wraithgirl's Journal

What makes a home?
We recently were presented with an opportunity to buy and renovate a house nearby close friends. The appeal was that, once complete, the house would be exactly as we wished it to be - new tiles, new hardwood, paint colour, cupboards. All shiny and new. I found this hugely appealing. Imagining a house that was *finished*, where everything was clean and fresh and all the switchplate covers matched. No little jobs to finish and nothing worn and dingy, cracked or stained. Alas, that particular house was not meant to be. However, it got me thinking about homes and decorating and living.

Over the weekend, I have continued to think about homes - not houses, mind you, but homes. Yesterday, we visited the home of friends recently returned from the States. Astonishingly, in just two days, their home is completely organized, pictures hung, books on shelves - the works. It's a large, expensive home. I suppose because it was recently bought, all the walls are freshly painted and it's almost brand new inside. It's very beautiful and I was so impressed with all the lovely things. But it felt a little...staged. Almost like it was still for sale. Everything matched. All the pictures were exactly right and framed exactly right. All the towels matched. It was perfect. I imagine that family life will creep in over time - post-its will appear on the fridge, piles of shoes will collect in the front hall. When it does, it will feel real.

A few days before that, we visited another friend. On the opposite end of the scale, there were piles everywhere. They were in the midst of preparing for a vacation and it was chaotic. Car parts on the kitchen counter, luggage and cat carriers in the hallway, little notes and lists everywhere.

After some musing and quashing of a sudden urge to go and buy tchotckes and throw out those little piles of stuff that accumulate, I realized that, in spite of the rather awkward layout of my home, I am pretty happy with what I have. Sure, it would be great if all the lightswitch plates matched and I never liked the pink carpet in the family room, but I really like my daughter's paintings hung next to my PreRaphaelite art and my letter from my daughter's kindergarten class hung next to my 18th century Spanish fresco fragment. Yes, it would be lovely if the hardwood floor wasn't so badly scratched, but I'm pretty fond of my hemp couch, my Ikea carpet and my antique burl walnut piano. My stuff is eclectic and weird and none of it matches, but everything in my house has a story. And you can't buy stories at Target.

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