Home life keeps changing while ‘ideal’ stays the same
Home sweet home. It seems so simple. But while the idea of “home” remains constant — the epitome of the familiar and reliable — actual home life is messier and changes all the time. So says Judith Flanders, author of “The Making of Home: The 500-Year Story of How Our Houses Became Our Homes” (Thomas Dunne Books, September 2015), in which she traces the evolution of the home, and concepts of home, in northern Europe and America from the 16th century to the early 20th century.
She looks at changes in technology, such as plumbing and toilets, tableware and furniture, windows and window dressings, light bulbs and kitchen gadgets, as well as changes in culture, such as marriage patterns, hopes and customs.
“There’s a huge disconnect between the mental construct of home and the reality, and it turns out that that’s been the case for centuries,” says Flanders, reached by phone recently in her London home.
She likens the disconnect to the images featured in today’s interior-design magazines, which are generally devoid of toothbrushes, electrical outlets, hampers, dish racks and other basic amenities.
“It really proves that our desire to believe in this ideal of home overrides everything. We don’t like to be told or reminded that it’s not true,” she says.
She traces the impact on home life of glass windows, electric lighting and indoor plumbing.
“The only real stability we have in the home, if one looks at the centuries of history, is the belief that home is a stable thing. Everything changes all the time,” she says.