TDS: It's A Home Design Obsession
It has been forever.
IT’S A HOME DESIGN OBSESSION
It all started with an episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and after several home renovation shows, different home design shows and a Pinterest board dedicated to interior designs, you can say I might have a slight obsession with home designs.
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| Source: Twitter (@INTERIORPORN1) |
One of the basic human needs is shelter, a safe place to stay, and a house is shelter. Over the years, houses have grown from being just somewhere to live but something to enjoy, something pleasing, a definition of one’s lifestyle, culture and often a source of income. You can tell a magnificent house from the architecture, the functionality, and the way it interacts with its surrounding environment. You would also consider before the house is built the site, the environment (light and weather, the type of soil), the materials used to build (wood, brick, cement), the interior and the sustainability of the house itself after it has been constructed. There is also the question of what your house says about you, your personality, and how it serves you.
THE DREAM
My takeaway from the countless hours of home renovation shows, house tours, Grand Design and a lot more is I want to have a house that tells my story and I want to help or be included in helping people find a home that they can live and enjoy.
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| Source: Twitter (@INTERIORPORN1) |
MY DREAM HOME: I am not sure if I want a new build or renovate an existing building, but I have some things that come to mind when I think of a dream house. I love something detached from everyday life, so I don’t want to live in the city. I love the idea of a small space, but I am in love with big houses that I can see lost in. I love clean interior designs (a blend of Japanese rustic minimalism and Scandinavian functionality), not too overpowering designs. I love windows (floor to ceiling windows) and a house that appears like I am just a step out into the great outdoors with a lot of greenery (fantastic landscaping) but above all; I want to experience and be vested in the building process and live in a somewhat timeless home with a fusion of all the little things I love with a different story of what each piece mean. What would be even more amazing is if I can share the process with other people? I am thinking of something like the “Abandoned Building Renovation” by Modustrial Maker on YouTube.
OTHER PEOPLE’S HOME: I want to know the story surrounding people’s houses, is it their dream home, how did they go about it and does it serve them? (Quite noisy right?) I want to see unique architecture and grand designs, the story and inspiration behind them, be on-site and help someone while they are building their home and come back later to listen to the story after and how they have adapted to living there. I want to know how much thought went into that chair and why that colour palette. I want to know the regrets and maybe get a bit of sage advice to new homeowners. I would love to present a series where I can share all these things about people’s homes and why it means so much to them. I would love to have something like the “Grand Designs” show where I can talk about the story of each home design.
HOME IMPROVEMENT/APARTMENT MAKEOVER: The last part of the dream is how do I make people feel more at ease in the houses they live in. This can help people renovate their home into something better and much suited for them, working on the interior decoration and redesigning apartments to something better to people that need it as a sort of encouragement or motivation. It is about doing something special for people to make them feel a lot happier in a beautiful house. And I can’t do this by myself and would probably need a team of people. This makes me think of TheSorry Girls on YouTube going to redecorate hostels and dorm rooms for students or Three Birds Renovation helping people have their own dream homes.
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| Source: Pinterest |
NOW THERE IS A DREAM?
This is the part I talk about the things I have done regarding this dream. Well, nothing.
Just like everything good in life, I would need a plan, a team and most important a means to actualize the dream. The relatively easy dream is building my house and being involved in that. All it is going to take is my resources and every other thing that goes into building houses. Of course, there is the long wait to when I finally have the money, finding the perfect location that will provide all that I wish for and finding an architect that will be interested in creating a contemporary, non-traditional house.
I think the next thing is how do I convince people to let me into their homes and tell me stories these homes have. How do I volunteer to be at a site and record what it takes to have that monument go up? How do I finance going to help people renovate their homes? Is there a line to cross between making the space more functional or making it more aesthetically looking? It is one thing to have a dream, and it is another to take steps towards achieving it, and this is one dream that I do not know what to do or how to go about it but knowing that I will start one day is enough for me.
CHALLENGES
Who Do I Need To Collaborate With To Get This Done?
There is a wide range of models of people already going about doing what I want to do, and they are very much on the large scale, like TV shows, websites(The Local project), YouTube and they are sponsored by big brands. But scaling it down to a personal dream with no prior experience in anything about building a house, just information and a self-curated knowledge on how it is supposed to be, it is a crucial question and challenge to sit back and ask how do I make it possible and with whom.
How Do I Create A Sustainable Platform?
The next thing is this, is it going to be a long-term goal or a short-term thing? Will it spur me into thinking about how to tackle homelessness, lead a campaign to make school hostels better, reform on land use and land law? The dream and obsession with something creates a drive and I want to know if it goes out fast or burns slow? How do I keep this passion alive and create something that would outlive me? This is not a real estate deal of selling and buying houses. This is a means of giving to people, how much, and how long can I give before I run out?
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| Source: Twitter |
When I started the dream series, one thing I hoped to gain out of it is letting people know more about me, so it would be understandable to a degree if I believe stepping into someone's home tells you about who they are. Apart from the basic cleanliness of a home, it should tie into their character and their personality, be functional, and go beyond the place of shelter to a source of inspiration and motivation to those who live there. An obsession with home renovation TV shows left a seed in me, a dream of how can I create that sort of thing for myself, how do I get the story and view someone’s house from their perspective and how do I help people in a temporal space create something that feels like home to them when they are far from home or make their home into something amazing, just because they are humans.
Yeah, we don't always have dreams that revolve around other people and that is ok. I might never get to do this but I am happy with that. I hope you enjoyed reading this, as much as I did writing it. I included some TV shows and YouTube channels I follow and if this interest you, do check them out. (Honourable mention: Flipping Virgins, Living Big in A Tiny House)
Have a blessed week.
With Love,
The Estherian.
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