Domesticating Homes: Material Transformation and Decoration among Low-Income Families in Santiago, Chile

ABSTRACT

This article studies the process of appropriation of new homes in a housing estate by low-income inhabitants of Santiago, Chile. Based on material collected during fieldwork, it shows how this appropriation is a balance between two contrasting forces. On the one hand, the dwellers seek to express their individuality through the personalization of their living spaces. On the other hand, the modernist architecture of the estates materializes the ideas of policy makers and developers about how low-income populations should live in urban areas. In this context families use two main strategies to adapt to their new dwellings: the material transformation of home spaces and their decoration. The first is related to the search for security and comfort in their new homes; the second to self-expression and normalization. In general, I conclude that these practices do contribute to the domestication of their new homes, although the impersonal architecture of the estate still constitutes a limit to their quality of life.

KEYWORDS:

• Homes
• Housing estates
• Architecture
• Appropriation
• Normalization