Is there a Spring in your step?

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”
― Pablo Neruda (Chilean poet)

Spring is here! And with that there is a sense of renewal.  Flowers once dormant are beginning to bloom;  trees once bare are budding.  It is undoubtedly a time to RE-…

Redefine

Rejuvenate

Renew

For many, it is time for a spring cleaning, throwing out the clutter, cleaning and organizing our homes.  It is that time when we dig deep into closets, drawers, and cabinets to clean up the mess of another year, and rearrange our belongings, and in so doing, bring renewed order to our lives.  Along with that order comes a refreshing sense of purpose and peace.  Typically we accumulate and crowd our homes and our minds with an abundance of…everything! There is little room for peace, since our thoughts and our spaces are literally too full.  This is our time to stop, take in a clean breath of fresh air, and renew.

There is a quote which I keep on my magnet board:

"Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it."

-Dee Hock  

So, perhaps Spring is also time to reassess ourselves individually.  Too often we continue on our metaphorical treadmill, trying to keep up and push ahead.  Rarely do we take the opportunity to step back to reflect on the direction in which we are headed.  Is this the path that you wanted to be on? Does it still bring you fulfillment, happiness, and satisfaction?

So rather than chugging along with the familiar, we might use springtime to re-evaluate.  If you assess your life, your work, your relationships, your goals, and you like what you see, then perhaps reaffirm your commitment to them.  Set new exciting goals that reinvigorate the path along which you travel.  On the other hand; if you look upon your life and you feel a deep dissatisfaction, perhaps this springtime is your turning point, as you “clean out your life’s clutter.” For many of us, life has changed from the days when we originally established our goals.  It’s only practical and cathartic to re-study them.  So many people have been thrown into this by the rough economic circumstances in our country.  Jobs have been lost, finances are tight, and many people have needed to redefine themselves.  New career paths have been forged, lifestyles have needed to adapt, and we have chosen (or been forced) to re-prioritize.

In much the same way, we might want to use springtime to see our work and home environments anew.  Do our spaces feel like they still fit our tastes and lifestyle, or do they seem like outdated decisions that haven’t kept up with our ever-changing selves?

And so this is yet another type of RE-…

Remodel

Defined as the act of reconstructing, of making over in structure or style, remodeling is all about changing and altering.

While many of us prefer to stay in the comfort of the familiar, change has the powerful ability to inject new life into something that has come to feel ordinary.  Now let’s not panic, it's not necessary for you to take on a huge costly remodel that might make your checkbook quiver. There is a whole range of remodeling, from simple minor accents to deeper extreme renovations.  All provide the opportunity to breathe new life into the spaces we occupy.

So here are some ideas to re-invigorate your spaces. From little to big…

• Change the color scheme.  This can be done by changing up the accents in a room (ie. Pillows, frames, rugs, etc.).  Keep the neutrals, but add a bright blue, yellow, or green touch of color. It’s best to stick to one added color, and use it repeatedly in the space.

• Repaint a wall to boldly change the color scheme.

• Re-upholster something.  A new color or texture of fabric can do wonders to a tired old couch or chair.

• Sand down wood furniture pieces and re-stain in a different color. Try changing the light colored maple to a deep espresso or mahogany color. 

• Repaint an older piece of furniture giving it new life.

• Change bed linens and duvets, bringing new color into the room.  This can completely transform a bedroom.

• Fill clear glass vases with water and stalks of fresh green bamboo.  This brings springtime indoors without needing a green thumb! 

• Change dining room table centerpiece and/or table runner.  This can be a simple way to redress the room. For example try a glass bowl with an arrangement of beautiful succulents set into a sand base.  The green and eggplant colors of the succulents bring nature indoors. 

 

• Create a new outdoor living room that extends your indoor space out to the yard.  Adding a fireplace can help to define the outdoor space so it feels more like a room.
  

• Transform your access to the outdoors by utilizing a multi-slider or bifold series of doors that enhance the opening, making the division between indoors and outdoors disappear!
  
  
  

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

So this week enjoy Passover, enjoy Easter, and revive the Spring in your step!

Aging With Grace

 

 

 

Having just celebrated my birthday in October, I have been thinking and wondering about aging. For most of us, it is an uninvited process that we resist with every resource we have. From cosmetics, creams, Botox, fillers, and plastic surgery, our culture seeks to battle aging and grip tightly to youthfulness. As women, we want to stay young and beautiful, sexy and alluring. As men, we want to be handsome and distinguished, but never old.

For many, youthfulness is a must, and its pursuit borders addiction. Those youth seekers will fight age at every turn, capturing and maintaining that youthfulness to any extreme; even at the cost of unrecognizably changing their appearance.

However, some of us will choose to age gracefully. While we may strive to gently slow the aging process down with creams and supplements, we willingly see a wrinkle as a sign of having lived deeply, having laughed wholeheartedly, and having loved with no bounds. We recognize that our age honors us with profound wisdom, priceless experience, and a multitude of timeless memories.

Architecture too can age gracefully or can quickly become dated, losing the vivacity it once had.  A space or building that simply wears its style as a thin decorative layer can reflect a style or fad; however, it fails to reach us on a deeper level. Post modernism was one such architectural movement that was heavily criticized for its application of surface style.

Philip Johnson

Michael Graves

Similarly, some buildings wear a facade that fails to take root further into the building.  As we experience those buildings, much is missing.
Our human needs are not reflected in these buildings.

While we may see the building's style, we cannot feel its character. 

Charles Moore's Piazza d'Italia

Charles Moore's "Ironic Column"

It is only when the building has depth in meaning and reflects our human needs that its architectural soul emerges, awakening our awareness and experience of the provocative space. It is through that deeper level of understanding and interconnectedness, when the building’s soul speaks to ours, that the architecture assures its timelessness.

It is the inherent beauty and awe in a space that grants it cherished timelessness. Memorable architecture, that embraces the beauty within its soul, ages with poise and grace.  Its meaning and beauty do not fade, nor does it appear dated or passé.

 

Carlo Scarpa

John Lautner

 

I am a firm believer in appreciating and nurturing beauty--beauty from within as well as beauty from without. We are blessed with certain attributes, and they are ours to appreciate and enhance. Accepting the aging process that is inevitable, and not treating it as our adversary, we can find a tender and accepting way to enhance our beauty at any age.  So, embrace your ever-evolving beauty, and discover the richness that lies within you. Enable yourself to age with poise and grace. We may not be as baby smooth as we once were, but the wisdom, insight, and understanding that have deeply taken root, can be profoundly beautiful.
That is the key to aging gracefully…and the splendor of timeless beauty.

Wordless communication

While speech is a powerful tool, communicating without words can be even more provocative.  Babies do this, letting us know without words when they feel distraught, need something, or feel content and safe.

Lovers do this, exchanging a knowing look that they understand, communicating shared humor, disappointment, hurt, love, or desire.

Architecture also has the ability to communicate silently. A space can speak to us, instilling serenity and peacefulness. A home that we have designed with our personal touch can speak volumes on shelter, security, comfort, and familiarity. It can remind us that we belong to something, that we are not adrift. It can whisper safety and warmth to us without a single word.

A vibrant and trendy restaurant can talk of excitement and energy. It can communicate drama and cosmopolitan flair without a word.

A sanctuary communicates godliness and tranquility. Its voice is gentle, soft-spoken, and divine.

 

A workplace can communicate with order and organization. It seeks to motivate and inspire.

 

A  fireplace speaks of gathering and warmth. Its voice is inviting and draws us near.

 

 

The beauty of silent communication is the power that lies behind its demure nature. Unhindered by barriers of language, nuance, or tone, the silence speaks volumes in clarity and simplicity. When architecture finds its true voice, it translates into a building with soul. Imploring us to connect, architecture brings meaning to the mundane, awakens our senses, and offers us a quiet understanding.

And in that silence, even a whisper resonates.