PrairieMod Monday

Welcome to the first PrairieMod Monday of 2007. We missed last Monday due to holiday festivities and being out of town; but I felt like starting the new year off right by getting back into the swing of things with a new topic for PrairieMod Monday. This month's principle for exploration is "Informal Meets Elegant." It's a uniquely Modern trend that we have been enjoying in the last decade and a half or so, following the rise of stores like Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and Restoration Hardware. Pottery Barn in particular has done much in the way of championing the notion of "Informal Meets Elegant" with their wares and through information posited in their books. So what can we learn from Pottery Barn?

In the introduction to the book, Pottery Barn Home, we are introduced to their notion of a welcoming home:

It's been said that a person's home tells more about them than words ever could. Maybe that's because our homes allow us the unique freedom to surround ourselves with our favorite colors, textures, objects and memories. Over the last few decades, the shift to a more casual lifestyle has changed the way we inhabit our homes. Formally defined rooms once reserved each for a single activity have given way to versatile spaces that flow easily into one another.

This is a supremely important observation made by the good people who publish Pottery Barn books, and one that helps define what makes the American home special. We're about comfort in this country--for good and for ill (we'll explore both) we want to enjoy our lives with as little formality and restrictiveness as possible.

Yet, this notion of eased formality and open spaces didn't originate with the good folks at Pottery Barn. In fact it's an idea dreamed up for America with the help of the Prairie School architects, notably led by Frank Lloyd Wright. We as a nation rejected the prim, proper, constrictive nature of the Victorian era with its formality and suffocating series of box-within-box houses. We were given the gift of open floor plans and great expansive ribbons of windows, letting the beauty of light and the natural world inside our homes for the first time. We finally had an architecture that was uniquely American and fit who we are as a nation--it was both warm, inviting and stylish at the same time.

Yet, over the decades, something happened to the notion of a comfortable home that stylishly fits our individual needs. We started pursuing excess and wastefulness instead of comfort and style. Our homes turned into vinyl warehouses; lacking in the creativity, informality and elegance that could be found in the bungalows and smaller homes of the past.

Creating a comfortable, welcoming home that reflects your unique character is one of life's greatest pleasures—and one of its greatest rewards.

This final quote from the book, Pottery Barn Home, is what we wish for everyone in 2007 and beyond. Through education and a life lived through adherence to principles, we can achieve the warmth, elegance and happiness that all of us deserve. We look forward to exploring "Informal Meets Elegant" in the upcoming weeks with you, and the rest of the PrairieMod Principles in the months to come. Happy New Year!

Comments

[Real estate Philippines]

Thanks for such a great article to share.

Deirdre G