Pandemic allows us to appreciate our homes

As the year begins, it is a good time to look back on how these strange times have changed how we look at our homes. This consciousness raising exercise is perhaps the only silver lining to this brutal season. I have assembled some insights from a variety of thoughtful people, reflecting the infinitely idiosyncratic places we each call home places that have universal human importance and focus. The breadth of their insights sews together a tapestry of our domestic desires and values.

Peter Chapman, executive

editor at Taunton Press

Peter Chapman has a place he loves in his home. “I grew up in England and the big difference between my house in England and my home in America is the mudroom I now have. When I used to come home from school, or my mother came home from shopping what would we do? We would come in the front door and there was a hall, but you didn’t have a place where you put stuff down or sit and change your shoes — although I only had one pair of shoes at a time in England. I’m grateful for having that mudroom.”

Christine Woodside, writer

Christine Woodside is a writer and has one specific place in her home that she is grateful for. “I am grateful for the wood stove in our little living room that is so small that we had to buy the tiniest wood stove to fit in its 1880 fireplace. Staring at a fire organizes the mind, like looking at the ocean. My husband has learned that if the fire is already going when I come home,” she said, wryly, “everything goes better for him.”

Sheila Bonenberger, poet

“I love window sills because they are transactional between the outside and the inside. They remind me of these childhood stories about pies being placed on the windowsill to cool. Invariably, some neighborhood kid would come along and nick the pie, or a bear would eat it. I think being quiet and alone in your home during COVID triggers your memories.”

Roz Cama, interior designer

Roz Cama who created CAMA Inc. in New Haven has a piece of furniture that is her favorite part of her home. “I think of my kitchen table — it is all about eating and tasting food. It is round, so you see everyone at the dining room table for the feast and you can hear each other. You’re close, but you’ve got this big space in front of you.”

Dale Mulfinger, architect

Architect Dale Mulfinger, from Minnesota, addresses the human side of home. “When I open the door coming home, I love the fact that my wife is there and I’m not alone. And she’s been with me for over 50 years. I get the cooking smells from her kitchen (and it really is her kitchen) and she’s a trained chef and loves herbs, so everything always smells phenomenally well.”