A place to lay your head

Home is the place you lay your head, relax and seek solace. I love to see the small details of a persons home that hint at an unknown part of their personality - whether it be a plastic cat on a mantelpiece, a post it reminder on the mirror, or a hand knitted collection of coat-hangers hanging in the wardrobe. Such small things make you feel honoured to enter a private space. Here you experience the intimate nooks and crannies, certain ways in which the light falls and of course, the individual smell of a dwelling. My friends apartment smells like chutney, hair shampoo, fabric softener and paint. It's a wonderful smell I associate with her alone, and nowhere else have I sniffed it. Seeing Mieke Ven Verbijlen's photographs is such a charming experience, and allows you to experience the intimacy of many a stranger's home and explore all their nooks and crannies.