Room with a View - Page 4

KaySD · ‎08-16-2016

@wilma wrote:
@KaySD wrote:
Ivory and "American Beauty" rose, as it was called, had a moment in the 50s. Very dramatic and glamorous. This room reminds me of that. It's a beautiful room, and I agree that with that architecture and view, almost anything would work.

I don't know about you, but I find I'm becoming more impatient with rooms that look like they were decorated solely and specifically in order to look good in photographs. Not that I don't enjoy the photographs--I love looking at the stuff you post, @wilma, and the discussions that follow. But the rooms often look staged to me, or maybe designed for lobbies or movie sets.

I have questions:
Love that sofa, and the armchairs look "sittable," and those ottomans (ottopersons?) could be kicked around so I could put my feet up. But would I? Even if it disturbed the photogenic placements of each piece?
Did someone really discover that big white jar on the wall and pounce on it with joy because they loved it so much? Or was it put there because the specifications said, "one decorative item, wall mounted, 20" tall, white?"
I wonder how cozy the room would look at night, when the pretty view turned into a wall of reflective black?
Would I actually use the coffee table, even though there's not room to walk in and set down a tea tray, and I'd have to perch on the very edge of my seat reach my cup anyway?
Do I really want to precisely rearrange all those pillows every time I plop down on the sofa for a few minutes?
And if I can't put my feet up, have tea without making a fuss, entertain without setting out side tables or something, and so forth, what would I use this room for?
Maybe there's a larger question. Although I'm objecting to the over-perfection of these photographs, at the same time, I admit I probably wouldn't want to look at photographs of the never-completely-controlled chaos of ordinary rooms. It's kind of like the discussions that sometimes pop up in this forum about whether the models should be tall and thin, or more like most of us. There's this discrepancy between what we idealize and how we are. Is it inspiring, or does it make us feel we are coming up short? Maybe spending lots of time at home is an opportunity for each of us to find a new, more natural balance between appearance and functionality and comfort.
@KaySD
Your points are very valid. I do believe lots of the photos we post & discuss are “staged”. I also agree that because of this sometimes the rooms look less functional. I think most of us would want our homes to be both functional & nice looking. I would love to have mine neat & organized all the time, but perfection is not really possible in the “real world”. Between family, pets, and daily life, homes get a bit messy.

@wilma

Yeah, I agree, and truth is, we probably wouldn't want to look at photos of places that we would really want to live. Still, please keep those phony photos coming--I always enjoy them.

CANDLEQUEEN · ‎03-09-2010

This is a really pretty room, I would probably change out the coffee table, but I really like the room and the red accents save it from being too drab.

shoptilyadropagain · ‎03-19-2014

The room does have beautiful architecture but needs a ton of help to warm it up. The entire room (even with the colored accent pieces) just gets swallowed up in a sea of blandness that nothing is noticeable or stands out. The view is nice but I'd prefer an ocean or mountain view.

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
- Author Unknown