A Work in Progress

 

Photo by Nick Smith

"Home is the on going story of a person..." Ilse Crawford

"Every person is in part his own project and makes himself." Abraham Maslow

January is a popular month for "renewals" and making new resolutions. We reflect on the past year and speculate on the future. Feeling inspired and with our aspirations renewed, we start to plan with the best of intentions. Despite our past failures, whether it is the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle or learning a new skill, we begin to act with renewed confidence and determination.

Our relationship with our home is an important aspect of this self-improvement and transformation. The home not only provides shelter, security and safety, it is also an inextricable part of our identity. It is no surprise that some of our new year's resolutions will include making changes in the home. The concepts of the home and self provide interesting analogies. When we decide to repaint the walls, clear out the closet, replace the floor boards - are we also attempting to reconstruct our identities?

When contemplating new resolutions, we will also naturally think about pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones. These may include committing ourselves to working hard towards reaching new goals, surpassing our existing beliefs and boundaries, or indeed creating new ones. Either way it is our quest to become the ideal self, or a better version of who we currently are. The same can be said of our homes. We will plan that kitchen extension, demolishing its existing walls and extending its boundaries in the belief that once the works are completed, we will be closer to the ideal home and perfect life.

At the time of writing, England has entered into its third lockdown. I was sifting through some photos of progress on site and came across a David Bray installation in one of the rooms of the house. Painted on the walls are the words "The smell of the sea is in your nose." This was particularly poignant. At a time when places are being forced to close and travel restricted, Bray's words took me back with fondness to an earlier retreat to Birchington-on-Sea. I am fascinated by the way in which words, objects, books, art and architecture can be so evocative that they can provoke and inspire feelings and sensations of pleasure. Perhaps it is no wonder that we tend to fill our homes with objects and decorate and paint our rooms in manners that please us. It must be true that by improving our home environment we also improve our feelings and sense of well-being.

The dark winter months focus our attention on the warmth of the home. The Scandinavians call this Hygge. The heavier the storm outside, the warmer the inside of our homes will feel. In Junichirō Tanizaki's essay In Praise of Shadows, he wrote "...we find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates." This provides a contrasting view point in a culture that places much emphasis on light. The darkness and coldness of the winter night accentuates the coziness of our homes. Sometimes our obsession with light distracts us from much that can be admired in the shadowy darkness of things.

There is no doubt in the satisfaction that a goal achieved or a project successfully completed will bring. However, many times this feeling of satisfaction passes and we will soon be seeking the next project or challenge. Perhaps in our quest for the ideal self and home, the ultimate pleasure is not so much in the attainment of perfection, but rather in the journey towards the elusive perfection. Could it be in the continual reinvention and the work in progress where we find most fulfilment? Maybe we should relish more in the pleasure of the work we are putting in and the journey that we are embarking on. Sometimes the anticipation and the working towards the desired goal is more exciting than what the achieved goal brings. After all, who is to guarantee, this same time next year, we will not commit again to yet another home or self improvement?