What is Home to You?

“What is home? The corner of meetings and disagreements? The place of work and rest? The “living machine” advocated by modernists? A status symbol or a formalist joke? A little of everything, the house is the family’s stronghold, and therefore its own mirror.”
-Introduction of the book “500 Years of the House in Brazil” by Fancisco Veríssimo and William Bittar

On your way home, what comes to mind? “Home sweet home”, “slippers”, “bath time”? After a full day when we are finally on the way home, it is a great opportunity to think about something you are grateful for in your home.

These days, when many of us are spending more time at home than we are used to, we think about what ‘home’ means to us. Aside from the typical thoughts of ‘safety’ or ‘comfort’, something that stands out to me is when I feel connected to areas of the home and can be myself freely. This feeling has changed over time and in different moments of my life. 

For example, in my parent’s home growing up, I identified ‘home’ as my bedroom, my place at the dining table, or even my favorite area in the living room. However, I often felt out of place or unsure of myself in my parent’s or brothers’ bedrooms. I experienced a similarly limited feeling of ‘home’ when I lived with roommates for 2 years in an apartment during university. After a day of classes, work, or activities, I really only felt comfortable in my bedroom. 

Recently my wife and I moved from a large 2 bedroom apartment to a much smaller apartment closer to the metropolitan area where our friends live. One reason I readily feel at home in the new apartment is because I constantly use and relate to each area and room. We are quite happy with the apartment itself, and with some effort we were able to make it ‘ours’. Thanks, in part, to the ramifications of the pandemic (lockdown and stay at home orders) we quickly realized that we had to invest time and effort early on if we were going to stay sane spending so much time in our apartment, especially in our dining and living room areas.

We are currently attempting to transition to working from home; another privilege/challenge/opportunity afforded by lockdowns and not feeling comfortable commuting. We are definitely taking advantage of the time to invest in cooking fresh meals every day and trying to stick to healthy and productive routines. Even taking into account the odd trip to visit friends nearby or the bi-monthly indulgence in ordering-in dessert, we have had a fairly tame lockdown mostly focused on our business and staying in touch with friends and family. I personally faced some moments of difficulty with time management, relying for the first time in a while upon self-created and imposed scheduling and routine building. 

Having said all this, I know my experience may not necessarily speak to you, dear reader, and Lyca and I would love to hear from you :)

How has this historic moment been for you personally and at home?
What challenges have you and your loved ones faced together?
How has your relationship with your home and your furniture changed?

Drop us a note here!