Form Follows Function (I'm Not Lazy, Swear!)

Most of us have heard the quote "form follows function." Maybe you're better informed, but I was unaware that the original quote (which is technically "form ever follows function" and is attributed to American architect Louis Henry Sullivan)  had more to do with efficiency and construction profit margins than poorly chosen billboard fonts and prohibitively ornamental bathroom faucets.

Regardless of the original spirit, the saying is apropos to any form of design. So that's what we're going to talk about. And specifically, we're going to discuss my bedroom. The blinds. And how I don't want to cover them in fabric anymore.

(Side note: I'm going to make a scientific hypothesis here and say that fabric left at rest stays at rest.)

 

Okay, yes. I realize that it sounds like I'm just being lazy. But hear me out: my laziness was actually a blessing in disguise, because it allowed me to live with the blinds for a bit. (I hung them before Christmas so that when I covered them I could just pop them right back into their mounting hardware, easy peasy.)

During this past month, I realized that my bedroom window coverings need to both provide privacy and let in natural light; the window is street-facing and it's a darker room. If I cover the blinds with fabric, I will achieve privacy but I will lose the delicious filtered morning light that I find so precious in my east-facing room.

No matter how pretty the fabric is, or how great it would look, I can't sacrifice the function simply for the sake of a beautiful window. That would be foolish. So now I'm not sure what to do. No window coverings at all? A small tailored valance? What are your thoughts?