houseology and…………photographs

01 July 2010

• This month I’d like to talk about the issue of photographs.
• How useful are the beautiful pictures we see in papers and magazines, how reflective are they of reality?
• This site, for example, features many photos of my own house, taken for different publications over the years.
• And yes, the whole house is thoroughly cleaned and tidied each time.
• So do the photos reflect reality?
• Yes, insofar as the house is capable of appearing as it does in photos.
• No, insofar as it is not always so clean and tidy.
• I would say that the photos represent the house at its frozen “best”: they capture the stage-set for our lives which is our living space.
• I have also learned over the years, in my own house, the value of photographs in evaluating objectively how the spaces look and consequently feel.
• It is perhaps easier to analyse critically the frozen, 2 dimensional image than the space in its 3 dimensional reality.
• Photos are precise in their representation of reality, they “freeze” all those little details which you may not notice on a day-to-day basis but which add to, or distract from, the harmony of the space.
• And so the printed photos have frequently prompted me to make adjustments to how furniture is arranged, how objects are placed etc.
• A client recently remarked that a room she was having difficulties with always appeared dowdy and dated in the annual Christmas photos.
• The photos inspired her to analyse exactly what those issues were, and how they might be addressed.
• And so photos can constitute another tool for tackling issues with problem spaces and interiors – and, indeed, for identifying issues you may not have previously noticed!