poser

i've been designing hotels for some time now, and in our presentations we always place images of the chic people that we imagine to be the future visitors of our creations.  the happy couple, the model-like business man, the chic single girl with that handbag we dream of but just can't afford.  people have a a way of bringing a space to life. after all, they are the reason we design. 

i find myself thinking of the spaces i've completed and wondering, are there really people there?... sitting in the perfectly positioned chairs covered in the fabric hand-picked by me, or are they just empty, statuesque, as people pass? 

who uses these lobby seats?  today it's me.  i've been living at this hotel for quite some time now and the lobby, over time, stopped being the lobby and became my living room.  why sit in a hotel room when i can be down here? the hotel room is stagnant. this place has energy, with the clanking of pool balls from the billiards tables in the corner, and the bustle of people coming and going. 

i used to think the only people that sat in the lobbies of hotels were those that posed in our renderings, illustrating how we dreamed the space would be used... but now i know them.  they are me, and somehow that makes it all worth while.