SANCTUARY LIVING--ESSAYS BY DESIGN

(Real) Curb Appeal
by Janene Kraft


Several years ago I was privileged to work on the team that developed, named, and opened the Kodak Theatre®, home to the Academy Awards®. I’ve never seen so much black as I did during that time. After all, we were working in L.A. In that part of the world, black is the uniform du jour. It’s curious how the wearing of the color black gives one the ability to embody two simultaneous yet contradictory messages—“I am powerful.” “I am playing it safe.” Wearing anything ‘other than’ carries with it the prospect of being analyzed, evaluated…and, God forbid, wrong.

Poking fun at “playing it safe” is what has made the HBO series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, so screamingly popular. In it Larry David (writer, co-creator, and producer of Seinfeld) plays an amplified version of himself in real life. He is droll and dry and anything but enthusiastic. His nonchalance reflects a pervasive attitude of being void of emotion in an effort to avoid feeling vulnerable.

It takes a great deal of energy to suppress the real you. And when you curb your enthusiasm you CURB YOUR APPEAL! In my mind, there is nothing more attractive than someone who knows who they are and is not afraid to show it.

When you’re clear about the inside, the outside follows. It’s no surprise, then, that I love homes that have an opinion. An interesting house is a great indicator that there’s someone interesting dwelling within. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Or my preferred architectural style. Like dogs, great homes are simply studies of the humanity of their people.

Appealing places are never some “wannabe” version of what everyone else is doing. They are true to themselves and their inhabitors. They are original, not ordinary. Stylish, not stand-off-ish.

Real Curb Appeal is an unbridled enthusiasm for life reflected in how you live. If you want your home to look appealing. Be appealing. That’s how it begins. Creating Sanctuary is as much about you as it is your environment. It starts with knowing who you are and being willing to express it in a way that draws people in and makes a lasting connection.