I was never lucky enough to have a house for myself and furnish it. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t complain: I always got a house, usually a lovely one, except it wasn’t ‘mine’.
First I lived with my parents: the house they chose, the way they wanted it to look like. Quite classic, nothing fancy, still a super nice place to live. My room had the furniture they had chosen for me and it never changed. I over-personalised it through posters, drawings, photos and (odd, exaggerate) home decor – there were no Pinterest boards or Youtube tutorials back then 🙂
As many Italians who live in big cities, I had everything I needed to keep studying and get my Bachelor’s Degree in Rome, therefore I didn’t move out until I was 26. As strange as it may sounds, that’s what most of my friends did too. Not only because we could not afford to move out, but also because Italian families tend to keep you pretty close and take it personally if you move out. It’s like saying ‘I don’t want to stay with you anymore, I’m not happy here and I don’t like you’.
I know… I know…
(sigh)
I moved out to live with my now husband and once again I moved in someone else’s house. He had chosen the house, of course, and the furniture: some black&white-designer-sleek stuff I wasn’t much into. Again: I could not complain. I tried to add a touch of colour here and there and that was it.
Then we moved to London and we are renting. There’s nothing you can personalise LESS than a flat in London. I can’t even pin a nail in the wall to hang a picture. I can’t – of course – change the color of the walls, or put on some much needed shelves. Once again I felt living in a house that does not represent me.
It’s a strange feeling. You can’t complain at all, but at the same time you feel like you’re missing something.
That’s what I do: I add little touches.
An old suitcase as a bookcase.
Candles around.
Prints – not pinned but wash-taped to the wall.
Some light garlands.
AND my little manga action figures.
I’ve always been a fan of 80s japanese cartoons, which were very popular in Italy when I was about 8 or 9 years old. The cartoons were mostly about young girls who were given some magic powers. There was no merchandising at all, though, therefore I used to spend days and days making magic wands and paper characters with cardboard and felt pens (with poor results :).
When I grew up and I visited Japan the first thing I did was to look up for a place where I could find some sort of goodies of my favourite cartoon as I child: Creamy Mami. I didn’t find any magic wand but I came back with two action figures, one of the girl (right, green hair) and one of the singer she turns into when she uses her magical power (purple hair, left). I know this makes me a super nerd, but I can’t help cheering up when I look at my action figures, (very) proudly placed on my bookshelf.
Thanks to Hiscox Dr. Linda, a famous tv psychologist, was kind enough to analyze this picture and tell me what she thinks this little corner of my home represents. Here’s the verdict:
“Displaying cool, quirky parts of our personality when decorating our rooms is a brilliant way to give our homes a sense of individuality and give hints about our identity and this is what we see here- these figurines are displayed in a place where they’ll create interest and conversation- the person who put them up clearly has a passion for them and wants to discuss this- it’s a reflection of an aspect of their personality that they value and that they want to share with those around them.”
Spot on! Should you ever come to my place, don’t hesitate asking me about my Creamy Mami action figure. I will be glad to tell you ALL about it 😀
To find out more about home psychology and to discover some other blogger’s house, read here.
Post sponsored by Hiscox.
Comments