Life — November 20, 1931 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Explanation for Modern Readers This page contains a satirical dialogue illustrated by a cartoon showing a man in formal attire examining a painting in an ornate bedroom. The humor centers on interior design and "harmonious furnishings." The conversation mocks pretentious home decorating theory—specifically the idea that furniture and décor placement affects one's behavior and thinking. A character named Miss Marinoff argues that "harmonious furnishings make for harmonious thinking," citing how a baroque-period table made a man "subconsciously inharmonious" every time he looked at it. The satire targets early-20th-century aesthetic philosophy that attributed psychological effects to interior design choices—a notion the author ridicules by suggesting absurd solutions like replacing the offending table, as if furniture directly controls human temperament and behavior.