I think the real answer lies deeper in the human heart and mind. Here is what I think is going on when we take the time to change our living spaces beyond the realms of practicality.
1. We change our spaces to feel better, physically and emotionally.
It’s long been known that our environment has a real effect on our mood and our outlook. Anyone who has had to live in a rundown neighbourhood knows that it can really bring you down. If you remain too long, the mood can become a permanent part of our outlook. Architecture can also uplift and inspire – think of the strong vertical spaces in churches, libraries or other large public spaces. Most of us can’t just create 30 foot ceilings in our homes, but perhaps it is something of this effect that we’re seeking with the subtler changes we can make.
Consider as well the known effect of lack of daylight on our health. Shift workers who don’t get enough daylight suffer more health problems and, on average, die at a younger age. It’s no coincidence that a main goal of most of the architecture of the past century has been to increase daylight to interiors.
The spaces we inhabit affect how we feel in subtle and not so subtle ways. When we change them, we’re using design as medicine.
2. We change our spaces to create environments that provide what we are missing from our lives.
Our lives are busier than ever. Every technological convenience we create seems to increase the expectations on us to produce more. The increased leisure time promised in the 50s and 60s has consistently failed to materialize!
When we come home, we are looking for a space that welcomes us, and encourages us to relax.
Maybe relaxation means soothing earth tones and natural materials. Maybe it means something feminine and pretty. Maybe it means a place to host fantastic dinner parties full of friends. Whatever reason or combination of reasons, we want our physical spaces to help summon the emotions we want to feel.
3. We change our spaces as creative exercise and a chance to play.
Few of us get to have complete creative control in our daily lives. Even creative workers like graphic designers aren’t at liberty to do whatever they want – they have to consider the preferences of the client and of the market. Because we answer only to ourselves in our own homes, we are free to follow the trends or go off in any direction we choose.
Being creative is transforming in its own right, and can provide us with a deeper satisfaction with our lives when we take the opportunity to grow. Sometimes survival is not enough. We need to dream.
by Jennifer Priest