But let’s get back to that classic new house of yours. It’s probably got lots of sliding glass that invites the outside in, and an open plan that needs planning. This addresses two major concepts of modernism: how the structure relates to the exterior environment, and how the interior relates to the needs of your existence. Other than the suggestion of form and function, there are — and this can’t be repeated enough — no rules to follow or styles to echo.
The clean slate of a well-sited modern house with good bones insinuates individuality and personal decision making. This is not a Hollywood Hills prefab waiting to be turned into an English country house. Forget about the names of the rooms your real estate agent was quacking about, and make the space yours. One man’s living room with a view is another woman’s indoor-outdoor kitchen. Once you’ve defined the spaces, you can make a list of what objects you need to make them function. Chairs, tables, beds, sofas, desks, lamps, rugs, ashtrays, pot racks, curtains, art — the aesthetics of your home will be created by adding and blending what you need, not by acquiring things you think you are supposed to have. Shop around town, shop IKEA, shop the Internet, mix in old and new, explore Asian furniture (it’s been modern for centuries!). Use your own instinct to create a functioning modern environment.
As for you fashion victims, you have it easy. Just take gobs of cash, attend the next modernism show or promenade down Beverly Boulevard, and you can purchase an exact copy of the museumlike living room you saw at the cocktail party you crashed in Silver Lake last week.
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