Renovation & Redesign: Necessity or Indulgence?

October 11, 2020

‘Have no fear of perfection — you’ll never reach it.’

— Salvador Dali

For some of us burrowing away in the throes of a domesticated metropolitan existence, life tends to fall into a series of predictable stages and phases. As we reach adulthood, our lives turn towards nest building and spurred on by an Instagramable vanity and one-upmanship, the Feng Shui of one’s living room suddenly becomes more important than living itself.

Social media silently coaxes us into forming the belief that as long as a photo appears to capture a moment of interest or intrigue, perhaps it never really mattered whether that moment was truly interesting or intriguing at all.

With this in mind, we began our renovation journey and two years of grime-filled wood-laden trips back and forth between the DIY store culminated in a transformation of a 1-bedroom flat into…

…a 1-bedroom flat.

With wall paint still drying in our hair, as we looked back in exhausted appreciation of our newly designed home, we hastily reached for the keys, closed the door behind us and set off in search of a new futile aspiration and sense of existence.

Here is a glimpse of our restoration journey, perhaps it may inspire you on yours…

‘Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.‘

— Robert L. Peters

BEFORE

AFTER

‘Remodeling is like pulling a loose thread on a cheap sweater – the job keeps unraveling.’

– Margo Kaufman

How important is your home to you? Does the value of restoration and redesign lie in necessity or transformation? Can interior design affect mental health and wellbeing? How does design shape our lives and cultures?