I Love Lamp: Are You Over-Propped?

Yesterday the NY Times ran a kind of hilarious article called "How to Tell When You're Over-Propped".

Studying these spaces [that are featured on design blogs etc], one can’t help noticing that the décor seems to bear little relationship to the way people actually live: deer antlers adorn the walls of people who almost certainly don’t hunt; vintage typewriters sit on school desks too small to be functional; books have been arranged on shelves by color to reflect some perceived notion of good design.

The author goes on to warn you: "A few examples are shown on this page; if you can count three or more in your home, you may be over-propped."

How many of the following can you check off? Here are my results:

Books arranged by color? No. Vintage typewriter? Yes.

Edison bulb? No. Terrarium? No, but I feel like it would be dishonest of me not to admit to having a close cousin: a totally useless glass display case thing-y.

(It's a gift I made for Steven a few years ago-- he loves it when newspaper articles say "Scientists are baffled by xyz..." and so now he has his very own scientist who is constantly baffled by the rotation of things I put in with him/her.)

Monogrammed towels? Yes. But they were my parents', so does it still count?

Taxidermy? Nope. Le Crueset pot? Yup. Also a gift though... But maybe I should be given extra prop points since it is ridiculously tiny and adorable.

Bar cart? No. Fresh flowers? Sometimes. Vintage fan? Not an official yes, but I do have this new one that's meant to look vintage.

So all in all, unsurprisingly, this count points to our apartment being over-propped! I will have to stay vigilant and make sure I don't become a "design victim" by succumbing to more... Sorry chalkboard paint, letterpress posters, accent walls, and all things chevron-- I've got no more design room for you!

Maybe it's because it's beautiful out today, but I'm finding it funny and refreshing (as opposed to bleak and discouraging) to think that none of us are quite so original as we like to think we are.