Design Happens

Last night I experienced Cirque Du Soleil for the first time when Alegría came to a venue here in Salt Lake City. I’d been told to expect the unreal, the unbelievable, the mind-blowing. But what they didn’t tell me was that I would come away from this…this…adventure having been transformed. My minimal aesthetic just got a huge kick in the butt.

The acrobatics, of course, were the star of the show, but the heart of it for me? The color, the costumes, the elegance of every line and detail. Alegría means “jubilation” in Spanish, and the core message of the show is about the pricelessness of youth and the inevitable passing of time.

Perhaps I’m a sentimental schmuck, but I felt like a wonder-filled six-year-old the entire time. The show transported me to those carefree moments in my youth when bills and taxes and the mortgage weren’t eating my brain.

I laughed hysterically. I gasped. I covered my face. I stood up on my feet and clapped maniacally.

In the past few years my style has moved quite far into themes more modern, more streamlined. We live in a mid-century home, and I’ve honored that style with the furniture and patterns in each room, meaning that bright spots of color and crazy textures are rare. After seeing this show, however, I can’t stop thinking about mixing it up a bit. Maybe going wild. Like, flying to Paris and clearing out an entire flea market.

I was so inspired, in fact, that I put together a mood board for a bedroom that would envelop and dazzle me like that show did last night, with furniture and accessories that have the color and texture of the blue-feathered nymphs. Not a circus-themed room, no. Something whimsical and reminiscent of the playfulness of youth, something vibrant, something unrestrained. Something totally not me.