I HAVE THIS THEORY that full-on mid century modern style never really takes hold and endures — because it’s just too spare for most people. It’s minimalist. And we humanoids are not. We like our ornamentation. We pouf our hair and bedazzle our ring fingers. We put bones through our noses, we draw on cave walls, we put feathers and arrowheads into cigar boxes, and we spend hours hunting down rare kitschy creatures for our collections of postwar Made in Japan salt and paper shakers but “animals under $5 a pair only”. It’s a magical, mystical, mesmerizing, magnetic pull — to accumulate. Above: The Wilson House is stunning, but still too… tidy… for me.
I really don’t like to encourage ‘being a meanie’ [a key commenting rule here on the blog is: No one is to be made to feel bad for their choices], but for purposes of today’s Open Thread, I point to this website, Unhappy Hipsters, which lampoons the poses of not-too-happy-looking people in their bare, artful, modern houses. Should we get these folks some tchotchkes, stat?
I spoke to none other than mid century modern design legend Vladimir Kagan recently, and we chatted about this very issue — the struggle to achieve the most noble philosophical aspirations of minimalism.
Mr Kagan:
My designs were influenced by the Bauhaus philosophy, “less is more” – I was raised on this. If you have a bigger piece of furniture, you need less seating elsewhere. The serpentine sofa seats eight people.
Pam: Do you live “less is more” in your own home? (I knew the answer because I had seen the photos of Kagan and Wilson’s New York City apartment on The Selby.)
Mr. Kagan laughs:
Less is more. Except in my own home. Do as I say, not as I do.
Pam: So why did you end up with more is more?
Mr. Kagan:
I wish I could be less is more. I have a yearning to move and start over. You end up with more is more because you like things. Erica and I traveled a lot, and we collected…. We have always acquired never eliminated. To create a clean space is a wonderful thing. I admire it and help create it for my clients. Unfortunately, emotionally I can not down-scale!
that it’s so hard to be minimalists?
Is there something very deep instinctual need to have our stuff?
(Let’s set aside the extremes, please, for this discussion.)
Should we give ourselves a break for being
creatures of domestic comfort?
Or, is there, and *should* we, strive for some sort of more “evolved” “balance”?
Please be *compassionate* in this discussion, okay?
Just another Pam says
I’ve often wondered, as collectors of things past and unique, if we don’t have a harder time being more minimalist. If, God forbid, I could only have new things then most likely I’d be a minimalist out of sheer lack of interest instead of being somewhat burdened down with, say, way too many fab-u-lous light fixtures and lamps.
Jody says
Use minimalism sparingly, use clutter sparingly. As several commenters said, there’s a balance you can strike. When we’re on our couch, watching television, there’s very little ornamentation on the credenza, and the wall artwork is carefully arrange to allow for easy-on-the-eyes resting.
But then check out our tschotchke china cabinet in the dining room–Star Wars toys, Daffy Duck, a big glass head, a souvenir double-decker London bus toy–all in the sweet confines of the cabinet. Guests love to peruse our toys, and we love digging through our boxes o’trinkets in the basement to swap them out. So there’s room for everything. That said, I have two kids under 4, so if we wanted to be truly minimalist we’d never let them out of their rooms. A family should never be a slave to aesthetics!
The beauty of MCM furniture is that is has natural, clean lines and finishes, which means that your eye can look past the stack of magazines on the table and rest on an elegant curve. I see the ornamented furniture out there and to me, that would just bring the house down around us. Too much!
Joe says
Like a lot of folks on here, my parents were part of that post-WWII minimalist generation. My parents subscribed to all those monthly home and garden magazines, and were forever browsing in stores to see what was currently “happening”. They always said that those minimalist homes only worked in showrooms and magazine shoots, because real people didn’t live that way. I have been working very hard on achieving my own minimalist look because, to me, less is more. I do find some humor in this article – there is currently so much stuff eye-cathcing stuff available to achieve a minimalist look, that you end up with a house cluttered with kitsch!
Jana (Berniecat) says
If you read Mr. Kagen’s last comment “Unfortunately, emotionally I can not down-scale!” you get some insight into one of the answers to Pam’s question “So why is it, do you think, dear readers,
that it’s so hard to be minimalists? Is there something very deep instinctual need to have our stuff?”
If you are familiar with Personality Type theory (Myers-Briggs and the Jung Typology assessment), the answer is yes– but only for some personality types. As people, our external environment preferences are a direct reflection of our internal environments and our personality preferences and comfort zones. Of the four dimensions of our personality preferences, the Thinking/Feeling and Judging/Perceptive domains most directly influence our environments and the decision whether or not we are emotionally attached to possessions and make the decision to keep, collect or minimize and eliminate to reflect our comfort zones. These personality domains also influence our preferences/attractions to certain styles and designs. One person’s ” comfortable eclectic mixture of decades” may be another person’s “chaos in a room” if he/she prefers uniformity and order reflected in the design.
I teach Education and Psychology at a local college and I have my students take the assessment below. You can learn more about your personality style preferences (and how functioning as a Judging or Perceptive person may influence your MCM minimalist or collector tendencies) by taking the free Jung Typology Test online assessment at: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm The site has detailed descriptions of some of the general characteristics of each personality type. Its fun and just adds another perspective to the conversation. Based on his comments, I suspect that Mr. Kagen designed like a Thinking and Judging individual, but that his individual personality preferences reflected more of a Feeling and Perceptive personality.
oh Holland says
My BF always said to live in a spare MCM home, one *must* be thin! I think she’s right … there’s no camo for a fluffy person.
As I age, I want less and less to care for, and I’ve parted with many things till I’m down to my most beloved stuff. Over a few years, it’s been like peeling away layers as my eye became more focused on what to keep. I love the lightness of the look now, and ease of cleaning.
But now I really need to drop 20 pounds to fit in!
Ashly says
I don’t think living a minimalist lifestyle is difficult. On the contrary, I believe that it would be remarkably easier and (hyuck) simpler to do so. I also think that linking to Unhappy Hipster is a little disingenuous because these are all editorial shots showcasing homes, not families or lifestyles. All of these photos have had designers come in, move things around (and out), these homes were also built to hide appliances and accessories, so this is not a true representation of what a minimalist life looks like – to be without clutter doesn’t mean to be without joy.
I often feel that a lot of people who enjoy the mid-century aesthetic takes things to the extreme in acquiring. It’s been my experience that mid-century-minded people often acquire period-correct items simply to have them because they are period-correct, regardless of whether they have a valid function in that person’s/family’s life or even a place to put them. This behavior is encouraged because we convince ourselves that we’re saving or protecting history, that we must obtain these things because someone else could not possibly value them as much as we do. This is reinforced within the community and on this website with things like the eBay carousals “What to Collect,” as if to be a mid-century aficionado you have to collect something, anything. We didn’t know we needed to have something unless we were told we should. We are encouraged to share or gloat about our finds here, on facebook, etc. I would say that most of us here have a collection (or two) of SOMETHING; whether it’s pottery, lamps or hoarding of vintage appliances.
I love looking at time capsule homes, or old photos from the 40s and 50s because there WERE minimalistic AND warm. Families had the furniture that they needed and kept them for a lifetime, home accessories had a purpose and were kept to a minimum. Granted, people didn’t have the kind of disposable income that we take for granted today, but mid-century was not and should not be synonymous with collecting lots of things (and I fear that it is). Minimalistic families/households DO have collections – they just tend to be more thoughtful, well-curated and less compulsively acquired. A space might look sparse to us because we’re accustomed to lots of patterns and tchotchkes, and may overlook the shadows from the windows, the richness to the leather or patina in the furniture or the well-placed California pottery in nooks. There’s real thought and love put into a minimalist home.
Angela says
Love your angleI I agree with you completely, and I’m proud to say I have no collections.
Modern day MCM fans do seem to aspire for the minimalist look by paradoxically collecting all kinds of period Stuff.
Thanks for the post.
Kathryn says
I agree with you, though what is said is a bit rough and may rub some the wrong way. But once again, I do agree.
Christa says
Most people would say our house is minimal or at least very uncluttered. We have good storage and lots of shelves so everything has a place, including books, family art pieces and favorite objects. We have a ritual around getting new things — decide what we need, decide what that item should look like (proportion, color, texture), then go out and try to find the object of our dreams. Once found, we save up for it, and once purchsed, we treasure it.
Even when we see something we love, we have to decide if we need it, if it will work in our existing space, etc. Many times I have fallen in love with a light or table but did not buy it because it just wasn’t right. We have also sold things that were beautiful in one home but didn’t work in the next. If I can pass the loved piece on to someone else who will love it, it’s much easier to let it go.
I strongly dislike clutter and feel anxious when things aren’t organized into a visual hierarchy. That’s why I became a designer – making a career out of the OCD need to get things to harmonize and look “right” on a page, a package, a sign or a room. haha! I’m very aware of our consumer culture (having spent many professional years working for retailers figuring out how to get y’all to buy stuff).
Lauryn says
Though you would never know it walking into my house, I despise too much stuff. I once lived in a 400 square foot studio and it was the best thing for preventing the accumulation of too much stuff. We now live in what’s considered a small house (about 1000 sq. ft.) and I’m amazed at how much more stuff we have! I love our house, but sometimes when I see those “tiny” houses, I start fantasizing about a minimalist home (much to my hubby’s chagrin). We try to live by the give-something-away-when-you-buy-something-new rule, but to not much success.
What I know to be true for me, and is probably true for many of the RR readers, is the love of the story behind the stuff … how we found it, why we fell in love with it, how it suits our particular midcentury home. I guess it’s about striking a balance between creating a space that is unique to you and but does not go down the dangerous path of hoarding.
Jeanne says
For a funny skit, google George Carlin’s “Stuff” routine on You Tube. I once heard a quote that we spend the first half of our lives collecting stuff and the second half getting rid of it. I think I’m in the second half (ok, I know I’m in the second half). Now that the kids are gone, I’m really trying to pare down my possessions.
Minimalist rooms are nice to look at but I don’t think they are realistic to live in (for most people). I do like a clean look, but it seems I’ve never been able to achieve that. Now that I live alone, I am in charge of my possessions (!) and I’m really trying to get rid of as much as I can. I do have some hobbies (art, sewing, some crafts) so I can’t completely get rid of everything. Also, I’ve found that if I put things away in cupboards/bins/closets – I forget I have them! So if I forget that I have them anyway, why have them?! It’s a constant battle, but I would like to win someday. 🙂
AmyEbbertHill says
I never can pull off a mnimalist look,although I have tried. I always wonder where minimalists put their books. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bookcase in a minimalist home in a magazine.