Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Less but Better
A while ago I had written the phrase “less better” in a newsletter, and my best friend and editor-extraordinaire Katie Kretschmer said it sounded like I wanted people to have lower-quality stuff, rather than what I was really advocating, which was less stuff of better quality. We came up with the compromise of “less but better” which we agreed was both catchy and clear.
Not long after, I was surprised but delighted to find an entire passage devoted to the phrase “less but better” in Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. (I am a bit obsessed by this book. Read it.) McKeown cites Dieter Rams, who was a lead designer at Braun and followed the German principal Weniger aber besser, which translates to “less but better.” The German origins of this idea struck me because I always feel my aesthetic was completely influenced by Katie’s parents. Katie’s father, John Kretschmer, is an industrial designer, lover of modernism and a proud son of German immigrants. Her mom, an art director, worked in the fashion and beauty industries. Growing up it always seemed to me that in their home they did more with less and that it was less fussy and more comfortable than my more-traditional home. The Kretschmer home never felt cluttered to me, and everything in it always felt chosen, like there was a guiding principal. It never felt forced or matchy-matchy, but it always looked appealing and aesthetic.
The essence of less but better is about balance. Do you ever notice how in design magazines an artfully thrown cashmere throw or a pile of books on the floor looks great, yet, in our own homes if the throw isn’t folded and the books aren’t shelved it just looks like a disaster? That is because in those photographed rooms there is frequently much less stuff. The single item slightly out of place adds a frisson of motion to something that would otherwise be a too-still image. If you have less stuff, the real stuff of your life, the stuff you want nearby-a few books, a throw, a coffee cup, a bottle of olive oil-those things won’t look like a mess, they will look artful and warm. Because less but better isn’t nothing… it is less. And it isn’t about asceticism or self-denial because it is better.
Pare down and upgrade. Let go of what you don’t love and what you don’t use and keep only the best and most beautiful. Here’s to the Kretschmers and the pursuit of less-but better.