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Lately I've been thinking about this odd minimalism or decluttering urge I've had.

Really sparse minimalism doesn't appeal that to much for me. I still like displaying and having access to well-curated stuff. And many items are literally irreplaceable (or at least would be a pain in the butt to track down again) if not figuratively so.

So like even thought I know open floor plans kinda stink, I still feel drawn to this idea of a single big room where everything interesting of mine was visible. Books, laptops, knickknacks. A tv, some random furniture. (Maybe not cookware or clothing. And why is it closets with a lot of stuff on hangers looks so ugly and lifeless to me?)

But thinking back I remember being fascinated as a kid by this book that's still in my library - "Terence Conran's New House Book", a 1985 tome with lots of pictures and lots of good thoughts about how good design could improve people's lives. (Even given its decade advantage, I feel its 80s aesthetic stands up much better and is more timeless than its predecessor, 1974's "The House Book which carries a more specific 70s funk.)

Anyway, 3 sets of photos have really stuck with me, and I was able to grab some scans from The Internet Archive... (the scans don't do a brilliant job with the gap between pages on 2 page spreads, but you get the idea)

"Teenage Bedroom", an intriguing God's Eye View of a cleverly divided bedroom. (I wonder if the room had insanely high ceilings or if other trickery was employed)

From "One Room Living" - kind of fascinating snapshot of the space of a "Japanese Shoe Designer", with that intriguing body suit as the decorative focal point. Though maybe on reading the sidenote "Being well-organized and scrupulously tidy are the prerequisites for living in one small room" I should have known it was a long shot for me...

And finally, there was just something about "Open Plan Layout". I'm still not quite certain if the under-bed area was just a low headroom workspace or just storage, but still.

Oh - tangentially related, I guess that last one has the same energy as the desk in this Apple II magazine ad I found interesting and aspirational, from around the same mid-80s era.