As a child, I became addicted to home design magazines and even now get my jollies looking at all the lovely homes decking the pages of these publications. The walls seem so perfectly painted - just the right shade - and the picture frames go with the moulding just so and best of all, there is never any clutter. How do they do it? They pick the perfect painting, just one bowl, just one vase and the whole living room looks fantastic!
Now there are even "home" sections of the newspapers and they all present "before" and "after" photos. The "after" photos are smooth, sleek and perfectly painted. The "before" photos, I'm sorry to say, look like my house. There are drawings, photos, takeout menus and party invitations plastered across the refrigerator, books and cds are stacked on every available shelf and none of the coffee cups match. There is just something very sophisticated about matching crockery. But nothing in my house matches anything else - it is all a mishmash of things that carry only sentimental value.
As I looked at the glossy pages of these magazines, I noted there was one thing they all had in common - they all focused on "simple living." Apparently having one painting, one vase, one bowl and perfectly painted trim all equates to having a happier, healthier, simpler life. I sighed as I imagined my own living room with a couple of coats of new paint, snazzy storage, no books on the shelves and everything in its place. But as I mentally went around deleting things from my house, I found that "simplicity" isn't quite so simple. Does not having anything of sentimental value displayed on my coffee table really mean that my life is less complex, less cluttered? Will having a rather sterile-looking designer home make me more serene? Will I really after all, be happier and better able to concentrate with a home that has absolutely nothing in it that reflects my unique personality and life history?
