Is a House Always a Home?

Since probably the Ice-age we humans have wanted shelter. Because we feel the need to get out of the rain, a place to put the lap-top, perhaps a place to show off to our friends.

I have seen houses and homes. There is a difference, mainly in tidiness. We go to show-homes a lot, mainly because we are just nosy, or to fill an empty afternoon. These houses are built so you can hopefully picture yourself living there and order one straight from the builder. Of course the builder himself lives somewhere else, not in a show-home. These show-homes are ‘done’ by a fully qualified interior designer with a big budget. And it shows. The exact shade of flowers are on the table, there are matching curtains. In the bathroom the towels are color-matching the tiles. And it is clean, uncluttered.

Sometimes, we pretend we live there. We take the newspaper, coffee and so on and make ourselves at home. That is, until we are politely asked to leave.After all, all the clutter we surround ourselves with is not conducive to a sale. Nor are we personally, we as people are sort of clutter as well. An empty show-home is better.

So the above is a house. Then we go home, our real home that is. Our cats are happy to see us, spreading hairs everywhere, my husband takes off his socks and leaves them on the rug. The newspaper is spread out, my books are everywhere. Music comes from my son’s room. I start on making a cake in the kitchen. And I think to myself: anyone can buy a house, but a home is something different.
Could you live in a show-home?