tHE gOOD LIFe: Music -> Decor: Bon Iver

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Music -> Decor: Bon Iver

On Sunday night, a musical group I love, Bon Iver, won the Grammy award for Best New Artist. The Twitterverse immediately blew up with people tweeting, "who the eff is Bonnie Bear?"

I believe they are a band everyone should be familiar with. I saw them perform an outdoor lawn concert one evening this past summer, and at some points I almost felt like I was having a spiritual experience - I got chills up my spine over and over again. I live for the kind of music that makes you emotionally overwhelmed through lyrics or sound, but I know it's not for everyone. (I am the girl that happily spends hours and hours looking up song lyrics and their meanings and then gets thisclose to writing on a public internet message board about what the lyrics personally mean to me. And I know I am "special" in this way.) Know this, however: I'll refuse to value any of your other opinions on anything if you actually "dislike" this band but love Katy Perry. If that sounds snobby, it's just the truth.

So because Bon Iver is kind of relevant right now, even though they aren't actually a "new artist," I thought they'd be a good choice for a Music -> Decor post.

Their music is a bit folky, but truly beautiful, romantic, and even haunting. In a way, it makes me feel homesick for a place that I never actually experienced. When I began looking for interior design photos that conveyed the vibe I get from this music, I initially focused on Bon Iver's song "Holocene." I envision this haven of glowing warmth in the middle of a cold, desolate place. I started searching for images using descriptions like "Scandinavian farmhouse," "winter cabin," and "Fair Isle decor." And then after finding all my photos, I watched the song's music video for the first time as I put this post together. Well let me tell you folks, music is a magical thing.

To me, Bon Iver's song "Skinny Love" creates a sense of youthful romance, innocence, and probably because I know that Bon Iver came into existence after Justin Vernon moved back home to Wisconsin, a feeling of nostalgia for the cozy love-filled house one grew up in. Now, I don't think the video's that great, as one Youtube commenter said, "I like the song but the music video is like he gave a teenager a bag of shrooms and a video camera." Ha! But the song is still wonderful.

And now, for Bon Iver's music translated into home decor, I went for soft and cozy textures, kitschy vintage decor that my generation may have grown up with, intimate spaces, neutrals and "warm" dark colors: