My Curmudgeonly Side

I love so many various design styles - as you have heard me say before, I need five houses just to satisfy them all.  But, there are also certain styles and design practices I don't like at all, in fact perhaps even hate - I know a strong word, but I have been holding all this emotion in for a long time.  It will feel so good to vent.  Feel free to disagree with me or to vent your own curmudgeonliness.

I have never been a fan of the Victorian style - too overdone, too impractical, too somehow gloomy.  The homes below are done very well but ....  You decide, I already have.

Victorian homes have too many peaks and cornices and frou-frou - in my humble opinion that is.

And talk about frou-frou, ruffles should be banned from the universe.  The table skirt below is burlap, a really good thing, but so over-done with ruffles.  And impractical - how could anyone ever pull themselves up to this table to dine or take off those boots without a potential disaster occurring.

Ditto the table below which does not even have burlap to redeem its existence.

I'll bet these chair cushions will continually slip off these chairs and the bows will eventually tear.  I see gloom and doom in their future.  And they are pink - more about that later.

I actually like the kitchen below a lot, especially the stove, hood and ceiling, but those silly chair cushions should be given to the salvation army.

I am simply not a fan of pink - "too little-girly".

Also not a fan of blue.  I know there are a lot of blue fans out there, I'm just not one.

Now, I am a fan of all the neutral colors below, but not of the skirt subbing as a door.  Skirt substitutes seem to look a bit sloppy, attract dirt, and always need arranging.

Especially in the kitchen.  This is a great kitchen but why not just continue with the cabinet doors?  Is it to soften the lack of curtains on the window?  I love curtain-less windows and these look great.

What a bright mudroom or garden room!  But that curtain-door, whether in a mudroom or garden room, is going to attract nothing but mud.  Was it too difficult to add another great door like those on the right?

Speaking of impractical, would a paneled door really work as an island for food prep or dining?  Is it just me, or is this another disaster waiting to happen?  Cool idea, but good thing that container of flowers is placed squarely on a center panel.

Another thing that drives me crazy is all the fabric on outdoor furniture.  Does it ever rain in these places?  I know these are purported to be rain-resistent fabrics, but they never shed water completely.  Someone is going to have to drag these cushions in out of the rain.  And where is in - the kitchen, the living room, the garage?  These are big cushions.  I really do love the way they look but so, so impractical.

So inviting but only on dry days.

Really, really beautiful, but really too far from the dryness of the building in the rear.

A bit more practical than the ones above because of it's partial roof, but we just had a driving rain here yesterday.  I really would have hated to rush out and rescue all these cushions, wouldn't you?

My next curmudgeonly complaint is unmade beds.  Who wants to see a bed someone just climbed out of - rumpled sheets, pillows all askew?  We all know that's what beds look like when we arise every morning, but do we want a picture of it as an example of good design.  No, make your bed!!

I like all of these bedrooms, except the last which has no redeeming qualities at all, but do not like the unmade beds in any of them.  Is this really a style the reader is supposed to emulate??  As you can tell, I am a bit anal about bed-making.  I was telling a friend about my not being able to leave the house unless my bed is made, and, if for some desperate reason I had to, I'd make it before climbing into it that night,  and he told me his story.  He has a duvet and many pillows all arranged beautifully on his bed, and he would fluff everything when making it each morning.  One evening he came home late, knew he had to leave early the next morning and would not have time for his ritual bed-making, so he slept on the floor that night rather than leave it unmade in the morning.  Now, I'm not that bad, but would never leave home leaving my bedroom looking like those above.  

Here's another extreme.  How neat does this loft bedroom look!  But, have you ever tried to make a platform bed like this one.  My daughter has one, and every time I visit and make the bed, I bump my legs.  It is worth it though - beds take a little effort but like the one below look beautiful when done well.

Sick of all of my negativity yet?  Here's my last complaint and it could be a result of years of Catholic education.  I am very uncomfortable with nude paintings in any room.  Where is one to look?  If you look at it to closely, you feel like a pervert.  If you ignore it, the owners think you have no taste at all.

For example, I love the neutrals in this room, and love the spare colors in the painting, but would feel uncomfortable looking at it too much.  "I just cannot stop looking at that great painting," would not be a comment I could honestly make.

Love everything about this powder room, the overhead lights, the mirrors, the double sinks, the black countertop, the beige towels and the way they are folded, the storage bins, the neutral colors of the drawing/painting - I especially like that we are viewing its subject matter from behind.  Really, I love this room, but the artwork makes me a bit uncomfortable.  At least no one else would know that in the powder room.

So ends all my negativity for now.  It is all just a matter of taste anyway.  I can just hear my husband's comment, "Who made you the arbiter of all that is beautiful and perfect??"  I do not claim perfect taste, but I do claim to know what I love when I see it.  And what I do not.

I certainly hope I've offended no one with this post.  Venting is actually fun sometimes and I had fun today.  Next time, it's on to Axel Vervoordt whose work is always beautiful and perfect.

xo,

b