Written by Thuy-vy Nguyen
On 10 March, Solitude Lab will be meeting with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. In preparation, we reflect on how home design has evolved over time to help individuals—whether living alone or in shared spaces—find respite and retreat from the world.
For most of human history, privacy was a rare luxury. Living spaces were communal, serving multiple functions where work, sleep, and social life happened in the same crowded rooms. The concept of having a room of one’s own, a place to retreat for solitude, self-reflection, or personal activity, only began to take shape as architectural and societal changes reshaped domestic life. This post explores the historical transformation of physical spaces that allowed for greater solitude and privacy in the home.
From Communal Living to Private Retreats
Medieval Homes: Life Without Privacy
In the medieval period, the home was a shared space with little to no division between work and personal life. Families, servants, and even guests often lived together in one or two rooms, and sleeping was a communal activity. As Rybczynski (1986) describes:
"Since all these people lived in one or at most two rooms, privacy was unknown. Anyone who has been in the military, or in a boarding school, can imagine what it must have been like."
During this period, solitude was only available to the exceptional few—hermits, monks, and scholars like St. Jerome, who could shut themselves away for study or devotion. The majority of people, however, had no dedicated space to be alone.
The 17th Century: The Household Begins to Divide
By the 17th century, domestic arrangements were shifting. The introduction of stoves made it possible to divide homes into more specialised rooms, rather than relying on a single large hall for warmth. As Rybczynski (1986) notes in his description of a Norwegian household:
"Parents still shared their bed with infants, but the older children no longer slept in the same room. The husband and wife, after sending the children upstairs to bed, sat alone in the main room in candlelight. A simple scene, yet a revolution in human relations was taking place."
This shift marks an important step toward private family life—the idea that individuals could have separate spaces to withdraw from the household.
The Rise of the Domestic Interior
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the separation of home and work life became clearer. Walter Benjamin described this transformation in The Ethics of Space, Secrecy, and Solitude, explaining how the home became a retreat from the commercial world:
"For the private individual, the place of dwelling is for the first time opposed to the place of work. The private individual, who in the office has to deal with reality, needs the domestic interior to sustain him in his illusions."
This division allowed the home to serve as a personal sanctuary, where individuals could escape the pressures of the outside world.
Architectural Innovations: The Creation of Solitude Spaces
Cabinets and Studies: The Birth of Private Thinking Spaces
During the 16th century, French homes began incorporating cabinets (studies) and garde-robes (private chambers)—small, enclosed spaces designed for personal retreat. According to Black (2011):
"Our modern notion of private spaces corresponds better to the French sixteenth-century concept of the word secret. I designate spaces such as garde-robes, cabinets, and galleries as 'secret' spaces rather than 'private'."
These spaces allowed individuals to read, write, and reflect in solitude—precursors to the modern study or home office. Michel de Montaigne, for example, famously retreated to his personal library, yet even he found true solitude difficult to achieve:
"For Montaigne, solitude at home is an essential condition of self-exploration and therefore of writing about the self. But he also finds it almost impossible to find solitude, even at his family home to which he retires."
This is an interesting observation about the difference between objective solitude—the ability to retreat to a private space for time alone—and subjective solitude—the separation between the individual and the demands of social life. Even with a designated private space, true solitude might still be difficult to achieve, as daily activities within the home—such as servants moving through corridors or gatherings to entertain guests—can create an environment where one is physically alone but still socially engaged.
Servants’ Quarters and the Gradual Expansion of Personal Space
While wealthier families had private chambers, servants and working-class individuals still lacked personal space, often sleeping in shared attics, above stables, or even in kitchens. In many cases, solitude was easier to find outside the home, which may have contributed to the rise of practices like taking morning walks as a form of personal retreat. However, even among servants, there was a growing desire for individual autonomy, reflected in the widespread use of locking trunks and chests to safeguard personal belongings. As Vickery (2008) notes:
"The average London servant had no settled space to call their own, let alone a place of withdrawal and solitude. However, almost all had a locking box."
This small change reflects a broader shift toward personal space, as people increasingly sought ways to protect their belongings and create a sense of privacy within crowded homes. It also highlights the interplay between privacy, autonomy, and subjective solitude, as individuals—despite the constraints of physical space—found ways to assert their individuality and carve out moments of personal retreat.
Conclusion: The Modern Home as a Haven of Solitude
Today, particularly in the Western world, we take private bedrooms, studies, and personal retreats for granted. But historically, solitude was not a given—it was a luxury that only became widely accessible after centuries of architectural and social change.
From shared medieval halls to the intimate study rooms of the Renaissance, the evolution of physical space reflects a deep human need: the ability to retreat, reflect, and exist apart from the world when necessary.
Whether in a study, bedroom, or even a quiet corner of a crowded house, the desire for personal space continues to shape how we build and experience our homes.
What do you think?
Do you have a space in your home or outside that allows for solitude? How do you think modern design could better accommodate our need for privacy? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Sources:
Vickery (2008). An Englishman's Home Is His Castle?
Rybczynski (1986). Home: A Short History of An Idea.
Black (2011). The ethics of space, secrecy, and solitude: Domestic space in French sixteenth-century literature and visual culture.
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