Un Hommage Á Ma Maison

“The balance we approve of in architecture, and which we anoint with the word ‘beautiful’, alludes to a state that, on a psychological level, we can describe as mental health or happiness.”

Alain de Botton, ‘The Architecture of Happiness’

We first met you when we were in the first heady days of our beautiful partnership. We were giddy with the excitement of being together, seeking together and setting up a life together. You were just around the corner, waiting for us.

It was like you were always waiting for us, our kidney coloured brick, sash-windowed, high-ceilinged beauty. You were the blank canvas on which we drew the first wonderful days of our marriage. Your walls gave us the inspiration we needed to turn our love into a beautiful place for all to visit. We fell in love again and again behind your doors. We found true happiness ensconced within your confines. We thought we’d be together for ever.

Unfortunately, others outside our sphere had different plans, concerns unrelated to the emotional content we’d installed within. We didn’t want to leave but we had no choice. If we could have moved with you, we would have but this is not possible.

We didn’t cry. We packed and cleaned and washed and left you better than we had found you. It was the least we could do. You were much more than a home, a flat, an address or an apartment. You were part of us, a friend, and a static companion; reliable, beautiful but ultimately, never ours. We hope if your walls could talk, you’d speak of us fondly, as we will of you. We miss you dearly.