Stone, S., Walker, J., Parry, G., 2019.

Lived in Rooms - The Home, the Terrace and the Wallpaper: Home Is Where the Heart Is

https://qtine.com/work/lived-in-rooms/

The Home, the Terrace and the Wallpaper

In recent decades, changing priorities and lifestyles have led to a shift in how families and households operate. Men and women fulfill increasingly similar roles and it's not unusual for friends - and even relative strangers - to live together. These changes are evident in the way we organise our homes, and in the differences between the 1973 June Street photographs and the contemporary Irwell Riverside series. Perhaps the most striking difference is the shift in décor. 1970s' interiors were a riot of bright colour and over-scaled pattern, woodgrain vinyl and sparkling ornaments. In contrast, the modern interiors are muted, minimal, restrained. Where did this confidence in self-expression and willingness to embrace design trends - no matter how daring - come from? Is it something we have lost - why? Artist Jenny Walker and Reader in Architecture Sally Stone will discuss this and more with photographer Gavin Parry in this intimate 'in conversation' event.

Home Is Where the Heart Is

The pre-industrial home was also the workplace. For the majority of the population, there was little difference between the domestic and the working environment. Sometimes the spaces overlapped, so the big table in the farmhouse kitchen served the family and the workers, or there were separate spheres, the merchant's house contained spaces for the family with discrete rooms from which to conduct business. The Industrial Revolution ended this traditional method of occupation; the husband of the household went out to work, to earn money to keep the family, while his wife stayed at home and kept the house. Thus the man became "a visitor in his own home". The post-industrial house shows a return to that ancient method of organisation. Changing priorities and lifestyles means that work-life and family-life are becoming merged, everyone works, and to confirm this the kitchen has moved from the periphery to once again occupying the centre of the home and the era of communal living has returned.