.