Sprezzatura: From ballet to interior design, we all want it

Marketing genius Seth Godin has a blog today that really resonates with me and I want to share it:

Sprezzatura
This is an Italian word for being able to do your craft without a lot of visible effort. It's a combination of elan and grace and class, sort of the opposite of loud grunts while you play tennis or a lot of whining and fuss when you help out a customer.

Many people are unable to put their finger on it, but this is a magnetic trait for many of us. We want our lawyer, dentist and waiter to demonstrate sprezzatura, but of course, not particularly try to. This is one of the secrets of Danny Meyer's top-rated restaurants in New York. It doesn't have to be flashy, it doesn't even have to be the very best there ever was, but sprezzatura is enough to get us to return. As long as this light-footedness is scarce, it will remain valuable. Seth Godin.

It made me thingk of my pre-turning point, dance days when my dance instructor told me that  to be the best dancer, you must overcome the pain and make it look easy.  When dancing on painful point, the gracefulness of making it all look effortless, she said, is what separates us from the others.

Not only does this apply to way we do our work but it should also be our guide for the design and decor in our homes. 

Although some aspects of our homes require more work than others, the end result should be uncomplicated and appear effortless.

Recently, I was working with a client who wanted a very difficult color scheme in her home.  Lots of colors, accent walls, faux columns and murals. It lacked, shall we say grace. Once I was able to help her decide exactly how she wanted the end result to look and feel, we nailed it. It appears elegant, uncomplicated and calming.  Three things that we all want in our homes. 

I always try to accomplish my decorating with as much Sprezzatura as possible.  To provide value to the job at hand.  And I make sure that the decor, as Seth says,  may not be the flashiest but it will make you want to return to the room again and again.  

I think Sprezzatura is my favorite new word!

Comments

[Karen Davis]

I think Sprezzatura is my new favorite word too!