enough of a good thing

i'm going to go out on a blogging limb. open myself up for some firing range action. i am OVER, ovah i tell you, the greek key pattern usage and the chandelier. over it. you just fed me so much white frosting that i'm bloated and have headache. i'm not sure what the heck jonathan adler is going to do.
i mean, he's pretty much hung his kooky hat on one look or in this case, one graphic design element? is he really going to keep working this revived 70s thing? because sooner than later, i'm not the only one who is going to be way over it all. but maybe he doesn't care. bravo has become his personal sugar daddy lately.
i loved this look initially. it was graphic, felt asian even. but damn if the world of design didn't just work this one into the ground. someone better start pouring through all of those vintage design book collections, for your next great idea!
issue #2: the chandelier.
i have to lay my cheek on the cool table for a second......ok, it was all great in the begining. waaay back when rachel what's-her-name
did the whole shabby chic thing. we were all coming off of some other trend like pierre deux-french country or ralph lauren off the hook preppy.
the look screamed girly and could be pulled together with some dumpster diving. every one was on the chippy paint band wagon. pretty pretty princess stuff. virginal. sparkly little chandeliers were the earrings to this whole look. the bling to the thing.
and i loved it when some smart alec, hipsters re-designed it with some black lacquer or some fabuloso murano glass. but i'm tired of seeing it silohouetted in silk screened
form every time i turn the corner in urban or at h.d. buttercup. can we maybe move on to something new? i don't want to see chandelier silohuettes on melamine, streched canvas, tshirts or any other surface. cuz i'm over it. bring in the new trends please!
i know, i know. i'm the kill joy of the greek key/chandelier party. but believe me, it's time for something new.

Comments

Decorno said…
OMG!!! I love that you posted this.

What do we think, in design, is the decor version of "jumping the shark"? I wonder if it's when the motif makes it to plates manufactured by that company Rosanna. They made chandelier plates and now that you're declaring the trend over, over, over, I wonder if that's the sign that the last nail is in the coffin?

I am telling you... with blogs and TV shows about design contests, we are blowin up trends and overexposing them so much that it's really accelerating the adoption of these trends and the expiration date of them. Maybe that's good thing. Maybe people just have to be smarter about mixing up their design and not looking like they ordered all of page 11 from the Jonathan Adler catalog. :)
Haydee said…
So glad someone said it. Gripe on. Your honesty is refreshing. By the way as a native of the DR glad you enjoyed your vacation there.
I don't have a problem with Greek Key (yet), but I am totally with you on the chandelier prints. They look hideously awkward in two dimentional form.
katiedid said…
Well the Greek key trend has been around since Ancient Greece, no? But I get what you mean with the over use of anything. By the time it hits Tar-jay it should be done, done, done! (Don't got me wrong though - Target is my home away from home.)
72 and sunny said…
the greek key has been around since the greek times. you're right.

i just don't like the trend of it being so over emphasized by the likes of jonathan adler. i think i take more issue with the branding that goes on among celebrity designers these days.

it's so easy to reach millions and for some reason, the general public will acknowledge these people as authority just because of there exposure.

so you could do a whole line around
1800s kansas prarie look, and if you're kelly wearstler et al, the lay folk are going to hook their horse drawn wagon to it.

i'll still use a greek key. i just don't need it embroidered on a pillow and woven into a rug AND used as a bas relief on my collectible ceramics.
cotedetexas said…
Oh God, can I relate! But personally, I've always hated the greek key thing, it just never appealed to me. did you ever see my post with the damask freezer bags? Haha! DAMASK freezer bags! It's enough to make you puke. Let me tell you something though, in Houston, everyone is still into the whole old world thing from five years ago. And poor Rachel, she needs some pants, she's totally overdone the jeans, boots, and vintage cashmere sweater thing. What else is overdone besides horns and antlers and taxidermy and shells and coral?

Joni

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