Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Bad Taste? The spice of life

"I'm a great believer in vulgarity - if it's got vitality. A little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika. We all need a splash of bad taste - it's hearty, it's healthy, it's physical. I think we could use more of it. NO taste is what I'm against."
Diana Vreeland in DVI couldn't agree more, just a dash though; you don't want to overpower your egg salad with paprika! I wonder if Diana would approve of my little butler table?

16 comments:

Visual Vamp said...

hello darling!
Mrs. Vreeland is one of my favorites.
And I love her red room! I just saw this photo today at girl world decor.
A litle vulgarity is indeed the spice of life ha ha.
xo xo

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! Did I already ask you if you ever saw Mary Louise Wilson's one-woman off-Broadway show 'Full Gallop'? She brought DV back to life, and the set was her "garden in hell" blood red apartment. I saw it four times (even though I was dirt poor), and it's stuck with me for over a decade now.

Pink is the navy blue of India...

-Parley

pve design said...

Funny, I worked with a woman who said, one should always accentuate not the best, but the worst. It is so true. When I think of some of my favorite taste-makers, it is an art to having bad taste, like you said, just a dash.

Renée Finberg said...

i can feel her presence, i am 'channeling' DV right now........she gives it a
'2 thumbs up !'

xx

h. m. settoon said...

I want to be DV when I grow up.

ArchitectDesign™ said...

VV, I guess this famous photo is making the rounds today -how funny!

Parley, I never saw that play -I remember you telling me about it though and it sounds terrific!

Pve, That sounds like good advice! Sometimes you just have to make the best of what you have which is more interesting than being 'perfect' in the 1st place!

Renee, any thumbs up from her would be marvelous!

DJ - be her now! Channel your inner DV like Renee!

home before dark said...

Wouldn't it be great to have a mini-series of all of the over the top full of life designer people just so we could get lost in the interiors?

Sanity Fair said...

hilarious - Ms. V is always inspiring!

Café Naïveté said...

It's a nice view on things.. I haven't thought about things in this way before..:)

Anonymous said...

Perfection is boring. An interior must also be FUN!

Rose C'est La Vie said...

The thing is: is it really bad taste?
I don't think so!

custardbydesign said...

beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder... a little vulgarity didnt do anyone a bit of harm though... i stress a little...

Unknown said...

Well - the thing with taste is actually that you cannot quarrel about it - what's the definition for bad or good taste? It is the same question like "what is art"!
I think it is more important to have the guts to do what one wants to do - no matter what trends say, what society says, what the neighbour says. Either you like something or your don't. And - tastes change...

Julia @ Hooked on Houses said...

I love that Vreeland quote--and that photo of her in the red room!

Unknown said...

so true- my maxim is if you don't have a little of the bad, how can you tell what's really good?

No Sacrifice Bags said...

I'm happy to find myself in such good company.
I'll no longer feel the need to apologise, or qualify my decorative expressions.

This is such a terrific blog. I'm learning so much!