If we're designers it is of course (very likely!) that we get caught up in the dilemma of whether the beauty we create is too staged. Personally I like things to be extremely ordered. It may be a trait that borders on the obsessive. I like to present things in their best possible light, (or my expression of design). I want people to come into my house and say, or at least think "Wow!". Happily usually they do, or at least my intuitive powers in the latter enable me to discern that.
And whilst the entire experience of the visit should be that, I do expect and hope that as my guests, they will relax, and enjoy the experience. It reminds me slightly of the tenet that good manners is much less about observation of social etiquette written by somebody with not very much to do, (probably not, but something like Debrett's Correct Form), and much more about the idea of making people feel at ease.
I cringe when so-called arbiters of taste make people feel uncomfortable because of an apparent social faux pas; a faux pas in whose culture? I, like many others live in a world that is filled with a variety of cultural expectations. As a "visitor" to these, I would try and follow the example of the "norm" that made my guests feel the most at ease. I am reminded of the story of a state visit by the Shah of Persia to Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, (in either 1873 or 1889 - he made two). During the service of dinner the Shah apparently drank from his finger bowl. Courtiers were aghast at the apparent faux pas. But without blinking an eye, the Queen proceeded to do exactly the same. Naturally then, so did all the other guests. Surely a good example, whether true or not, of how to avoid the embarrassment of not understanding the finer points of European dining at the time.
And whilst the entire experience of the visit should be that, I do expect and hope that as my guests, they will relax, and enjoy the experience. It reminds me slightly of the tenet that good manners is much less about observation of social etiquette written by somebody with not very much to do, (probably not, but something like Debrett's Correct Form), and much more about the idea of making people feel at ease.
I cringe when so-called arbiters of taste make people feel uncomfortable because of an apparent social faux pas; a faux pas in whose culture? I, like many others live in a world that is filled with a variety of cultural expectations. As a "visitor" to these, I would try and follow the example of the "norm" that made my guests feel the most at ease. I am reminded of the story of a state visit by the Shah of Persia to Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, (in either 1873 or 1889 - he made two). During the service of dinner the Shah apparently drank from his finger bowl. Courtiers were aghast at the apparent faux pas. But without blinking an eye, the Queen proceeded to do exactly the same. Naturally then, so did all the other guests. Surely a good example, whether true or not, of how to avoid the embarrassment of not understanding the finer points of European dining at the time.
But I digress.
Many people prefer their houses to be less of a showpiece and more of an expression of how they live their lives. My showpiece ideal is however a reflection of who I am. In magazine parlance, I'm more of a House & Garden than a World of Interiors. I'm more crisp and elegant than shabby chic. What are you?
No comments:
Post a Comment