Ipowerweb
| I do, do love being near a body of water.When I go for my morning run, I relish the moment the river breeze makes contact with my skin, instantly cooling the mask of perspiration which coats the surface.Or, when I'm chillin' with my youngest in the sprinkler park, and I walk through the rainbow of cool water for relief and its lasting affects can be felt up to 20 minutes later.I have yet to get to a beach this summer, and I may be too busy to until the end of august, so, somebody please get to the beach and stay 'til sunset with your toes planted in the wet sand, for me! I wonder how many of our collective interior environments are conducive to serenity.Class and wealth don't determine how beautiful your home can be.Do you spend the time arranging your home furnishings so that they're just so?Maybe a sparse home, free of adornments is what gives you piece of mind.Or, is it a place where every surface serves as a canvas for displaying collections and memorabilia.What if you're in a home full of clutter or with not much natural light or no apparent view?Have you longed for a vacuum cleaner large enough to suck-up all the stuff you are too overwhelmed or attached to part with?Or, does this not bother you in the least?I am asking because I am one of those silly, ungrateful beings who aren't happy just to have a roof over her head.I desire order, bare surfaces, sunlight, open floorplans, high ceilings, soothing colors, natural elements juxtaposed with modern lines and a home whose architecture or "bones" feel so right it makes me forget about furnishings.I have a designer friend with an abundance of interior/exterior design books, and when last I was at her place, I picked up two -out of the hundreds- and found myself on the verge of tears.The spaces and what inhabited them were actually moving, spiritual.Spaces I wished were mine. |
| Spaces I wished were mine.Have you ever seen a painting or photograph and been overcome with sentiment?There was such artistry there, hence my reaction.Kind of like, using a structure and interior as a blank canvas.One room had a soft, womb-like feel, with honey colored wood floors and furniture.Another photo showed a room with soaring ceilings, stark white walls, plank floors done in a gentle shade of gray and a solitary, antique chest of drawers, home to a few, meticulously picked pieces that seemed as much art as they were personal objects.I could go on, but I'm afraid my recollections can't hold a candle to the photos themselves.Over the past few years, we've moved round quite a lot, more than the average family does.It isn't the most calamitous thing to endure, but it ain't easy, either.Fortunate for me, I've gained some info about myself: a catharsis of sorts.It sounds simple, but it's one of those basics one doesn't realize one needs to know, but once one learns it, there's one less area about which to be puzzled.I don't want or need much stuff.There.Clean and uncomplicated.All this time, I thought I liked to be surrounded by it.Maybe being on the road has exposed me to "less is more". |
| Maybe being on the road has exposed me to "less is more".Hotels are basically stuff-free besides what you bring.When I'm in a really fly, minimalist one- my fave by far is The Mercer, NYC- I experience a full body release, an emotional and physical exhale, and I usually proclaim that I'd like to move in.All I really want is a couple of photos of those dear to me, a table at which to eat, a bed and side tables on which I could place a writing tablet, an unapologetically large wall-mounted TV (that's for laru :-), a couple of chairs and a sofa and a spa-like bathroom.All of our stuff would hopefully be tucked away in beautiful, light wood, flat and modern, wall mounted cabinetry, or maybe we'd finally be rid of our stuff!When there is a great deal of stuff in a space I must occupy, I become ineffectual and glum.Like functioning in any capacity beyond cooking, cleaning and sleeping is painful.I remember when I was in elementary school and if the desk in my room wasn't neat and eraser-shavings free, I would end up interrupting my work so consistently that I'd drive myself into a flustered state, at which point my homework would take forever to complete.In any case, the dream-interior picture I just painted is a dream not yet fulfilled, but I am closer to it given that each time we move, we rid our home of more and more stuff.It now comes to mind that I may be sounding like George Carlin, but we humans experience identical awakenings at dissimilar intervals.Such is life: it's already happened to someone when it happens to you.I suppose some of you may not ever have pondered this topic and others will know precisely of what I'm ranting.There's always a guilt there, though, as I think of one of my recent heroines-a Sudanese teen girl called Sumaya-who I watched on a UN telecast speaking candidly of losing her parents and cousin to the janjaweed, and having to raise her SIX siblings on her own and in a dusty, disease infested, unsafe, refugee camp.I say her name to myself as a mantra when I start getting too invested in the minutia.End of thought.Hoping you have a place to call home,AmelAmel Larrieux's new album, Lovely Standards is now available everywhere in limited quantities.We thank you for your support.Sincerely,Blisslife |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 July 2008 )
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