welcome to mama ari's head canon: aerith's modern au home !
i have a pinterest board that i have been saving home / renovation pictures where i see a lot of aerith's reconstructed church-home … and i finally decided i should edit some of the pictures and share a little insight to what you might find wandering around the building. ( excuse my constant blog hopping, but previous head canon modern au notes can be found (pt1) here for more context (pt2) ! )
starting with the obvious, the main level of the church was reconstructed to serve as a flower shop accessible to the public ! my idea of aerith's flower shop is very antique-vibe store with plenty of little trinkets on shelves, purchasable potted plants and hanging ivory hung from the ceiling. with a lot of this project coming from aerith's pockets, she purchased pieces of furniture from online marketplaces and thrift shops to avoid purchasing new woodwork. dressers and armoires were sanded, restained and now act as tables and shelves to display the flowers available to purchase … or arrange yourself into a custom bouquet !
not pictured, but behind the cash out desk is a little office where aerith has some grow lights and little seedlings that are in ceramic pots, and where she can be found when the retail floor is empty … meticulously looking after her plant - friends, and organizing the floor - to - ceiling stack of receipts and invoices from carpenters, electricians, and contractors she's worked alongside.
something that costed a pretty penny was adding an upstairs addition where her home resides ! (depending on the verse, wink wonk, it can be a two bedroom) — – aerith resides in a cozy one bedroom one bathroom flat that is not far from her mother, elmyra gainsborough. there's a staircase that leads from the main level upward to her flat, where all the electrical, plumbing and etc was used to create a small kitchen and bathroom including a stacked laundry-unit. now aerith didn't make this purposely small, but worked within the original structure of the church to preserve as much of it's originality as possible. & despite it's size, she sees this residence as her forever home … unless, an option of acreage and cottage-like living ( like her childhood home ) became a possibility.
unfortunately, a lot of the original stained glass had to be taken out due to it's age and new construction code, though aerith does replace it with new stained glass to keep those gorgeous rainbow-glimmers shining through the shop + her apartment. with the original stained glasswork pertaining to religion, the decision was made to switch to different kinds of flowers, keeping to the importance of the buildings focus through the artwork.
annnnd of course, it wouldn't be aerith's flat if there weren't flower incorporations wherever they can be found. floor lamps with flower coverings, floral patterned bedsheets and table runners, plants unable to be on the floor due to their health taking residence across the kitchen and her bedroom — – and of course, having their own unique names while she tends to them. it truly is just a dark-brown-wood stained home with pops of flower accents everywhere … and not only does it make aerith's heart happy, it makes mine happy too imagining her in a decorated space she's created all on her own.
