With the greatest admiration and respect for Edwin Heathcote and the reasonable perspective he offers in his article (“Bland Ambition: How the Airbnb aesthetic, the global anonymous chic that makes Budapest look the same as Brooklyn, has crept into our own interiors”, House & Home, FT Weekend, August 22) I feel compelled to cast a light on a corner of the staid rental market he laments.
Is the standardised design aesthetic he critiques always bland ambition or perhaps sound reassurance? Properties promoting a certain design language have always communicated in a code to customers. Whether hotel or private rental, hasn’t a Vitra or Kartell lamp always told us something of the attitude if not the aesthetic of the host?
In a marketplace with little real information to make informed decisions, do not these boring but clear design codes say as much if not more to a consumer than the questionable review of two months ago translated from another language? And by analogy, can’t we imagine that a restaurant willing to spend on Aesop handsoap in the restroom is more than likely keeping a clean kitchen and using higher quality ingredients?
I advocate not for the homogeny of place nor the replication of design. But we must still appreciate that not all travellers are looking for the thrill of an adventurous overnight stay. Sometimes after a long flight and with small children in tow, most travellers will have nothing but appreciation for the bland but reassuring design ambition of such a host.
Jonathan Beyer
Bad Kreuznach, Germany