Our society is moving away from personal interaction. Families do not have the opportunity to interact affectionately due to technology. There is always a screen, a phone call, or a text to capture attention. Technology, and now AI, makes us more efficient. Some might even say more “clean.” Once we open Pandora’s Box, we might not be able to go back, but this is where the home must push back: away from efficiency as the highest value and toward spaces that visibly hold memory, affection and family legacy.
I am pleased to see that we are beginning to shift away from sweeping rooms focused on functional movement and objects. Families are considering what makes a home a home. Even empty nesters want grandchildren to feel like they are stepping into an environment that reminds them of “cookies and holidays.” Family legacy is important. We all wish to contribute our memories and love to a home.
My regular readers will know this is a topic dear to my heart. Humans should live with affection and nostalgia. This does not mean we live in the past. It does mean a house demonstrates our past beyond a photo album on the end table in a common room. One of the best ways to step beyond minimalism is to hybridize. Designers are amazing at this transition. Keep the function and brevity, and add a touch of heirloom, personal memories, found objects, and whatever has lasting meaning to you and your family. To move away from minimalism is to move toward being human. To move away from white, gray, and beige is to move into the world of color. Intention is important, so intend to live in your space, not visit.
A design project can express function and include “humanism.” Minimalist design tends to whitewash existence. It is hard to prove a family exists in the house beyond a stray note or set of keys. I have contributed art and furniture to many of these projects. Perhaps some personal memories in the form of a fun family framed photograph that visitors enjoy, along with the family. A photograph here and there of the family in Jackson Hole, York Beach, and Charleston can lead hosts and guests down a rabbit hole of commonality. That is fun. That is endearing. I say “No” to the family picture wall, and that is just me. Family memories here and there do the trick.
So, what takes us a step away from minimalism and into a “home”? My position is simple: employ physical manifestations of memories and a healthy respect for ancestry. You might choose to express this concept in one room. If so, make it a room that family and friends enjoy. You might choose to express this sentiment in a sparse way throughout a home. This is still a step away from minimalism. Less is not always more. Strive for clarity to focus on affection and warmth in our personal human environments.
Heirlooms are a connection to the past. A closet is not the place for a great-grandmother’s painting. If the item has lasted a century or more in the family, find a wall. Yes, I must confide to my readers that I am a sentimental and curious collector. I am not saying every heirloom item deserves a place in a home. I am saying that closets and storage facilities are the teeth that grind history toward the Dipsy Dumpster. A home can escape clutter and still include heirlooms.
Found objects are the best. This is especially true if found on a family vacation. OK, perhaps the lobster buoy found in Maine should not hang in the den, but it might make a great porch memory. A bit of bright ceramic found in an antique store in Ocala can be a fun memory snippet for the entire family, and a new heirloom for children’s children.
My conclusion is that moving away from minimalism is moving toward family. Minimalism is sparse. A desert contains more evidence of domestication than some minimalist homes. Functionality does not always need to rank first. Defining and designing with the essentials as the only focus might be leading us in the wrong direction and into the arms of artificial intelligence.
