A HOME WITH CLASS - what does it mean?
I invite all visitors to ask themselves a question:
How would you define a home, whether it is an apartment, house, dorm room, or studio?
For me, my own home is a palace. This does not mean that it is palatial and richly appointed. It is a palace because my husband and I live here happily. We are comfortable and surrounded by beauty, and everyone who visits us feel good here, too. Our guests continually say, "Your house has class!" Here is harmony, calmness, order, acceptance. We are very happy with it, but its creation required a great deal of thought. Our decisions were often unconventional, but we were looking for happiness in our home in our way. We were not afraid to do things differently.
And what is your answer to the question above? Is the place where you are living now the fulfillment of your dreams, or is it nothing special?
On the Classroom Lifestyle Blog, I will tell you how we created our dream home and what we have in it that everyone calls it a home of class. Perhaps, you will also see that making your home better does not need to be expensive or require the best and latest in interior design.
I invite you to do a small exercise.
Imagine yourself as a guest in your home for a moment.
If you feel sad, then you are probably not completely satisfied with your home, apartment, or living room, and having such feeling is the first sign that you need to rekindle your love for your abode once again. It is time to radically change the way you think. You may not quite appreciate what you have, and there are certainly many others who would like to be in your place. So, be prepared to do a little work.
Sit down in a comfortable place and try to look at your apartment, your house, or your room as if you were seeing it for the very first time, like a visitor. Recall how you you felt the first time you saw it, and focus on all the good things about it that made you want to live there.
Two things will happen, if you take some time for yourself:
1- Nice memories will return from the back of your mind about the secluded space, nice windows, interesting architectural solutions, beautiful garden, modern decor, and the like.
2-You will also very clearly see what you have neglected in this space for some time, perhaps even for years.
Take some time to think freely about this matter and to know yourself. This is rather a meditative exercise. In the meantime, I will tell you the story of how and when the today's broadly understood concept of the home came into being.
The home was not necessarily considered an intimate, private place until living conditions began to change, and this began independently in Paris, London, and Oslo. Interestingly, it was in the Netherlands, around 1609, when "home atmosphere" first became of interest in society. The home in the United Provinces of the Netherlands became a truly special place for family. After the Thirty Years’ War, when the Dutch won their independence from Spain, the Dutch found themselves largely bereft of natural resources. What is more, their country was then, and still is, smaller in land area than Switzerland, but these shortcomings did not hinder their tremendous development in the ensuing years.
What today the Dutch call their "golden age" is the period from 1609 to 1660. The country became a world leader in the construction of ships and created a powerful navy and huge fishing and merchant fleets. Dutch explorers established colonies in Africa, Asia, and also in America. With their discovery and introduction of many economic innovations, Amsterdam became the financial center of Europe, and therefore, much of the world. The United Provinces of the Netherlands produced many daring entrepreneurs and world-class artists whose names are as well known today as ever, including Rembrandt, Peter de Hooch, Jan Steen, Gabriel Metsu, and Jan Vermeer.
The Courtyard of a House in Delft, Pieter de Hooch, c. 1658, National Gallery
At a time when the rest of Europe was agrarian, the Netherlands became a land of cities, and the people became known simply as the Dutch:
- Less passionate than the people of Southern Europe
- Less sentimental than neighboring Germany
- Less sophisticated than the French
To paraphrase Dutch historian Johan Huizing, the Dutch character in all its simplicity was shaped in part by the surrounding landscape. The flat terrain, the soothing sight of the canals, the coast, and the absence of distinct dialects like mountain and valley dialects all contributed to the simplicity of the Dutch.
Three Ladies and a Man in a Courtyard behind a House, Pieter de Hooch, c. 1663 – c. 1665, Rijksmuseum
A Mother Delousing Her Child, Known as 'A Mother's Duty', Pieter de Hooch, c. 1658 – c. 1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
This simplicity is evident in Dutch architecture. Urban houses from the period reflect the most cherished values of the Dutch:
- having children,
- owning a home
- having a garden.
They loved their homes. Appropriately enough, the English word home is derived from the old Anglo-Saxon word ham and Old German haim, which were the building, farm, dwelling, shelter, possession, or attachment. Home is a building but also everything in it and around it. Home is the people who make it and those who live in it. Home is a sense of satisfaction and the satisfaction with what the word means. You can leave the building but always come back to the home.
Mother Lacing Her Bodice beside a Cradle, Pieter de Hooch, c. 1659-1660, Gemäldegalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Emanuel de Witte gave us a complete synthesis of the seventeenth century interior in a small painting. He did this painting around 1660, and it shows a number of rooms flooded by sunlight through large windows. I would like to invite you to read one of my articles which will discuss in detail this image by Emanuel de Witte and the design, appearance, destination of a Dutch home, and its great importance in the development of our homes.
Interior with a Woman at the Virginals, Emanuel De Witte, c. 1660, Museum Boijmans van Beunningen Rotterdam.
If you have finished the exercise at the beginning of the page, I am very happy.
If you truly feel your home is beautiful, or at least comfortable and cheerful, then you and l and are proud of it! But hold on, I encourage you in future meetings with me to learn how the broadly understood " home atmosphere" developed through history.
If, on the other hand, this test made you feel sad and discouraged, do not worry: we will work on this together. The more you love your home, the more eager you will be to take care of it and the more you will love it. And then you will see a lot of things in it that you never saw before. If you love your home and you care for it, it will repay you and you will be proud of it. Then, your guests will tell you, “Your home has character and class!”.
