CREATING SPACES

I love watch Nigerian films. Not just because they provide a connection for me to my people but because I am fascinated with the art of storytelling and I also love to have a look into the lives of others. I especially love the sets and locations used. Most have very little effort put into their use. It will be someone else's house ( the tell tale pictures are sometimes still on the wall) or someone else's office. I pay close attention to the decor, I guess, because I am in a career field where that is vital. You can always tell the home of a poor man from that of a rich man. The rich man's house is spacious, airy and lavishly furnished with matching and in most instances gaudy furniture. The walls are clean. The floors are clean. Everything is clean. The poor man's house is always dark and dinghy. Not enough space and thus very little air circulation. the wall has streaks of hand marks and the furniture does not match the rest of the house. I find it interesting that people only associate wealth with the ability to create a space. If you consider your body a temple because it houses you as soul, a manifestation of God's love and you keep it clean in honour of Him, don't you think that doing the same of your house will also serve the same purpose? You don't have to spend too much money to have a lovely home. You start by being clean. Then you pick colours that express your tatses. Yes, income challenged people have alot to worry about but hence your creativity. Do you know that instead of paying alot for ugly mismatched, curtains that imitate European concepts, you can use ankara wrappers, not just for those but also for your throw pillows? Do you know that you can arrange your pictures against cardboard and line the edges with colored tape that matches the colors of your choice, thereby eliminating the need for a frame? Do you know that instead of a head board, you can drape fabric across the wall to create a vertical element, either directly behind the bed or on either side of it Old buckets can be used for potted greens that line your balcony? Instead of a full carpet, why not use just an area rug? A polished piece of wood placed on a seperate or sturdy base ( e.g concrete blocks) can be the coffee table. I can see all those who care about what others think hising at that. alotof wealthy people are buying such things that you can pick up around your neighbourhood for thousands of dollars To give your bed more deifinition and to create space, raise it off the floor using evenly cut wood blocks. Underneath, you can store belongings and behind it, you can drape fabric for a canopy effect. For a duvet, you can use old ankara wrappers and decorate the hem with fabric from "outdated lace" (which for the Yoruba person is lace from last year) Be creative. Surf the internet. Go to the market and instead of shopping for exactly what is in the catalogue, walk around to the sections where they sell art work, you will be shocked what you will find and how you will use it. Create your own spaces as your outer temples. Take a good look, you will see that the spaces you inhabit mirror the state of your personal affairs. http://banibaraje.blogspot.com/ http://giamarrospeaks.blogspot.com/