DWR Newletter; Shoe Blitherings

Fitzpatrick-A few months ago, I wrote about the outstanding e-newsletter of all things mid-century modern-and-more from the ready-to-ship furniture catalog, Design Within Reach.

Periodically, they ask for responses from their readership regarding various issues. I’m proud to announce that my musings are listed in the comments section of this week’s letter. What an honor.

The photograph to be commented on was of a collection of shoes outside a door. It turns out to be the entrance to one of the houses on the recent American Institute of Architects San Francisco tour of ten buildings in the bay area. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit http://www.dwr.com/.

Here are my blitherings on shoes:

“Shoes tell if you are a watcher or if you wish to be watched; if you go out and get what you want or try to attract it. The best pairs encompass both polarities, like the best of architecture and design; they draw you in visually, but don't restrict the free movement of the body, the life of the family or the mind."

Rescue From House Gorgeous

Fitzpatrick-Dan Ho was once a style-obsessed consumer, or décor bore as he calls them; he and his wife owned a fabulous Chicago restaurant and a large custom-designed home. Then he had a seizure. The cause remains undiagnosed, but for Ho, the incident changed the course of his life, and lead him to question the whole trajectory of his carefully-designed existence.

I came across this book/website/movement several months ago in an e-mail newsletter, and I wanted to discuss this concept in view of my thoughts of the previous post. But alas, it looks like Rescue Mag is taking a vacation until 2006. Too bad. If you’re inclined, Google this guy and read up, or order his book, Rescue From House Gorgeous, which has arguably one of the most well-designed and provocative covers I’ve seen. Bookmark this site anyway, and check back in a few months: http://www.rescuemag.com/; where “Your Spirit Is Your Style.”

Are we décor bores? Ho would unmask us by asking questions such as, “Do your slipcovers cost more than the chairs they cover?” and “Do you spend more time on styling chores (dusting wreaths, restocking aromatherapy candles, repacking sundries into decorative glass containers) than on spiritual pursuits?” and the real owie, “Do you spend more time thinking about your new stove than about the homeless?”

I don’t own any slipcovers, though only because I haven’t gotten ‘round to it. My husband’s new business is in its third year, so every month when I pay the bills, I think about the homeless; present and future members. I confess to transferring hair care products to dispensers that coordinate (disappear) with the shower. Twenty lashes.

Perhaps like an alcoholic ready to hit bottom, Ho’s message grabbed me. Anti-style and anti-materialism are harder to sell than salvation in this culture. I hope he has the fortitude, and the funds, to keep preaching.

Hurricanes and Home Remodeling Destroying America?

Fitzpatrick-In the wake of Katrina, and during the prelude to Rita, some thoughts on interior design and remodeling:

1. Discussing a new sofa, kitchen or bath seems trivial and nearly indecent at this time. I’m supposed to be beginning my own half-house remodel, big banner news, but my heart is not in it. Hardwood floor catalogs and design magazines lie next to my laptop where the photo diary of a hotel worker who survived Katrina is displayed. How frivolous they seem.
2. How can we live in a country where houses get bigger every year, yet fewer families can afford them?
3. According to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), who keeps tabs on such things, the popularity of home remodeling has risen due to the buying ability of two-earner households. What about kids farmed out to daycare, when Mom and Dad are both slaving away so they can spend two to four conscious hours in Metropolitan Home
4. Would we have elected such a now-obviously inept presidency if we had been paying attention; reading serious news and engaging in various civic discussions and pursuits, including voting, instead of wallpapering the bedroom and installing new faucets over the weekend?
5. Once upon a time, democracy sort of worked here. The federal government could be depended upon during huge disasters, like the Great Depression. People lived in houses that looked pretty much the same when they died in them as when they were born in them. They read, they voted, they had hobbies.
   
   Is home remodeling destroying America?