A new feature
The weekly micro-decorating newsletter * Issue 6 of 13, A25 *
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Where do you look for home inspiration? Conventional sources like professionally styled interiors can be helpful, but if you strive for true originality, opening your eyes to the world around you is essential.
We've been looking beyond the algorithm for a while now, taking notes from store displays in ongoing lessons on how to shoplift ideas, and watching the cityscape in how to bring architecture home. It's time to cast a wider net, and that's why we're launching a new feature called Sightings.
The word "sightings" typically applies to glimpses of things rarely seen, like UFOs or celebrities. The truth is extraordinary sights are always available when you learn how to identify them. The world uncovers its secrets continually to those who pay attention.
So let's go on a journey of discovery together. We'll look at anything that offers visual insights, decoding how to make them come to life in the place that matters most to you: your home. Sightings will be an occasional feature at the bottom of a newsletter issue, whenever something urgent needs exploring. Think of it as a prize in the cereal box.
To kick things off, let's look at some photographs I took earlier this month, prompted by mysterious patterns on the sides of buildings:
While I'm not a fan of Toronto's glass towers, they have a way of imprinting a warped version of themselves on nearby surfaces, way more interesting than the sources:
Sometimes there's a quiet poetry to the way they send light grazing across materials:
When conditions are right, the rigid geometry of modernist structures seems to buckle and melt:
These molten structures tease us with idea of a cityscape as shimmering and malleable as a dream:
As daylight hours dwindle, it's a good time to play with reflections like these at home. The combination of metallic surfaces and flickering light sources can make a room pulse with drama:
It might begin as a Halloween effect, but continue building the array of objects and glow and you'll have a symphonic lead-in to the holiday season.
From the archives
Want to be more creative with your lighting? Here are some lessons from our fast-growing inventory:
- bounce light around with metallics
- experiment with the birthday effect
- spotlight something noteworthy
- get to know secrets of secondary lighting
- conquer a shadowy space with gloom-busters
Elsewhere
Last week's issue of The New Yorker has a brilliant comic strip from Roz Chast. It's tailor-made for anyone who has firm ideas about what's appropriate and what's not in home decor.
See you next Wednesday!