where are we going to put the dance floor?

Have you been feeling the relentless pressure from the media, social and otherwise, to fulfil standards that someone, somewhere else has set? Lately, everywhere I turn, I’m faced with headlines that declare I have to stop making these 10 mistakes, start doing those 20 things, conform to this new expectation. It’s unrelenting and it’s ubiquitous, informing every facet of life from health to fashion to your home. Isn’t it time though to celebrate individuality and embrace living in tune with the tempo of your own beat?

A few years ago while at a design retreat, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting a creativity and innovation specialist, Joel McKerrow. He is a writer, speaker, educator and performance poet. His generous and inspiring approach to embracing creativity and individuality is soul-enriching stuff.

During that retreat I shared a conversation with him that I had recently with a favourite client. She knew she wanted her home to be an invitation to celebrate, to share joy with family and friends, and to push back the dining table and open up the dance floor. In other words, have a home designed specifically for her - one that lets her live in exactly the way she wants to live. With this idea of expressing yourself freely and boldly, he wrote the below poem and I am excited to share it with you.

where are we going to put the dance floor?

Under the moonlight, she finds life.

A national park and the Milky Way so very bright above her.
Her lover beside her. The flicker of the fire. Chilli and wine.
And the animals that gather. Is there anything other worth anything at all,
aside from this moment.

So in all the white of a coastal Hamptons style contract,
she just wants to splash the walls,
to paint the canvas bright,
and possibly fill with monkeys and toucans. Enough of the same-same of Northern Beaches safety.
Where are we going to put the dance floor?

This is the call,
the invitation that has been beckoning for many years now.
She has heard the voice,
has felt the fire, the camp-fire inside,
glowing and growing and coaxing.

But to let it burn,
to let it flame up, bonfire and burning,
to let it take over her life and her practice.
To let herself be herself out in the world.
Oh, it takes some bravery.
It takes courage to fill ones life with joy.
And to let this joy flow out and into vocation.
But vocation always begins with a calling,
And she has heard the calling.
And now…
Now it’s time to clear the space and lay the bloody dance floor.
To walk through that door, bold as brass,
if brass were bold and good for a dance upon.
To choose who she shall be,
She has been putting this off for too long.

So friend, believe in yourself
and the fire that burns inside.
Make the choice and then build it.
Forge it into the best damn thing you can bring. The people will see the fire blazing from afar.
They will. Trust the burning.
Burn down all that Hamptons white until there is enough room
for the bloody dance floor.

Joel McKerrow

DESIGN YOUR LIFE

His prose perfectly encapsulates the call to embrace your true self, not who others expect you to be, and allow what is at the core of our being to glow and grow. I think this is true for all aspects of our life, from ourselves to our homes. Say goodbye to following fads, chasing trends or worrying about keeping up with the Joneses (whoever they are). Heed the calling and embrace what makes you, you.

For more of the amazing Joel McKerrow, check out his live performance of ‘Welcome Home’, an ode to creating and the creator in all of us.

At The Space Within, our clients move to a rhythm all their own - one that defies convention and invites individuality. They want more from their homes than just cookie-cutter design. They see their home as an outlet of self-expression; a place to dare, dream and explore what makes them feel alive. That’s why you won’t find bland interiors or project look-alikes here.

Our designs temper polished sophistication with playful moments of joy and whimsy. Through creative leadership and end-to-end project management, we design homes that allow our clients to live in tune with their own tempo.