Housing – Half of your soul
I really like this book title by Kate Watson-Smyth. The original title was “Mad about the house”, but Trang Dung has beautifully translated it into “Housing – half of your soul”!
“I don’t know much about design rules, so I’m not bound by them. All I know is that I have good aesthetic eyes, knowing how to choose the right color and style, how to make a space vivid…
Vivid is the keyword I most want to mention. Your house can tell your story, but it is also a storage place for you. I don’t recommend that you throw away all the belongings that don’t make you happy, I just say that you need things that make your heart sing when you step into the room.”
These lines of the author seem to be speaking for my hearts. Our house is a rented house, not quite as beautiful as we expect, but it is the place where we want to spend the longest time to stay, being the strongest inspiration, and being the place we miss the most. Each item in the house, if not made by my husband, is chosen by the two of us in the late nights surfing the internet to see the furniture (my husband’s hobby). Over the years, my house is always messy, there are always unfinished corners, because of the continuous changes of decor. But so what, that’s HOME, HALF OF OUR SOULS.
Here we are happy, sad, angry, making up with each other, and falling in love endlessly. There are two dogs here hovering around us. There are shelves full of my favorite books. There is a lush garden my husband takes care of every day. There is a swing here where I chill during working hours, or watch my husband watering the trees. There are a night lamp, a ceramic vase, an enamel kettle, dishes of all kinds, and a kitchen full of collectibles that can never be used up…
I used to think that if one day I had to remove the lovely confusion surrounding me, I would not be myself anymore, he wouldn’t be him anymore, and we wouldn’t be us anymore.
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Most of the furniture in my house is made by my lover, or is the vintage stuff we were lucky to buy on both online and offline channels. For some small items to make our home cozy, I often buy from imported shops or small local brands. You can refer to shop for your home:
? Blankets – sheets: BedBoy
? Essential oil: NauNau
? Scented candles: Naunau, Candle Cup
? Fresh flowers: Seasonal flowers
? Pots and pans: of course from our store “The house with two lives”
? Vases, plant pots, handmade decorative pottery: Pottery Home Garden/ Home & Garden Pottery
? Sedge rugs & baskets: Sat Vun Decor
? Tapestry: Le Petit
? Glass cup: Seeker.Saigon
? Trees and planting soil: corner of Dinh Tien Hoang – Vu Tung street
? Spice tree: at the end of the alley 146 Vo Thi Sau (diagonally opposite to Pham Ngoc Thach)
? Vintage magazines & decorations: IG@indochine.retro
