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FINDING MEANING IN DESIGN (EVEN NOW)
As I was preparing my post for last week (a pendant lighting round up!), I was having a hard time pulling it together because I found myself asking “who cares about pendant lights right now?!?”. The last two weeks have felt like years. I know that many of you come here for a short break from reality and I don’t want to spoil that by getting too political; however, at the same time it felt disingenuous to ignore what’s happening in the world – particularly here in DC – and just go on and on about lighting options (although we all know that good lighting IS critical).
I’ve been struggling with the question: Why is design important? When I am worried about what kind of world my daughter is going to inherit, how can I worry right now about finding the perfect vintage rug for my bedroom? How can I blog about light fixtures? How can I find meaning in what I’m doing? In the grand scheme of things, interior design is not life or death. As Lauren Liess puts it, there is no “design emergency”.
After thinking on it last week, here’s where I landed. We still want our houses to feel like homes. We still want our work and living spaces to serve us well and inspire us. Design can do that. I want guests to walk into my home and feel that they are welcome here. Mi casa es su casa. Striving for these goals at home does not have to be mutually exclusive with fighting for a cause or organizing your neighbors and friends to take action. In fact, if you feel good about your home, you are more likely to invite others inside to connect over a cup of coffee or a play date. If your work space is organized and inspiring you can be more creative, focused, and productive. When your surroundings are dysfunctional or uncomfortable they are distracting.
Right now, I think we all need to be laser focused on whatever cause or causes we think are most urgent and worth fighting for. And it’s perfectly okay if, at the same time, you want to make your life better by refreshing the spaces in your home. And it’s okay to obsess over a light fixture or a rug here and there. Maybe you can even invite some ladies over to admire said light fixture and rug and connect:)