Lighten up!

Chuck out the chintz, they said, and so I did. I threw out all frills and florals, furbelows and fancies. If I did not have a use for it (cooking, cleaning, lounging, leaning, etc), out it went with the rest of the trash. Modernism eschews pattern and colour in favour of functional form and the muted tones and textures of fabrics like Hessian and undyed wool, natural wood and leather. Ah, by the aroma of tanning shall ye know the fellow sophisticates. And I was one of the initiates - until a wonderful light-shade in the Argos catalogue caught my eye, a dangly, jangly confection of cascading, crystalline beads and pendants. Mine is pale pink, and it is also available blue, clear and champagne. At £9.99, it won’t break the bank; it will send sparkles of light and joy scudding to all corners of your living space. To modern miserablists and miserable modernists, I say – time to lighten up!