Once You Notice This Home Trend, You Won't Be Able To Unsee it

You're in a major city in America. It could be Los Angeles. It could be New York. It could be Chicago. It doesn't matter. You're there, and you enter an establishment. any establishment. They could be serving you coffee. They could be serving you wine by the glass. They could be your friend and you are in their apartment checking it out for the first time. All of these places... they have something in common, but you can't quite put your finger on it. 

What you're seeing is actually the absence of something. The absence of, well things. The phenomenon is called air space. AirSpace was coined by The Verge, and is defined as "a harmonization of tastes," to "create you going to the same place over and over again." It's characterized by a minimalist aesthetic, succulent plants, wire-hanging air plants, a lobe lamp, and not more than one of most things. Open space that signals an understated wealth, because, hey, you're some place in a large city, and there's open space with little else but a standing lamp in the rear corner. What gives?

The deja vu you feel in that hipster bar you swear you've been to before? That's a sign that you're encountering air space on the regular, and are desensitized to it. Almost.

Laurel Schwulst describes the ideal Airbnb as "both indistinguishable and recognizable." It's the style that keeps on giving, going and is as classic as it is modern. A perfect oxymoron that is homogenizing cities not only in the U.S., but eventually on an international level.

Is AirSpace necessarily a bad thing? Not inherently so. It exists, but it isn't hurting anyone...outwardly. What AirSpace is hurting is the individuality of places and spaces. The experience of walking into a new setting and feeling the sense that you're somewhere entirely new, whether you're in your home city, or one several thousand miles away. 

So the question is: Would you sacrifice originality for comfort? And is it possible that you already have?