Sorry Barry
I fall into the "little too cluttered" camp. To me its not so much about the amount of stuff, so much as it is about the placement and spacing. Like good typography the elements should look good on their own, grouped into words, sentences, and paragraphs. There are too many 'words' here, and not enough 'paragraphs'.
Part of the problem is your use of flash - which makes even the nicest interior look like a crime scene. 🙂
But - if I were to sneak into your house one night I might still make some tweaks here and there.
First, there are lots of little pieces competing. The Eames & the Saarinen stool compete with the Nelson table, the Thonet stools compete with the Saarinen table. The pottery competes with the tables. The lamps compete with the clocks. Thats a lot of competition for a room about resting.
Second, the Eames task chair seems terribly out of place floating in the room. It blocks the Bertoia, and doesnt match up well in height/mass/proportion to the Grasshopper.
Thirdly - I'd line all the wall clocks on the same horizon line. They're all just slightly off - but none of them are organic enough to make that work.
Fourthly - Slender things cause a lot of visual noise. The stems & cords of the lamps really bug me - nothing a little twist-tie here and there can't fix.
Overall a good collection that needs a little curating. And don't take it personally - even the most committed minimalists need curating!
As a collector, my spaces...
As a collector, my spaces too, tend to fill up with objects. Barry, I hope that you have not taken offense at anything I have said. Since I've spent some time critiquing Barry's Living Room, I think its only fair I post a couple pics of mine.
Much of my clutter finds its way to the study, which is the last pic
impressive collection barry,...
impressive collection barry, my compliments!
maybe you could post a picture of the room in daylight,
as I to feel the same as lucifer sum about the flash.
beautifull home jesgord, really wonderfull atmosphere (I love the monumentallity of those pillars).
lucifersum, lrf, others...
i can't say i understand why, but it's become rather apparent that barry just wants to show us all around his "basically together" living room as long as we keep our mouths shut.
the much-needed critique that was tastefully and sensitively offered was received as harsh judgement. that's way too bad.
it's been said that the sun's rays will both soften wax and harden clay. the only difference is in the state of the substance being affected.
perhaps the next time his photos are on display we'll all just have a look and smile in assumed silent praise.
kdc....I was only responding to Lucifer's rather pointed opinion.
Most of the others have been alot nicer, yet still giving an honest opinion.
That Eames upholstered office chair is a floater...and I move it around from location to location. I brought in that yellow Bertoia side chair from my deck to put by the Nelson typewriter desk, but it really doesn't belong there.
I hope to find a nice vintage Eames fiberglass sidechair, perhaps with a new Eiffel base for that little desk.
I have lived in this house since May 2007 and getting the living room together has been a long project. I have collected a number of pieces...some might not go together, but these are things that mean alot to me and I hope they belong in this living room.
I have never been a big fan of half empty room, so the cluttered look is very natural to me. I think I mentioned it before, but I'm not crazy about fireplaces and I have always disliked how much it dictates how a room can be arranged, so I just plopped my new (old) sofa right in front of it!
Regardless of how I take it, there's been enough healthy conversation to justify sharing the snaps.
Thanks...all of you and now if I can only find a nice 4 ft marble or glass top retangular coffee table....
Thanks for the pix, Barry...
Thanks for the pix, Barry (and the others as well), and I'm glad you feel you're finally getting there - I'm still working on my relatively small and somewhat modest living room area but after a few recent changes I'm beginning to see the light..
As for some folks voicing their unease with the set up - as a newbie I'm not too familiar with the 'spirit' or the etiquette of the forum but I'd have, perhaps, shown a little restraint voicing my comments - especially when the poster had initially expressed his contentment & pride in his accomplishment - as we know, at the end of the day, these are always a matter of taste and personal preference..hopefully this doesn't prevent anyone from posting pics in the future, as I find these kind of threads (pictorial reports, that is) highly enjoyable, be it a collection of objects, or a presentation - and I suspect I'm not alone, as it seems..just my $0.02 worth..
jj, others...
i'll briefly comment on the notion, "these are always a matter of taste and personal preference."
though quite polite and accommodating [good social skills, indeed], this is not accurate when it comes to design.
in solving visual problems, there is no list of strict or absolute do's and don'ts to follow. however, the "no rules" phrase may seem to imply that all designs are equally valid and visually successful. this is not true.
artistic practices and criteria have been developed from successful works, of which an artist or designer should be aware. "guidelines" [not "rules"] exist that usually will assist in the creation of successful designs.
given the overall context of this forum, informed critique is encouraged and even expected. critique is an indispensable component of any worthwhile design pursuit--be it academic, professional or avocational.
if this forum were strictly about "things i like" or a simple show-and-tell exercise, critique would likely not be a welcomed component of the forum culture, and resulting reactions would be better understood.
however, the community here has established a rather high level of seriousness about "good" design, so any contribution so submitted is subject to the review and scrutiny of its prevailing culture.
it's for these very reasons that i myself appreciate this forum. sure, there's a little fluff here and there, but i can generally count on several regular contributors who have a depth of experience i value and who are wearing their thinking caps as their fingers tap the keys.
[david a. lauer, design basics, harcourt brace jovanovich]
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-David-Lauer/dp/0495501816/ref=pd_bbs...
just a rant
I feel ya, Barry. Criticism can be a real bummer. I hope you realize, though, how hard it is to be direct and polite sounding in text. I am assuming that no one meant any harm.
I like your place a lot. Are there things I would do differently? Of course there is. There isn't one room on this board that I would take as is. That's what makes the world go round.
If you are interested, here is my two cents:
There is a tendency for a lot of us to put all the goodies in the main living area. Make sure you save some for more intimate areas ... the bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. You certainly have many wonderful objects to go around!
The only area that doesn't seem fully realized is the corner with the vinyl Eames chair. I think it needs one larger piece to counter the Saarinen Grasshopper ... perhaps the Aalto?
Lastly, I think one should never obstruct the view of a fireplace. I know you don't like them, but it still serves as a focal point naturally ... just a blocked focal point in this instance.
Again, you have an amazing collection. I am super green for your Petal table!
kdc: While I find nothing...
kdc: While I find nothing here to disagree with (except I surely wasn't to imply all designs being 'equally valid') I'd like to point out that my comment was made simply in the context of the initial post which I read as an expression of one's joy in the moment of triumph (or 'sharing') instead of a request for a lecture about the principles of interior decoration or correct object placement..
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