ELLE DECOR AND H. L. MENCKEN: IT ALL FITS TOGETHER

An erudite D Home fan comments on my blog regarding Elle Decor editor Margaret Russell’s recent Dallas experience, wherein she encountered a McMansion that might benevolently be described as “opulent,” at a level it is safe to argue she had never seen before.

“Did H. L. Mencken write, ‘no one has ever lost money on underestimating American taste?’ I for one loved growing up in this area in which trips to the Gift Galleries of N. M. exposed me to some the finest 20th century design. Dansk Fjord flatware, Allan Adler Silver, and Friberg Scandinavian Ceramics, to name a few. Even museum gift shops are disappointing these days. The current retreat into the mass merchandising of opulence (not to be confused with luxury) continues to cause confusion.”

Actually, I think Mencken’s quote referred to intelligence, rather than taste, but there is a profound overlap there. Mencken also said “A home is not a mere transient shelter; its essence lies in the personalities of the people who live in it.”

Ouch to McMansion owners on that one.