Lifestyle
A Woman's Perspective On Housing |
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| Author: Maya Ross |
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I was trying to grab a magazine at the JFK airport when this question grabbed me: why?
The question is, why do these housing/ interior decoration magazines show thousands of photos of beautiful houses, resort and hotel rooms, WITHOUT any person or activity in it and just show decor, lights and furniture? Are they ONLY investment and nothing more?
For me, growing up in a clattered Japanese house among 10 adults and 5 dogs and 2 kittens vying for survival, plus friends and helpers always hanging out, Ifm used someone being right in my face breathing, talking, or sneezing.
Well-off Californians live in excessive personal space. For me this is a sort of scary, unwanted thing. California, and Los Angeles in particular, have become sprawls. Nice houses, restaurants and stores, and even peoplefs comfort personal space take up an obscene amount of space. So much so that a car is a necessity even to get from one store to another.
In their homes, Californians sit down opposite each other on a nice sofa, set sandwiching these huge TV screen, but too far apart from each other for me to feel the intimacy or familiarity (or even to hear the conversation!). They have these pretty mantelpieces/fireplaces (quite unnecessary in California most of the year, they admit) however huddling and snuggling in front of the mantelpiece/fireplace with family and kids seem to be a rarity, at least in WASP households.
WHAT ARE THE USE OF THESE SPACE, NOW ? Isnft it a little odd to want to have so much space, just for your own? It inconveniences your life, for one thing; what if you lost your key in your house and you have the whole 300 square feet floor space to search for it? You call out to your cat dinnertime and she doesnft hear you, and so on.
I am not saying that I donft appreciate the gluxuryh of having too much space; actually space, an obvious being airplane and train seats, is something that shows your power and status, reminding other people you paid extra for the privilege. But my question is, why do those magazines ONLY show the furniture, chandelier and carpet, but NOT anyone, or any suggestion to do anything in that space?
Letfs assume I am a time-traveler from 2000 years ago and I donft know what people do now, and I want to find out but I canft just knock at someonefs door, so I try to grab some magazines.
I should probably look at fashion magazine to see what people wear and want to look like today, and even gossip magazines. They have plenty of photo of people and their stories in there. And see some porno to find out their fantasies (uh-huh). And what about LIFE, the boring, ordinary, everyday stuff ? Oh, here is the ghousingh magazine, and I pick it up. And therefs nothing but the photos of the house and how itfs decorated and whofs the decorator of the month. You occasionally have some person smiling in their garden and so on. But therefs very little you learn from these about how people actually LIVE, what they DO and WHO they live with.
Letfs assume you want to see the houses like clothes on a fashion model. Who are the Model family, fit to demonstrate how to enjoy and live in that house, like models showing you all the right coordination of bags with shoes.
Can you think of such a thing as a gmodelh family today? Or do such things only exist in a now-fast-developing modern nations like China, or in an extreme country like North Korea? In our society , are they just bunch of people only gsleepingh under the same roof most of the time, all of them they work, work and work, and spend some weekends together but a bit embarrassing having nothing to talk about?
A few years ago when I was a single woman, I was put up at a fabulous hotel in Manzamo, Okinawa. The daytime was fabulous, lots of swimming and work and activity, but then going back to this spacious twin room with nice open bathroom strewn with flower petals, and you can see full starry night from the window and balcony. And how did I feel? If I had to describe it in one word, galoneh. I never felt so bad not having anyone with me on this silly gbusinessh trip and silly me, expecting so much fun of this one night in Okinawa. Maybe Ifm not so grown up yet, to feel gcomfortableh traveling alone and enjoy solitude. But I simply didnft know when I would reach such a level of enlightenment (maybe when Ifm 70 I would?).
So there goes my question about these gorgeous houses that people are supposed to crave, so much so they donft mind borrowing so much money and slaving their lives away for. Do men think of their kids to be born or even secretly someday-Ifll-find-ya trophy girlfriends or whatever, how impressed they would be? Do women think of their hubby buying one of these to get away from it all and improve their marriage, making up for all those years? Or do they dream about a young boyfriend whofd make them feel beautiful again?
In any case, I donft think these magazines even think it a good idea to incorporate all these too human, sometimes crazy fantasies, or mundane dramas of family life and kids and that kind of stuff into their impeccable furnishings. Rather, they seem to maintain their aloof, polished indifference to all things that are passing, transient, like a little lovemaking at the fireplace, chattering in the kitchen, or inviting your friends and having a sleepovers and parties.
What happens to the fashion industry when there are no longer model icons whose beauty most people agree? In the similar way, what happens to ghousingh when you donft have any set of standard for a gfamilyh, or a ghouseholdh? If such a thing as a traditional gfamilyh is impossible without really deceiving yourself nowadays, is everybody eventually destined to live in their solitary cubby hole from which they clumsily court each otherfs warmth, but basically prefer to maintain their privacy and exclusivity?
Whether itfs a palace or a loft, if you choose to isolate yourself in it, I donft think the excessive extra space would make so much difference, unless you really collect things in it, and literally live with them.
But nothing makes me sadder than those middle-class china-porcelain and crystal, or wooden crafts or eggs or whatever contained in the glittering glass collection box that no one in the house obviously want or care anymore and itfs dusty, but at that time they just thought it was politically correct to have those gniceh things as a symbol of the family achieving a sort of freedom to spend money on unnecessary objects like these, and paid a good money to procure those hideous German china dolls. Itfs not the things themselves but the faded dreams and thoughts (trust me, we have lots in the house I grew up inc)
Those picture book houses with no one in it and little activity going on....have they also become obsolete and sad as those china dolls? Is it the industry who pretends like things are still the same, that people are still like Norman Rockwell style and by nature, have to want to move up to bigger houses, even though therefs therefs no guarantee there will be anyone else but yourself in your family in 5 years? For me I absolutely see no value in a solitary house, even with Terence Conran designing every bit of it.
It was depressing enough for me only for one night in Okinawa.... a luxurious big house would be a lifelong torture. If a house is the outer reflection of your inner self, I should say that my spiritual growth has not attained the level to fill that much space yet, and right now I donft know if I plan to grow much in that direction, being content with a cozy little (overpriced) space in Tokyo.
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