GRRRRRR!!!!

[stevieannie]

Watching TV, and a program about house design came on. First item was about an architect and a fashion designer and their *fabulous* all-white designer apartment. The people irritated me to start with their "why should I settle for crap B&Q fittings when I can afford better?" attitude. The stupidity of the apartment was irritating as well - the toilet was behind a completely clear glass wall. So that they can have conversations whilst ... err... being on the toilet. EEEWWW! I like my privacy in certain situations, thankyou.

But what irritated me was the way that they so obviously thought that they were better than the average pleb because their flat was painted white and they had Philip Starcke bathroom fittings.

"In jobs like ours, we appreciate good design."

They didn't have a book, a magazine, or a craft project visible. I think they spent all their free time polishing, dusting and throwing away anything interesting.

I don't trust people like that.

I don't like people like that.

And I certainly can't abide houses like that.

Comments

[djbp.livejournal.com]

"In jobs like ours, we appreciate good design."

Which doesn't mean they have any real taste or flair themselves, also what sort of person wants to live in the photoset for a catalogue.

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

I once saw this weird and disturbing program about an architect who'd designed amassively minimalist house for his family to live in - including his teenage daughter. He'd "thoughtfully" designed in some cupboards so she could keep her stuff.

I cannot imagine how anyone could live in a house like that. I don't like mess, but friendly clutter inspires me and makes me feel like I actually live there!

[bardling.livejournal.com]

That is a great userpic!

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

Thanks :) It's from a photo (http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/photos/2006/07-29/IMG_3593.JPG) a friend of mine took at a wedding - I finally got the chance to wear the 1950s Repro Dress Of Extreme Shininess that I couldn't resist buying about three years ago, and I was really enthused by the whole swirly skirt thing ;)

[vaurien.livejournal.com]

I've thought for a while that it's pretty much the quintessential "women enjoying being herself in a nice dress".

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

That's exactly why I made a userpic out of it :)

[bardling.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's exactly what it is, and a very nice, enjoyable swirly-skirt dress it is, too. And I love your hair! The photo is great, you're beautiful in it! :)

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

Amen.

What do they do when they get bored? No books. No craft projects. No tv. Nothing.

I'd die of boredom in 10 minutes.

[bardling.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... so by their opinion it's a matter of good taste to watch other people (including one's guests) defecate? Er. I beg to differ & am with you on the privacy.
Also... I like white walls. I've grown up with white walls, they go well with wood furniture & green plants & are a light, neutral background for any kind of decoration. They make for lighter, brighter rooms, more natural light, less electric needed. But... *everything* in white? No thanks. That kind of lack of contrast to me is boring. It reminds me of bright white floodlights - and no, thanks, I don't want to live in a floodlit apartment. Also... it's *boring*. Too much white-and-only-white... not a good taste so much as a lack of taste, too me, a blank canvas.

Good thing neither of us has to live in such an apartment, huh?
(And I bet if either of us did, there'd be posters all over the clear toilet wall, a thick wallhanging on the other side of it, and the first thing we'd apply is lots of colourful throws & paintbrushes... ;)

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

*Everything* was white, glass or chrome. EVERYTHING. No art on the wall, no cheerful cushions and no books. It reminded me of the last scene in X-Men 1 - you know - Magneto's Cell?

I'd sit in it for 10 minutes and then start thinking, "where's my knitting?", or "where are the library books?"...

Like you, I like my house to be comfortable and inspiring. Tim made me a peg loom last night for weaving rugs and wall hangings :-)

[bardling.livejournal.com]

No books? Ack! No art? No stuff-to-do/crafts/projects? What do they *do* in their flat? Watch TV all the time? Yuck!

[the-gwenzilliad.livejournal.com]

Places seemingly designed, decorated or kept up to resemble showpieces and not living spaces always make me nervous.

[filkerbaby.livejournal.com]

Saw that programme, although not all of it. What did you think of the shower with no cubicle and the black bathroom the Scottish guy had.

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

The shower with no cubicle isn't a new idea - it's a wet room. Very trendy and completely useless. The floor gets slippy and you fall over, and no matter *how* carefully it is done, there is always an area that collects a puddle which refuses to dry. Tim and Nev have put a number of them in, and we'd never have one ourselves.

The completely black bathroom with the velvet chaise longue? I kept thinking how mouldy it would get with all that steam and no window to open. Plus, it looked like the black hole of Calcutta. I'm with Bardling on light colours in a lot of circumstances.

But then I like carpet in a bathroom, so I'm not exactly a style guru! I like warm tootsies upon exiting the bath/shower, and being able to not fall base over apex on slippery floors. Mind you, the blokes in my house can aim at the loo pretty well, so I don't have that yucky problem that some do...

[bardling.livejournal.com]

carpet in a bathroom
Not anywhere near the toilet, if there any males who might, even only occasionally, not sit down to pee!

I shared a flat with two guys that had carpet in the bathroom. That was always the one *real* minuspoint of that arrangement. The bathroom was a place I'd not spend a second more than absolutely necessary in.

[soren-nyrond.livejournal.com]

I think they spent all their free time polishing, dusting and throwing away anything interesting.

Of course not: they have people to do those soerts of things for them. Their role is to say "I'm a Designer: Trust Me", while taking your money.

[delennara.livejournal.com]

White!
and I guess they don't have children, and never eat anything but .... white mousse, rice and ...pasta without sauce?

[(Anonymous)]

You can have a lovely design look with some B&Q tat - I have some myself. There are some things where if you pay more, you do get quality . . . but I suspect with MR Designer all he pays for is some other pompous twat to make a huge margin. It's pure, unadulterated snobbery.

I like all the "minimalist" look places on these programmes, but they're just showrooms. There's no way I could live like that. I generate clutter wherever I go, it's like my special super-power: I Clutter At Will.

I saw one "house developer" programme where two rich girls were spending daddy's (or mummy's) money to do up a house. The idea was to sell it on for a profit, but they spent so much decorating it in their "individual" (i.e. ghastly) taste that the final project would have had to have sold for over 100K above the valuation for them to make a bean. 200 quid a roll for some vile purple wallpaper. That was an expensive doll's house project.

Steve (TFLA)

Changing the topic, hopefully to something more interesting

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

Do you or clothsprogs know a chap in Bognor Regis named Mark Pullen?
He's a friend of sunfell's from when she was stationed in UK with the USAF and he's into costuming. They met originally though Star Trek fandom, where he was wearing some magnificent Vulcan-style robes that caught her eye.
I promised her I'd ask if y'all happen to know him.
sunfell reports he's recently become online but isn't as far as she knows on LJ (yet...).

Re: Changing the topic, hopefully to something more interesting

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

Nope, don't know him - sorry!