The oxytocin effect of a mezzanine
Nº 07 ：why large homes can be alienating
I was listening to a podcast recently where they were discussing Irish vernacular cottages. The subject of feeling safe and how the cottage’s design allowed those feelings to arise came about like this;
"...reached by going up a steep ladder, quite high above is the little bedroom, which is opposite the fire. So you've got the kitchen in the middle, parlour at one end and then at the other end a bedroom with another bedroom above it. When I first climbed up into the loft bedroom, it was extraordinary. You know, we find the ladder and up I went and you looked down at the fireplace, it's like being in the gods at the opera. You know, you've got this extraordinary view from above, a lovely bird's eye view and you can hear everything that's said by anybody in the kitchen. And James Eagan who used to light the fire said as a child, he'd he'd be put to bed up there, and he loved listening to the adults voices beside the fire as they stayed up late and talked. It was a house where there were lots of people who come and they sing and you know, they gather and there was plenty of craic I suppose. And that proximity of the children in their little loft bedroom up under the eaves and the older people down below struck me as wonderfully inclusive." (AirrQuote transcript)
The podcast’s guest, Claudia Kinmonth is describing the feeling of safety that children felt in that loft bedroom above the living space, hearing the adults gathered below.
There is something to be said for smaller and more cosy homes if one is looking to be soothed, felt cared for and connected.
This restored cottage in Wexford, Ireland has a retained mezzanine.
Oxytocin is released when we feel the following. As you read them imagine the interior aesthetics that would allow us to feel;
social support
trust
belonging
secure attachment
feeling loved
being cared for
safety in numbers
relaxation
The podcast is called Heart to Hearth. Give it a listen!