The Night View

Photo courtesy Flickr

The evening street scape reveals the heart of a neighborhood. Cities vary in their appreciation of uncurtained interiors. Some prefer openness, others find security more valuable.

I’ve been walking past local apartments for nearly forty years, glancing at a succession of interiors in the same units. A few principles for presentation seem to hold true. Keep the windows and light bulbs clean. Keep shades even with the sashes and each other. Think big: lots of something inexpensive, like unbleached muslin curtains, is more effective than a skimpy piece of something pretentious. Polyester sheets only work as shower curtains. Scrounged furniture in period with a building works better than a cheap knock-off of contemporary design. Color is everything.

A fleeting glimpse of an interior at night (peeping is not honorable) will set off emotional echoes that tell what a space is about. There are no absolutes. An empty, carefully considered room can be more supportive than the neglected space next door that costs the same. Pulling a space together is a gift, and I think the night view is the most important one of all.

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