While it fits her style, it would drive me nuts, especially the pictures hanging crooked and no free space. How do you clean around all that?

I have a friend whose house looks a lot like this. She's an artist, so for her it makes sense. It's always fun to visit her because she always has "projects" to show me. But to live like this in my own home? ...never happen.

I wish I had her style, but I don't. And it's not something that works unless it is very personal and from the occupant. I admire the look, and the creativity that goes with it. I think it would annoy me to live in it.

That apartment has too much visual stimulation for me. It makes my skin itch.

I think there are three assumptions here that people are going to make that are erroneous.

1) that it is not clean/that it is hard for her to clean

The two people that I know that have houses like this are extremely clean. One pays someone full time to clean just the collections. The other is an artist and she must clean full time when she isn't creating. On top of it she has 4-5 cats and you can't even detect the smell of one. And they don't mess with her stuff.

2) that she actually cleans any of this herself. She's a RL executive. She pays someone to clean this.

3) that it's disorganized. Again people I know that have tons of things (outside some hoarder types I have run across--some of whom really have Less than this)--they know exactly what they have and where it is.

@deee is right on with the electrical tape. It's also not even cleanly cut (as if that makes a difference). I also disagree that it is clean; there is visible dust and grime in the closeup shots. There is a line between collector and hoarder, and it's on a slippery slope.

I saw one once that was so full of stuff with peeling paint that I thought "She's got to be breathing and eating lead dust and picking paint chips off her clothes and out of her hair all the time." Sometimes it is a bit much.

But I went back and looked for "grime" hmm. I wonder how many people's houses could stand the scrutiny of a macro lens and photographer lighting.

This post was edited by palimpsest on Fri, Aug 8, 14 at 18:44

I admire that her home is full of "treasures" to her! It looks more homey to me than some places I see that everything is perfect & matches. That said I wouldn't want to take care of it.

This is simply an advertisement for her new book. Probably same publisher.

I must admit that I don't want that much stuff, however I do envy her motto and name of her next book âÂÂNever Stop to Think ... Do I Have a Place for This?âÂÂ

It obviously suits her well. I find it gives me the creepy crawlies, yet it definitely has flair and a certain charm.

I couldn't live with all the clutter but I will bet she is supremely happy there!

All that stuff makes me hyperventilate. I must say that I am among those who sees things they would like to own but passes it by when thinking where the heck would I put it.

This is why there are Smithrites.

She may have a professional cleaner, but she is a hoarder. I have heard of earlier losses contributing to hoarding. Wonder if the fire of her childhood contributed to the piles of treasures she must keep? And yes, I have a hoarder in my family. I understand great loss and not being able to let go of things, but it makes my heart sad. The real clue would be to show her personal spaces, like the kitchen and bedroom.

@ voila, Medical Definition - Hoarding:
- The acquisition of, and failure to discard, possessions that appear to be of useless or of limited value.
- Living spaces so cluttered that using the room as intended is impossible
- Significant distress or impairment to function.
(Frost & Hartl, 1996)

My granny lived in an old farm house in Bucks County, Pa whose interior was just like this one. She had 21 grandchildren and a surprising number of us are artists which I attribute directly to spending loads of time in her rich environment exploring everything. It was always very clean but rather chaotic but we all loved every minute of it. Other grannies house looked like pat Nixon decorated but she let us drink soda and eat m&ms and watch tv, all things we couldn't do at home so she was great too.

No, I absolutely would not want my house to have that much stuff. Clean, dirty...doesn't matter.

Interesting to look at. I like the three little pigs taffy box.

This post was edited by sheesharee on Sat, Aug 9, 14 at 2:25

no. all of that stuff will need cleaned at some point...

No thank you!

I don't know what is worse...the wonky shutters on the windows, the elvis bedspread or the construction paper chain draped on the bed. I get a kick out of the photographer who did his/her best to find interesting vignettes amongst all that clutter. Yikes!

To appreciate the beauty of individual items, I need them to have space of their own. I could not live with that much stuff - it is sensory overload for me!

I think that diagnoses like "hoarder", "attention deficit disorder", and "fibromyalgia" as well as others are bandied about rather casually, when sometimes the person is a collector, lacks discipline, or is so obese and out of shape that their joints hurt all the time.

There are specific criteria by which things like this are diagnosed, and I think it inadvertently trivializes the real diseases to start applying them so generically.

Back to the question: no, I couldn't live happily with so much stuff. Makes me feel anxious.

Interesting to see other styles, though. Thanks for sharing.

What's a Smithrite?

I think it's a dumpster-recycling company.

Ooh. Ahhh.

Looks like she needs to have a garage sale.

I grew up in a mess like this. I didn't realize it was a "style".

I know I sound snarky. Can't help myself.

It is too crowded for me. I would feel claustrophobic. I do like the colors, however.

I couldn't live like that in a bazillion years, but she sounds like someone I'd LOVE to have as a neighbor. Very true to herself, independent, interested in many things -what's not to love? As for the duct tape mullions, I could imagine her taping it up like that as a temporary fix, and never quite getting around to the real thing, as there were constantly many more interesting things to wrap her head around.

" a temporary fix, and never quite getting around to the real thing, as there were constantly many more interesting things to wrap her head around."

Madeleine Castaing was a French interior designer who started in the early 20th century and lived to be 98.

A visitor to her house made note of what they thought was a beautiful fabric wallcovering with a textural stripe and tiny orange flowers.

It was actually one wall covering on which she had pinned ribbons at a later time. She had done it so long in the past that the pins had rusted, creating little "blooms" of rust on the ribbon. It's kind of the same thing. Not every decorative device or statement has to be perfect or officially permanent. I could take a lesson from that.

egads. no way

It looks like she is the proprietor of a flea market stall.

No, and even if she is clean, I would be concerned about silverfish or worse in those piles of books.

I thought this was interesting- the ripped Elvis tapestry used in the living room- "I was the president of the Elvis fan club in 7th grade"- hmmm... I was something like that too but I have no need to document it with something so junky or with anything at all. Everyone's different though, and she does have a sign that says "I love junk". Each to her own, especially if she lives alone and it isn't distressing to someone else.

No way. Just looking at those pics makes me a nervous wreck. It doesn't even seem like a "style" to me. Looks like a 13 year old decorated it-just cluttered and full of junk.

I have seen many eclectic, very "busy" and heavily decorated rooms that I could at least appreciate on some level. This just looks trashy to me.

It's too much clutter and chaos for me. Agree with superchick, 13yo's room. Also makes me feel like she has mice, or worse, rats.

I know her irl, and I think this was styled a bit for the camera. She does have a lot of collections, but hardly a hoard.

The decor makes me cringe, but Mary Randolph Carter has had a unique and fascinating personal style for decades. I recall seeing features by/about her 30 years ago; I believe she was an editor at Mademoiselle then. I used to admire how cool she was then. Still is I suppose, even if the style is really, really, really not for me.

Ann

I do apologize for putting a label on a person I do not know. I am glad to hear that you know her personally ideefixe, and this may have been staged to exaggerate.

I think pictures #7 and 8 explain it all. Like NYC (for me at least)....a fun place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. :)

I love it. I could live there in a hot minute.

I don't think she cares what other people think. She is making herself happy with all her stuff. I like her comment-âÂÂItâÂÂs the scrapbook of our lives,â said Ms. Carter, who is 68. I seriously doubt if the place is dirty or there are rats. I'm sure she has a regular cleaning crew. I could not live with all that clutter. BTW-do you think Ralph Lauren comes to dinner? Next thing you know instead of channeling cowboys and East Hampton, he will be doing tchotkas and clutter.

" BTW-do you think Ralph Lauren comes to dinner? Next thing you know instead of channeling cowboys and East Hampton, he will be doing tchotkas and clutter."
__________________________________________________

Well...

These pics are of Ralph Lauren's NY home.
He likes his layering. ;-)

Library

LR

Wall of DR

This post was edited by chijim on Sun, Aug 10, 14 at 0:12

My DH occasionally makes a reference to calling the people of "Hoarders" as he views my office/craft room. I think I can show him these pictures and will be safe from an intervention. I like a lot of stuff, and I like a lot of the stuff they have, I'm not sure I like it all together in one place. :)

I had to laugh at the tape mullions. I have them on my sliding glass doors made with white electrical tape. When the doors are clean, the dogs can't tell if the doors are open or closed, and one hit the door pretty hard. I put up the fake mullions so they would know when the door is closed. So far, either nobody has noticed, or they are too polite to mention it to me.

I could never live like this and would fear I could lose my Schnauzer under a ginormous pile of books or something. She seems to have a great life, but perhaps all that is missing is some contractor sized trash bags and a level.

Do our comments mean we won't buy her book? I can't imagine what the book contains if it is about her decor. Is it possible this was staged beyond to bring attention?

I'd be antsy all day in her decor.

I didn't say she "had" rats, I said it makes me "feel." My entire post/comment answered the OP's original question.

She doesn't look like a hoarder to me, just a hardcore collector. Nothing wrong with that, it's her house, but I won't be buying her book. A friend gave me a book once with a lot of cluttered pictures. Not my thing.

RL NYC place is a bit too layered for me. I loved his CO home in AD over a decade ago, but would need to remove some of the bits and pieces.

Here is a link that might be useful: RL CO Ranch

I think Ralph has a fairly minimalist house somewhere too.

To me, she's just a hoarder with possibly some style sense. In answer to the question, no, I could not live there, I'm not even sure I could visit. For certain, I'd have to eat every meal out, because there's no way I would even be tempted to cook in that kitchen.

She is an artist. She kind of has to take it to extremes for it to get noticed, get a book deal, etc. My guess is she took it up a notch or two for publicity. I admire her talent.

She is an artist. She kind of has to take it to extremes for it to get noticed, get a book deal, etc. My guess is she took it up a notch or two for publicity. I admire her talent.

She can't be all bad. She has two copies of "I Married Adventure" by Osa Johnson at the top of the blue bookcase. :) And I actually bought the book to read (two or three times) and not as a decoration.
http://vintagegirl1.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-married-adventure.html

I'm sure her collection grew as time went by and doubt if she even "sees" it anymore. None of her "junk" means anything to me so it is just junk but I imagine she can tell you a story about most everything.

I want to go to Roundtop, TX (a huge antique and junk fair like Brimfield) in October but I don't "need" anything and know I will find stuff I just have to have and then my house will look like hers so I will probably have to skip it again.

"I think Ralph has a fairly minimalist house somewhere too."

Wouldn't it be fun to have an apartment just for all those sentimental items that you don't necessarily want or need, but don't have the heart to discard? The family "heirlooms," gifts, and mementos that make you the keeper of the family stuffâ¦

You get to store them all in a piece of Manhattan real estate with a mad appreciation rate and simply jet off to your minimalist house (or one of your other pieds-ÃÂ -terre) whenever you need a breath of fresh air.

I like it. I think it would work for me.