30 July

My plumber commented the other day that he loved our bathroom ‘because it isn’t all just greys and whites’. This isn’t our bathroom, but I like the use of colour here. The minimalist greys and whites in home design are surely reaching the end of their current trending life, colour will be back. But just ignore all trends and go for timeless elegance. What we like is shaped mostly by what other people like. We think it’s our personal taste, a ‘subjective’ thing, but what we love is driven by how much we’re conforming with what others are doing. It’s not about the thing itself. The same for the people we find attractive, the music we like, what cars we drive, what clothes we wear, what ideas we believe in - everything. That’s the deeper desire in us that goes unnoticed, our desire for social status, in a group.