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A Different Take on Minimalism
Being a child of the 1970s, a lot of my memories revolved around the television. Not necessarily what was on the TV, but the remarkable piece of furniture televisions were back then. We had a Zenith. It was a gigantic block of wood with intricate carvings and columns surrounding a massive cathode-ray tube of a screen. On more occasions than I care to count, I was reminded not to horse around by this behemoth with sharp corners, and on more occasions, than I care to remember, the television reminded me rather painfully why I should have listened.
The furniture in the rest of the house was also substantial, but the one piece of furniture that I can point to as an illustration of the kind of workmanship I’m talking about is the large dressers in my parent’s bedroom. Dad had an upright dresser with four drawers, and then a kind of double-doored cabinet at the top. It was a heavy red wood, which matched the long rectangular dresser that belonged to Mom. A great many drawers on this beast, with a large mirror along the top that was at least four feet high from the top of the dresser. The design of these pieces was called Federal, as I recall. Very ornate, with carvings, and intricate handles all over these giants.
It’s these pieces of furniture that I think of when I hear people talk about minimalism, strangely enough. I suppose I may have a different opinion about what…
