Home by Ellen S. Fisher

Home: The Foundations of Enduring Spaces by Ellen S. Fisher . A new to me book about Home Design. This book is of interest to me due to its comprehensive scope. When you live in a home or any kind it can be an ongoing project that waxes and wanes through the years. While I love a beautiful and artful home and space of any kind - I recognize that this is not afforded to most people. By this I mean that many of us are just trying to get by in the world and having the desire to pay attention to our living spaces in any meaningful way can be a challenge. This book is unique in that it offers up a wide scope of comprehensive ideas if you are trying to build, adjust, renovate, dream about, plan, discuss, undo any spaces. Since the book is coming out of The New York School of Interior Design, you can be confident that it covers the standard home interior design codes and needs in a current home of today in the United States.

I live in an old home built in the early 1700’s. I have lived here for 38 years now. When we bought this place back in the day - we completely gutted it it to the outside old frame. There was nothing left to save in the old homestead. So, it is an original post and beam frame that was then dressed in a more modern way to comply with current codes here in the U.S. The house itself is an ongoing project. What this means is that is is basically never finished. Things are done - redone - worn out - updated again - changed around - tended to. Mind you modern is a relative term. My house does not look modern - it is just more modern than it was in the 1700’s.

The reason that we are able to constantly update or redo things here is that my husband is a builder, carpenter, woodworker and man of all trades. He can fix or make just about anything. I think that adds to a lifestyle that allows one to imagine all sorts of things - all the time. Where as if you do not have those skills in your own skillset - you do not imagine things like - can’t we just rip out this kitchen next weekend? Can you redo the trim in here next month? The house needs a new wood roof - so you just put that thing on there by yourself. These projects would cost a fortune. That is how he makes a livelihood - people pay him to build or fix their houses. This involves custom woodworking - redoing kitchens - entire houses - you get the idea. So, many, projects he’s built over the years. A friend even had him build a beautiful plain wooden coffin for his grandfather when he died. Building is in our lexicon of thinking and I don’t think that will ever go away.

This book Home: The Foundations of Enduring Spaces is really useful. It was published in 2018 and I have only now just obtained a copy. It was a gift. We are renovating a bathroom currently. This book in the chapter of bathrooms has a great checklist of things to think about that maybe you might not have in your planning stages. We have mostly done a fly by the seat of your pants approach to this house in some ways. At least it feels that way to me. We obtained a good price on a bunch of ash wood flooring long ago and so that is why we put the ash in here. We are often driven by cost in decision making. I suppose most people are. We look for nicer quality things that will endure and then try to find a way to get that. Like the flooring example. I think my husband might have some other things to say about this - it might just be how I perceive these projects.

The current project has involved a good find on some tile and a marketplace sink that I stumbled across. I think official interior designers would cringe at our approach. However, I think a person’s personality and budget and lifestyle are of course what dictates ones approach to designing a home. What I see in the over culture places of home design or home tending are generally not offered up for a frugal or budget friendly home projects. What some of these places display are cheap quality materials that usually just end up in the landfill because they are so poorly made. It has been our experience to find vintage pieces made of quality wood over cheaper pieces made of particle board. At least that is our aesthetic. This generally involves keeping an eye out for home pieces in your looking.

I used to have an Etsy shop as well as a brick and mortar shop that sold vintage goods. I would attend local antique and vintage auctions and try to outbid people with large pockets. It usually went that I would go after the unique piece and not necessarily what would be worth something to resell. Somehow I had a movie house purchase from me some beautiful luggage that was used in a period piece that lasted a number of seasons. How exciting! The amount of things to keep on hand to have a shop is overwhelming. As I was getting rid of things in my own life this lifestyle didn’t appeal to me anymore. So, one day I called the auction house and they came and picked everything up and gave me a check. I was relieved to have it over with. I sill do like to look in vintage shops. It is an exercise in artistic finding, appreciating, sometimes purchasing and finally walking out of the shop often with nothing in hand. Maybe it’s a little like going to a vintage museum for me. All in the span of half an hour, I can assemble things in my creative mind, disassemble them from any attachment to the idea of owning them and walk out in a free and open way. It’s entertaining. It’s artistic. We can use our minds this way. We can use the templates of our home in this way.

Exercise: Clear your mind of expectations. Maybe close your eyes for a little thinking of what is exciting you in this moment. Come up with a theme in your head about this time and moment. Is it softness? Perhaps it’s a winter theme. Whatever it is, that’s what is what you are needing and feeling right now. You could make a vision board or a collage about this idea. Or you could go find a junk shop and walk around envisioning a little story to entertain you. Let me know if this is interesting to you and what you might come up with. Hunt with pleasure.