Living Connected Through Design
Connecting when it comes to interior design, has long been described as connecting rooms, indoors to the outdoors, paint colours, repetition from room to room and other such design specific tactics. However, what about, the act of literally connecting ourselves to our home? How does our home shape and ground us in our everyday life? It’s not just the psychology of design, it’s the psychology of how the things in our home make us feel and why they are important to us. As designers, we know that what makes us exceptional at what we do, is being able to connect a home to a certain lifestyle and through design create meaningful spaces.
We like to think that the following outlines how design connects our clients to not only their things but to their home. There are facets within design that are inter-related. Within the greater relationship is where good design happens and beautiful connected spaces emerge!
Adaptive Design
Personal identity and expression are the emotive side of design. When working with our clients we are often presented with the challenge of integrating collections, keepsakes, heirlooms and other such things that connect our clients to others. Whether this is family, life stages or events, we know how important it is to adapt the design to include such items. One such story is that of an old historical cottage refurbish. The family had collected every regatta ribbon marking decades of memories and events tied to family, cottage time and history. We were able to integrate the ribbons by ordering them in a certain fashion, creating an interesting and intriguing story that transcended it being décor. The design now conveyed a personalized meaning and connected the home to family.
Another project led us to create an interesting round window install that came about as a result of our client’s love of woodwork and unique pieces. At the same time, the window style connected the primary bedroom to a large curtain wall of windows as well as an expansive great room. The approach to the window design, allowed for a whimsical take while still providing the right level of privacy. This is an example of how design specifically can connect rooms and features while serving purpose.
These unique and custom adaptations within a design mandate, create connections with personal identities to make homes more than just residences. It is also common to integrate client’s art into projects. The sense of belonging and personal expression that a familiar piece of art can evoke, is what helps us with placement and attention to detail through lighting, frame choices and sometimes groupings with other pieces. Adaptive design is the closest personal connection that we have with homeowners, and as a result we develop relationships over time that often transcend a single project.
Heirloom blue and white pieces mingle with inherited special keepsakes to create a unique display for the cottage owner
Impactful window effect creates a Battlestar Galactica influence for our client who wanted something unique to connect to his personality and interests
The unique feelings that found objects can evoke is often an integral part of what things get displayed and integrated into a room install
Environmental Design
Quality of life and a sense of well being connects us to the physical space within our home. Lighting, comfort, warmth, are all elements that connect homeowners to their immediate environment and work in harmony to create atmosphere. Colour and texture are also highly connective methods used in design to personalize a home or cottage. Connecting to the new and refreshed has a healthy impact on our perception of our home and is why organizing and giving purpose to kept items can feel so freeing and rewarding. We often help clients with the task of paring down the physical environment and only keeping the items that spark connection. Environmental design is the connective layer that creates ambiance and enhances the feeling of togetherness within a space for social interactions.
Organizing special pieces using built-in shelving
Colourful shelves provide a back-drop for a book collection and other kept pieces
Creating vignettes with built-ins for both storage and organized display
Using kitchen shelving to feature prominent cookware and accessories is an organized approach to optimizing space
Human Centric Design
Our design approach has always been about form and function combined. The practical reality of living where we do, requires that spaces function for a certain lifestyle. Spaces still need to be welcoming, serving purpose and reason but at the same time fulfilling connections to the home as a whole. The flow and level of connection to lifestyle is what turns ordinary design into crafted. Whether it be for entertainment, meal prep, personal time or utility driven mud rooms, each space must function and connect to the role it serves. Human centric design is about connecting function to lifestyle and allowing our clients to move seamlessly through their home or cottage as it pertains to daily life.
An example of function meets form in this client’s bathroom, where we created a vanity space with storage
Hidden laundry behind cabinetry that blends into the overall kitchen design allows function and form to create a well designed space
Function meets form with this built-in kitchenette zone that acts as a water station for the nearby home gym as well as a place to store sundries without having to trek to the upstairs kitchen
Handy functional storage benches grace the side of a built-in fireplace in this Clear Lake cottage
Built-ins on one side house a mud room entry while the opposite side provides an appliance wall. An example of using design to divide and organize 2 different functional spaces.
Installed Design
Installation day in design world is the culmination of months of schedules, trades teams, presentations, and basically one big list of hurry up and wait! But the installed design is the connection to the beauty of bringing it all together. The connection to personal style, a trend or a unique product is what a homeowner feels when everything comes together intentionally. The furniture, the side tables, accent chairs and textiles, all of these products are about connected personal style. The visually pleasing result is what connects us to other family members when we’ve found complementary ways of mixing and merging style preferences. Installed design comes full circle to create the connected home.
Install day saw this guest room get soft new bedding with accent pillows, task lighting and end tables to bring a calm, restful space full circle
Accessories like art, throw pillows, and staging shelves is a big part of how a design install brings warmth, personality and finishing touches to a room
In this Sturgeon Lake cottage, throw blankets, lamps, large area rug and accessories provide the final reveal for our clients on install day creating visual appeal
Personal art collections are a big part of how we create stories within a space
If we, as designers, have done our job, we’ve designed your home but the connections live on through your influence. Visual connections are one thing and we see huge importance placed on how a home looks, but having deep storied connections with your home can impact how your home functions and your sense of well-being. Connecting to our living environments is not a new idea, sometimes we just need help reminding ourselves of what’s important and how to connect to our environments on a deeper level.
Tim + Chris
