Minimalism, we are informed by the appalling coterie of narcissists who pass for trend setters, is calming: acres of greige, the emotional warmth of a dentist’s waiting room, the monstrosity done to the 'Home Alone' house,
And the spiritual nourishment of Pantone’s announcement that "Cloud Dreamer" is the 'colour of the year' for 2026. Pretty sounding, it's this by the way:
How very brave. How very nourishing to the soul.
Yet I read on the BBC News website this morning ("Very bad, very wrong people" according to another tasteless twerp, although at least gold is a colour of substance) that ordinary humans stubbornly persist in discovering that colour makes them happier. ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg2j5l4q7wo ).
I'm probably a tad more cottagecore in personal taste than this, but unquestionably it's effervescently reckless to have a room that suggests one's joy rather than moral-aesthetic superiority and I am incredibly happy to read about a home decorator committing the ultimate aesthetic sin:
Choosing what makes you happy in your own home rather than focusing on what flatters an estate agent's brochure written by a tasteless moron.
There are lots of problems in the world today and I completely appreciate this isn't the worst of them. But we are in genuine danger from a design orthodoxy so bloodless it mistakes emotional anaemia for good taste.
I feel like minimalism is calming. I admit, I sometimes I get caught up in the technosexual and maximalist design that uses all 3 dimensions but it's true that the more Zen things are, the less cluttered and stressed you feel. So I agree with that much about minimalism.
It is of course a matter of taste, but I suspect the worst "Minimalists" in decor, etc. are ones who can make money from their own tastes.
Estate-agents do love orthodoxy. I encountered this personally when viewing one home.
The house was built in the 1960s. "Of course, this will need replacing", said the agent, in front of the seller.
"Why?" I asked. "Ther's nothing wrong with it. In fact it's a damn' site better design and probably a lot better made, than the modern stuff!"
"This" was the sink unit, with its 1960s roll-top, one-piece sink and draining boards that cover the entire top of a wooden frame, instead of the modern style using a sink cut into the surface of a chipboard box. I proceeded to explain the engineering and functional problems with the "modern" form to the baffled agent.
"And of course you'd need replace those high-level cupboards", he turned to.
"Why?"
"Well, they are sagging!" he pointed out.
That was true, but not seriously; but he had not expected me to say they were easy to repair. I had to explain, very simply, how. He gawped at me, clearly out-paced by a potential buyer who knows things can be repaired, and how to repair them.
I decided the man, probably not even born when this kitchen was fitted, had no practical knowledge about buildings and their fittings; probably has no idea how to screw two pieces of wood together. The only point we agreed on was the colour of the walls, a rather cold blue.
I didn't in the end buy, for various reasons nothing to do with the fittings and fixtures, but looking at home advertisements does suggest the whole estate-agency trade relies on imposed fashion cliches.
@ArishMell This (the estate agent) is everything that's wrong with the 21st century. I don't blame him of course but the aesthetic and economic system we're living in where Having A New Thing is the only thing that matters.
@Persephonee Oh, the desire for the "New Thing" is by no means 21C! It was ever thus: the wish to be fashionable seems always to have been a human trait.
@SinlessOnslaught There is being tidy...and avoiding being human, and so much today seems the latter
Ultra-flat user interfaces is another massive bugbear of mine. Genuinely one of the reasons I like SW is its colour and layout is far more cheerful than any other SM site I've come across - and which proves you can have off-white as principal colour without feeling like you're in a modern art gallery)
