I've actually been going back and forth about writing this post, which is unusual for me, at least here, on Hive, as i mostly speak my mind, as you know. This past couple of days, the wonderful MINIMALIST community wanted to know how minimalism combines with interior decor in people's personal lives...
For me, it doesn't. Strangely, it managed to hit the problem on its nose. I've been feeling boxed in by things that are no longer me, and yet, that I don't know how to throw away. I don't have the heart for it, and sure, I could blame it on "you never know when you might need it".
After all, it's true. The hellish pandemic proved that to me. Barred from shopping centres, I found myself wearing sweaters and using items in my house that I'd been hoarding for years. Things I never thought I'd use again and that, by right, should've been given away years ago. You know, there's a small voice in people's heads, especially if you come from a poor country like this one, that's always worried - what if bad times come? What if you'll need that sawed off table? Or that stained sweater? The pandemic just stoked those fears.
But no, it isn't just a materialist streak that makes me falter when I should be relentless. These things I've amassed around myself are remnants of my childhood, of my self as a child, and then as a teenager. And even as I outgrow them, the tables, and the walls, and the creaky floor, it breaks the innermost folds of my heart, to have to shed them away.
Ironically, I long for a minimalist space to exist in. I long, simply put, for space. I feel like I have no space right now, and the psychological underbelly of that is certainly not lost on me. One of my favorite places to exist in were the Airbnbs I stayed at in Croatia, and then in Spain. Small, very small, though tastefully decorated. Sparse furniture, with a focus on tasteful, simple, and spaciousness.
When it comes to interior decor, one of my biggest fantasies is just a sparsely furnished room to stretch out my legs on my mat. No vain or expensive items, or state-of-the-art four-poster bed. Just room.
Steering back this freewrite on its course, are there any decor styles/pieces that don't jive with my inner minimalist?
Certainly.
Vanity Tables
I'm a very girly person when I want to be. I love perfumes, lotions, and even make-up, though lately, to a lesser extent. Yet even when I was in my make-up honeymoon phase (like most teenagers), I loathed the idea of a vanity table. While cute in old movies, I couldn't fathom sparing all that space for a piece of furniture dedicated solely to doing your make-up and hair. It seems impractical to me, as you can't really convert them into a desk, if necessary, since vanity tables have very little actual space. I'd much rather store the few make-up items I own away, and place them on my desk temporarily when I do want to use them, then store them back.
I had a friend, very pampered, very appearance-oriented who waited weeks (not to mention spent an obscene amount of her parents' money) on a vanity table when furnishing her own apartment. It was to me insane. I couldn't take the whole "drama" of waiting for that table seriously. I don't see its use, as long as you're not an actor or someone whose trade somehow relies heavily on their appearance. and I'm not really a fan of buying things just because you feel that's what "should be in a woman's bedroom". Who's choosing these 'shoulds', and what rulebook are they using?
Most French Kings
I mean the furniture, specifically. I'm still making my mind up about the kings. While this sort of furniture works and is expected when visiting Versailles or some Italian palazzo, I know people who use it in their homes. Not only does it seem uncomfortable as hell, it's also very clunky and oppressive, in my view.
But that's not what grates. It's the colors. I am averse to anything gold-coated. I dislike gold on churches, palaces, clothes, and indeed, on furniture items. It's tiring to my eyes, and seems to make a space smaller.
Ironically, many Louis XVI/XV items can be stunning, on their own. Bureaus and chests of drawers, specifically, when taken out of that garish gold context, and done in a light pastel can become vintage chic at the drop of a hat.
Anything that comes in a set.
I do recognize that when I do decide to move, and furnish my own place, it's going to be a nightmare, as I am very picky. I was in a furniture store recently, just browsing, trying to see if I find any bedroom furniture I like. I stopped in front of the only tolerable one only to find it was a "teenager bedroom". It wasn't evidently a teenager's bedroom, mind. It was sort of blackish and minimalist, but there was nothing to clearly mark it as such. So I wondered, who decides that? Obviously, the "grown-up" bedroom sets were all very bland and clunky... does that mean grown-ups need to be bland and clunky too?
Many are, but they don't need to be.
Furnishing a space is overly easy, with many furniture stores (looking at you, IKEA) offering sets directly. Many with cutesy, appealing names, though all I see when I look at them is a prison of sorts. I agree furniture should compliment one another, for your own sake, but to live in a "set" designed by someone else, according to some vague aesthetic rules with little to no relation to my personality? No thank you.
Don't get me wrong, some of these look really nice and all. I just think a room should reflect who you are.
I don't like easy fixes.
I don't like furnishing an entire apartment in one quick IKEA visit.
And sure, it's gonna take more time this way, choosing each piece, and each color for the walls and what not. It's supposed to. You're not living in an IKEA catalog.
One thing is sure, when I do decide to furnish my own place, I will keep a journal of it here. I think there's something really powerful about creating a space you connect with.
