The room.  What is a room?  I temporarily occupy the pink room of the Lewis’s house at 54 rue Renan in Tréguier.  I know this is a room. It has space for many activities.  The furnishings contribute to the life of the room.  A comfortable double bed and two side tables, each with a lamp, are located on the north wall, which has a locking entry door.  Behind each lamp hangs a small framed painting.  This ensemble allows lounging and reading in bed.  A small sofa sits at the foot of the bed.  Crimson-raspberry in color, it faces a fireplace with a simple mantle.  Between the fireplace and the bed lie a rug and a camphor chest that has brass corners.  On the chest is a pile of books.  This grouping provides a place to read and watch the fire.  A desk with ceramic lamp and fabric shade extends perpendicular to the south wall.  A drawer in the desk contains pencils, pens, cords, and a change purse.  This is a place for writing. On the wall is a carved mirror in a wooden frame.  The mirror not only permits you to see yourself but reflects some light into this darker part of the room. A tall double-door armoire sits in front of the east wall and next to the fireplace.  This armoire is for hanging long garments: pants, coats, dresses, and shirts; it has no shelves.  A second armoire on the adjacent north wall has shelves and drawers for other items of clothing , bedding, and linens.  Both armoires are tall and constructed of polished fruit wood.  They provide places for storage so clothes are not strewn about.  Two heaters flank the armoire on the north wall.  They are set into the thick wall and give warmth when needed.  Two sets of casement windows—resembling small glazed French doors--have mullions, square glass panes, and are located above the  heaters.  Curtains filter the light on the inside, and shudders control the light on the outside. When closed, the windows resist water and drafts.  When open they allow light and fresh air.  A third heater on the east wall also has a window above it, so cross ventilation is possible. Finally in the corner between the fireplace wall and the north wall sits a chaise longue on which I am reclining as I write this note.  The early morning sun enters a small window over my left shoulder and lights up my writing pad.  Beneath the window, on a low plinth, is a small table lamp.  The table has a lower shelf, and that is where I keep my travel notes and sketch book. This assembly is another place for reading, writing, talking, or relaxing.

All these ensembles support activities that give this place life and identity.  The activities, light, and air would mean little, however, if the pink room lacked good proportions.  But it has excellent proportions; its plan is almost square and the ceiling height equals approximately one half the room’s width. Two rough hewn beams, darkened with age, provide contrast to the light colored ceiling with its smooth painted surfaces; they also definition boundaries of the space.  The thick walls communicate shelter, and their openings, at the four sets of windows, are angled to reduce glare and to accentuate their depth. The room feels solid and protective, yet light and airy. Not only does this room support multiple activities, have good proportions, and light and air, but it has the space to pace, and even to stretch the body in privacy. (The room has another important amenity, an attached bathroom, but that is a story for another day.)

I could imagine this room in another aesthetic, one that is different in color, even planar and spare, but if it lost its supporting activities, its proportions, its light and air, it would cease being room.wall also has a window above it.  So cross ventilation is always possible