New Delhi, July 14 -- My sons and I have this rhetorical banter. One of us will ask: "Who is the most difficult person to know?" To which, one of us responds: "Myself". When people ask me what I do, I often say I write about design, but what I actually write about, is homes. What makes a home the way it is? Why do we shape it the way we do? How do we think about it more deeply? As my mind sifts through the many spaces I've seen these past few weeks and conversations I've had about the topic of home, the conclusion that I've come to is that many folks are unaware of themselves as they begin making homes. It is a performance, our home. So many different types of performance. Performative authenticity. Performative minimalism.

I just sat th...