How Your Home Comes to Life - The Design Process

You don't want any aspect of your home to look like an afterthought. You want it to feel authentic, substantive, timeless and warm. Your home should feel like it has a beating heart. As a designer, I work to recognize the patterns and emotional connections that exist within you to bring about a vision of your project that can guide every decision.

When starting a project, overwhelm can take over.  I find that most people don't know where to begin and often make scattered decisions, eventually designing themselves into a corner.  If I could give advice to someone not working with me or another designer, it would be to take a deep breath and go inside your own heart and mind.  Without realizing it, all the information you have gathered from countless photos and idea searches can be distilled down to create your own personal road map.  Accessing this map is the key to your design journey.

I became a designer because I love discovering patterns - not fabric or wallpaper patterns, but rather how certain themes repeat in a person's choices or how joyful someone can feel when connecting with different images. When we examine the images that bring joy or a feeling of connection, there is usually a common thread. I am always looking for that thread. Maybe it is a color or a material that appears again and again, like stone on walls, copper, thick, fluffy rugs or geometric designs.

I also search for the pervasive rhythm - does every photo the client responds to have minimal clutter, clean surfaces and interesting textures, or does the client respond to the coziness of mixed prints with lots of personal photos and cherished possessions that trigger memory after memory? What is the instant hit that the image delivers? Working with clients for over twenty years has given me plenty of opportunities to detect patterns that identify with all kinds of styles and personalities.

Whether I am designing a home in the mountains, the desert or at the beach, I can use this information to bring about a personal vision that is adapted to the natural environment and its particular requirements. Living in the mountains and spending so much time hiking and skiing, my own patterns became inexorably tied to the natural environment.

I have also been lucky to work and develop relationships with great craftsmen and I have learned a deep respect for the careful art they practice. I found that bringing the additional perspective of craftsmen into projects creates a depth and richness that expands any vision beyond what was originally conceived. This is one of the elements that can take a project to the next level.

The home featured in these photos belongs to the Iantuono family, who have become close friends.  It was a joy to create with them and to still be a frequent guest, enjoying the warm and lively spirit that pervades their home.