practical versus beautiful

Sometimes things that are practical are not beautiful and vice versa. In interior design we work from the ‘form follows function’ rule, which quite simply means function comes first and how something looks is secondary. This is very true when selecting materials that need to last for many years and by their very nature need to be terribly practical such as flooring, bench surfaces, tiles, exterior cladding and so on. However, the goal is not to apply this thinking too rigidly to absolutely everything when designing and decorating a space. Sometimes a beautiful, gorgeous, stunning cushion can be made from a fabric that’s not bullet-proof in terms of practicality. After all, a cushion doesn’t need to last as long as the fabric chosen for a sofa, for example. So I encourage you to apply the ‘form follows function’ rule, in fact I invite you to embrace it, and also to have some fun with beautiful things that inspire you. Like all good things in life, balance is the key!