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One of my savvy friends, who
has moved from an urban loft to an antique farmhouse an hour from the city, recently
told me she is tired of all the TV shows and design magazines telling her how to
get organized and how to simplify her life.
And this is coming from a former
newspaper fashion editor who always prided herself in being organized and efficient.
Minimalist, no. Even in her compact loft, she filled every inch with interesting
art, books and accessories, all the things that define her idea of the Good Life.
At the farm she has transformed
a rambling old house into a charming homestead, complete with a remodeled, expanded
kitchen and a picture-perfect office retreat in one of the barns. In the winter,
she hangs vintage quilts at the living room windows for insulation as much as looks,
and for summer she made simple Sunbrella panels to frame the columns supporting
the roof over the front porch.
She never stops fixing, updating,
decorating and redecorating. There’s no time for simplifying. “That
just isn’t real,” she said. “I am constantly working at simply
living here!” she added. I couldn’t help thinking of her comments as
I flipped through one of the new catalogs the postman dropped through our mail slot
today. It’s from one of those popular home furnishings stores that champion
a modern, simple look as the uniform for today’s smart interiors. Dark woods,
no ornamentation, muted colors, slightly retro, very would-be Barbara Barry.
Page after page, every interior
looks like a stage set, perfectly accessorized –just a few, never too many
– with an occasional slightly askew stack of magazines in an attempt at a
lived-in look.
When I walk through the showrooms
of these stores, I have a secret urge to toss the neatly arranged pillows around
on the sofa or pull the comforter back on the perfect bed. I want to make it look
real – the way we really live.
When we finally acquired a
vintage Warren Platner bent-wire Knoll dining table – the classic table I
had lusted after for years – my husband and I vowed to keep the glass top
void of clutter. Sure. Covered with piles of newspapers, magazines, catalogs and
other mail, that beautiful table is the center of our lives, where we start the
day at breakfast and end it with dinner. Did I mention that the flat-panel TV sits
on the close-by buffet?
We clear and clean the dining
table when company’s coming. The rest of the time we’re busy, a bit
messy and probably not going to change.
What about you? Do you have
a penchant for perfection, or do you rationalize that clutter is cozy? How do you
really live in your home?
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