Contributed by Ingrid Mattsson, Director of Brand Management for Uponor North America.
“Welcome to Comfort.” I read this on a sign in a fireplace and stove store on a recent shopping outing. It struck me odd — as if comfort were the name of a town. Then I got to thinking: What an interesting word. What an overused word.
If you take a moment to look and listen to all the advertising that swirls around us, comfort is much sought-after, yet hard to realize. Through the miracle of marketing, we now know that comfort can be found in endless ways — cars, pillows, beds, snuggies, shoes (not really believing that one!), mashed potatoes, fireplaces, faith and the list goes on and on…
The dictionary offers several definitions depending if it’s used as a verb or noun, but it does seem to boil down to the idea of soothing, consoling and creating a state of ease and satisfaction with freedom from pain and anxiety. No wonder everyone is trying to sell comfort — who wouldn’t want that! Someone once told me that comfort was really the absence of discomfort. So is not feeling anything at all, a state of Nirvana? I tend to disagree.
The first known use of the word comfort was in the 13th Century. So if there was no word for it, was there no concept or feeling of comfort in the 1100s? When you read about the hard life of those dark ages, I suppose not. The Latin origin of the word is to strengthen greatly. I actually like that notion. Seems like something as powerful and far-reaching as the notion of comfort should come from a place of strength.
Over these next few weeks, we’re going to explore the notion of comfort and how it relates to ideas within the building industry. When building a house, one might think they don’t have to think about the comfort factor until they’re ready to buy the sofa or down pillows, but we’d like to propose that it should be considered much, much earlier than that. Think about the life you want to lead in this new home you’re building and perhaps there are systems out there that you aren’t even aware of that could bring your comfort experience to a whole new level.
So until next week, think about this — where do you find comfort or discomfort in your home and why?
Posted: 9/4/2012 12:57:09 PM by
Heather Wallace | with 0 comments