Okay, so we laugh at our kids when they go to a thrift store to buy a sofa, a bed or even worse clothing. But they may actually be on to something when it comes to a PURE / Clean response to their environment.
Anything that has been used and is not soiled or contaminated has actually probably off gassed all of its offending chemical properties and may even have been stored outside, which also helps this process!
I have never been an advocate of used furniture, because I have had visions of upholstery loaded with cat dander or worse, but in reasonable situations, it can actually be a good way to insure a clean response to interior pieces.
Many articles have been written about recycled materials to build something in the interior, but what about actually repurposing pieces that have been used and using them in a different innovative way?
"If you wisely invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life."
- Frank Lloyd Wright
Architects and Designers have known forever that investing in something that is existing is a great way to create beauty in something that is already here. More people are staying in their current homes, rather than building new. We are choosing to remodel, and refurbish instead of moving on to new surroundings. It is easy to get swayed by glossy approaches to selling us a lifestyle, instead of seeing the beauty in what surrounds us already. Think of large retailers like Restoration Hardware, and Pottery Barn. They are selling a lifestyle that can actually exist in our current surroundings with creative energy and a fun spirit. Most of the whole Industrial Look is repurposed looking. It is limed, and distressed, and old. It may not actually be, but a replica created with paint finishes and chains, but it is a concept that is very popular today. Seeing manufacturers replicate this look is a very interesting trend. Innovative homeowners have painted, replaced hardware, and repurposed things for a long time. Think file cabinets made into metal dressers, old industrial lamps made into chandeliers, and distressed finishes added to fine antiques to update their chic. Many people keep finishes perfect on old pieces only to find that their children have no interest in a fine mahogany piece that needs to be polished and maintained to keep its beauty. We are less fussy today. We want to have some fun in our interiors and play a little with color, finish, and hardware.
Our next trip to the thrift store will be less about finding a bargain, and more about finding a shape, or size of a piece that we want to work with and adding embellishments that make it what we need today. About time that a PURE / Clean Interior was truly about having some fun and expressing that attitude in our everyday world.
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