thegardenisland.com
Friday, March 15, 2024 • B3
THE GARDEN ISLAND
Home decorating has a seat on the ‘slow’ train want to live.” And you don’t have to spend a lot, he says. He framed some inexpensive In a world where speed and convenience have been yet eye-catching vintage deli signs, adding a playful the siren song to consumers, there’s a movement to- element to the Hamptons dining room of a family of ward buying more five. mindfully, sustainably, The trend toward “slowly.” You’ve heard of slow fash- “slower,” more thoughtful ion. Slow food. Slow travel. interior design, Mendelson thinks, lies in subtleties: And when it comes to the “The cherished heirlooms, home, “slow decorating.” A reaction against rooms and the intimate connection between a space and its infilled with mass-produced “fast furniture,” slow decohabitants.” rating embraces a more deTossing has become liberate approach that turning prioritizes a personal conFast furniture’s associanection to the stuff we live with. It might mean giving tion with cheaper materials, new life to heirloom or excessive packaging and found pieces. Or buying frequent replacement new things that have the clashes with consumers’ quality to last. growing interest in minimizThe journey of creating a ing our lasting impact on space is as important as the the planet. destination. Now, we’re buying more New York City designer mindfully, but we’re also Gideon Mendelson thinks having a lot of fun DIYing. the movement echoes the During the pandemic, Japanese philosophy of “iki- slow assembly lines and gai,” which centers around stalled container ships meant a lot of brand-new finding meaning and purhomewares weren’t getting pose. Applied to interiors, made or sent to market, so it’s about creating spaces upcycling stuff we had or that promote all-around found became hobby, and well-being. often necessity. “To me, good design If you could find a great makes room for living and credenza at a flea market or doing. Decorating with online reseller that just meaningful pieces isn’t about chasing an aesthetic, needed a little TLC, why not? but curating spaces that Not too long ago, decor resonate with authenticity trade shows would include and personal stories,” he a handful of studio labs ofsays. “It’s not just about how it fering reclaimed wood looks; it’s about how you items and organic textiles. Kim Cook ASSOCIATED PRESS
that pieces with a patina of age better celebrate the house’s long history anyway.” He also added some new, modern pieces “so it doesn’t look like we should be dressed in period Colonial Williamsburg costumes.”
test of time often have another 50 years left in them! Side tables, desks, even cabinets are great pieces to look for,” he says. Mendelson mentions a pair of vintage French plaster shell sconces in his Sagaponack, New York, home. He bought them 15 years ago “and they still feel Shopping tips fresh and relevant today.” “I think a desire for oneFurniture for sitting, sleeping and eating is where of-a-kind and bespoke is at least starting a conversayou should spend more money on quality, says Jiltion about handmade,” he lian Hayward Schaible of Su- says. “Quality vs quantity. Living with intention.” san Hayward Interiors. “We encourage clients to Stores on board invest in pieces like sofas/ Many retailers are getting sectionals, beds, dining tables and upholstered items, seats on the slow train. because you can really feel West Elm, for instance, was early among home retailers the difference when these in joining Fair Trade USA, items are well-made,” she which ensures that supplisays. Peter Spalding of the deers maintain good worksigner furniture sourcing places and wages, and DAN MAZZARINI / BHDM DESIGN VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS platform Daniel House Club support their communities. notes that imitations of The global reforestation This image shows a leather armchair and a twoChippendale and other lega- project One Tree Planted tiered table. cy-style pieces — think cab- gets part of every purchase from furniture brand JoyToday, at global fairs like Tok and Instagram feeds are inets and wingback chairs, Ambiente in Frankfurt, Safull of refinish-and-reveal for example — were combird. Herman Miller’s rePurlone in Milan and Paris’ Mai- videos, and modest abodes mon in the 1980s and early pose program gets used full of found treasures. 1990s. furniture to nonprofit orgason et Objet, hundreds of Stephen Orr, editor in “Now, the imitations arcompanies show new denizations. And Ikea has inisign made with environmen- chief of Better Homes & en’t very valuable, but the tiatives like moving to Gardens, says he’s spent originals remain highly bio-based glue, and instituttal and social impact in the past couple of years sought after,” he says. “As mind. Fair trade manufacing a buy-back/re-sell proyou collect ‘slow furniture,’ gram that saw 230,000 items turing. Fast-growing renew- renovating a 1760s house on Cape Cod. buy the most authentic ver- given a new life in 2022. ables like hemp, bamboo “The first year was during sions you can afford.” For the past five years, and cork. Cushions made of the pandemic, so antiques the United Nations Refugee soy-based foam instead of Dan Mazzarini of BHDM and flea markets were a Agency’s MADE51 initiative petroleum-based foam. ReDesign and ARCHIVE godsend considering all the echoes the advice. has helped artisans partner cycled glass and metal acsupply chain disruptions,” with fashion and home ac“If you’re looking for a cessories. he says. good investment, go Mid 20- and 30-somecessories businesses world“But during that process, straight to vintage. Things things are seen as drivers of wide to create sustainable, we came to the realization that have already stood the fairly traded goods. the slow design trend. Tik-
30-year mortgage rate drops to 6.74 percent ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — Home loan borrowing costs fell for the second week in a row, pulling the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its lowest level since early February — good news for prospective home shoppers as the spring homebuying season gets underway. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 6.74 percent from 6.88 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.60 percent. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell this week, pulling the average rate down to 6.16 percent from 6.22 percent last week. A year ago it averaged 5.90 percent, Freddie Mac said. “Despite the recent dip, mortgage rates remain high as the market contends with the pressure of sticky inflation,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “In this environment, there is a good possibility that rates will stay higher for a longer period of time.” The recent pullback in rates follows a string of rate increases. Mortgage rates rose for most of February as stronger-than-expected reports on inflation and the economy fueled speculation among bond investors that the Federal Reserve would have to hold off on cutting interest rates longer than expected. The Fed has signaled that it will likely cut its key interest rate this year, once it sees more evidence that inflation is falling sustainably back to its 2 percent target. The Fed’s main interest rate is at its highest level since 2001. Investors’ expectations for future inflation, global demand for U.S. Treasurys and what the Fed does with interest rates can influence rates on home loans. Economists expect that mortgage rates will ease further this year, though most forecasts have the average rate on a 30-year mortgage going no lower than 6 percent by the end of the year.
35th Annual Kaua‘i FCU Scholarship
With two $5,000 Awards Available For graduating high school students, returning college or graduate students!
Applicants must be a Kaua‘i FCU member. Awards available to high school, college, Kaua‘i Community College, graduate, PHD and/or any students continuing education.
Pick up and drop off applications at any of our branches at: Lihue Branch 2976 Ewalu Street Lihue, Hawaii, 96766
Kalukalu At 1624 1624 Kuhio Highway Kapaa, Hawaii, 96746
Kilauea Branch 2555 Ala Namahana Pkwy Kilauea, Hawaii, 96754
You can request an application by emailing scholarship@kauaicreditunion.org Applications must be turned in or sent to a branch by April 8, 2024.