My theme is “light oak”, and it was chosen concurrently with my computer desk, the first piece of furniture I picked out for my new apartment. I did not understand the implications of that single, fateful choice. I figured, “I have some bucks here, I’ll buy whatever I like.”
NO! As it was explained to me, civilization itself is at risk if too many people buy furniture that “clashes” (which I thought was a term used as a metaphor, but some of my choices seemed to bring my advisors to the edge of actual violence, so perhaps it should be taken as a literal). Industries rise and fall on successful or unsucessful fashion themes.
After that first choice, there were hardly any more to make. Yes, I could decided whether or not I wanted bookshelves, but WHICH bookshelves to select was seemingly predestined. “No, you can’t have MISSION style!”, my sister declared, with Bonnie (my sales lady) chuckling in the background over my complete fashion ineptness.
So I’ve bowed to their superior understanding of such things, done my part to preserve Western Civilization, and bought into the light oak “theme”. It seems to me that one could have light oak color/wood and still a “mission” style, but apparently not in Wisconsin.
It is unclear to me where the line is between a “theme” and a “style”. Perhaps it’s a matter of budget; perhaps I had enough money for a theme, but not enough for a style.
Apparently this theme will be mine until my death, or I completely replace every stick of this furniture with some OTHER theme, which I must do at least whole rooms at a time to avoid clashes during the transition from one theme to another.
I learn something every day… even if I can’t make any real sense out of it.
