We’re all curators

I recently walked through a home carefully curated by a designer.  The professional had balanced travel wares with negative space, honoring the books of note in their pride of place while color coding others for the aesthetic.  I'm confident thoughtful subtleties were lost on me.  As a result, the collection of stories and corresponding totems were curated thoughtfully, intentionally and completely. 

Our travels took us to another home where the wall of pictures noted old houses and familiar faces, important sayings and key symbols.  Each picture artfully photoshopped to grayscale or filtered for effect.  Placement, order, structure all intentional, curated to communicate a story.

Years ago, I was invited to supper in the home of a highly decorated athletic legend.  His walls showed pictures of his teams receiving honors and of notable honorees sharing a victory. His coffee table held championship rings and media guides with his face on them.  His awards so numerous, they added a room in his home to support the tours.

I wondered what we were curating in our home. Were we creating space for warmth and welcome?  A museum of sorts, outlining our travels?  A library of great minds?  Is the art on the wall from a famed artist or from a child? What were we unintentionally communicating? What was the emotion conveyed? Did people leave refreshed? Calm? Overwhelmed?

Each item we choose to keep in a home is a decision of curation, a stewarding of stuff to create an environment.  I've been in homes where the stuff overwhelms the heart, closeting a welcome.  And while we may not need professionals or velvet ropes, we're all curating something: an experience, a feeling, a sense of belonging.  I do wonder of the gap between our desired experience and our actual experience.  I did.  Then we got rid of the stuff that was getting in the way of the experience we wanted to create.