á la maison: why design should not be a "high pursuit"

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An intuitive designer is part coach, part teacher, and part therapist. Everyone needs and is worthy of a well designed life. Design should not and is not reserved for people of a certain means. Just like everyone should wear clothing that fits their body, everyone should and deserves to live in a space that is a reflection of who they are and how they want to feel. In my playbook this means a few things:

1. We all deserve and need to live in a clean space. It does not matter if you are a more-is-more kind of a girl or a total minimalist. To me, this is a matter of health and well being. Now you don’t have to go all OCD overnight. Some things are simply worth outsourcing. The cost to have your place professionally cleaned a couple of times a month may mean you have to forgo one night of after work cocktails, but I promise it is worth the sacrifice. What a professional can do in the span of an hour or two might take you all weekend.

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2. If you don’t have a sense of self at home, where the heck are you supposed to have one? Home is meant to be our sanctuary, our incubator, our comfort zone, our place that we can peel back any veneers and be totally free. You deserve that. Your family deserves that. You are worth the small amount of effort and investment it will take you to get there.

 

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3. The key to everything: that intangible feeling. Yes, sure, I love being up on trends. It is kinda my thing because I’m a designer. That does not mean you have to be obsessed with everything on the pages of Vogue or Elle Decor. What you do need to be totally obsessed with is the feeling you are seeking. Did you get that yet? It is all about the feeling! Do you hate blush pink and wish it would go somewhere and die already? Cool. Make it dead to you. Are you all like what is the deal with these black walls? Simple: don’t do it! Be you and trust that gut feeling.

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You can do so much more with so much less. It is not necessary to spend big bucks to have a space you love. In fact, I encourage clients to spend as little as possible. The truth of the matter is who you are today is not at all who you will be tomorrow. Your goals change, your needs change, your desires change, your relationships change. Design is an ongoing journey not a destination. You don’t want to feel married to any piece or element in your space emotionally or financially. Allow yourself the freedom for your surroundings to reflect the current you. Fluidity is the key to design bliss because the truth is we are all in constant motion.