Describe yourself in one picture. What would you choose? From day to day you look differently, dress differently. Your feelings are just the tiny pieces that form the mosaic of your daily impressions, so none of this can portray who you are. You can choose an object that you love or one of your creations and pretend that they express a part of your true self. Still, this is not enough. Behind the face that you show to the whole world in the morning, on your way to work or to school, there is an even more important part, like a background, a canvas for your portrait. This is best represented by the place in which you live.
Your personal space is imprinted by your energy. That makes you exclaim, at the end of a long day, home, sweet home. Home knows you well, it has seen you every day in your various states, it keeps your life story within its walls. Every object that surrounds you has its purpose, in accordance to your habits. At home, everything speaks about you, from the smallest details to the whole picture.
Designing always implies understanding of people’s psychology, because, by creating a space for living, an architect models lifestyles. This aspect is particularly significant for homes, because the personal space of every human being is an exterior projection of their personality. Therefore, it is not enough for a house to be aesthetically pleasing. For us to call a space home, it should be spiced up with a bit of personal taste.
I’ve had a lifelong passion for travelling, and a particularly interesting part of the journey, as an architect, was to discover the interiors of local homes. They all had their particular charm and I was fond of sketching their plans or taking photos. But, in the end, this only made me realize how many stories could be told by my own home. And I thought that our life would be a little more interesting if, some day, leaving the routine behind, we would just step into our homes and rediscover them with the eagerness of a child that is opening his Christmas present.
When arriving home finally puts an end to the freezing cold of a December day, feel the scent of your little universe melted in its welcoming warmth. Make yourself a cup of your favourite tea, and have a look around. Leaf through an old book, open the long-forgotten photo albums, bring back memories, enjoy your favourite music. Explore what surrounds you without the thought that they are just common things with no special value. Be thankful for what you have, because, on the whole, this is a part of yourself. A self-portrait in space.
