High Style for Real Life
Your home may be gorgeous, but does it enrich your life? Below, some tips for a soul-satisfying mix of high style and functionality
In his book The Poetics of Space, author Gaston Bachelard urges designers to consider the experiences a design will engender as the driving force for a house's design. A house designed for the lived experience, he says, offers a richer and more fulfilling environment than a house designed around abstract notions of visual appeal.
Of course many of us will simply say, "No duh." But homes all too often are designed based on their visual appeal only — think of the ubiquitous model home in many developments. These houses seldom stand up to the lives that are lived in them.
Good design is never about giving up visual appeal and abstraction for experience-based design alone. Nor is it giving up experience-based design solely for visual appeal. The best designed houses combine these elements into one.
So here are some tips for doing just that.
Of course many of us will simply say, "No duh." But homes all too often are designed based on their visual appeal only — think of the ubiquitous model home in many developments. These houses seldom stand up to the lives that are lived in them.
Good design is never about giving up visual appeal and abstraction for experience-based design alone. Nor is it giving up experience-based design solely for visual appeal. The best designed houses combine these elements into one.
So here are some tips for doing just that.
Go big. Little windows with little grids with fabric coverings, shades and shutters are fine. But if you have a great view, let it in with great big windows that stretch from bottom to top. If you don't need cabinetry everywhere, don't put it in. A room of magic and delight will always trump that little bit of storage.
Go small. Whether it's a small home, a garden shed, a teahouse or a pavilion for your tub, not everything should be big. Creating intimate places for dreams and alone time is a sure way to stay balanced in a fast world.
Create a background. Our lives play out against the walls, floors, ceilings and other physical features of our homes. So design those features to enrich your life, letting you live the way you wish and allowing for the unexpected and meaningful.
Create a foreground. There are times when we want to be the audience rather than on the stage. Look for ways to create a vantage point from which to watch the world pass by.
Insist on structure. Rather than being mazelike, the rooms in your home should be organized in a clear and intelligible way so that you can easily move from room to room and easily find what you want.
Insist on life. Our lives can run the gamut from crazy to quiet, from messy to orderly, from chaotic to serene as well as every shade in between. So make sure your home isn't so minimal that it is thrown off by having the things you love around.
Celebrate you. No matter if it's in the front foyer or the most remote closet, organize the favorite things from your life in a display that puts a smile on your face and joy in your heart.
Find a path. The journey, not the destination, often counts. So enjoy the journeys around your house and be open to what you see and learn along the way.
Find a place. Include a place to rest, recharge and refocus before starting on the journey again.
More:
Design Leaps of Faith
Decorate With Intention: Create a Vision for Your Home
More:
Design Leaps of Faith
Decorate With Intention: Create a Vision for Your Home