Did anyone read the article in the Times about Dan Ho? Titled "The Imperfectionist", it caught our eye because we remember being intrigued by his short-lived magazine, Rescue.
We had flipped throught an issue or two at the bookstore, thinking it seemed interesting and wondering about its origins...and then it disappeared.
It seems Dan Ho and his ideas are not hard to find any longer, he has a new book and a new series on Discovery Health.
He is not about makeovers or catalog-perfect spaces. He advocates that the soul of a home is not the much mentioned kitchen but the inhabitants of the space. He is more about divesting than aquiring in the pursuit of style.
We missed the first airing of his special on Discovery Health (the series starts in the new year), but as cable goes, we are sure we can catch it again sometime soon...and we are curious.
Anyone see the show, read the book, remember the magazine? Thoughts on this burgeoning empire?
Above, Rescue from Domestic Perfection, available at Amazon ($13.59).
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I read the book. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, Ho says some things that needed to be said. He hates things like candles (high maintenance), re-containering (pointless), and kitchen gadgets (useless), and he really goes after a couple of decorating rules that have mistakenly become gospel, such as you must have a focal point and the kitchen is the soul of your home. On the other, it is a decorating book, and he is selling a schtick, a sort of philosophy he calls "gai" that I found convoluted and ill-defined. The book isn't really about simplifying or defining your needs or defining your own path. It's more "do what I do." I expected something different after reading the "New York Times" article. To be honest, I found the "Apartment Therapy" book far more interesting and helpful.
granted, i haven't read Ho's book or seen his TV show.
but candles, high maintenance? i guess it can be a pain in the ass to get wax drips off a table cloth the morning after a dinner party, but i think it's silly to eschew them entirely. same would go for 'kitchen gadgets' -- i use my ice cream maker all the time in the summer, and my roommate uses his spice grinder weekly. why should we get rid of them just because Dan Ho says?
as for repackaging, well that's another YMMV type thing. i will have unwanted visitors to the kitchen if i don't repackage my flour, pasta, etc. into less permeable containers. i also hate staring at product packaging, so i'll change it out if it's something that sits out all the time.
i guess a good rule of thumb would be to have this stuff around if you genuinely want it and use it, but screw it if you don't. but i don't see why we needed Mr. Ho to tell us this?
Candles are high-maintenance?
1. Put candles in candle holder.
2. When inspiration strikes, burn them.
3. When candles are burnt to point of being useless, replace with more.
I buy white tapers by the box and votives or pillars when I see something appealing. Amount of special effort required: zero.
This is like saying that owning clothing is high-maintenance. A certain amount of maintenance is required unless you live in a cell that can be hosed down.
Just to play devil's advocate: I own 2 candles -- one was given to me as a gift (and I actually kept it). The other I bought on a whim. I am picky about scent and looks (no fruity red cnadles for me). Over the course of 2 years, I have burned each one once for approximately an hour -- shortly after purchase/receipt or at a candlelit dinner.
I don't begrudge people who like to burn candles all the time. On the other hand, I think the habit of giving people candles as gifts or selling them as necessary home items is a bit ridiculous. I have quietly given tons of gift candles to goodwill over the years. I've been to peoples' homes and seen candles that have collected (fowl-looking) dust -- but are part of the 'decor' and thus will continue to sit there gathering dust-- perfect examples of a 'mathom'
Repackaging -- I'm totally visual and if I put something in a new container I'll spend ages getting used to it. I keep my stuff in it's original containers behind the cupboard door.
Folks, please keep in mind that Ho's book is quite large and my summary is quite general. Ho has an issue with high-maintenance decorating and entertaining. His attitude about candles is, "You hate cleaning anyway, why add scraping wax to your list of chores?" This, of course, avoids the fact that some of us are capable of burning candles without making a mess. Ho also has an issue with manufacturing ambience. He argues that the ambience should come from you. Maxwell gets at a similar thing in the "Apartment Therapy" book when he writes about the accessorized dinner party that was no fun. And Opoponax, Ho LOVES product packaging, and I don't think he'd have a problem with preventative bagging. I also don't think he'd have a problem with an ice cream maker that gets a lot of use, but he does have a problem with gadgets like garlic pressers and zesters that do things any decent knife can do.