Touring the Floor Plan of Harry's House
Harry’s House is finally here, and I for one have fallen in love with this project from Harry Styles. With a wide dynamic range of sound and lyrics, Harry Styles has firmly reminded everyone why he reigns on top of the pop scene. Each of the thirteen tracks has its own distinct curation, and it feels like Harry has fully constructed a literal house of an album, so why not tour each of the rooms? I’ve mapped out what I believe is the sonic floor plan, so follow along on the official (but entirely unofficial) tour of Harry’s House.
Music For a Sushi Restaurant: The Garage
Fun, flirty, and noncommittal, “Music For a Sushi Restaurant” feels like the jittery excitement of pulling into your garage after an exciting day or when you have a fantastic night ahead. Through quick scat and jazzy upbeat melody, this first track lands us firmly in the personal entrance of Harry’s House that is only accessible if with the homeowner, a sweet and fun experience for him and his new lover to enter the house of chaos.
Late Night Talking: The Entryway From The Garage
Coming into the house through the connected garage finds you in the secluded entryway hallway. This hallway holds storage of the most common items needed on the go as you make yourself comfortable entering the home or preparing to leave for your next adventure. “Late Night Talking” finds Harry wanting to be with his lover who is not currently around, and the garage entryway sees Harry as he is getting ready to leave to see her and also coming home with memories of their time together.
Grapejuice: The Living Room
Once you hit the end of the “Late Night Talking” entryway, you land into the living room. It’s a large and open space that perfectly suits both nights of entertaining large crowds and sweet nights to just Harry and his partner. With comfortable seating, ambient lighting, and a variety of entertainment options, the living room is the perfect cozy place to curl up and reminisce about fond memories while simultaneously making new memories of nights in while in love.
As It Was: The Bathroom
After the “Grapejuice” living room, the tour of Harry’s House then finds the “As It Was” bathroom. This bathroom has seen Harry stare himself down in the mirror to catalogue the differences in his appearance, open the medicine cabinet to analyze the different pills he’s had to swallow over time to grow, and wash away old notions of love and life in the shower. “As It Was” is a bright song, indicative of a bathroom's fluorescent lighting, but also incredibly introspective and analytical on how things have changed.
Daylight: The Sunroom
Nestled in the back of Harry’s House is a beautiful sunroom titled “Daylight.” While the track finds Harry wishing the sun wouldn’t come up because his lover is only around at the night, it also sees how much sunlight his lover brings to him. Sitting in the sunroom during the day offers Harry the opportunity to feel some of the sunshine his love brings to him, even if his love is not able to be around until later at night. It is a soft and homey place to collect himself, with comfortable recliners, bright accents of decor, and a plethora of plants that are growing like the relationship Harry is singing about.
Little Freak: The Hallway
“Little Freak” is one of the softer songs of Harry’s House and reminds me of a hallway littered with personal items and photos. Harry comments during “Little Freak” that the person he is singing about didn’t get to know everything about him, but he is still thinking about them and wishing the best, reminiscent of the way I look at old memories in my home’s version of the “Little Freak” hallway. While maybe not everyone pictured is still in his life, they still impacted him in some way and he can hold those memories dear, no matter the ending of the relationship.
Matilda: The Storage Closet
At the end of the “Little Freak” hallway is a door that is almost always closed, hiding away the contents of the “Matilda” storage closet. It is cluttered and filled to the brim with old mementos, previous accomplishments, and concrete evidence of the way you’ve grown and changed. The closet is quite literally filled with skeletons you cannot get rid of, and “Matilda” finds you looking over everything you’ve survived with pity, remembrance, and grace.
Cinema: The Dining Room
After you close the door to the “Matilda” storage closet, turn the corner and enter into the airy open floor plan of the “Cinema” dining room! This dining room regularly sees flirty date nights and witty conversations with friends, family, and flames. In the case of “Cinema” specifically, it's a date night with Harry and his partner, including plenty of getting to know each other.
Daydreaming: The Bedroom
Date night in the dining room went well, so our tour takes us into the entryway on your left, which opens into the expansive bedroom. Sensual and passionate with a fantastic tempo, the “Daydreaming” bedroom is a well-designed room perfect for sleeping, dressing, and……other activities.
Keep Driving: The Kitchen
Once finished in the bedroom, the tour of Harry’s House finds you walking back out and into the “Keep Driving” kitchen. Whether it’s cooking for one, making drinks for an intimate gathering of friends, or crying on the kitchen floor with a tub of ice cream post break up, the kitchen sees the occupants of a home in every state possible. “Keep Driving” is a versatile track sonically and lists out a variety of items and ideas connected to Harry’s relationship in the song, indicative of the many tools used in a kitchen and spaces available on the countertops.
Satellite: The Laundry Room
Adjacent to the kitchen is the “Satellite” laundry room. Spiraling through emotions and anxiety, the laundry room is the place to sort through your dirty laundry and figure out how to clean up any messes you’ve found yourself draped within. It’s not a large space, which can leave the track feeling more claustrophobic and raise your heart rate a bit, but as a room, it offers the ability to take a step back and air out any issues you’re having before bleaching out any stains you need to remove.
Boyfriends: The Foyer
Closing out the almost circular layout of Harry’s House, the “Boyfriends” foyer leads us to the front door of Harry’s House. The foyer is a less used and less personal entrance, mainly used for guests. In the case of “Boyfriends”, it is a soft remembrance of pitiful past relationships, closing the door as you finally remove yourself from the situation and kick out the pain of a lover that has hurt you.
Love Of My Life: The Front Porch
Unless you’re coming through the garage with Harry himself, to enter or exit the house you must climb the porch. The ultimate place of entry and exit has a dual purpose of some outdoor seating area to allow you to stargaze and ponder life. Some of my greatest personal revelations in life have occurred on various porches, and ending the experience of Harry’s House on the porch feels blissfully powerful as Harry sings to the love he let go of and then realized was “the one.” They could always come back knocking on his front door to try again, but to do so, they will have to step onto the porch to enter Harry’s House again.
There you have it, Harry’s House on a never before seen tour. I’d highly recommend listening to the album and going through this tour in your mind, as I think it offers an interesting viewpoint visually for the album. I would love to hear any other room theories you may have, so feel free to send me a message on Instagram with your opinions. Otherwise, have a wonderful time continuing to explore Harry’s House!