Parking my car in the alley as I arrived home from work the other day, I made my way past the aromatic garbages, up the first of four flights of stairs to my third floor apartment. My hands full of bags from the day and my empty coffee cup, I pushed past the swinging door that always hits me on my way in. That’s when I stopped, mid-stair, suddenly extremely aware of my psychological experience of coming home. 

Even as a designer, formally trained and intuitively keen on our interactions with our built environment, it took almost two years before the physical action of coming home made its way to my consciousness.

And that’s exactly what good design is about; being aware of how our automatic daily movements play into our experiences, even when they’re operating at a subconscious level. 
 
I hate that door. And by the time I’ve reached my front door, shuffling to get my keys, I feel more tired than I was 5 minutes ago. 

The good news is, I woke up to that experience. The bad news is, there’s not much I can do about it. But what I am doing is making the transition through the front door more thoughtful. Creating a space for shoes and a small surface for which to set down my keys and bag, I have given myself a psychological transition from the outside world to my home haven.

I would encourage you to also look at your homecoming. Does it invite slower breaths the minute you step on your path? Or is it more like a battle zone you have to fight to get from your garage to your mudroom? Whatever your entry experience is, finding ways to make it more of an appropriate transition space is important for those subtle yet powerful shifts in our day.  

Spring is here, the dark days of winter are fading behind us, and the extra light provides the opportunity to shed the stiffness of hibernation and awaken to our surroundings with new perspective. This always gets me in the mood to clean, re-organize, and refresh my living space. 

William Morris's words "have nothing in your house you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful" is a perfect mantra during this time. Be bold. Get rid of stuff you don't use, don't like looking at, or don't know what to do with.  Especially target corners, backs of shelves and closets, and under the bed. This will immediately free your home and your psyche of heavy and sluggish clutter. And what an amazing feeling that is. 

Happy Spring! 

Throughout my travels, I aim to capture some of my favorite elements and principals of design in photographs. In this way, I continue my education by intentionally observing the details of spaces that seem common everyday and everywhere, but with thoughtful application of these design elements, the ordinary is transformed into something remarkable. 

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” -Miriam Beard

“I sense Light as the giver of all presences, and material as spent Light. What is made by Light casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light.” -Louis Kahn

"Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways." -Oscar Wilde

"What we seek is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world, with clean water, air, soil and power, that is economically, equitably, ecologically, and elegantly enjoyed." - William McDonough