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D W E L L I N G W I T H D E S I G N
In my sample, doing things for the fun of it appeared to be central to having a
gallery and could be seen in lots of daily domestic activities, but less hilarious
pleasures were evident, too. Photograph P 244 is from Janne’s renovated kitchen.
No doubt, it is pleasing to have a new kitchen, but I am using the photo to
illustrate the types of set-ups that are not like still lifes and do not form an
intentional impressive-looking whole. Yet, the materials, shapes and colours
“go well together”.
Another example comes from Laura, who in 2004 said that
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L: we have, for example, thought for a long time that we’ll buy a toaster
but we can’t quite find one that would fit, because all of them are
either huge or sort of retro, rounded things, that resemble a vacuum
cleaner maybe. I don’t know, just somehow horrible looking most of
them (laughs). And why with the toasters particularly do you have
to be so awfully retro? Just a simple box model would be really good.
(Laura 04 568-572)
Their new toaster (P 245) exemplifies the sometimes very deep satisfaction that
one feels for having acquired a product that precisely matches the preferences.
Photograph P 246 is from Rea’s kitchen. It is an example of the everyday
installations that are not as intentional as the still lifes but not “piles” either.
As we dwell, the activity is facilitated by designed products that have become
integrated with a household’s use of space and time. In practice, it looks
like this. This is also one way to illustrate what scholars mean when they say
that households have style (Silverstone 1994 44–49); the style becomes visible,
for example, in the colours and shapes and degree of ornamentation that a
household tends to prefer. The result can be rather harmonious and interesting.
Tiina’s cabinet (P 247) exemplifies two common sources of domestic pleasure:
on the one hand, the home looks tidy and things are in order, “everything in its
right place”; and, on the other hand, that one simply sees good products, good
past design decisions, good findings, in the home. Tiina talked about the cabinet
in the following manner:
T: and then in fact grey is a terribly good colour in interior decoration,
too. These grey cabinets are over 20 years old. They are by Sope, you
cannot get it anymore in grey, and fortunately I have some of it stored
away, up to this high [shows], so it can be dismantled et cetera (Tiina
04 95-98)