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?
Ann WesleyHardin says
To me, minimalist means that something should have design AND function. Perfect examples of this are MCM lamps: sculpture — with light! Or hassock fans, and ottomans with storage. Broyhill Brasilia, Heywood Wakefield, Adrian Pearsall…and all those myriad other furniture designers who made sculpture you can sit on or store stuff in.. Even a simple cutting board with decorative tile (or something) that becomes a picture when stored on the kitchen wall. I think this beauty and sculpture is what’s missing in modern modern. Mid Mod minimalist is warm, colorful and alluring. Not gray, square and cold. Just my take ; )
Dan says
I think there’s a fine line between having stuff, and being cluttered. You can have a lot of stuff, but as long as everything is organized and has a place, then I think everything should be fine. Personally, I would want to have a reasonably clean, neat place to live, but I’d also want to have things in my house that I find interesting, special, or significant. As some other posters noted, having a house that is minimalist with absolutely no ornamentation makes it seem like you’re just a visitor in a house, as opposed to being in a home that is obviously and decidedly yours, complete with your tastes and personality.
Jay says
Wow! Profound thoughts. I don’t like clutter – I like the corners of rooms to be open and junk free but I’m hardly a minimalist. As much as I admire modern architecture and interiors, I can’t live it. For many, the pure MCM minimalist interiors leave them cold, myself included. I’m liable to have books and magazines piled up in the bedroom or the living room. I am always displaying pieces of glass and pottery around, switching things periodically and buying more. Everyone here seems to like thrifting and antiquing, me too. If it’s not sentimental or valuable, I can usually part with it at some point, donating to Good Will for someone else to discover.
tammyCA says
I remember when I read that about Kagan I was like “oh, yes I know…we like things, we get emotionally attached to our things.” I know I curse and clear out stuff, but then I find some nifty things again at the Goodwill! When I was in my early 20s I had very few possessions (childhood things got wrecked, given away, tossed), then I met my husband and he started buying me things…said my apt. was depressing with nothing on the walls. I eventually discovered flea markets and was amazed that I found my long lost childhood toys, books, etc. And, then I became a rescuer of sad looking items & furniture in need of a make-over to save them from the landfills. Then you add in the inherited sentimental stuff from family and gifts over the years…and, then kids come along and there’s all of their stuff…plus, I craft & sew and so lots of that stuff around.
Maybe, that is why I like looking at other people’s MCM homes…they look so clean and neat!
Anyway, we do store stuff (we are big book lovers) so we aren’t living like hoarders and I do give away stuff…and, maybe one day I’ll sell on etsy.
Erin says
I heard on a radio show sometime a few months back that for Americans, in particular, it was not enough to see something beautiful and appreciate it, we need to own it.
That sentiment stuck with me and I think it’s totally and completely true.
I ride the line between creative and minimalist. I really like how things look, so I want to have them, but I need to reign myself in. Before I buy something, I ask myself whether it fits with my “aesthetic plan” for my house. I also have “no” words that I keep in mind when shopping – ie “nothing trendy”, “nothing cute.”
One of the things that I keep in mind when purging my “stuff” is whether it’s replaceable. If it is, most of the time, I will go-ahead and get rid of it. If I decide down the line that I really need it, I can re-buy it. 99% of the time, I’m not missing anything I’ve gotten rid of!
I do, however, have a pack rat of a husband who rescues donations and things from the trash. So there’s that. 🙂
Corraun says
I grew up in a house in which “cluttered” is an understatement. As a result, I have been a minimalist through my adult years. Like someone else said, buying things you really love and will use is key and passing up on the others helps eliminate the problem. Going through your stuff every year and getting rid of what you haven’t used or don’t wear really helps cut down on the nonessentials. Be cluttered in your mind, not in your surroundings.
Tricia says
I find minimalism very calming. I don’t like clutter at all and I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older that it literally makes me uneasy. I grew up in a house that was very minimalist so I guess that is where I got it from. I actually like a few accessories around but I don’t consider that clutter. What I’ve noticed about myself is that I tend to like my accessories a little shiny or glam. So I guess that’s what gives a room a little bit of interest to me without it feeling cluttered. My husband and kids, on the other hand….it’s a constant battle:-)
Ms. FMV says
I have a pretty minimalist MCM house. Don’t care for clutter at all. I do tend to fall in love with things. If I can’t use it I pass it on. That’s how I ended up with an 8,000sqft MCM store. I love the objects… it brings me joy to collect them, restore them and find them a loving home. It’s like animal rescue, but with objects.
pam kueber says
I need an 8,000 s.f. MCM store.
Rebecca@MidCenturyModernRemodel says
Amen sister.
Scott says
Yes, it’s very hard to be a minimalist. I love collecting stuff. But for me a room is like a painting, there has to be some negative space that invites the eye to travel around the room. The objects that make up the room gain more importance by being meaningfully grouped or by being framed with some open space.
Of course there is today’s version of minimalist (a black mystery wood $8,000 table in a white room with a light fixture that very much resembles a bare light bulb on a cord) or the MCM version of minimalist.
I think this picture hosted right here on RR is a great example of the MCM version of minimalist:
https://retrorenovation.com/wp-content/gallery/40s-kitchens-advertising-illustrations/1946-glo-coat-kitchen-crop.jpg
The countertop in particular I love. Everything you really need is well within reach, yet there’s no clutter. The busier parts of the room, like the dishes in the corner cubbies, the patterned accents above the cabinets, and the flowers in the window do not seem like clutter as they are like objects that add a rhythm and flow that make you want to keep staring at this picture for a long time.
Karen C says
I think the emptyish room looks like an impersonal motel room, not a true home where a family lives. Nothing wrong with it, but I would be bored in a home without books, a computer, favorite momentoes and art supplies, a sewing machine, and fabric.