design advice
How to Start the Design Process
When designing a room, I begin with two basic questions.
- What do you want to do in this room?
- How do you want to feel in this room?
I love these questions because they get to the heart of what really matters in design: function, personalization, and emotion.
First, the nuts and bolts: function.
Spaces are only great if they’re usable. When you understand what someone wants to do in a room, you understand how it should function. This creates livability. I know this sounds so basic, but it’s amazing how many people swing and miss at this one. They make the decision to design based solely on aesthetics. They dive into the deep end of the Pinterest pool and can’t seem to swim out. So they end up with a half-hearted solution: loving the aesthetics and the instagrammable moments, but not the actual experience of living in the space.
Second: personalization.
So many design projects these days feel like Frankensteins of well-known homes. Scrolling through photos, you like this, this, and this! And while inspirational processing can be a good tool, it’s not a good starting point. When you begin a design by pulling inspiration photos from other projects, you’re starting with someone else’s end story. Instead, start with yours. Ask questions. Understand what’s important to you so the design can be personalized, not parroted.
Third, and perhaps most important: emotion.
When you understand how someone wants to feel in a room, you can create a visual language that inspires that state of mind.
It’s easy to think of design as an indulgence. Something we get to do later when we have more money, more space, more time. But I take a different view. To me, design is about much more than buying pretty things. It’s essential, not extravagant.
Why? The most beautiful thing about space to me, ironically, isn’t what I see but how it makes me feel.
A well-designed environment is kindling—the subtle undercurrent that directs our day, setting the stage for who we want to be and what we want to experience.
An office? Focused, creative, inspired, productive.
A bedroom? Relaxed, peaceful, comfortable, secure.
Design, of course, isn’t the whole story. Just because you have a beautiful, inspiring office with a vintage rug, sisal wallpaper, and a lamp from Paris doesn’t mean you’ll all of a sudden become a Victor Hugo or Claude Monet. It isn’t as magical as all that—but, it does position you. It is the starting line of your race. It sets the tone. And then, as you’re running, putting one foot in front of the other, it continually heartens and replenishes you. In the same way an encouraging word or certain song can shift your emotion, the right setting is a cue that guides you on how to feel and act.
Instead of overcoming your environment, you can be replenished by it. That is magical.
So, as you embark on the journey of creating your new space, here's a little homework for you. Step away from the computer. Let yourself pause, mull, meander. Starting a great design isn’t about pulling together the best vision board: it’s about getting clarity. Intent before inspiration, then, as they say, you’re off to the races.
