Small changes can make a significant difference in a room. These changes can be a painting, object, lamp design, or an antique orange glass frog. A one-word change in a poem can alter the poem’s meaning and appeal. I titled this article “One Thousand Butterflies” because one butterfly is certainly smaller than a thousand.  A thousand might be a swarm.  And butterflies, by nature, feel subtle and ephemeral to me. In the next three installments of “Design Moonshine,” we will consider the concept of subtle changes that profoundly impact design and composition.

Many of you know me as an artist, poet, furniture manufacturer, and designer of objects and art for the StyleCraft Home Collection. Through my thirty or so years of creating art and design, I have learned that humans tend to eschew change. We do not like it. However, once change has been embraced, we can emerge on the other side inspired and perhaps even happier. Some changes are more challenging and cause us more discomfort than others. The changes we are taking into account here are small.  

I will consider objects as my first example of small changes that can make a profound impact. Let’s take a nineteenth-century orange glass frog. Visual Yum! By nature, this item is rare and unique due to the age of the glass frog. Generally, items such as this do not make it through the years. It is glass. These items are most revered in a room if they are a legacy relic. If the item is passed from generation to generation through the centuries, it will likely make it on the shelf of a home, even if it is not a typical item the individual might choose.

Now, let us play with the idea that this item is not an inherited orange glass frog. Let’s say we suggest this frog resides in the home of a family that likes the colors white to gray and all the shades in between. The Southern States love neutrals. Many homes love a neutral palette. The impression would be profound if we set this antique orange glass frog on an end table. We altered the room in this neutral home, which has been changed significantly by including a “little glass pet.” Let’s do it! Now it is a “new” heirloom piece.

Change one item in a room, and the entire room can light up. I’m a curious collector. My home tends to be cluttered. I discovered this topic due to my “mad scientist” decor. If I change one item in my house, nobody notices. Ha! Designers who make a room from the studs out and the wood floor up have more “room” to stretch clients’ comfort levels. Artists are, by nature, change agents. This is one of the reasons I love our shared industry, and I chose art, poetry, and design as my career. I am motivated by change.

Let us play with another “bijou change.” I suggest we take the small picture of our great-great-great grandmother in a relic frame and place her on a console in the entryway. Do not reframe the picture. I love doing this. We do not even know these people. We do not even recognize them or know what their voice sounds like. What was the cadence of their walk through a room? We have no idea. We do know that they loved those who loved those who love us. That is enough for me. This one change on a console in an entry way gives us a sense of perspective, time, history, and respect for those who came before us, even if the framed photograph does not quite fit the taste of our décor.

Last example for this edition: what if we take a small glass ashtray and fill it with antique clay marbles, and we place it in the home of a family that hates the idea of anyone ever smoking? We have all heard stories that smoking used to be recommended by psychiatrists to calm the nerves of a constantly anxious person. This was when Edward R. Murrow, a famed American broadcaster, passed away and the “Marlboro Man” died of lung cancer. Placing a green glass ashtray with antique clay marbles on the coffee table in the living room is a significant challenge for the humans I just mentioned. In my humble opinion, the ashtray with marbles conveys the resident’s message regarding smoking. Plus, it is a gorgeous, unique little moment. 

OK, let’s stop here for now. I want to get the “change conversation” rolling. Part two of “One Thousand Butterflies” will consider a simple alteration to a painting, creating energy in a room. I will also look at changing one word in a poem to skew the meaning of the poem and appeal to a broader audience.   The third installment of “One Thousand Butterflies” will be titled “Heirlooms Your Children Will Fight Over.” Subtle changes have a significant impact. Whether we realize it or not, this is how we live our lives.

I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.