Home Grown*

The last coat of paint has been applied and the final box unpacked. You might think your work is done, but you'd be mistaken. Now begins the exciting process of turning bricks and mortar into memories and experiences marked by celebrations and tragedies, growth and attrition, joy and grief, and everything else that life throws at us. Homes develop from the inside out and, despite the apparent rigidity of drywall and siding, the structure of an organically grown home inhales and exhales, stretches and shrinks, adapts and evolves and—piece-by-piece—begins to write its own story.

The process of converting a house to a home can begin in a variety of ways … it might start with something as simple as the first spilled drink or scuffed wall, or something as momentous as bringing home a new infant and slowly accepting a Fisher-Price colour palette into your 'designer' living room. Signs of living and signs of life provide integrity and authenticity to a home and, without these random departures from perfection, a house remains little more than a utilitarian container.

Houses are built. Homes are grown.

An organically grown home is a patient one. A house furnished and decorated in one fell swoop runs the risk of becoming a one-dimensional stage set where everything belongs to the same style and era reflecting only your mood and preferences during a very narrow and finite period of time—i.e. the few crazy weeks before you moved in! It is the equivalent of summing up your entire life in a snapshot versus a feature film.

An organically grown home adapts to fit you. Design and social convention often make us behave in a certain way to fit a space instead taking charge and turning it round the other way. So, if you decide to convert the designated ‘master bedroom’ with its magnificent view of Kootenay Lake into an office because that's where you spend most of your day, go for it! There are other places you can sleep.

An organically grown home never stops evolving. Nest building is a work in progress. The need to accommodate a growing family will likely come to an end when one or all of the children leave home. Certain rooms can be re-purposed as you develop new interests and hobbies. Or, perhaps an elderly relative is moving into the basement and your son's black walls and heavy metal band posters need to be exchanged for pastels and needlepoint! Change is a constant in our lives and an organically grown home is one that reflects, supports and celebrates it.

 *Adapted from Nest Building: A Guide To Finding Your Inner Interior Designer, written and published by Kate Bridger. Visit www.redfernhouse.ca to purchase your copy or find your nearest retailer.