Smoke, Mirrors & Chandeliers

Vegas is unreal, and I mean that as both an expression of excitement (“unreal!”) as well as a literal description (the opposite of real).  I’m loving it thus far…what’s really blowing my mind, however, is the mix of unabashed extravagance with what is more or less a city made up of movie sets.  Vegas is all about the celebration of excess- too much isn’t enough here.  You can see it in every element from their food to their marketing and it’s certainly true of their décor.  They’re not afraid to spend some money, they’re not afraid to go totally over the top, and they’re not into simplicity.  Maybe some of you can relate to those sentiments, but there are few individuals who have the desire or ability to take it as far as the fine folks here have.  Maybe we don’t want things quite so grand, but most of us would like our space to look expensive (or at the very least, not cheap).  Sin City does expensive-looking better than anyone but don’t be fooled- they fake it where they can.  The trick is in the presentation…it’s like the woman wearing a beautiful designer dress and costume jewelry….you assume the jewelry is real because of the dress.  Here everyone is so dazzled by chandeliers, stained glass and like they’re not knocking on the “marble” pillars to find they’re actually hollow.  Of course, they’d never pull it off if they didn’t hire incredibly talented artists to create decorative finishes that make the pillars look marble, but that’s a whole other soap box altogether.  The point is, if you’re willing to spend money on a few elements of your space, it will automatically elevate the rest of it.  Here’s a few pictures of the trip thus far- check back tomorrow for more!