The villa itself is beautiful, a tasteful combination of traditional Javanese and Balinese influences with a secluded pool and tropical garden. The architect should be commended. The decorators, however, should be fed to wild pigs. To call the interior “kitsch” is to be too kind. Gilt framed mirrors compete with gilt framed pictures and massive gilt encrusted chandeliers. Understatement and elegance are in short supply. Indeed, they’ve fled the premises in horror. Vulgar tchotkies, however, abound. A life size porcelain tiger crouches in the entry way. Cherubs peer down from walls and [the owner is] a Muslim for christsake.
It’s as if a Las Vegas wedding chapel designer had been abducted, brought to Indonesia, and forced, at gun-point, to lower his standards. One half-waits for the Elvis impersonator to come down the staircase.
Conrad, “The Long Weekend”, The Gweilo Diaries, 2004-09-28
February 26, 2022
QotD: Taste in decoration
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