8 July

A contrast, for my thoughts on timeless elegance. A very popular modern look for a bathroom. Superficially I think most would feel it has style, it looks pretty fancy. But does it have elegance? This is where I think you can’t trust your immediate feelings, which will nearly always be based on social comparison. Every part of this room responds to a current trend or fashion. Minimal use of colour, hotel-style basins, acres of tile or stone, with some wood thrown in. Expensive fittings. It presses buttons in us. The question to ask when deciding if you’re looking at elegance or fashion is - will it date? Fashion is about trends, about comparison between people over short time periods, driven by social status. Elements of this room have elegance, but mostly I don’t think it does. It will date. It reeks of social comparison, of showing-off. Of ‘premium’ feels, always a giveaway that social status is at work.