131tial layer into which an occupant’s identity is inscribed. Lined
with shelves, pictures, niches and fixtures, the walls become
introverted projection surfaces for personal life processes. In
view of increasing levels of self-reflection and conditioning by
means of mirrors, fitness equipment, and media, Peter Sloter-
dijk (2004) refers to the single person’s apartment as a ‘self-
pairing location’.
As the spatialization of habitualized, automatized behav-
iour, furnishings become a fixture of everyday ritual. Every-
thing has its place, certain procedures take place again and
again in their idiosyncratic forms, and are objectified, shaped
and reinforced through individualized furnishings. Despite
potential tendencies towards dulled sensibilities or compul-
sive behaviour, everyday ritual represents a psychically neces-
sary reduction that offers relief from the complexity of the
world, i.e. from the demands to respond to constantly new
stimuli and adopt a stance towards it (> ritual). Found in the
readiness to hand of one’s own possessions in a familiar set-
ting is a reliable source of self-assurance.
Every individual activity and furnishing component, e.g.
the bed (1), the table (2), the chair (3) and the cabinet (4), as
well as the water source (5) and the fireplace or stove (6) cor-
responds to its differentiated spatial formation.
- The bed embodies a primordial form of everyday
living. It can be experienced as an intertwining of intimate
spaces. The body is enveloped by protective coverings, by the
bedclothes, and by the bedstead. Traditional forms of the bed,
including the canopy and alcove types, represent rooms with-
in rooms. The space around them as well, with chair, bedside
table and rug, encompasses a further area belonging to the
sleeper or convalescent, for example the small private area of
a multibed hospital room. The bedroom, finally, is tradition-
ally closed to visitors, while in the > cell, the individual space
par excellence, sleep and work coincide. - The table belongs to the furnishings of the most pub-
lic room, just as the bed belongs to the most intimate one;