Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Thought for the day...

"The Beautiful is everywhere; perhaps more in the arrangement of your saucepans on the white walls of your kitchen than in your eighteenth-century living room or in the offical museums." -Fernand Leger, painter

I have tried to be more intentional lately about creating natural beauty when I have the opportunity. For example, usually, I just throw my fruits and veggies in the drawer in the fridge when I bring them home from the store. One day this summer, instead of the cooling drawer, I put my tomatoes in a simple white porcelain bowl and set it on the shelf in the fridge. You can not imagine the difference!! Every time I opened my fridge, seeing that pretty bowl of tomatoes made me happy. It was so simple, I felt silly, but it really affected me. And it wasn't just me!!
A friend opened my fridge and immediately "oohed and ahhhed" about how pretty the inside of my fridge was!!
Last week, I put my ironing pile in an antique dough bowl. It made a crumpled pile of linens look intentional!!
Anyway, I am just really inspired to make neccessary, not always pretty aspects of my home look beautiful...either through presentation (such as that porcelain bowl) or paint (I spray painted my wicker laundry baskets black and I like them so much better!!) or by replacing them with something that is still useful, but more asthetically pleasing (hardback books vs. paperbacks). Maybe that is the secret to a house that is beautiful, yet also comfortable and lived in?
I would love to hear others thoughts on this...

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:38 PM

    You've got it right. There's no reason the mundane cannot be magnificent. One week I took up a whole roll of film on still lifes around my home; three lemons in a blue enamel bowl, blue hydrangeas in a white enamel coffeepot, or blueberries in a red bowl on a red and white check tablecloth. Found objects artfully arranged in a pleasing manner. There's no excuse for dullness in the home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry I'm beind reading your blog, Laurel. Lovely post. It makes me think of Alexandra Stoddard's books. Have you read "Living a Beautiful Life" and "Creating a Beautiful Home"? You would love them.

    ReplyDelete