Savannah Lee

I have a goal with my spring cleaning. I want to evoke a mood in my house. A mood other than "gaping pit."

Not, I hasten to add, that there is anything wrong with "gaping pit." As a design statement, I think it's been drastically underrated. It is the perfect choice for anyone wanting to convey a feeling of "Fuck you," "Fuck me," "Fuck it," "Fuck the world," "Fucking STOP INTERRUPTING ME," or "Fuck...we're all gonna die anyway." These are important concepts which are sadly under-represented in today's interior design landscape. The "gaping pit" aesthetic is uniquely suited to evoking each and every one of them and should not be overlooked.

However, after twenty years, I feel I have explored the possibilities of this style pretty thoroughly and would like to try another one.

This left me with the task of deciding which one it should be.

After months and months of faithfully reading the luscious "House Beautiful," I know one thing for sure. I cannot in any way aim for the kind of sumptuous traditional interior which they display in all of its many flavors. (These include: grand, tweedy, sun-baked, moss-covered, WASP-y, boho, decadent, bleached, color-splashed, rococo--well, really, it's all rococo--and the ever-serviceable country-club. There may be others. But those are the ones I've noticed so far.)

And why?

Because these interiors, though perfectly arranged, are busy. A lot of them, I hate to say, are even fussy. In my opinion.

And that reads to me like clutter. Very pretty clutter, but clutter.

And I am trying to recover from clutter.

So I need to go in the opposite direction.

Now, there aren't too many "opposite directions" from traditional. Most other recognized styles--country, Mediterranean, Shabby Chic, contemporary/MOR, arts-and-crafts--are pretty crowded. Even Southwestern.

Modernism is contrastingly pristine, but it's too hard. Its feel, its look, its lines are all so absolute. I am a soft, wiggly organic being.

So, I am going to aim for Zen. Natural textures and gentle shapes, but simple, simple, simple. Empty, in a good way. I'm going for that.

We'll see.