“Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table”
"Fuck your frame cluster" from "Frame Cluster Friday."
The judgmental bluntness of the blog Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table gives me an existential crisis, mostly because the majority of people I know (myself included), restaurants I frequent, and retail spaces I hit up are guilty of the site’s “fuck yous.” So it was not too surprising — somewhat reassuring even — to discover that I actually had known one of the individuals behind the site for several years now. Fearing the wrath of crafternooners, disgruntled Design Within Reach sales staff or sensitive Wythe Avenue residents, the two interior-design terrorists use the nom de Tumblr Mr. and Mrs. Lizard (pronounced “Luh-zahrd,” they told me.) Over email, I asked them about their favorite F.U.’s and how they first came to understand the tyranny of terrariums.
When did you start the Tumblr?
We started the blog in March but the idea was born a few years ago after we had just moved in together. We looked to the internet as a home decorating resource and it quickly turned out to be more amusing than useful because we kept seeing the same five ideas recycled over and over. The Noguchi coffee table, a beautiful but over represented piece of midcentury sculpture, became the symbol of this phenomenon for us.
"Fuck your curios in a bell jar."
How many ”Fuck your…” are you guilty of?
At least 8 that I can see from where I’m sitting.
Do you think all hipster-designy people are homogenous now, or is there hope yet for a spark of originality?
There must be tons of people doing something worth seeing, but those people don’t seem to be as eager to have their homes photographed for Internet consumption as much as the taxidermy-loving home decorator set. In a sense, the whole idea is that there’s no one aesthetic that’s right or good. The best interior just feels right, appropriate and comfortable. Usually that means it’s something that’s not overwrought or aggressively styled. Specific tastes also are somewhat arbitrary; we often see spaces that feel really good to us, but that we’d never want for ourselves.
"Fuck your Warren Platner for Knoll side table."
You guys seem to have a specific beef with greenery in glass encasings. It makes me want to chuck out all my house plants.
No. Terrariums are just fine with us. So are pet rocks and macrame, if that’s what you’re into.
Where do you pull your images from?
Journalists never reveal their sources! Do we count as journalists?
"Fuck your frame containing a doily, cat painting, book stack with a thing on top, silhouettes, velvet chair, and your fireplace full of magazines" from "Super Combo Sunday."
Any plans to tell another annoying thing niche to fuck off?
We’re getting married in September and I have been enjoying the Internet wedding mood board phenomenon. We’ll probably hold off on that one for now, though. I mean, home decorators are one thing, but you don’t want the ire that stems from making fun of a bride’s homemade citrus and herb bouquet.
Have you received any negative feedback yet?
Actually, not really. Everyone seems to be in on the joke.
"Fuck your double decker terrarium" from "Terrarium Tuesday."
