American Interiors

Early American Farmhouse Dining Room The pages in A Cool Million that West devotes to describing the interior rooms of the whorehouse are not insignificant, especially in a relatively short novel. The rooms, and certainly when Wu Fong abolishes his "international" theme for a regional American theme, follow the stereotype of American houses in the respective regions, to the absolute detail. This article explains the Colonial revival phenomenon from the turn of the century to the 1930s, similarly documented in West's book with the removal of Lem's Colonial home from its stead and reassembled in the 5th Ave storefront window. For West, the rooms serve to expound his idea of the commodification of American history and culture, but ironically enough there has been, in recent years, a return to traditional American designs.

The article to which the picture above is linked tells of a couple in search of their "dream house," and found it in an 18th-century Connecticut farmhouse. Since then, the family has decorated with "folk art paintings and Early American antiques." From the floral stenciled runner in the dining room to the furniture, the house is a replica of its former self and an exemplary of 1800s New England.

Last year, the popular interior design blog apartmenttherapy proclaimed the "rustic farm look" the latest trend. Frequently, too, they post tips and furniture finds for transforming a room into a Spaghetti Western--including but certainly not limited to Navajo rugs and hand-hewn tables.

These returns to a traditional American design scheme are, if more genuine than West's lewd portrayals, a similar romanticizing, and inevitably turns the traditions into the same commodity.