I've always dreamt of having a couch in my kitchen. You never see that, but why not? There are so many times when I'm sitting in the kitchen, either waiting for water to boil or letting my tea steep or chatting with Stephen while he chops onions, and I always think how nice it would be to have a cushy couch to sit on. Our current apartment is too small for such luxuries, but maybe someday I'll have a big kitchen and I'll move this much-loved loveseat in next to the fridge.I had an interesting conversation with some co-workers at lunch the other day about pleasure of purchase vs. pride of ownership. I think we got into it by discussing Costco and other emporiums of cheap goods. Not that cheap goods are necessarily worthless or "bad", but those big box stores capitalize on the impulse to buy for the thrill of the bargain: "Who cares if these towels pill up and fade after 3 washes? I'll just toss them and buy some new ones. They're only two bucks!"
So, what to do? I like buying things. But I guess giving up shopping is not the point. The point is that cheapness shouldn't be an end in itself, that you shouldn't buy crap just because it's on sale. I hate how cheapness lowers my purchasing inhibitions: "This shirt is okay. Whoa, it's only five dollars! Maybe I'll get two." You know how things always look more appealing when you find out that they're free, in a "Why not?" kind of way? I trust myself more when I buy expensive things, because it usually means that I'm motivated by anticipated pride of ownership rather than the thrill of purchase. Perhaps my strategy should be to ask: "If this cost twice as much, would it still be worth it to me?"
I thought about all this last weekend when I got a new dustpan set. After spending an hour contorting myself to vacuum up every last dust bunny in all the hard-to-reach corners of the apartment, I found this little gem at Abodeon on Sunday morning: a super light, well constructed, beautifully designed dustpan and broom. It was much more expensive than the average set you'd find at Walmart, but it works well and is a joy to own. (You can see a little animation of it in action if you visit www.normann-copenhagen.com and click on Products > Dustpan & Broom).Since we're now talking about purchases: I've been looking at this brochure (big PDF, in German, I think) about the inspiration for the new PS Collection stuff that's supposed to come to IKEA this month. You see that chest of drawers on page 29? That would bring me pride of ownership, don't you think?
