“Most people don’t get to buy their old homes back, or ever step foot in them again, and that’s okay. But we sure can spend a lifetime trying to re-create them.” In this poignant essay for Dwell, Emilia Petrarca celebrates the work of her late father, the New York City architect John Petrarca, and explores how his influence has shaped her own relationship to home and interior design. Petrarca reflects on the process of finding her own aesthetic while carrying her father’s with her, considering the ways belongings and spaces can hold our memories, legacies, and grief.
When I moved out of my mom’s house and into my first apartment with a roommate at 23, I brought with me a black rug my dad bought in Morocco. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon, he joined the Peace Corps and spent time in Ouarzazate designing government buildings. In a room full of cheap Ikea furniture, it was the only thing that truly felt like a reflection of me. Well, that and a rigid, plastic, yellow outdoor chair I for some reason bought to go with my desk. Looking back at photos now, I see that the choice makes more sense: The chair my dad got me for my room in the Big House was almost the exact same hue.
More pieces from Dwell
How “Cabin Porn” Took Over the Internet
“A rough-hewn A-frame in a snowscape or a tiny log shack by a lake—why off-grid, simple living has long captured the American imagination, and our online attention.”
The Grassroots Race to Save Altadena’s Historic Batchelder Tiles—Before the Bulldozers Move In
“In the Eaton Fire burn zone, fireplaces adorned with Arts and Crafts tiles are among the sole surviving relics of the town’s architectural heritage, and volunteers are on a mission to salvage them.”
Is There a Way Out of Hawaii’s Housing Crisis?
There’s an increasing number of people native to Hawaii who can no longer afford to live there, nor do they have the means to leave. Those who can’t do either end up houseless. Eric Stinton reports on the current state of real estate on the islands: how they got there, proposed solutions, and what will…
