Harmony is to me an important factor in timelessness as important as absence, as well as a basic principle of design. This is well explained by the following quotation. It's long, but worth reading fully for – despite being written about art in the 1920s – it has, if you'll pardon the expression, stood the test of time. Just as importantly, it contains a basic lesson in design the consequences of which, are sadly rarely visible in much of what is published about interior design today.
"Harmony is the art principle which produces an impression of unity through the selection and arrangement of consistent objects and ideas. When all the objects in a group seem to have a strong 'family resemblance,' that group illustrates the principle of harmonious selection; and when these 'friendly' articles are so arranged that the leading lines follow the shape of the object on which they are placed, harmony has been secured in both selection and arrangement. How much likeness should be sought and how much variety or contrast is appropriate are the questions to be decided in any situation. One enjoys a certain amount of variation for the sake of interest, but for the sake of harmony this variation must always stop just short of absolute contradiction in any important matter. Similarly, there should be something in common among all the large things which are to be put together, but the smaller objects used for accent and variety may contrast. The smaller the amount of contrasting note, the stronger the difference between the contrasting objects may be.
"In both the fine and applied arts, it is usual to think of the principle of harmony as having five aspects. These are harmony of: (1) line and shape, (2) size, (3) texture, (4) idea and (5) color."
A cardinal quality in rooms that I find timeless is absence, by which I mean an avoidance of the non-essential, and a trust that space, in itself, is not negative. It does not mean that I prefer rooms that are unfurnished or undecorated – though there are empty rooms rooms large and small that can live without further additions. The only improvement that can be made to them is to leave them alone.
I had planned to present one room at a time in what is an ongoing, and occasional, thesis about timelessness, but here in this interior by that most discrete and educated of decorators, David Mlinaric, the consistent use of absence is irresistible – so much so, I felt I must show more than one room to give at least an impression of the harmonious whole.
This flat – three floors in a George IV London terrace – can hardly be said to have stood the test of time, given the short time (five years) since it was published. Yet one feels it may well. This interior feels timeless to me and herein lies the difficulty of using the word timeless about a present-day interior: none of us are prophets. Pundits certainly, writers with deadlines, probably, but not prophets. In its coherence, the design certainly illustrates the principle of harmonious selection as stated in the quotation above. There is harmony of line and shape, size, texture, color and perhaps the most important of all, idea.
To my eye, Roderick Cameron's older version of the La Fiorentina salon has stood the test of time better than Billy Baldwin's.
I will be exploring the topic of timelessness and harmony more in coming posts. I welcome your thoughts as I continue to attempt to pin down this will o' the wisp concept.
Mlinaric on Decorating, Mirabel Cecil and David Mlinaric, Francis Lincoln Limited, London 2008.
Photography by Derry Moore for pages 259 to 269 (I think)
Quotation from Art in Everyday Life, Harriet and Vetta Goldstein, The MacMillan Company, New York, Fourth Edition, 1954.
Photos of La Fiorentina by Durston Saylor for an article written by Aileen Mehle for Architectural Digest, January 1999. First used by me here in my post A man of most remarkable taste.
Photo of Roderick Cameron's Fiorentina sitting room from here (unattributed as far as I can tell, accompanied an essay written by Steven L. Aronson for Architectural Digest, October 2001). From my essay A lovely absence of color.
That's funny! Tice Alexander used to say the same thing about La Fiorentina, how he liked it better when RC had it-maybe because he worked with Libby Cameron at P-H ? Timeless interiors are the most chic, and BB did quite a few- I enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteDean Farris, thank you.
DeleteOne of my favourites and and I consider to be "timeless" is the interior Billy Baldwin did for Mrs Blair in Washington DC.
The sitting and bedrooms of the London terrace may have been published five years ago, but they have a distinctly 1980s look to me. Not that it is not classic.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Rory vs Billy, crisper color photography works in the favor of the latter for that always desirable 'fresh' quality. But Mr Cameron wins in terms of visual interest when one really studies his version. Of course, a number of things barely changed at all from the first scheme to the next.
Just my opinion, certainly. I'll be interested in other points of view.
The Devoted Classicist, thank you.
DeleteI associate the outer reaches of the English Country House Style, Post- Modernism and Park Avenue Mogul Style with the 1980s thus I cannot associate these rooms with that decade. Someone else remarked, in a conversation, that they were reminded by the bedroom of a hotel room from the 1980s.
What an excellent post! I every much appreciate the quote. You know, music shares identical values. Curious that, but oh so fascinating. Thank you for your scholarship!
ReplyDeleteDaniel James Shigo, thank you.
DeleteInteresting isn't it that such values and principles can cross disciplines like that?
Do well in Italy.
Looking forward! Thanks for sharing this quote; enlightening.
ReplyDeleteArchitectDesign, thank you.
Delete"Art in Everyday Life" is a very interesting book – the more so that it's like is no longer produced or valued, I suspect.
Sorry, but that elusive thing known as "timelessness" cannot be pinned
ReplyDeletedown and any attempt to illustrate examples will be a subjective one.
Mary Wells Lawrence's London house is a case in point, being every bit as influenced by trends as anything else one has seen of late. This was,
if you remember, the woman whose houses as decorated by Baldwin (and later on, Arthur Smith) conveyed wit and sensuality--qualities
grimly cast off in her late life surroundings. Which isn't to denigrate
the work of Mlinaric; but those were the least appealing rooms in the
excellent monograph of his work.
Toby Worthington, thank you.
DeleteI take your point that any attempt to define "timelessness" is difficult, perhaps doomed to fail. The same holds true of defining "red" – it's practically impossible without referring to subjective examples – yet we all manage to share a common understanding of what it means. Even if it prove something of a fool's errand, I am enjoying the mental exercise of attempting the definition. But I do recognize that my examples are subjective and my conclusion, should I reach one, will be a personal definition, not a universal one. I'm enjoying the journey, regardless of whether the destination turns out to be a mirage. Thank you for coming along!
Proving your point is the fact that you find the Mary Wells Lawrence house the least interesting in the book, whereas to me, they are some of the best.
I will refer to this post often as I try to develop a more discerning eye in the realm of interior design. Thank you for putting the effort into this topic. Your writing is exquisite and polished as always. I can't wait for future installments. May I suggest that perhaps you consider publishing a "best of" book. Our collective shelves are brimming with recommendations from your personal library. It is only fitting that it house one written by you.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thank you for your very kind words.
DeleteThere will be more recommendations and as to the one you suggest I write – there are a few ideas floating around in my head.
You have chosen some wonderful examples. I have gone back to look and what I notice is the absence of decorations that one might assume to be mass produced - no antlers thankfully. Every items looks hand selected and each of these rooms exudes a sense of calm. I could walk into any of these spaces and could not approximate what year they may have been designed. I would suggest that achieving that is sheer perfection.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thank you.
DeleteIt is the spacious rooms from which the extraneous, (the mass-produced, the settings created by stylists) is absent, that interest me the most. That one might find it difficult to decide which decade they are from is also what makes these rooms interesting.
Again, thank you.
One other quality that needs to be remembered when attempting a definition of timelessness is quality of materials. The higher the standard of these, the more likely the work is to endure. Cheap or shoddy material invariably comes with a use-by date.
ReplyDeleteIrish Aesthete, thank you.
DeleteI couldn't agree more with what you write about quality. I omitted it but it was more a sin of omission than intention.
I think timeless may be the room version of Ode to a Grecian Urn. I agree with you that the greater the architecture, the room can exist with fewer furnishings which are the ticking clocks of taste. I think space, proportion and light form a divine trinity that makes a room feel floating in time. Unfortunately, in my 1968 built house, not much floats!!!
ReplyDeletehome before dark, thank you.
ReplyDelete"the ticking clocks of taste" – delicious! So many ideas in one phrase. Thank you, again.
Mlinaric's rooms here feel "still" rather than timeless. I hope it is the stylist at fault again for denuding the life out of the place. It seems the large difference to my eye in Cameron v. Baldwin is photography and perspective-a tweak here or there and Time stands Still. I think it might have been the loss of the place Cameron suffered from more than the change in decoration-and who couldn't feel that. I love the way Mlnaric has with a room, but these rooms are missing his deft hand with history and design -the balance of the two (I think that is timeless). pgt
ReplyDeletelittleaugury, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean when you write "still" and I might interpret it as meaning "quiet." My interpretation of "timeless" is simply that an interior has stood the test of time – i.e., looks as good now as it did when first created. Nothing is eternal.
I had not thought of Cameron's reaction to Baldwin's redecoration of Fiorentina in quite the way you suggest – intriguing, to say the least.
I could read and discuss this for hours on end. I often talk of the importance of negative space with my own clients, similar to that which you refer to as absence....it takes them a while, then the lightbulb goes off...and then they fully get it. Such a hugely important aspect of a classical room, I think...the kinds which hold their own over time.
ReplyDeleteI often think that rooms which are timeless are not necessarily not of their own time...but it is just that they are so well executed, so as not to simply have the fripperies of the day, but to have this understanding of line, and proportion, and balance, that they are always perceived as beautiful, no matter the prevailing timeframe.
Is the last image, in black and white, the Cameron one? It is incredibly beautiful...and I do believe, quite relevant today.