There’s a show on TV called “Design Invasion”. To me one of the more interesting parts of the show is that when they are kicking you out (so they can redesign a room without you), they allow you to keep one thing from that room - everything else has to go. It got me to thinking about the things I would want to save from my room. I would never be able to pick just one thing but I figured I would make a list of the things I would absolutely have to keep with me.

Of course I am ignoring the boring practical stuff (the passport, important papers etc.). These things would make it easier to rebuild a life in the practical sense should my house burn down (identification is always a good thing to have). I am looking for those things that I cherish, the things that make my room a haven, the tangible memories:

• Photographs - digital and hardcopy snapshots, I have thousands of them which fill out the details for so many of my memories
• Belgium album - chronological record of my entire year
• My steel pan - now that I own one I think it is the most beautiful thing in my room
• My artwork (photographic) - the proof of my long hard hours in the darkroom and the resulting (award-winning) photos (yay for me!!)
• Panoridim’s first CD - the result of that superhuman effort in the studio
• My sister’s paintings - done especially for me to suit my black and white theme, they even include a pan player (probably the sweetest gift ever)
• 5 clowns - each picked up in a different country in Europe I visited

and last but nowhere near least

• the books - how could I choose? I love them all!!

Looking at this list, I realize that if I had these things with me, any space could become my sanctuary. So maybe my whole point here (if there really is one) is that aesthetics may be important but design can only take you so far. We need to surround ourselves with things that we love. They hold our memories, and our dreams. They represent all the things and people we love. Sometimes that clutter just means your life is overflowing with love.