Architecture
Reflect on This: 6 Waterside Homes Gaze in the Looking Glass
Mirrored in realistic detail or artfully impressionist, these houses connect to their sites and convey double the majesty
There's this story about the building of the Taj Mahal. It seems that Shah Jahan not only built a white palace for Mumtaz Mahal, but he also was building a black one as his final resting place. As the story goes, construction of the black one stopped when Shah Jahan's son took control and imprisoned his dad. (Surely, Shah Jahan was neither the first nor the last to get into trouble for overbuilding, but that's a story for a different time.)
Though some say the black palace was never finished, some say it was and that it is the reflection of the white Taj Mahal in the water. I very much like this explanation, as it embodies the inexorable connection of not just the two buildings but of husband and wife.
While we all can't build a Taj Mahal, we can, when given the opportunity, create a reflection of our home in a way that provides a deeper connection to the earth while also making our home more majestic and complete.
Though some say the black palace was never finished, some say it was and that it is the reflection of the white Taj Mahal in the water. I very much like this explanation, as it embodies the inexorable connection of not just the two buildings but of husband and wife.
While we all can't build a Taj Mahal, we can, when given the opportunity, create a reflection of our home in a way that provides a deeper connection to the earth while also making our home more majestic and complete.
"Like water which can clearly mirror the sky and the trees only so long as its surface is undisturbed, the mind can only reflect the true image of the Self when it is tranquil and wholly relaxed." — Indra Devi
A home built at the edge of the wood will stand taller and not be intimidated by the trees when it's doubled in the nearby water.
A home built at the edge of the wood will stand taller and not be intimidated by the trees when it's doubled in the nearby water.
"Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted." — Percy Bysshe Shelley
The reflection doesn't have to be literal, like a photorealist painting. It can be a softer version of the home that intensifies its luminosity.
The reflection doesn't have to be literal, like a photorealist painting. It can be a softer version of the home that intensifies its luminosity.
“'Never trust a mirror,' his mother had told him. 'They never tell the truth unless you make them.'” — Isobelle Carmody
The reflection doesn't have to be like that in a bathroom mirror. In fact, often the water is choppy and rough, like so many lakes can be; turning the home's reflection into an impressionist painting.
The reflection doesn't have to be like that in a bathroom mirror. In fact, often the water is choppy and rough, like so many lakes can be; turning the home's reflection into an impressionist painting.
“The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.” — William Makepeace Thackeray
A city is an ideal setting for these reflections, especially when the water bends, twists and turns the reflections, as in a Canaletto painting.
“Beauty is truth’s smile when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror.” — Rabindranath Tagore
If you don’t have a body of water nearby to create your home’s alter ego, try building a reflecting pool. Even a small and partial reflection will change how you see your home.
More: Reflecting Pools as Liquid Assets
A city is an ideal setting for these reflections, especially when the water bends, twists and turns the reflections, as in a Canaletto painting.
“Beauty is truth’s smile when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror.” — Rabindranath Tagore
If you don’t have a body of water nearby to create your home’s alter ego, try building a reflecting pool. Even a small and partial reflection will change how you see your home.
More: Reflecting Pools as Liquid Assets
A home built in a vast landscape with nary a neighbor in sight doesn't have to be lonely. A sibling gets created by the reflection of the home in an adjacent pond or lake, especially when the reflection is mirror-like.