Our Home as a Stage

Doorman at Hotel in Riviera Maya

Casa Cubana

Our Home as a Stage

Somehow our lives are like a play, with no rehearsals… Well I’m not really sure about that… meaning that experiences can be considered a rehearsal, if we capitalized on it and use it. Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity is, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. We can consider ourselves sane at least a little bit.

Plays and movies need a stage, a place for the action, which will reinforce the message of the theme, the essence of the story. For example, I just watched “The Tudors”, an amazing TV series with incredible sets. In the story there are many intrigues, and in every set there are little niches, hidden corners, so that the characters can conspire and have those amazing looks. There are also many hot romantic scenes with huge beds, fireplaces, candles, velvets and all the condiments.

On the contrary, I watched “Biutiful”, which is a sordid story with no place for romance, only showing the worst of human nature. The sets were as powerful as the ones in The Tudors, in the sense to reinforce the story, the essence of the play, the movie.

Coming from the Hotel Design, many times I feel that a Hotel is a big stage, where we invite the guest to be the leading role. From the moment the car with the Guest arrives at the front door to the time the Guest leaves the Hotel, the way I see it, it is like a choreography of movements of the secondary characters (the hotel employees) to reinforce this idea of leading character, the “star”. And my job is to design this stage, not only for the main character, but also the secondary characters and the extras. I took my job as that, so I am able to find  inspiration in many things. I need to create the story, my story in each property, how I want them to feel. I share this story with the owners, with the designers, with the operators so from the moment of design we have a script, which helps us give consistency to the design from every aspect. Because this story will be reflected in the food, in the uniforms, in the light, in the landscape, etc…

With this idea in mind and looking at our homes as a stage, a set where the action is taking place, what kind of theme is reinforced there? Is there a theme or a story? If so, what is your role, your character? What does the lighting say about your story?