Books

I love books: all sorts of books.  Getting a new book gives me a high like nothing else, except maybe good champagne.  Oh, the thrill of tearing off the shrinkwrap and getting a whiff of that new book smell.  I love the pristine look and feel of a new book.  I love being the first person to open a book.  I think of every new book as being one that might change my life.

I love mysteries, self-help, beauty, fiction and most especially books about Architecture and Interior Design.  While I have my favorite Interior Designers whose work I love, it’s exciting to get ideas from those with whom I’m not as familiar. 

I love to drown in the regional architecture of a far away land like Italy or Morocco.  Or read books about textiles, about lighting, specialized décor whether romantic, modern or rustic.  I love books on design peculiar to various American cities, especially those in the South and in California, where I live.  I love books on Gardening and Landscaping.  I dream of having a Mediterranean garden filled with lemon trees, olive trees, roses and lavender.

Part of what I will be doing on this blog is reviewing Design books.  Hundreds are released every year, some great and some frankly disappointing.  Money is tight for many of us, but we loooove our coffee table books.  I’ll make  recommendations:  If you’re going to spend $60 on a book (as opposed to paying your cell phone bill), it should be worth the money.  I’m also going to have blog posts devoted to a specific Designer.  If they’ve written any books, I’ll include a bibliography and a short review of each one.  For those who purchase a book on my recommendation, I’d like feedback.  Was I spot on or completely off base?  Did I explain the Designer’s work or was I talking out of my…hat?  I leave it to you, dear readers to decide whether or not I’m doing a good job.

 

A Word About Sculpture

A word about Sculpture:  many of us have statues or busts as decoration in our homes.  They are, and have been for centuries a commonly used element or accessory.  We see statues in museums, catalogues and books.  My absolute favorite is Nike of Samothrace which is in the Louvre.  When I saw it in person many years ago, I almost swooned it's so beautiful. 

But it started me wondering why the majority of the Greek and Roman statues are missing heads and limbs.  Were they so poorly made or fragile that anything “sticking out” was doomed to destruction?  Didn’t anyone know how to make a statue that didn’t fall apart?

 

So I did some research.  Do you know why they’re without heads or limbs?  Because the bloody, fanatical Christians of that era chopped them off!  Virtually all sculptures were of Pagan gods or goddesses so they decapitated them and destroyed any part of the statue which might give away its identity thus preventing anyone worshipping them.  The only statues allowed to stand untouched were of actual historical/religious figures (like David or The Pieta) or saints of the Catholic Church.  Pagan statues were considered an affront to the Christian God; blasphemy and idolatry, if you will.  So they had to be stripped of their identity so they couldn’t be honored or prayed to.  Ironically, when Henry VIII engineered the split from Catholicism, the Anglicans rounded up all the Catholic statues and destroyed them for exactly the same reason: idolatry.  Karma, anyone?

Though it had a more sinister purpose, the same thing was done to images of the ancient Egyptian female Pharaohs, whether by their male successors or Roman conquerors.  Pagans may have been hated by Christians, but everyone hated and feared women, most especially powerful women.  (And they still do in most parts of the world.)  So let sculpture keep this thought in the forefront of your mind: From the beginning of time until present day, no matter what  race or nationality, people do not change.  They will always destroy things with which they disagree and they will always use religion to justify it.

 

View From A Chaise Longue

First of all, I know I’ve chosen a somewhat “controversial” title for my blog, if only because so few English speakers pronounce “chaise longue” correctly. So let me take care of that problem immediately:   shezzz longg. 
 

 “We’d like a ‘shay’ in the bedroom.”  or “I want one of those ‘chase lounges’”.  How does one correct a client who may be spending thousands of dollars?  Gently and tactfully.  We shouldn’t just throw some furniture in a room and present a bill.  We need to educate our clients and sometimes ourselves.

Speaking of which, there’s one word in particular mispronounced constantly by many (some extremely famous) Interior Designers/Decorators, who should know better: that word is “accessories”.  It is NOT, ladies and gentlemen, pronounced “Uh sess’ uh rees”.  It is ACK sessa’ rees”.  Two words which appear similar but are spelled and pronounced differently and mean very different things: (“We had total access Backstage Passes at the Springsteen concert!”) as opposed to (“We had to assess the level of danger before we went diving in shark-infested waters.”)  There really is no such word as “assessory” while an “accessory” can be a glove, a vase or someone who aids in the committal of a crime.

I went to Catholic schools so I’m a stickler for correct spelling, pronunciation and punctuation.  I realize we live in a world where not many people know or care about such things anymore.  Rappers have made billions of dollars spelling words incorrectly, e.g. “Ludacris” “Eyez”.  But as designers, we need to know what we’re talking about.  Every profession has its own language and terms.  Our profession’s language is just as important as that used by doctors and lawyers.  Take the time to learn how to correctly pronounce the foreign names of various eras, types of furniture, designers, etc.  (I’ve actually heard someone pronounce “Louis XV” as “Louis Quinnze”)  If you have a blog or website, use spellcheck, use Google. Use all the wonderful tools at our disposal.  The more you know, the better job you can do for your client.