Home Rituals & Atmosphere

A Home That Looks Like Both of You

Lego versions of Bas and me, styled books, a plush deer and my disco ball: the details that make a shared home personal.

Coffee-table books stacked beneath a glass candle and a jar of long matches.

There are two Lego figures in my house: a little Bas and a little me.

They are exactly the kind of Bas joke you come across here. Nearby, there is one of my styled corners: coffee-table books, a candle and a jar of those lovely long matches. Above the fireplace hangs a plush deer head, another Bas joke. And close by, there is a disco ball - that one is mine.

Put those details together and you can see that two people live here.

I have made most of the styling choices. Bas has largely left that to me because it is my passion, and he trusts my eye. He does not particularly enjoy choosing these things, or have a strong interest in doing it himself. He finds the house very pleasant as it is.

That leaves plenty of room for his personality to show up. You only have to look at the deer.

Having the eye, and being trusted to use it

I am a photographer by background. I have an eye for detail, and that comes through in how I like to live.

I enjoy choosing the things that sit together in a corner: the books, the candle, the matches. Even something useful can be lovely to look at. Those long matches are a good example.

Bas recognises that this is something I love. He has trusted me with the styling and the choices, and I appreciate that. It gives me room to follow my eye and make a home that feels good to be in.

In a shared home, the decisions do not have to be divided equally for both people to feel represented. What matters is whether the arrangement suits the people living there. In mine, I enjoy the styling, Bas is happy to leave it to me, and his humour has a place in the result.

Two very small residents

The Lego figures are a particularly personal detail because they are Bas and me. The little nameplates even say Mini Essy and Mini Bas.

They sit on a wooden shelf with warm lighting. They are small enough that you could miss them at first, then find two miniature residents looking back at you.

I like what they tell you about the house. There is attention to how it looks, and there are jokes tucked into it too.

If you are wondering how to make your own home more personal, think about the objects that would make someone who knows you smile. A small thing can say quite a lot without needing a whole room arranged around it.

Two Lego minifigures labelled Mini Essy and Mini Bas on a wooden shelf. — Mini Bas and Mini Essy: one of the Bas jokes you can find in my house.

The deer above the fireplace

The plush deer head is another of Bas’s touches. It is above the fireplace, antlers and all.

It belongs in this story because it tells you something about the person I share the house with. You can see his humour in it, just as you can see my interest in styling in the books and candle nearby.

A shared home can hold several kinds of enjoyment in the same space. Something chosen for its shape and colour. Something kept because it makes you laugh. Something that is unmistakably one person’s idea.

You can let those things sit alongside each other and see what they bring to the room.

A plush deer head with large antlers mounted on a pale wall. — The plush deer above the fireplace — another very Bas detail.

And then there is my disco ball

The disco ball is mine. In the photograph, it sits with the stacked logs and throws little spots of light around the warm-coloured niche.

I like including it here because my choices also have a playful side. The styled books are mine, and so is the disco ball. Together, they say more about my taste than either detail would on its own.

A home becomes interesting when you can see those different sides of the people who live in it. You might love a carefully arranged shelf and something a little unexpected beside it. There is room for both.

A silver disco ball beside stacked logs in a warm-coloured niche, with reflected spots of light. — And the disco ball is mine.

Look for the people in the details

If you share your home, take a look at a few corners and ask what they reveal about each person. Which things came from someone’s enthusiasm? Which ones carry a joke or a memory? Is there something you would enjoy seeing more often?

You do not need to buy a new collection of accessories to answer those questions. Start with what you already have and what you actually like.

How Our New Build Became Home

Here, I can point to the books and the long matches, then to Mini Bas and the deer above the fireplace. My eye is in the house. His humour is in it too.

And the disco ball is happily mine.