‘Your Home, Your Garden of Eden’
(Today, I am presenting again the very first article I wrote in April 2003 to the memory of Mrs Margaret Safo.)
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One of the greatest rewards of practicing as an interior designer is having the chance to encounter many people and learning from their individuality. Out of such numerous experiences, I have learnt to be watchful.
I have observed that every individual has a personal style and philosophy (personality). And everyone seeks creative outlets through which we can express our individuality.
And two main avenues are fashion and home, where we do things to represent our character, sense of beauty, tenderness and values.
This column seeks to help folks to express their individuality effectively in their homes. Home enhancement does not intend to teach interior design or interior decoration and would not attempt to do so either, rather it will focus on helping people appreciate the basic tenets of interior decoration and how to apply them at home. This medium may also help people to be able to relate very well to interior designers and decorators. In practice, I have encountered clients who desire to have something done yet were not able to fully express their intentions, either for the lack of right words or want of aesthetic terminology.
Interior designers and decorators are thus trained to bring out as much of such intents from their clients, employing the use of questions and indirect inquiries.
The home (the outer aspect of your life) and the inner self must be in harmony. It is where you can express outwardly your inner sense of style.
Moving in to a new home is like a bare canvas to an artist, gradual strokes of brush and colour soon reveals the very deep unseen work of the artist, flouting the basic principles of art will altogether affect the end results.
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In many ways people put their home together. As one moves through the house arranging items of worth, items of function and items of beauty from room to room, many practice interior décor unknowingly. Before the interior designer or decorator gets involved, you are in your own way practicing interior design.
On your own you decided to locate the kitchen stool at a particular area in the kitchen because you realised how improper it fits in a different location in that same room.
You placed your mat perpendicular to the window because it allowed enough air over the entire length of your body; where was the interior designer then?
As appealing as they appear, the pictures we see in the magazines and newspapers are not the specific clues to your personal style (note that it is someone else’s style).
Most of what is seen in the magazines are pictures of arranged furniture for photographic purposes, which often do not apply in real situations.
I was once petulant in traffic on the Abelenkpe-Achimota highway, wondering where everyone including myself was rushing to, then I had this realisation that we were all headed to places we belonged.
Stanley Barrows stated rightly, “It is nice to return home each day to something intensely personal.”
Your home, no matter where it is located, and how it looks is the place you have taken time to create your reality, it is the place you have taken time to manipulate space to suit your lifestyle and desires. Your home therefore should not be a makeover of your personality; it should reflect authentic maturity of your life. There is a saying that ‘the more at peace you are with yourself the more you like yourself,’ implying that it is necessary to put in some effort to make your home worth coming to. Strive to be at peace with your home and all that constitutes it.
There are basic decorating principles for each of the different rooms in the ‘Garden of Eden’ (home); the bedrooms (where all things beautiful begin); living rooms; dining rooms; kitchens; ‘Thy kingdom come’ (toilets, where all humankind become equal) and the ‘university college’ (the study – place of highest pretence). Special attention can be given to corridors, terraces and patios.
In the subsequent discourses, we will look at the basic elements and principles of design for the home in general and also for each of the rooms.
Your home does not have to happen overnight. It will take your time, money and determination.
Till we meet next week, start looking around; something must be done about something.
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Picture Note: There are many spaces and structures we refer to as our home. No matter what “it is nice to return home to something intensely personal.” Photo Credit: Jungle Luxe