Beauty or Function. Which is More Important In Home Decorating?

Beauty or Function – what do you prefer in your Home Design? Nothing fills my design soul bucket (yes, I have such a bucket) then when I can have both, a beautiful design feature that is actually functional. One example is a decorative box to store the tv remote and coasters.

For my Elshire home, I found several lovely boxes with lift-off lids, but I knew that using both hands to lift off the top… set it aside… place the items inside… and replace the top would not happen with my family. It had to easily open with one hand. Thus a hinged top was imperative. I also wanted something pretty that followed the color scheme in the room but was not too matchy-matchy. This blue striped box fits the bill.

The added bonus is the pearl decorative clasp that coordinates perfectly with the shimmery “money plant” my sister brought from Nebraska. Voila! Beauty and Function.

For my Highover and Montglenn homes, I had this interesting wicker box. The top hinged open for the remotes and the small drawers below fit coasters perfectly. Voila! Beauty and Function.

I found an example where I believe beauty is not functional in a Southern Living magazine. The kitchen remodel features a mac daddy 48” Wolf range with no vent hood. Granted the spotlighted picture above the stove is beautiful, but won’t the steam and splatters disfigure it over time? The author states, “no need for a vent hood thanks to an adjacent wall of sliding doors”.

I found the doors in another picture and deduced that they were across from the kitchen sink, not next to the range. Maybe, this $7,000 + range is just for pretty and she is not a cook. I know I’m not, but when I heat water for mac and cheese I like to turn on the fan.

In the same home, I agree with the author when they wrote: “Removing a bulky vanity and replacing it with a sleeker pedestal sink helped give this compact bath a little more breathing room.” I love pedestal sinks in a powder bath, but this one has a tub/shower combo so is most likely used for more than just an “in and out”. Above the sink is a wall-mounted swivel make-up mirror, but I can’t see where they keep their makeup. Or for that matter their soaps and lotions. Maybe, there is a linen closet hidden to the right of the door. I would have explored a small vanity with doors and/or drawers. Even, a floating vanity gives you some storage, while still not appearing heavy in a small space.

I chuckle when I see the beautiful living room makeovers on HGTV that do not have a practical place for a television. After all, the HGTV channel is viewed on a TV screen. It’s not that I don’t think these rooms are lovely, but I believe a vast majority of people have only one living area and that area has a television set.

Having said that, my sister, Christie, rarely watches TV and when she does she has a comfy den with a large flat screen. She has a beautifully decorated TV free living room.

And, in my Highover home, I had a separate TV free living room I loved decorating, but rarely used, except on December 25th. We called it the Christmas tree room.

So, how do you incorporate a TV without it over-powering the room? I had this dilemma when we first moved into our Highover home. Was the focal point the TV, the fireplace, or the wall of windows? I finally came up with a furniture arrangement that evenly allowed access to all three. It helped that the TV was nestled in a wall of bookcases, and not free-standing. And, what could be more lovely than viewing a lush golf course while cuddled up next to a fire.

In my current Elshire home, I am brainstorming how to make our 60” flatscreen TV less obtrusive, even though it sits on a unique console. In the meantime, when I had a Christmas party, I had this lovely picture displayed on the screen with a USB flash drive. My intent was to create the look of a beautiful art piece versus a big black screen.