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?
Toby Weiss says
So much of what we see of vintage MCM are staged and styled photos, rather than a snapshot of real daily life where all their stuff would be lying around.
And even today – even in the homes without basements – there’s one spot that is crammed full of their junk.
Kelly Wittenauer says
So many insightful comments. Balance is the key, but not easy to achieve. Our home is to the minimal side of center, as I find clutter disturbing. Cluttered house = cluttered mind 🙂 But as some here say, the world is full of wonderful things. And I want some of them in my personal world. And many of the things in our home hold fond memories or great stories. Since we moved into our new home last year, I’ve been trying hard to practice the idea of rotation that Brian T wrote about. And like J D Log – I find minimalism very attractive when it’s time to dust!
Tim says
Like Robin, I believe we define ourselves to a large extent by what we surround ourselves with; “I am my stuff and my stuff is me,” as someone once said. A room full of interesting and artsy items says to those who look in our window that we too are interesting and artsy.
A room devoid of quirks and some measure of clutter give us no identifiers to assess the character and personality of the inhabitant. Without these identifiers, It can often look as if the staged room is more important than the person who lives there.
i am more important than my living room. 🙂
.
Mollye says
I used to really like the minimalist look, but that was back when I was 23 and had nothing and no money. I owned a couch, one side chair, a coffee table, a bookshelf, a bed, a dresser and one card table. That is it. No knick knacks and only a few books on the bookshelf. I think as people accumulate more and more stuff it gets to be too much. I now have a lot of stuff, but still try to keep the knick knacks to a minimum. That is only because I hate dusting!
char says
when you have too much stuff everywhere you just can’t see any of it anymore, of course it’s fun to collect but it’s fun to change it all around again, too – i agree with former posters, rotate stuff or move it around
Bunny Hudson says
I have been collecting since the 70’s so I have tons of stuff. I maintain a storage space, away from the home for lots of stuff, especially things like old toys and furniture not being used. Some of my collectibles are there, as well.
I have met some of my crazy hoarding needs by having the various rooms in my house function, differently. Some are crammed full while others are a bit more sparse. I like the different feelings they evoke and depending on my mood, I definitely gravitate to one or the other lol
Indulge me … lol
My bedroom is vintage shabby chic with lots of 40’s fabrics and kitsch mixed in. My upstairs bathroom is vintage glam with FLW stained glass and claw foot tub worked in. My downstairs bedroom/extra room is everything Beat and Kerouac that my husband thrives on.
My kitchen is a mix of kitsch; Gilner elves and vintage small appliances, repurposed gears as wall art, but still somewhat modern with stainless steel. I would love to have vintage appliances, but can’t afford most of the ones I love. I do have a great vintage Fridgidaire Flair stove in storage, but it won’t fit in my kitchen. It fit nicely in my former loft, but my “new” home won’t accomodate it.
My dining room is a mixture of glass top table with great vintage folding chairs with a leaf cutout on the back, huge German shrunk that is vintage 50’s – full of vintage barware, and a great lightolier chandelier.
My living room is somewhat minimal but not stark. It has a great large vintage glass kidney shaped coffee table, Heywood Wakefield end tables, great 50’s lamps – table, standing and hanging, credenza with kidney shaped floating top for the TV, plus tons of vintage art glass, metal sculpture on the wall, German MC pottery, George Nelson ball clock, vintage bark cloth drapes, plus a great fireplace that goes from floor to vaulted ceiling in the corner. Again, it is not full of stuff, but it is comfy and usually makes feel great when I am sitting in it.
This is what makes the world go ’round, as far as I am concerned. Different rooms/asthetics for my different moods.
Oh.. and my entry way (with a stair case in it), is Tiffany jewelry box blue with vintage pink w/stars light cover and vintage flamingos on silk picture… elegant kitsch!
Sigh… life would be so boring without all my “stuff” !
Annette says
As for me, there are five reasons why I could never be a minimalist.
1. I like things. I like cute things. I like odd things. I like unique things. I like colorful things. Things are awesome.
2. I’m lazy and unmotivated. I only get bursts of ORGANIZE OR DIE occasionally.
3. Overly minimalist rooms look sterile and cold to me. It’s my home, not a museum or a bank lobby.
4. Hunting, finding, and collecting brings me an indescribable sense of well-being. Not hoarding, mind you. Collecting. Big difference.
5. Sentimentality is a powerful thing.
All that being said, I grew up in a family of hoarders, and as a result, I cannot stand clutter. Ornamentation is not necessarily clutter. I define “clutter” as things sitting around in boxes unused, especially if said boxes invade the general living area. Every year or so, I try to go through the closets and get rid of stuff. If I haven’t used it in over a year, chances are I’m never going to.
Problem is, my husband hates getting rid of things…
Carole says
The older I become, the more minimalist I become. The more I appreciate clean design and clean lines and open space. I want peace and calm in my surroundings, and less work. There’s too much dusting and cleaning with an over abundance of ‘stuff”. lol
I’ve never been a hoarder. I’ve collected things in the past (still collect vintage cameras and a few other items), but over the past ten years or so I’ve let go of several collections. Stuff does not make for happiness (at least it doesn’t for me). I purge on a regular basis. I buy the best furniture I can afford, and the best supplies when remodeling, and am not into trendy so those things remain as good design.
My only issue with the room above, is that the furniture looks like it’s afraid to be close to each other. It sticks out there in nowhere land. Anyone who sits in that room would have to shout to be heard. Pull the furniture away from the wall, and pull those chairs in around the coffe table. Make an inviting and comfortable seating/conversation area. 🙂
Brian McHugh says
I think Americans cannot embrace a minimalist ascetic because we are a nation of consumers. Buying has been instilled in us at a very young age. We are convinced that “stuff” will buy happiness.
Oh, I gotta go. There is this really cool thing I’ve been watching on Ebay……. : )
Dan says
I strive, and fail miserably, at being a minimalist. But the good thing about this conflict is that every once in a while I looked at my overcrowded living room, shudder, and ruthlessly reduce. It’s very good for my psyche, and give me more room to add stuff 🙂