night time is the right time
This issue of Differentiated Design is brought to you by the West Elm Christmas Shop. I have a bunch of these paper trees in my house, several of which are 7' tall, and they are so fun.
The backyard sauna is almost done! All the wall paneling is installed, everything is wired, just need to install the heater and make an adjustment to the upper bench. So excited to reveal this.
It is going to give us such a great opportunity to landscape around it and fully trick out the backyard this spring. I've been looking for more direction in our backyard landscape, and this provides a massive dose. We will both frame the sauna on the exterior and the views out from its windows. Fun stuff.
If you have read me for a while, you'd know I've always been really drawn to 1970s-mid 90s design. So many things I like from this era - really sharp vignette lighting, art deco in the mix, sculpture art and pedestals were still normal, big uplit plants, skylights, reflective surfaces. Drama.
Another deceased nag I like to pound on is borrowing from hospitality for your personal interior design. Bringing lighting, materials, and decor ideas from your favorite restaurants & hotels into your home.
Something I never articulated, although it was right in front of my eyes this whole time, was that all of these spaces are photographed at night.
And nighttime interior photography, at least for the home, is virtually dead.
This is exactly what I'm talking about. Interior design by Robert Bray and Michael Schaible, Photos by Durston Saylor, article written by Judith Thurman for Architectural Digest, March 1990.
Design culture theorist Sean Yashar articulated this so well in his recent discussion on the Business of Home podcast. I loved his thought:
"Ultimately, interior design has always been about the art of vibing, and if you really think about it in that context, the evening hours are a vibe, a vibe that has a lot of stories....not telling the story accurately is really what is lost"
I reccomend his article about this, where he explains that mid-90s Calvin Klein minimalism is in part to blame for nighttime's fall from grace.
There is a lot more I could say about this, but I'll close with this:
It is ok, and in fact very good, to have dark spaces. Light and bright rooms are wonderful for a host of reasons, but so are darker rooms for just as many.
Imagine how people lived for millions of years with just fire or candles for light at night.
Darkness is normal, good, and healthy.
And it is quite a vibe.
Let's tap back in!
things i saw this week
Stumbled across this photo of a tile-covered porch. The two-tone color is great - this kind of happy accent that would be too much for most folks, but it really makes the whole setup so much more compelling.
Former family home in Oslo, built by grandfather of the photographer Marte Garmann
I like the feel of natural hand soap over pump soap. That said, I don't particularly love how natural soap looks after a couple of weeks. A blob in a dish.
I found these natural soap grapes from PFP and think this could be a great alternative hanging next to a sink. Bravo for creativity.
I love outdoor lighting and have some designs I want to create in the future. Been really drawn to these clusters lately.
It's essentially high-concentration Christmas light strips.
Brookegreen Gardens SC, via Google My Business.
I've seen a few iterations of this - it's usually in a wedding context, but why not all the time?
Who knows, maybe this will end up in our backyard in the spring.
