Home for Two

This book examines being at home as a couple as a sociological phenomenon that reveals itself as both a process and a product of the co-construction of couples and things. The object of study is couples moving in together and cohabiting in their first shared apartment, with particular attention paid to the materiality of the home as well as to individual and shared objects. The study is guided by three central research questions: How does an apartment become a home for a couple, and what does this concept imply? What does it mean to live as a couple? And how is the home negotiated as both a shared and an individual space? To address these questions, couple interviews and walking interviews were conducted with ten couples in their homes, during which the participants also produced their own photographs. The material was analyzed using the documentary method, leading to the reconstruction of four meaning-genetic types of co-construction. These types span dimensions such as interpretations of moving in together and living together, temporality and processuality, the relationship between togetherness and individuality, and the meanings of “beautiful” objects. The findings are discussed from the perspectives of couple sociology, housing sociology, and the sociology of knowledge, as well as in methodological terms, highlighting the continued importance of sociological engagement with this field of research.