By Paul Miller
Interior Designer
Read Time: 4 Minutes
Does the mere notion of a new design for your home flood you with uncertainty? Maybe you’ve looked at a dizzying array of ideas online and found your excitement fizzling? If you long for your dream home to become reality but find putting your ideas together overwhelming, this post was written to help you find clarity.
Your dream home is possible. Let’s get started.
Relaxed and artfully curated, the family room at Nest #129 offers plenty of cozy seating with a view to the water. Photo: Matthew Lofton
The Gripe List
Think of this as an accounting of everything you would banish from your home. Itemize what gets on your nerves, from the ugly foyer light to the pantry that leaves you muttering curses. You may find yourself making accommodations.
“Well, this really isn’t so bad.”
Be persnickety. Later, when your designer studies the possibilities, one thing may rise above another as your priorities and site limitations come into focus, but this is the moment to thoroughly lament all of your home’s disappointments. Grousing can be illuminating. Our client at Nest #174 detested the unrelenting white finishes in her kitchen and dining area, helping us to know that we needed to banish the blahs with custom wood accent shelves, a dynamic wallpaper and vibrant rug.
Photo: Matthew Lofton
The Dream List
Jot down everything you wish your home offered. Dream big. Maybe you want a kitchen with more windows. Dream bigger. Perhaps you’ve always craved a round room, like a castle turret.
Possibilities need fertile soil to grow in. Some things from the list may stay on the page, while others take root and become the genesis for an attainable reality. You may have always wanted a craft room, but dismissed the hankering because you’re short on space. Your designer might find a way to carve out a small but workable craft nook, but not unless they know you’ve wanted one.
Our client at Nest #335 knew that she wanted a cozy, family-friendly eating nook with vibrant, joyful colors.
Photo: MakeNest
ViBes Over Style
Don’t get tripped up on style.
Style is a tricky thing. The search for it can leave you drawing blanks unless you are one of the anointed few to whom it comes naturally. Style is also bound up with shifting trends, perky influencers and other commerce-driven notions that seem to be laughing at us.
Far more important than figuring out your style is figuring out your vibes. By this, I mean understanding the mood that you want your home to convey to you, your loved ones and visitors. I recommend paying attention to how you feel in spaces where you find yourself. Investigate what you like about the places that make you feel great and what turns you off in the rooms that leave you cold.
Vibes are not always something you can see. I have lingered at a sleepy cafe just because the acoustics were soft and lush. I have wanted to stay lost at a friend’s house because the sunlight was just so dreamy. Your senses are deeply tied to what makes up a good vibe.
Vibes are also not always a place where you have planted your feet. Our client at Nest #601 wanted a grown-up, girl boss home office that still appealed to her love of getting lost in a good book or a cozy PBS murder mystery.
Photo: Matt Lofton
I hope this blog helps you to sync up with your dream home aspirations.
Your designer can transform a myriad of impressions into a cohesive and actionable plan for your home, solving problems of scale, proportion and balance along the way. They can create harmony, rhythm and contrast and select all the elements that will make your spaces truly magical. Yet starting off with clarity of your own will help them to create a design that is a joyful, honest, and fearless reflection of you and your family
