Transformations

In a Gunsmoke episode about  60 years ago, a bedraggled, pitiful woman turned up in Dodge City.  Miss Kitty, the queen of the saloon, set about transforming her with a bath, clean clothes, and whatever passed for skin and hair care products in 1800s Dodge City.  I don't recall the plot of that episode or any others, just that the unfortunate woman got all fixed up and turned into a new person. I was intrigued.  

A similar story showed up in my fifth grade reader. The setting was nothing I'd ever seen before--a city ghetto. A little girl planted red flowers in a window box, and one by one her neighbors started building window boxes.  Soon the exterior of the whole formerly ugly building was transformed by blooming flowers.  Maybe I'm making this part up: what followed were clean ups inside the apartments as well, a pride in their surroundings and neighborhood. 

I love watching series in which rooms and houses transformed.  Whether or not I like the final outcome, it's intriguing to watch the changes.  The charming one I watched the last few nights is British, Design Masters.  

It starts with eight or nine amateur designers who take on a project each week--a beauty shop, a skateboard shop, a college dorm room, etc.  After each is complete, the host and her guest professional designer go over the plusses and minuses of each space and cut the size of the group by one.  As the amateur group grows smaller, the projects grow more ambitious and more impressive. 

Some of the professionals' own projects are shown--some quite dazzling, others not so much. I enjoyed hearing them talk about the principles of design and teaching the amateurs to recognize their strengths and weaknesses.

"This bespoke chair" means this chair made to order by the user.  They say "bespoke" a lot so I had to look it up.  

It's also fun to hear one team's dissing another team's work.  "It's hideous!" one said of his rival amateur designer's room--a room of mixed textures and colors I happened to like 

While all are not in agreement about what's aesthetically pleasing, most of us are drawn to changes, options, and improvements.  We love nature, the arts, and beauty--all of which are antidotes to the blues.