Are we thinking wrong, when designing our homes?

Allow me to reintroduce myself

First of all happy quarantini.This year was really an eye-opener, making us realize what really is important to us as human beings. In the first blog, we talked about the outdoor spaces that we have realized that are missing on our island. Spaces such as parks, centrally located greenery, and other outdoor activities. Giving us the freedom to roam around our inner-city for fresh air. My name is Shawn Zimmerman, and welcome to my overthinker blog where we rethink the way we see architecture on the island.

But let's talk about our houses or to be honest our homes, our humble of bode, our sanctuary. That's what we usually think or say when we think about our houses. That private space that you can call yours. But usually, these spaces are not thought out from the beginning, we think about houses as a cost or as something you need to live in so you don't pay rent and you can call it your own. 

On Curaçao, we have the tendency to want large spaces, to make a statement. For that friend to tell you “bosnan kas ta grandi” (You guys have a big house). For those international readers, I think you just learned a little bit of our language Papiamentu. But, let's get back to it, we must think about spaces as extensions of our personalities, not as the required space that we think we need based on what we are accustomed to. Just think about it, you don't have the same personality as all your friends, right? You wouldn't want a house that is based on his/her personality. Thus, the trajectory required to design our house needs to change, we are not designing something for a few years but maybe something for the rest of your life, shouldn't it be able to grow as you grow? A house for 40 years shouldn’t be thought about in 1 week? Doesn't make sense right? How long does it take you to decide where are you going on vacation? shouldn't a house take longer? 

Back inside

But alright, given our current situation and where we are going, we are foreseeing a future that we see ourselves staying at home much more. So we must think about what we really need to make us feel better, to improve our mental health within our spaces. I think we all experienced different spaces where we just wanted to scream as we did not like the way it is set up or how it makes us feel. Speaking from my own experience from living in a small studio in The Hague snowed in for 4 days and I couldn't stand being in there anymore. I saw the same 4 walls every day and wasn't able to go to another bedroom or other space to be relieved. So our mental health and even our general health are very influenced by the spaces that we live in.

Due to the government's mandate, we gotta be at home, which means we have to entertain ourselves with Netflix or other technologies. But isn't this weird? We are mad that we need to be at the place that we call home, the place we are supposed to feel the most comfortable in. But is it our home ? or are we just mad that we can't get out? Or do we need to rethink the way we design our interiors? But I mean in Curacao we kinda have it pretty good. I mean we have large backyards and large houses (compared to the avg household in the world). So that pretty much means that we do not have what we really need in our house, our houses are designed to cope with our schedule but are not designed based on our lifestyle what we truly desire. So why do we keep accepting mediocrity?   

Your glass box

I'm sitting here telling you about spaces while I sit in my office at home, which is 2 meters away from my bed. Okay, you got me, I'm sitting in my bedroom, cause I don't have any more spaces to work in. So I might say my house doesn't cope with my lifestyle. I am someone that moves around when working, I love getting inspiration through nature and through different experiences, but my current house does not stimulate that for me. So I'm living in a house that doesn't inspire me to design other houses for my clients, how ironic. But why do I accept this? 

Is mediocrity the trend? That is the real question, we usually think about houses in a traditional way. I have 2 kids so I need three rooms and two bathrooms cause God forbid my children are not gonna use my bathroom. We don’t think about the spaces that would actually make us happy, and I'm gonna tell you personally, I would always give up a room for my “future” kids to create a space for my creativity.

Okay right now you’re thinking; this architect is talking like it's so easy but forgets about my budget. Actually, you should create what fits in your budget and your lifestyle. You told yourself you need a big room so you can relax in, but you never asked yourself what makes you feel relaxed? What should you create that gives you that feeling? We see spaces on Curacao as m2 and not as a space that interacts with you as a person. If you create a glass box and a concrete box it wouldn't make you feel the same right? The glass box would let you feel as if you’re outside. So why not question your spaces? Why do you need such a big room? That is one question I always ask my clients. And you should ask yourself that too, so you can figure out what your space truly needs.  

Lifestyle

We usually say as architects; that a building is a story written in stone, meaning that every little aspect of a building tells a story and has a meaning. With architects thinking years about different spaces and how people would use them and interact with them. But, in this modern era in Curaçao, we have come to a point, that building a house or buying a house is something that must be done quickly and cheaply, but forgetting how it may impact your lifestyle.  

You have a daily routine right? Ask yourself this: did you create your own daily routine, or did the given space you live in created that for you? You just cope with the way things are, you don't dream about what it should be. In Curaçao, we have the privilege of designing homes from scratch, something that is very rare in the world. So why wouldn't you take that as an advantage? Why wouldn't you write down what are the most important spaces I need and try to incorporate that into your dream house?

Your lifestyle actually dictates what you really need. So therefore if you're telling yourself that you usually do the laundry on Sunday but you also want to relax on your peaceful Sunday. Thus, that means the laundry must be done as quickly as possible. Therefore, Shouldn't the laundry room be close to your washing line so you can easily make the transition from the washing machine to the outside? 

Okay here’s another one. You are planning to have 2 kids, knowing that you would want them to go study abroad when they are old enough, wouldn't it be smart to plan one room to turn it into something else in the future? Making it future proof? 

Another one. Being someone that works a lot, wouldn't an office be more important than having a large dining table for 8? A space within your house that inspires you to be better and get the job done so you can tackle the new day! 

Is this really what you want? 

Now you got this quickly designed house you didn't think about how you want to live, you step into the front door after a long day of work. You put your bag down, and you take a seat in your living room and you watch tv. After 2 hours you get up and you go to bed. You wake up in the morning now you’re late and you need to rush to get out. You can't remember where you put your bag, you can't remember where you put your keys and you didn't even get the chance to make some coffee. What if I told you that all of that could've been thought out from the beginning making sure we design with you in mind? 

When thinking about the entrance of your house you should ask yourself where do I want to put my things? Where would I want to put my keys? Those things can be solved by a built-in closet or a shelf that you bought, which can be designed from the first day. That's the same with bathrooms and kitchens. You always eat out, never cook so why would you need an expensive kitchen? You just need a few shelves, a few cabinets for the day you need to prove to someone that you can cook, or the day you suddenly decide that you’re baking cupcakes in the middle of the night. But really, why build a big kitchen if you wouldn't use it?

 And this is exactly what I mean when you design based on your lifestyle. Each element, designed with you in mind. Most randomly placed but with thought behind it. 

The idea of it all 

We usually think that spaces and m2 are what makes a house valuable, but we forget that uniqueness and a story are what sells. You choose a house that fits your needs, which means when designing a house that is focused on creating the best living styles and conditions for a person, it would be a very easy house to sell and to live in. 

I can imagine when reading this, you would think dammit, why didn't I think of it like that, what can I do now? Well, there's so much you can do, start rethinking each space of your house that you live in. Start thinking of what you need to make yourself happy. Start creating spaces that make you more productive. A coffee machine that automatically sets coffee, a big screen that creates the best environment for your Netflix nights, a room that is flexible enough that can change from a play area to a gym for mommy when the kids are napping. All of these things can start by simply moving stuff around. Don't underestimate your inner interior designer, let your passions and lifestyle guide you towards what you need and not what you want.  

And when we start doing this, that's when we start designing homes that we can't wait to be trapped in.