Good Ideas + Beautiful Objects: Functional Minimalism with Solid Brass Catchalls
File under: functional design, jewelry for the home and unweildy objects that ground your space...
This is a story about an object.
For years, I’ve tucked banger products, ideas, and tips worth their weight in gold into lengthy listicles only for them to, sadly, get lost in the fray. Don’t get me wrong, I love a list of favorite things or tips from a pro—but, from time to time, it feels so gratifying to focus on just one object—and hopefully it feels refreshing on your end too.
The Beautiful Object: Beautiful catchalls, specifically this solid brass set.
Ferm Living Santany Bowl - 014 | $69 - $138
The Good Idea: Curate objects for the home that serve a function. Thusly, you can maintain your joy in shopping (or borderline hoarder status) without ruining the vibe at home.
Functional Minimalism
I love collecting beautiful things, but I also love visually monochromatic, clear and cohesive spaces. I don’t have attention issues like ADHD, nonetheless, I want my rooms to stay out of my way mentally.
My spaces are ideally adding conceptual or aesthetic value or they’re fading out like the blank stage that they are. I’m so easily distracted from my meditation, writing, workout or conversation if a room and it’s objects are cluttered or off-kilter.
Of course, I warmly accept the idea that some level of clutter is required for living well—and for my sanity. A plunged coffee press or stack of half-read books are signs of a life in motion.
That said, I’m all about a form of “functional minimalism” that allows spaces to be lived in, but in the most conceptual or aesthetic way possible.
One key? Avoid furnishing a room with both decorative objects and functional objects. Make them one and the same.
I love a catchall for exactly this reason, which brings us back to the solid brass bowl set. The bowls come in two sizes, but look the most artful together…
+ Use them in places that need a flash of light or interest without losing ‘functional’ space. Perfect for keys on an entry table, pins on a vanity, jewelry in a closet, supplements on a nightstand, or soap in a bathroom (just know they’ll patina like crazy near water).
+ I love that these bowls seem to float or balance on a chunkier stand. They look good in or out of use. Use heavier pieces like these to ground an area that needs a little weight.
+ In Feng Shui, brass symbolizes prosperity and strength, is a conductor of positive energy, and can be integrated to enhance overall energy flow.
+ Brass and gold have trended long enough and silver is quickly coming back in style, but I love metallics at home whether silver, gold or mixed, and I don’t think either ever looks dated. They’re timeless and act like jewelry for the home.
Functional minimalism doesn’t mean your trash can needs to become a work of art or that there’s no room for ‘art for art’s sake’.
In fact, I think most us agree that the more invisible things like trash cans can be, the better—and I’m all for major art moments at home. Planning the space around significant pieces like art will let them shine all the more. (There’s nothing worse to me, design-wise, than a beautiful object lost in a misfit space.)
Life’s a mess. Including beautiful objects in every day rituals makes things more fun.
Shop the Object: Ferm Living Santany Bowl - 014 | Available in two sizes, Solid Brass or Aluminum | $69 - $138
