Living Space

Look at those ads for million-dollar houses. The houses so brightly lit. Art tastefully displayed. Furniture that perfectly fits the style and the space. Ha! My parents weren't fashion fans. They had some style, but I don't share it. My Dad passed along the necessary caution of making sure I could properly fill any space I bought. OK. Cool. I'm glad I only have 391 square feet to fill.

My space is full. Done. Move on.

And yet, I watch ads, read articles, and hear advice from people who emphasize a lifestyle that exists for someone else's expectations, not for the person living there. There will be thousands of people who regularly entertain in their formal spaces. Their Instagram-worthy guests will appreciate the ambiance and the settings for their snaps. But many houses are rarely used. Empty formal spaces elegantly collect dust that somehow blows into a house, probably through the ducts.

I think the only time I've lived in a fully-furnished house was when I lived in ones that were less than 750 square feet. Even in my 868 square foot cottage, I had an empty room and empty shelves. That's also the house that had the most parties and the most guests. The lighting was random. The furniture, practical. The decor, mostly a mix of my art and my friends' art. 

Here I sit in my 391 square-foot space knowing that there's more than enough room for most of what I need, especially if I get up and shuffle things around. Between 868 and 391, I can see that I lost the space to have more than a few guests, or even a moderately expansive party. I also went from having a mortgage to being debt-free.

(My Tiny House Tour)
https://youtu.be/ZDPaJ9X-rGY?si=XZTnJRriKh66CPET

Houses are built with lots of empty space. Houses are designed and decorated to please guests. Yet, even when I hosted seasonal parties, I'd only have guests in the house at most once a month. Most cleaning, straightening, and decorating was moot except for a few hours every few weeks. Now, cleaning, straightening, and decorating is for me, not for guests. The cleaning, straightening, and decorating are for my needs and wants, and are judged by me, not by societal norms.

Does that sound radical? Go back and look at my house tour. My house, my home, fits me. In my roughly 15 months of living here, I've had fewer than a half-dozen guests - and most of them are friends who expect little from my fashion sense. They were here to visit a friend, not to judge decor.

Living according to my needs and wants instead of ads and expectations is relaxing. For most of civilization, houses were built to live in. They were close to the needs, with some wants applied as resources allowed. It wasn't until mass market advertising began demonstrating conventions and norms that houses became showpieces meant to convey character. Royalty could afford glitz, but everyone else was making meals, getting kids off to school, taking care of the house, and taking care of a job or two or three.

I'm not making some grand observation or trying to lead some frugal cause. I am simply celebrating that, without great intent, I'm living a life based on me. It is one way to define a home. Pardon me as I ask the impertinent question: Are you living a life based on you? If so, celebrate, regardless of what others think.