Last night, while enviously leafing through a recent issue of Dwell magazine, I was struck by a theme in the articles – live in your house the way you want to live not the way the architect or builder designed it. Too often we use the rooms in our houses the way the architect and builder labeled them and society says we are supposed to: Living room for couches and chairs, Dining room for big furniture, attic for storage. This might work for many but does it work for all of us?
I suggest, if the house doesn’t work for you or that you are just trying to make do, that you try something new – rearrange, repurpose and live the way you want to live. One family in Dwell talked about their experience in designing their new home, “The whole process forced us to think about how we wanted to live, which was great. Normally, you move into a house that someone else has designed and just live with it, and not ask yourself these questions. ..The beautiful thing about building your own house is that if you get it right it will allow you to live the way you want” [Dwell, March 2012. p. 52].
We don’t all get to design and build our own houses but we can make what we have our own by being playful and creative with rearranging and repurposing space. Do you really need a dining room? If not, move out the table and use the space as an office or den. Do you really need a living room? If not, get rid of the furniture and make it a music room, movie theater or even install a pool table and make it a game room. Got an attic for storage? Do you need that stuff? If not, get rid of it, break through a wall and create a loft.
Part of being sustainably minded is to make the spaces we inhabit encourage and support a healthy life. By living in your house the way you want to live and not being hampered by society’s expectations you are well on your way to a healthy, less stressful life full of comfort and happiness.
