Dishing Up - Confessions of a Closet Minimalist

I have a confession to make. No matter how many pretty, lacy, doily, girly type things I feature on this blog and happen to love...my brain keeps telling me that I'm a minimalist at heart.

Perhaps architecture school scarred me more than I ever imagined, possibly because almost every project I've ever worked on (both real and university projects alike) have been all about glass, steel, polished concrete and sleek, rectilinear lines. And if I was feeling generous, maybe some intricately detailed timber. Maybe. Most of my favourite architects and designers are ruthlessly minimalist, modern, and even brutalist on occasion.

My apartment, however, is living proof that although I may be a minimalist in theory, I am not and will never be a minimalist in practice. In fact, my very first post centred entirely around this fact.

Nevertheless, I continue to indulge my theoretical minimalism over at 2Modern every week, and it was only a matter of time before my inadvertent maximalism won out.


I can't get enough of plates. I've been trying to deny it, I've been pretending that I'd never, ever put plates on my wall, and I've been trying to keep my secret love of plates separate from my decidedly modern posts over on 2Modern.


But then artists like Cat Merrick come along and create delightfully deconstructivist porcelain plates that are just impossible to resist!


She sandblasts plates for heavens sakes, I can't NOT love that!


Back in November I even blogged about how much I didn't get the whole plate resurgence, but then I found these fantastic Shippo plates by Hella Jongerius , and it all started to click into place.



So here I am, almost on the dark side, pondering if it's worth annoying my landlord by hanging plates all over my walls.


And when I find more amazing pictures like these ones of Lisa Congdon's kitchen stashed away in my favourites folder, it's like Darth Vader is not only inviting me over to the dark side, but putting the hammer and nails in my hand and marking up my wall in an artfully random composition.


So this weekend, I'm going plate shopping. Yeah, take that theoretical minimalism!

And on that note, hope you all have a fabulous weekend, free of Darth Vader invasion delusions. Unless of course you're going to join me on my plate crusade, in which case, see you on the dark side!

7 comments:

Caroline D. said...

you just might have sold me. i always associated plates on the wall with those little spoon racks. blech.

but these plates, well that's a different story altogether.

Lyssa said...

Oh I completely agree with you - about being a minimalist but not really and your love of plates. In fact I was just thinking about scrapping all my matchy-matchy white plates and hunting down a variety of unique treasures to use as my everyday dishware - wouldn't it make for a much more interesting dining experience? Where are you shopping? I was thinking about exploring local thrift stores or flea markets but if you have better ideas I am all ears!

K.Line said...

You know there is some minimalism going on with the plate arrangement on the wall! Busy minimalism, but you know what I mean. And, what a fantastic way of making a huge piece of art - totally individual - without spending a fortune.

georgia b. said...

fabulous!

Tina { Luphia Loves... } said...

how gorgeous are these? love all of them, especially the blue & white ones, just stunning!

Ms Unreliable said...

Caroline - Ahaha spoon racks! I wonder if they'll make a comeback too! Somehow I doubt it though. Or at least, I hope they don't, because if I end up loving them too, I'm not sure I could forgive myself!

Lyssa Cole - I have the very same matchy-matchy white plates, I wish I'd at least bought round ones so I could mix them up with some lovely vintage finds. I didn't make it out on the weekend, but I think I'll head straight for the thrift/op shops when I get the chance. There are plenty of great vintage stores near me that have GREAT stuff, but their prices are crazy high. So op shops all the way!

K.Line - Maxi minimalism perhaps? Post modern minimalism? Post post modern minimalism? But anyway, you're right, definitely a good way to put together an eye-catching artwork without breaking the bank. A good eye and plenty of patience needed if you want such a great collection though, and I'm not sure I have either :D

Georgia - Thank you dear! Love the idea of your new photography series too, looking forward to more!

Tina - I think they're my favourites too, there's something kinda punk about them despite the idyllic winter scenes. Plus the mental image of sandblasting plates just seems like so much fun!

Vanya Wilkinson said...

I love it, there like colourful buttons on the wall :)