Who talks to a house?
First of all, who talks to a house? Abe Odedina and his wife for starters. In describing how he and his wife began the renovation of a recently purchased unremarkable home, Abe says, “So we thought that over time we’d have a word with it.” (October 2018 issue of The World of Interiors.)
Renovating
Renovations usually evoke statements like, “I can’t wait to get the house renovation done!” In contrast, Abe states he and his wife had a leisurely chat with their house as they made changes to it. Where is Abe coming from and is he on to something?
“We thought that over time we’d have a word with it.” The whole sentence feels relaxed and not ruled by time. In fact, the phrase “over time” itself suggests a total lack of schedule.
Scheduling with quantum physics
This is not your typical approach to renovations. Usually a schedule rules, or attempts to rule. In contrast, Abe is seeing time as something else. Above all, time is fluid, not strict units of measurement.
Scientific theory supports Abe’s thinking. Quantum physics says that time isn’t linear. It can bend and connect present to future and possibly to past. (Apple has us in the present and future at the same time in their TV commercial for Apple Watch!)
Timeless results
What would taking a less linear view of time mean for a renovation? It might just add luxuriousness. Setting a slower pace would be luxury enough but I think it would also encourage meandering. We would no longer be confined to a straight path on a strict schedule with our blinders on focused on the end. Letting our minds travel time by reminisce and our eyes take in the present around us. Imagining then a space that is richer in its influences and its solutions.
But what about talking to your house? This idea of engaging the house in the renovation conversation is science fiction, right? Yet haven’t we all experienced the magic that happens when we let ourselves listen to the space and the materials? Listening as we work engages our imagination and we end up creating a more unique, honest space. And as reward, the space will speak.
Physics is the study of matter and energy and their interactions according to Merriam-Webster. In physics then, spaces and materials can be thought of in terms of their physicality, power and connectivity. Renovation comes from the Latin word, renovare – to make new. No just tweaking here, but a transformation.
Let us engage our imagination when we take on a renovation project as Ade did. Let’s look beyond the surface of things and consider the physicality, power and connectivity of space. And let’s not just renovate a space. Let’s make it new.
Photo includes “Wordhouse” by Bonnie Thompson Norman