Often this quote is attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright when, in fact, it hails from his mentor, modernist architect Louis Henri Sullivan.
Mr Sullivan's idea is to meet all the criteria of function, design, style and not one thing more. To wisely and creatively refine designs as possible; sacrificing nothing and disallowing anything extraneous.
Recently we had a Keowee Key client with a big bold personality desiring her home to match. She was very clear about not wanting one of those
" boring vanilla box houses". For her a big, bold colorful house was the design criteria.
Since our practice is focused on design individuality we adore these projects. Sometimes, during the process of helping clients achieve the home of their dreams, we must carefully educate. With this client " less is more" was an alien concept. She wanted everything to be big and bold. Everything. Every surface, every texture, every fabric, every color, every style, every art piece, every rug, every accessory, every window treatment. One of the things that made this client such a joy to work with was her high energy and unbridled enthusiasm. She also is immediately attracted to all that glitters! This instant attraction to dramatic materials created a significant challenge. Like many clients, she knew the look she wanted to achieve, but not how to get there by denying herself that which she found attractive. Balance can often be the tricky part of any art form and designing interiors is no exception.
Josef Frank , an Austrian born architect, is well known for the pillow fabric above. Known as "Green Bird", this fabric as well as other Josef Frank classics are available at http://www.justscandanavian.com/
It is an exciting, fabric but it definitely is not a fabric to use in abundance. We often use this particular fabric to demonstrate the " less is more" concept.
In this larger graphic of the Green Bird textile you can see the design shows a stream, a tree in bloom and a flock of birds of several species with the Green Bird the focal. A good amount of contrast and strong diagonal lines of the tree also add to the complexity of the print.On this wing chair the curving furniture lines create distortion of the textile image. This application creates a new level of complexity for an already complex textile design. Definitely a case where less would be more pleasing.
When a design element can rightfully be described as art,
it is often best to use it to make an artful statement.
Green Bird used as an upholstered headboard has about the same amount of fabric as the wing chair above. Used flat the impact has clarity and reads more as a piece of functional art than just a nice upholstered headboard. Had this fabric also been used for the bedding, it would overwhelm. To my eye, the inability to center this strong diagonal pattern repeat disturbs. So in this application too, I want to see less.
In this last image the Green Bird fabric is used to make a pair of valances. While it is unfortunate these valances were not fabricated with blackout lining, they still showcase the less is more concept pretty well. The pattern is above eye level and is used wisely by minimizing pattern repeats. Can you imagine this room had the sofa been clad in Green Bird?
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Once again Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Frank helped us communicate an important concept to our client in a clear, visual format. Since this client is one of those rare individuals who can successfully wear bold and graphic clothing accompanied with large , colorful, plentiful jewelry it was very important for her to understand the need for wise editing. Initially this client could not understand how she could boldly combine many strong components to her personal style and not apply the same approach to her home. Frank's "Green Bird" textile was the key to her understanding of getting more impact with less confusion via jusdicious selection. Our fabulously bold and beautiful client does indeed have the decor of her dreams. Throughout the project we all maintained a strong awareness of the " less is more" creed and were able to refine the design to the maximum finesse without sacrificing function or impact.
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