Is the Internet Making Interior Design Boring?
I’ve been on a real eff-the-internet kick lately. For all the normal reasons, but also because I feel like I’m seeing the same design content and choices over and over. Color-washing is cool. Fixtures are gold or brass. Powder rooms are wallpapered in something “bold.” Rugs are washed out faux-orientals. Frame TVs are surrounded by gallery walls, and sometimes, on the stairs, there is a splash of a bright color. Edgy!
I know I’m being a hater, and alone, none of these are a problem. Many are actually really nice looking! But it feels like the scripts never change and everyone looks at the same stuff and then puts it in their home and it’s resulting in everything looking the same. And I get it. It’s partly the algorithm, and also people designing content with the express purpose of getting good numbers on social. And look, William Morris wallpaper really is lovely! But I’m so bored of it. There’s nothing personal about any of these choices anymore.
Anyway, it’s taken me a while to write this newsletter, because I have been in a hater spiral, and desperately trying to find some original stuff amidst the monotony to pull myself out.
The good news: there is some. Starting with this story I recently read on Apartment Therapy about a workshop that suggests you “imagine that you have a secret room in your home that nobody else will ever see.” I think this gets at the heart of something sort of interesting, which is that almost all our spaces these days are designed to be seen. Even if we ourselves are not influencers or regular hosts there is a pressure to have a space that is aesthetically appealing. Maybe imagining no one else will ever see it is a good way to help our brains let go of that expectation and create more unique homes that better reflect our personalities and specific needs/wants.
I think that, in general, the personal homes of designers are a good place to look when we’re thinking about original rooms. Summer Thornton posted her living room a long time ago on Instagram and I’ve had it saved because it feels like she really designed it based on what she actually liked. It’s artful and bold and looks so comfortable. It uses lots of popular styles (wallpaper behind the books, art hung over, but it still feels authentic and I love it.
An article I dug up in an old Architectural Digest proves this theory about designer’s homes. Here’s a photo from the legendary Albert Hadley’s home. It definitely is gorgeous and definitely doesn’t feel like he created it specifically to be seen by others:
And Rose Tarlow’s “ageless” living room from 1991. I’m fully obsessed with this room because it really is ageless, but also so specific to her personal taste. The ivy creeping haphazardly around? So cool:
Alright, that’s enough venting into my keyboard for now. But I will keep looking for stuff that really feels actually original or authentic and sharing it here. It’s good for my blood-pressure. If you know or have a room you love for those reasons, please share!
In the meantime, a few fun links:
I’m starting a petition to require that this is the standard for all new builds instead of Red Lobster Lodges.
It’s almost mosquito season and I want to try one of these:
And finally, a woman embracing her individual design preferences in a very relatable way:
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