Canadian Beauty

Canadian Identity… how do we present ourselves to the world? In the realm of politics, we are the “peacekeepers”, respected for our insight, calm reserve and commitment to human dignity and rights.

We are, historically, a rich and varied fabric of people. We keep our differences public. To be a Canadian is to have tolerance and a capacity to be inclusive of all possibilities.

We are also very aware of our environment. We live in a country that is extreme in size, geographic variety and climate. No two provinces or territories are identical and so we are constantly reminded of our personal “smallness” in the larger scheme of things. It is this constant awareness that gives us cause for reflection when we decide to embark on a course of action. Are we, we ask ourselves, doing the best we can? Are we giving full consideration to the consequences of our actions? What are the consequences of bad design?

Design is not exempt from consequence. Design and aesthetics is our public way of expression. How we present ourselves is a fundamental comment on who we are. Beauty is not an optional element to our well-being. It is utterly necessary in that beauty gives us reason to appreciate, to give credit to art and to keep us civilized in a world so ready to be destructive. Without a sense of beauty, we no longer take care of ourselves or our environment. Beauty and its tangible partner, design, are integral to a peaceful, artful and thoughtful existence. Beauty in our environment lowers our anxiety, calms us and allows us to be reflective. Therefore, poor design does have a consequence… it can undermine our well-being, make us uncomfortable, cause us stress.

Do we fully understand what beauty and design offer us? Far too many view beauty as a superficial element to life. Worse, some use beauty as a measure of wealth and status. If we consider beauty and design to be essential aspects of our beings, we are then ALL entitled to have beauty around us. It is not just for the rich. It is for all humanity. It is one of the elements that make us human.

Beauty has often been associated with “excess”. In Canada, we see beauty in scale rather than content. For example, if you drive through the districts of the well off, you see big homes, big cars. The bigger the home, the more successful you are and your tastes set the standard for everyone looking to achieve a look of success. We prefer quantity versus quality, a bargain versus money well spent.

However, times have changed.

We now need to look at beauty, design and associated success with another set of criteria:

1) Environmental consideration

2) Individuality

3) Smallness

Yes, “smallness”.

Contrary to popular culture, “small” is indicative of many positive attributes. For starters, small is conducive to energy efficiency. This in turn indicates consideration of our environment as “small” requires less material consumption. We do not have large families anymore so an overly large home really isn’t necessary. “Small” creates warmth and coziness. “Small” brings people together, creates intimacy and communication.

“Small” gives us plenty of room to create beautiful spaces.

People building new homes or renovating old ones are very concerned about budgets. Except for the privileged few, most of us have limits to our spending. Rather than desperately trying to find ways in which to cover large areas with bargain materials that eventually wear down or fall apart, why not scale down and buy the best materials to cover a smaller space. In other words, create a “jewel” rather than just a box.

Poor design is a matter of discomfort. Whether the space be large or small, poor room layout, lack of privacy and disquieting colours can have a very detrimental impact on our well being. Small doesn’t mean lack of privacy. On the contrary, a properly designed “small” home can have more private spaces than large ones. A good layout is essential to giving rooms their fullest potential. When “small” is considered, colour has a greater than normal impact due to it’s proximity to our sense of sight. Ceiling height is integral to feeling “roomy”. A small home with a vault or high ceiling will feel much larger than it really is. Putting rooms together in a smaller format is a considerable challenge but the effects, when done successfully, are wonderous.

Essentially, beauty and design are not related to size nor should they be.

Individuality is another aspect of good living. Beauty and design are very much in the eyes of the beholder. Why then, do we feel the need to copy, colour for colour, style for style in order to feel that we have accomplished good design? Certainly, we are attracted to beauty and wish to emulate it but it becomes superficial and vacuous if we only strive to copy rather than create. Personality is one side of the beauty and design triangle. Without the element of individual and unique personality, beauty and design are two dimensional, lacking emotion and passion. It is truly exciting to walk into a home that is a complete surprise, a revelation of the heart and soul of it’s owner.

Canadians are on the cusp of a new way of living. We can have an enormous impact on the world by setting examples of limited and appropriate consumption. The developed world outstrips the developing world in resource waste and usage. Let “small” be our new identity with the ultimate reward of beauty as a standard by which to live, love and leave a legacy for our young.

Sandra Saturley