In the late 1990s, minimalism in home decor was all the rage in England–at least that’s what we read in the newspapers at the time. Minimalist homes were clean, cleaner, cleanest! They were calm, uncluttered. Any decoration not strictly necessary for function was not allowed.
Minimalism is not my style, because I like decoration and stuff within easy reach. But I can see the attraction. It’s so full of potential–lots of surfaces to fill with books, paper, pens, vases, coffee cups.
For all the functional trendiness of minimalism, I feel that human eyes crave variation and decoration. So here’s a wall hanging all about how we may enjoy the starkness of minimalism for a while, and what happens next. Its title is Evolution of Minimalism.
In the beginning, we have the most minimal nine-patch ever. Sewn with patches of the exact same plain fabric, it is totally uncluttered. It’s so calming, so clean, so–
–so, well, boring. Hey, could we vary the color a little? Just to give it some interest?
That helped. A contrasting color would perk it up even more. But don’t worry, we can hold on to our minimalist roots by using the original colors.
Oooo! That squiggly pattern in the middle is kind of fun. It might be even more interesting to have some texture.
Love that single button in the middle, and the mother-of-pearl button fabric! Very subtle, how the pearl button fabric is next to the ocean wave patterned fabric. Clever. If one button is good, four buttons are better.
The nine-patch is getting kind of old. Whoa–this log cabin block is perfect.
Do you sense a tipping point? The log cabin is turning into a log pentagon. Do I see some red? Woo hoo!
Colors and buttons and flowers are busting out all over!
This is great! Lots of color! Lots of pattern! Lots of texture! It’s wonderful!
Wow. All this stuff is wearing me out, making me tired. Let’s clean up all this clutter and get back to basics. We’re going back to the beginning.
And so the natural evolution of minimalism goes.
It’s all coded in the DNA.
