Good taste comes from many sources
What is good taste? How do we acquire a sense of what is refined or vulgar? How can one discern good interiors from bad?
Learning to appreciate good design can start at an early age. The type of interiors one grows up around is quite important in each person's perception and development of what is good taste. Taste can be summed up as the experiences one has growing up, taking into consideration likes as well as dislikes.
Education plays a great role in defining one's own sense of style. Along the way, we learn how rooms are arranged and what types of activities take place within them. Some are born into homes that are planned, designed and seemingly perfect. Those who are not as fortunate have to acquire a sense of style from visiting antique shops and from mentors and knowledgeable individuals. The most important thing to remember is that there is always room for improvement and continuing education.
Besides heredity and a great environment growing up, travel and observation are equally valid forms of honing one's taste. Interior design monographs and newspapers are also great sources of information. Taste, of course, is not static. It is natural and normal that over time every person's taste develops and naturally changes to different stimuli. As we travel, our minds, eyes, notebooks and cameras soak up the different and sophisticated combinations of interiors throughout history.
Most of our first decorating tendencies lean toward traditional furniture and design, something learned at home and psychologically linked to nostalgia. Classic design, while elegant, is considered safe and uninspired by some. Talented designers are always looking for ways to freshen up this tried-and-true design approach by adding unexpected colors to walls and fabrics or sometimes in unusual arrangements and/or pairings with distinctive works of art.
Of course, there is a big difference between style and fads or trends. Style is something that develops over time and in a series or succession of furnishings and decor, while fads or trends are designs that catch on and in a very short time seem dated or out of fashion. Good taste always walks the fine line between what is classic and what is new.
Many in the design world like to think that good interiors are meant to be emulated over and over again. Good taste, above all, should be personal, a conduit for your personality to shine through.
The art of design is just that: an art. It can be defined as constant editing, a refined technique of furnishings pulled together by an individual. Professionals and homeowners alike spend a lifetime studying and honing their sense of discernment. Through careful observation of interiors, and by coming to terms with your own likes and dislikes and personal sense of comfort, you will be up to the challenge of creating spaces in good taste.
• Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.
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