Fashions come and go, but you know what sticks around? Quality construction. Like, it literally endures through time, whereas things made primarily for the purposes of fashion tend to come apart in one way or another. This is not to have a dig at fashion, but more just to point out its transience.
That might be fine for certain things, like styles of cooking, for example. But when it comes to concrete artifacts that take time and energy to create, it starts getting inefficient. That’s why I think home interiors should be built around the principle of quality. You can have your cake and eat it too, I suppose – I mean, there’s no reason a fashionable object can’t also be high quality – but really, it’s all give and take. The more energy goes into the fashion aspect, the less goes into the quality aspect. That’s what I think, anyway.
Take kitchen renovations. Melbourne locals love a good trend, and will go in for fads like rose gold-toned farmhouse sinks, ‘colour of the season’ cabinetry, and LED under-bench lighting. Those features all cost money that would be better spent, in my opinion, on using higher grade materials, more durable fittings and built-for-life appliances. The thing about the faddish elements is that they’re destined to go out of fashion and create a situation where you want to have them replaced, even though there’s nothing wrong with them.
I might sound like I’m on my high horse here, and maybe I am. Some would say I’m of the spartan persuasion, or even that I lack aesthetic taste, which is completely untrue. I do have an eye for aesthetics, and it’s what enables me to see through the veneer of trendiness to the true nature of an object or design feature. It’s a blessing and a curse.
Ultimately, I’m not judging anyone…well, maybe just a bit. But in the end, it’s no skin off my nose what people do with their resources.