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Coming
Home to
Yourself
When Your
Home Expresses
Who You Are
by Judith Fertig
Illustrations by Jill butler
H
ome. It’s a small word for a universal
A house becomes
home or again becoming a single adult; a
idea, one that resonates deeply with
celebration of finally being able to build a
complex individual meanings and
a home only as
home or move to the place of our dreams; or
associations.
we put our own
a milestone, which might come in the form
Regardless of whether home is a room,
of a first apartment or new baby.
apartment, cottage or mansion, how homey
personal, emotional “Creating a soul space, or a nest, is not
it seems depends first on two physical fac-
imprint on it.
a new idea for most women,” says Butler.
tors: light coming in on two sides and a view
“What might be new is creating the nest
of greenery or sky, according to Clare Cooper
that supports you and makes you feel loved
Marcus, professor emerita of the departments
and nurtured when your world might not.
of architecture and landscape architecture
Taking the time to understand the deeper
and environmental planning at the University
need is the first step.”
of California, Berkeley. “We yearn for nature,” she observes.
“Houseplants or a view of a garden is a universal desire.”
How a House Becomes a Home
In her seminal book, House as a Mirror of Self: Explor-
“A house is more than a roof over your head,” says
ing the Deeper Meaning of Home, which resulted from
Butler, noting that it is far more than what it came to be seen
her work on a low-income housing project and a series
as in recent years as Americans’ primary savings account.
of case studies, Marcus came to understand that “People
“The whole idea of a house became skewed when we wor-
consciously and unconsciously use their home environment
ried more about resale value than actually living there,” she
to express something about themselves.” For Marcus, our
continues. “It’s time to consider their return on our emotional
evolving self-image is directly reflected in the homes we
investment.”
create, like a chambered nautilus, around our deepest self.
A house becomes a home only as we put our own per-
Sometimes, we discover that we have outgrown the
sonal, emotional imprint on it. “A home is people-made,”
shell in which we currently live, and a change is in order,
writes Alexandra Stoddard, author of Feeling at Home: De-
remarks Jill Butler, an illustrator, creativity coach and author
fining Who You Are and How You Want to Live. “Our home
of Create the Space You Deserve: An Artistic Journey to
is our essence, the ultimate Earthly place where we live and
Expressing Yourself Through Your Home. This could be the
love and have our being.
result of a shift, as the result of downsizing to a smaller
“All the more reason to ask ourselves: Are we living
16 Northern & Central New Mexico
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