They described it as an ostentatious showpiece. Grete Tugendhat, on the other hand, begged to differ. Responding to these criticisms in an ensuing issue of the magazine, she described living in the house as a 'liberating' experience. Yes it was true that according to Mies' unwavering strictures one could neither move the furniture nor hang paintings, but that did not make life in the house stultifying, as the critics maintained. In fact it liberated one from clutter.
Large spaces are liberating.
In its rhythm, space has specific calm, which a closed room could never achieve. The rhythm is such that small changes are rendered insignificant. We feel liberated when we return to this free and calm-inspiring space. Sadly, all of the furnishings are reproductions. The originals were sold or taken by the Tugendhats, who were Jewish, when they emigrated to Switzerland and then to Venezuela, a year before the Nazis invaded the former Czechoslovakia in 1939.