My mind abhors a vacuum. As a teen my walls were covered in magazine cutouts, framed postcards, crude artistic attempts, and other various paraphernalia of youth. Every time my room was rearranged or a piece of furniture moved, and my delicate web of wall filler disturbed, I promptly added more to keep out the white.
As time went on I moved onto small furniture, and eventually everything else in sight. My nightstand was decoupaged with tears from Archie comics (my fave), the sides of my bookcase hung with hooks full of necklaces, the strings of my Roman blinds stacked with beads. All this to say, I couldn’t keep a line clean if Mies Van der Rohe’s life depended on it, and so I live ensconced in cozy clutter. It makes me happy.
Photo via City Sage
But on the other hand, I find modern interiors intensely beautiful. A friend of mine recently completed the dream reno and went for the minimal look. Every time I walk into her home I sigh an involuntary sigh of relief. Clean floors and marble surfaces abound, and sleek built-ins hide everything. As unlikely as it may be, I still like to entertain the thought that if I built it, it will come – a shift in sensibility toward clean lines, that is. But I don’t know…
It's funny, I notice that every time I post a Home Tour of a modern house (and most designer new-builds tend to be of the modern, minimalist persuasion) you, our dear readers, are somewhat lukewarm about it. While many of you courteously leave encouraging comments, inevitably one or two will come right out and call it "cold," "sterile," "institutional," and so on. But who am I to judge, to each their own, right?
So which is it for you -- clean lines or cozy clutter? Take a Poll and leave your comments below!
Question of the Week is featured every Monday on Stylesheet.
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