Every once in a while, I read the new York Times with absolute awe at their choice of editorial content. (Actually, more than once in a while.) Today, there is an article entitled, “Is This What Happiness Looks Like?” This is an article with lots of photos, in other words not a cheap piece to run, devoted to the discussion of whether bright colors in the home make for happier people.
I think the article was supposed to just be fun, or perhaps it was tongue in cheek. One of those articles that signifies what New York City is really like. The philosophy of color needs, I believe, a great deal more space than this one got. This article was hardly a statement, more of a chance for decorators to have a few good sound bites published.
If they had asked my opinion, I might have suggested that the clientele subjecting themselves to the tastes of a decorator spend a little time learning just what it is that makes them relax. A glass of wine or a shot of bourbon in neon pink just may be the right thing, but if it isn’t it grows old real fast. Our homes are our refuges and they should offer as much a chance for rejuvenation as you can get in the 12 hours or so you get to be there each day.
Relaxation and comfort, in other words, require an effort to understand. Years ago, I painted my library apple green and I liked it for a while. But it did not stand up to the test of time and it is now a dark forest green. It is the right color for me, but in fact, the color is less important than what I have in the room. Books, of course, are the primary thing, but then I have antiques on sabbatical from my shop and they work very well at making a room to relax in.
I suppose what I started out to say is that the New York Times has these many sections every day that are other than the news and which are, in essence, the tabloid part of the paper. Instead of scandal, there is every facet you can imagine to do with modern times with the strongest emphasis being on fashion and design. But the articles don’t delve deeply. The intent is titillation. I guess you have to sell newspapers and cater to your market. The articles just should not be taken too seriously.
There isn’t a decorator alive who doesn’t say that their work is anything but timeless. Tell that to Dorothy Draper, Metropolitan Museum retrospective, notwithstanding. What is timeless is good taste and she certainly had that. Her work, specifically her interiors, are another matter altogether. What can possibly survive the onslaught of happy decorating?
The things that survive are the furniture and the objects. Look at the memorabilia sales that the auctions have been having. A crappy old set of JFK’s golf clubs for over $200,000! I would call that survival. What won’t survive are neon pink or beiges or black walls or striped walls or wooden houses or glass houses. Unless, of course, you are Phillip Johnson’s glass house. But that was an object of his anyway.
Life is a curious combination of enjoying the moment and living for the future. Antiques, paradoxically, are for the present and the future. Color is for now. Decorating is for now and if you are a color freak, live with it. If you are a beigeista, revel in your serenity. Sooner or later your choices will be painted over. And you will most likely be the person doing the painting.