zephy's Profile

Glad to see children's book illustrations recognized as art, and I love the look and the nostalgia of illustrations I loved as a kid. But, yeah, I'd hate to take apart a book, particularly an old book that might be hard to replace because so many go out of print. I've framed an entire book in a shadow box so just the cover was showing but the book wasn't destroyed. And I've framed paper jackets from old Nancy Drew mysteries to get their great covers.

I found that I had to change my attitudes about what was important to buy or keep, before I could declutter. I used to think if I liked something I had a kind of duty to buy it (to "support" the production of beautiful things/fill my home with things I loved). It took a while for me to realize that just because I like something doesn't mean I should buy it or keep it. I also learned that I really like the look of a less-cluttered home more than a more-cluttered one. That was the beginning of me being able to get rid of stuff.
I vote for ajh keeping the sentimental stuff, though. It seems these things are genuinely important to you (though, test this -- could you keep the best and toss the rest? Pass on some stuff to friend or family who would appreciate and use?). But if you really want to keep it, then there's no morality involved, no "ought to's" -- you make your decision and live with it. Decide where to keep these things, and be happy!

I love the room; I love grey and white. I've read that babies (little babies) can distinguish black and white before they distinguish colors, so this might be an excellent room for a tiny baby to learn and live in. However, kids love bright colors (my favorite color scheme as a youngster was bright red with bright green), so I think that as Muller grows, he might want brighter colors in his room, and I hope you'll humor him in that. Grey and white seems to me very adult taste, not really what a child would choose.

For more traditional tastes: the J.P. Morgan Library in NYC has a great gift shop, and so does the Brooklyn Museum.

Clutter -- such a vexed (and popular) issue. I read Karen Kingston's book, and I enjoyed it and learned from it, but it's not the last word for me.

I think there's a right amount of stuff, not too little, not too much, that makes our lives work better. It takes some fishing around to find it, and the perfect amount may change at different times in our lives. It's undoubtedly less than we think it is, because we've gotten used to having a lot of stuff in our rich society, and we might actually be happier with less, besides using fewer resources.

On the other hand, if decluttering becomes a ridiculous obsession, it's the mirror image of hoarding, and just as dysfunctional. The point should be living, not managing stuff.

A special note on books. My books make me happy when I look at them. Ergo, to me they are not clutter. I acquire many, I get rid of many, I keep many.

However, if books (or sweaters, or pots, or papers) feel like a millstone around your neck, then they are clutter to you. I think the key is how you feel about your stuff, not some rule someone else has decreed.

I'm amazed at how consistent the colors are throughout the house, even down to the coats/jackets hanging on the wall. How do you do that? What if they only had navy blue and brown the year you needed to buy a coat -- do you just not buy anything until you get the color you want, or do you buy the wrong color and hide it in the closet?

Seriously, I think the house is gorgeous, and I love the colors and rugs and the precious pooch (who also fits the color scheme -- what if you adopted a mutt and it was black and brown with white patches? Would you just not get a dog that didn't fit your color scheme?). All right, I guess I'm having mixed reactions -- on the one hand, the pictures are so beautiful and I love how the place looks, but on the other hand, it looks so very DONE, so very decorated. I feel the same way sometimes about all-white apartments. What do you do with your books if their covers don't fit your color scheme? Get rid of them? What about your mail? Seriously -- how do you live?

(I guess I'm a little jealous -- I love colors and color schemes, but I can't seem to say 'no' to stuff I like that doesn't go with the color scheme, so I cave in. I'm not patient enough to keep shopping for a coordinating coat in the years when my colors are out of style -- I just buy a coat, usually on sale, usually in the best color of the remaining choices.)

I loved the round things -- the 2 matching round mirrors on either side of the doorway, the matching series of globe lanterns in the living room. Beautiful.

What loads of good solutions! Here's an idea for how to hang multiple small pieces of art on the mirror, from a decorating book (Elegant and Easy: Living Rooms):

Gather a collection of framed prints, watercolors, or drawings. Buy sticky-backed hook-and-loop tape (Velcro) in black from a fabric or hardware store. To hang each print, stick one side of the tape all the way around the back of the picture frame, make a rectangle of equal size on the mirror where you want it to hang, and press. Create a neat, geometrical arrangement on the mirror.

This is my other favorite of the European finalists. I love how the two-tone curtains help make the lower level seem cosier but also emphasize the height. Neat!

I'm not a fan of mid-century modern, teak, or the avocado color of your couch (sorry -- I grew up with that look and am allergic to it), but I liked your apartment anyway. It seemed decorated but not cluttered. I especially like your picture wall, which works really well (why can I not do this? Do I have the wrong size pictures, or is it some decorating gene?) and the bookcases with square shelves, and the way the spare-lined couch slots into the space. Very nice!

K T G -- Thanks for your comments. They do help me think some more about how I'm judging and how I think people ought to be judging.

What got me so upset here is that it seemed people hadn't even tried to get what was going on, but still had no qualms about dissing it, even complaining about things the entrant had actually explained. This seems to me not so much a matter of taste as a matter of courtesy -- if you don't like an entry, fine, but if you're going to vote you should at least try to figure it out, particularly if you're going to criticize. (Yes, great photos help, but it's not a photography contest.) It was the complaining without trying to get it that bothered me, which is why I complained about obtuseness (meaning, not reading the comments), rather than rudeness (which I have somewhat come to expect here, alas).

Just FYI, this home is not really my taste except for being small and having a red couch. I found the design (not decorating) work put into it impressive. I generally find it really hard to separate what I personally like from what is well done but not my taste; I'm not sure I even know what is "well done" apart from liking it, as you suggest is true of many people. I often find the comments here really helpful in learning how to think about stuff, which is why I keep reading even though the level of rudeness sucks.

I'm not a fan of minimalism either; usually it just makes me cranky and I have the same questions other people asked -- where do you put your stuff? How does it look when you're not taking photos of it?

But for some reason, I enjoyed this place, especially the first picture with both warm colors and blue against the white. It looked light and feminine and had a sense of humor, not dour and spartan (my usual feeling about white minimal spaces). I think it must be mostly the colors, plus the cat tree looks like a big, whimsical sculpture. I felt a personality there, not deadness. (No doubt the kitties helped -- they are maximal chic!)

I like the kitchen. My first thought was, "Thank god it isn't white!" (I flunked modernism.) I didn't even notice the bunny dishrack until someone pointed it out above -- thanks!

I also love Uma's comments in this column -- you really know how to look at the positive and respond with humor. I believe this apartment really does show your personality!