Other Relationship in ‘Chats With Friends’


“I was a big fan of seeing inside other people’s homes, especially people who were a bit famous like Melissa,” says Frances, the narrator of Sally Rooney’s “Chats with Friends” early in the novel.

Home ownership is a distant concept for Frances, a millennial college student in Dublin who writes and performs oral poetry. She’s used to sharing an apartment with a roommate and isn’t interested in making a lot of money. But when she learns that she is romantically involved with Melissa and her husband, Nick, their pleasurable material lives become an object of passion.

In new Hulu series Based on the book, the Victorian beachfront owned by Nick (played by Joe Alwyn) and Melissa (Jemima Kirke) doesn’t disappoint. The interior walls, made of a textured concrete-like material, are a moody gray-blue, and the space is dotted with sprays of eucalyptus, Irish-made ceramics, sheepskin covers, and large, artistic light fixtures.

The dining nook looks like it was taken from the pages of a recent Architectural Compendium: a plant-filled space with weathered white brick walls and several doors made of large glass panes set in rectangular steel frames that open onto a courtyard.

“Your house is so cool,” Frances (Alison Oliver) says at dinner. Frances’ charismatic best friend and ex (Sasha Lane) Bobbi says: “I love it. How great you two are.” Dak Kopec, a professor of architecture at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and specializing in environmental psychology, said buying a home remains “a symbol of adulthood.” millennials, who are also slow to have children, entered the real estate market more slowly than previous generations and now those who are ready to buy find low supply and rising prices. no wonder they are HGTV devourer, Zillow surfing dreamers.

Nick and Melissa – who probably considers herself part of cuspy “Yearly” generation – we have fulfilled the dream of home ownership that has escaped many millennia. And the show turns their dwelling into a symbol of anxiety and longing.

Home decor has a way of brightening the gap between the life you want and the life you have or can afford. You may find yourself staring at impossible questions about what your days will be like in two, five or 10 years.

“I’ve heard a lot of couples fight over big carpet purchases,” said Aelfie Oudghiri, 36, founder and creative director of home decor brand Aelfie. “It is this defining feature of their home that should show what kind of people they are and what kind of future they want to have.” He sees another type of anxiety emerge in single people: “They don’t want to commit to something because they don’t know if their hypothetical future partner will like it.”

For Frances, Melissa’s home—and, according to the show’s production designer Anna Rackard, “it always felt like we were decorating for Melissa” instead of Nick—is extremely appealing despite her outward disdain for the bourgeois lifestyle she expresses. (Bobby’s blatant embarrassment when he tells Nick and Melissa that “Frances is a communist” shows that his commitment to this ideology isn’t very stable.)

Melissa’s spacious office, which Frances looked at while she was briefly unattended, is filled with books. For a young writer accustomed to working from the bedroom, this is heaven.

For set decorators Miss Rackard and Sophie Phillips, the goal was to create a version of a wealthy man’s home that wouldn’t disgust Frances—instead, something she would find cool and aspirational. To make the space feel younger and less fussy, they used plywood for the kitchen doors and decorated the walls with prints and photographs rather than paintings. Ms. Phillips and Ms. Rackard wanted a spare but somewhat rock ‘n’ roll look with furniture and household items that would make a strong statement in their own right.

Ms. Rackard and Ms. Phillips see Melissa as “effortlessly cool” with an instinctive sense of style when it comes to putting a home together. But, as he did for Frances and Bobbi, his thoughtful approach to setting a table with harmoniously colored glassware and bowl-like plates can also be read with rigor or distrust.

“Melissa is somewhat intimidated by Frances, in a way, by her beauty and youth and where she is at this stage of her life, which makes her pretty carefree,” Ms Phillips said. “Melisa said, ‘Where am I going?’ at a stage where he thinks. Creating this ‘perfect’ environment makes him very conscious in his decisions.”

According to Samuel Gosling, a psychologist who studies the relationship between people and their habitats, one of the key functions of our home environments is to ‘asserble identity’. Dr. “These are deliberate statements about ourselves that we want to make by telling others, ‘This is who I am,'” Gosling said. People often feel happier when others see them as they see them, he said. Bill SwannA psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr.

This may explain why Melissa was so upset by feeling “pathetic and traditional” in Frances’ eyes, a character who doesn’t step out with the stylish, cultured person her home puts her in. It explains why some people may have mixed feelings about inviting them into homes they share with roommates or others for fear that their decor choices will be confused with theirs.

For people in their 20s and 30s, the desire to be seen properly through their design choices can be heightened and perhaps distorted by the desire to showcase our style for the public on social media. “Our homes are starting to look more and more like sets,” said Ms. Oudghiri, adding bright color blocks, crazy rugs and great, selfie friendly mirrors It is often used to make a statement on social media. This The soft, unpretentious look known as the “Generation Y aesthetic” Marketed heavily as an indicator of good taste, it often occurs in these areas. Among young men, Eames chaise lounge becomes a status symbol Similar to hard-to-find streetwear, it telegraphs success to the outside world.

Melissa’s quiet home doesn’t seem to feature any terrazzo or pastel pinks, but it does influence certain design trends that have earned the millennial seal of approval. Rebecca Atwood, a 37-year-old artist and textile designer, has described a few: the surrounding wall color (that moody gray), items bought from brands and makers with a story (that Irish ceramics), an indoor-outdoor feel (greenhouse) – food nook as). Ms Rackard noted that the conservatory’s trendy glass doors, while perfect for the warm weather of Los Angeles, would be unusual in Dublin, where double-paned windows are more suited to the climate. That’s Melissa’s dedication to style, to what people think.

Miss Oudghiri does not give much space to her own decor. He rents a furnished house in Los Angeles decorated by someone who is fond of “rococo-looking” furniture.

“Interiors are important to some extent. But I’m not on Instagram. “No one sees inside my house except my friends,” he said. “As long as my seat is comfortable, I’m happy.”



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