This is the title of one of the chapters in the book *How Our Homes Shape Us* by Maïlys Dorn, an interior designer and founder of the H.O.M.E. (Habite et Optimise Mon Espace) school. She teaches a relevant approach to interior design, combining a mastery of space with an understanding of people.
She approaches shared living from the perspective of spatial planning: how to share a kitchen amongst several people, each with their own idea of ‘cleanliness’; how to design a shared bathroom so that the shower and washbasin can be used at the same time whilst maintaining privacy.
Spoiler: provide, as you would at a campsite, an enclosed shower cubicle with a small bench to put your belongings on, so that you can enter and leave the shower area fully dressed, without having to walk past people who are brushing their teeth or shaving at the washbasin whilst half-naked.
Above all, she has fully grasped the difference between shared housing and furnished rooms.
« Sometimes tenants choose each other beforehand; sometimes they meet when they move in. And the type of tenancy agreement makes all the difference. »
- The collective tenancy, governed in Luxembourg by the June 2024 reform of residential tenancies – which introduces the concept of shared accommodation – is intended primarily for an established group of friends who share a house. Everyone knows one another and could potentially enter another’s room (which is unlocked) in the event of an evacuation. This changes everything in terms of fire safety requirements, compared with furnished rooms under individual tenancies. In practice, shared accommodation is rarely made up of groups of friends. Tenants are recruited by the property manager, the landlord or the housemates living on the premises, who choose a replacement should a previous occupant leave.
- An individual tenancy agreement, which corresponds to the ‘furnished rooms’ category, involves people who do not know one another living together. They have not always chosen a shared living arrangement for the right reasons. The housing crisis currently affecting Luxembourg means that people who want to live there are sometimes forced to turn to shared accommodation because they have been unable to rent a flat on their own. This is where it’s important to give them a helping hand so that bonds can be formed. At MyColoc, every newcomer is greeted with a welcome drink, giving them the chance to get to know the others. Sometimes it clicks and wonderful stories emerge (some of our former flatmates still keep in touch even though they left the flat share 10 years ago!), and sometimes it doesn’t, leading to conflicts that need to be managed by ensuring the rules of community living are respected. ‘Living together’ is by no means straightforward, especially in Luxembourg where different cultures clash.
From an interior designer’s perspective, the difference between shared housing and furnished rooms lies in the balance between private and shared spaces.
“The more the flatmates have chosen each other, the more important the communal spaces are. Conversely, in accommodation where the flatmates are chosen by the landlord, it is the private spaces that take priority,” as Maïlys Dorn writes. In short, small bedrooms and a large living room are typical of a shared flat, whilst the opposite is true for furnished rooms, where residents are more likely to stay in their own bedrooms.
That may be true in theory. In practice, however, whether a house can be used for shared housing or rented out as individual furnished rooms is not determined by how the space is organised, but by the building itself and its legal use. To rent it out as individual furnished rooms, the property must undergo a change of use, which requires an application to the local municipality and compliance with the applicable building regulations.
Do you own a property that is under-occupied, part of an estate, or difficult to let? Let’s discuss it — MyColoc supports transformation projects right from the assessment stage
Maïlys Dorn — How our homes shape us. The journey and reflections of an interior designer working on behalf of residents
. Eyrolles, June 2026
https://www.editions-eyrolles.com/livre/comment-nos-maisons-nous-construisent
See also.
What if, before buying a house, we thought about all the different lives it might lead?
