CUTTING CORNERS
There's a special kinda feeling you get when you wear a garment of clothing that has been well made. A satisfying confirmation of money well spent rewards the pleasure receptors of the brain, leaving you feeling cool, sexy, safe and centred. It's the reason we pay more money for items that we deem to be more valuable - items like my trusty favourite Dolce & Gabanna chunky knit sweater that I'm wearing right now.
I don't mean to appear shallow, but it's the same feeling I also get when closing a door, flicking the indicator switches, adjusting heating and tweaking stereo controls in a nice car. Maybe being a designer, I just value considered excellence in everything right down to the tiny details? Or like many people who aren't merely concerned with status, just appreciate and desire the finer things in life.
So, we're driving through Cornwall in a beautiful Mercedes 350cdi convertible. Classical music - The Blue Danube, by Johann Strauss, is playing on the radio. My partner's asleep in the passenger seat and, alone with my thoughts, I catch myself smiling at how I feel more confident, capable, calm and at one with machine & the world as we effortlessly glide through the apex of the corners on these twisting Cornish country roads - seated comfortably in a vehicle who's very name symbolises quality.
No Compromise
The apartment where we're staying, is amazing... on first appearance. The building itself is an old converted bank. A solid well-built & long-standing stone-clad structure. The inside layout boasts spacious and open-plan living areas: modern kitchen with black granit work-tops, drop-lighting and induction hob island with integrated breakfast bar. The living room has a large flat-screen TV, surrounded by leather sofas and lit by French style art-deco lamps - all giving off the illusion of premium luxury. But something isn't quite right. I could feel it as soon as I walked through the door. The banister in the hallway on the way up, moved in the recently painted wall as I held it to climb the stairs - the first sign. The front door felt too light as we entered. The carpet, coarse and thin under foot, felt cheap immediately within just the first few steps. One of the sleek looking press to release kitchen draws, was stuck in, the fancy commercial-looking, restaurant-grade rinse/wash taps were flimsy, not at all like I recall from experience working in catering. The faux leather sofa feels spongy and, turning on the light in the living room, the dimmer switch has no resistance and rattles.
The owner has gone for a premium feel using cheap copies of designer classics. It's an easy mistake to make. Choosing to buy something that looks the same as the premium brand version, but at a fraction of the cost, will work for some things but not for others.
Unfortunately, the old adage 'you get what you pay for' rings true here. This apartment, as a rental unit, will need constant work to keep it 'looking' good and money will need to be spent just replacing the items that, had the money been spent on quality products, wouldn't have worn so fast. It's a shame, as the outside of the building tells a different story, but all too often, we'll cut corners to get something that cannot be easily/cheaply obtained without having the skill, dedication, time/money invested in it to get the desired results. If we do make compromises however, the key is to know when and on what to spent decent money on. With clothes, it's shoes, bags and jackets. With homes it's kitchens, sofas, showers, beds and flooring. And with cars, I'll definitely be sticking to German ones.
