ABSTRACT
In the first decade after the Second World War, several national institutions, social
movements and designer organisations in Belgium organised a series of home exhib-
itions. Up till now none of the model homes shown on these exhibitions have been
reconstructed. Moreover, until recently very little attention was paid to their history
in general. This chapter is part of a research project that tries to address this lack of
historical interest.1 It states that one of the main reasons for the late development of
this research area is the fact that the post-war domestic reform movement in Belgium
was far less consistent than in its neighbouring countries.2 Instead, it was charac-
terised by a series of independent discourses on modern living. However, this is also
what makes the study of model homes in post-war Belgium interesting. At first sight,
many home exhibitions appear to be simple sites of communication or representa-
tion: expressions of the organiser’s educational programme focused on his specific
target group. It is only by confronting them with similar projects or ambitions of other,
not necessarily related contemporary home educators in Belgium that they reveal
their complexity and also show themselves as sites of conflict.
