Sunday 18 July 2010

These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

If, like me, you're attracted by the effects of time and wear and tear, then you are probably very fond of certain wabi sabi hotspots in your house, and reluctant to "decorate" them out of existence. The repeated passage of grubby hands over white plaster, the mark-making of those same small hands with pencils and crayons, the interesting way the ceiling plaster is crumbling just where the light from the garden projects soft colours through the gap in the curtains... These are all everyday visual delights I'll be sad to lose.

Even where our recently installed kitchen has exposed a palimpsest of plaster colours and remnants of paint probably dating back to the house's origins in the 1930s... To my eye, it's more attractive as it is than repaired and freshly painted over.

But as an excuse for inaction it's wearing thin, so I've been documenting some of my favourite bits.












2 comments:

Sean Bentley said...

Brilliant and inspirational post!

The house I grew up in had several of these spots, my favorite being a wallpaper chicken head peeking out where the paintbrush didn't get.
Now I'm tempted to snoop around our house looking for beautiful flaws.

Martin said...

Friends of ours had a 'designer' kitchen fitted but, refused to decorate afterwards, preferring what they called the 'Cuban' look.