Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful, said William Morris, whose designs originated the Arts and Crafts movement in England in the second half of the nineteenth century.
One friend told me that when she considers a new purchase, she asks herself how she presently does the job the new item shall do. And where will she put the new thing? What smart friends I have! (Family, too.) Now I also ask those questions of myself before I make a purchase.
When I googled the above quote for exact reference and source, I came upon these, also, from William Morris: The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.
If I were asked to say what is at once the most important production of Art and the thing most to be longed for, I should answer, A beautiful House; and if I were further asked to name the production next in importance and the thing next to be longed for, I should answer, A beautiful Book. To enjoy good houses and good books in self-respect and decent comfort, seems to me to be the pleasurable end towards which all societies of human beings ought now to struggle.
Simplicity of life, even the barest, is not a misery, but the very foundation of refinement; a sanded floor and whitewashed walls and the green trees, and flowery meads, and living waters outside.
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