The Disney Effect
Have you ever been to Disney World? If you have, as I am sure most of the first world has been, then you know exactly what I am talking about in this post. Disney World epitomizes the term "veneering." Currently, I am staying at a resort "Saratoga Springs" that is to mimic Saratoga, NY north of Albany. Why would this resort be mimicked after that town? Simple, most people are not well traveled and merely want the essence of the many places they will never actually get to visit. It is not just this resort, its the entire park that is merely a thin veneering of what each building represents. Take the brick throughout the park it s a painted stucco or maybe the trees in the Animal kingdom that are sculpted concrete. These might seem like trivial points, but for those who know these are fake, the park loses some "magic" and seems hollow. I come from the thought that a material no matter what it is should be itself, concrete = concrete or stucco = stucco.
Cinderella's Castle fake stones
url to image: http://wdwparksgal-stock.deviantart.com/art/Castle-brick-close-up-126449405
The concept of veneering is everywhere you look in modern society, it comes naturally with the new disposable what of thought. Lets look at a pretty much any piece of cheap furniture. Usually there is a paper thin layer of wood or fake wood that covers up some particle board. Most people cannot tell the difference between real veneering or fake wood veneering but almost everyone knows when something is a solid piece of wood. Why is that? The solid wood has a better perceived value and is often a "cherished" piece of furniture. Few people have these pieces.
So if the average person has only a few cherished pieces of furniture the rest is basically junk, think Ikea. Now don't get me wrong, I love Ikea, but its really not the point of a simple life. Only buy what you truly love and buy the best you can buy. This way of thought keeps clutter down simply because you cannot buy as much and makes sure you REALLY want what you buy. Its amazing how much thought you put into buying a $40k car but how little you put into a $1,500 sofa that will be disposed of in three years.
Just remember next time you go a buy something think is this really needed, if so is this the best I can buy? The less you buy, the more clean your home, and by default the more simply you life will be. Keep the thought of Disney in your head, is this totally satisfying or does it make me want to go get the real thing now?
Till next time!
-Sean
Cinderella's Castle fake stones
url to image: http://wdwparksgal-stock.deviantart.com/art/Castle-brick-close-up-126449405
The concept of veneering is everywhere you look in modern society, it comes naturally with the new disposable what of thought. Lets look at a pretty much any piece of cheap furniture. Usually there is a paper thin layer of wood or fake wood that covers up some particle board. Most people cannot tell the difference between real veneering or fake wood veneering but almost everyone knows when something is a solid piece of wood. Why is that? The solid wood has a better perceived value and is often a "cherished" piece of furniture. Few people have these pieces.
So if the average person has only a few cherished pieces of furniture the rest is basically junk, think Ikea. Now don't get me wrong, I love Ikea, but its really not the point of a simple life. Only buy what you truly love and buy the best you can buy. This way of thought keeps clutter down simply because you cannot buy as much and makes sure you REALLY want what you buy. Its amazing how much thought you put into buying a $40k car but how little you put into a $1,500 sofa that will be disposed of in three years.
Just remember next time you go a buy something think is this really needed, if so is this the best I can buy? The less you buy, the more clean your home, and by default the more simply you life will be. Keep the thought of Disney in your head, is this totally satisfying or does it make me want to go get the real thing now?
Till next time!
-Sean
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