era | Your Own Way
There are so many ‘should do’s’ and ‘right ways’ to design architecture.
The way you should is the way that works for you best.
The right way is the way that works best for you.
Do you ever get confused by all the noise out there?
Confused by all the choices?
Confused by all the ways that you can do something?
You know more than you think you do.
C h o o s e a r c h i t e c t u r e t h a t w o r k s f o r y o u.
It’s the little things
More than anything else, I feel as though I hear this one the most
- people who are designing their own home think that they don’t know what they want -
They think that someone else knows more about how they live and would like to live than someone else.
Remember this:
You know more than you think you do.
If you are cooking up a feed in your kitchen, what is the process you use?
bread from the bread tin on the bench in the pantry | slice of bread in the toaster on the bench next to the pantry door | cereal from the cupboard directly under | bowl from the plate rack on the shelf above | everything laid out on the island bench | cereal in bowl | toast pops up! | butter from fridge next to pantry | spread butter on toast on island bench | butter back in fridge and milk taken out | pour milk in with cereal | tea towel from rack near door | cushion from couch on the way out the door | favourite spot to gobble down a feed on the deck
You know this.
There are little things in your life you’ve always dreamed of.
| a grape vine twisted over an open canopy with sunlight shining through | an old school door bell that chimes as you turn the knob | the door handles you held in your grandparents home |
You know these.
An architect or a designer can interpret the information you have into a design and a built form that will work specifically for you. They may even find ways that are new to you, but which suit you perfectly.
But they need to start somewhere.
T h e y n e e d t o s t a r t w i t h y o u.
They ask you your story.
They interpret your lifestyle and the lifestyle you dream of into a built form.
Don’t let them tell you what you want if you know it yourself.
Don’t let a rule about how to lay out your kitchen that you found online dictate how you use your kitchen.
The person that wrote that rule doesn’t know you.
The designer doesn’t know you yet.
So, before you sit down with a designer, or before you sit down yourself to lay out or to choose a design for your architecture, think about how you live and think about what you dream for.
Think about all of those little things you do every day.
From the time you open your eyes, put your feet on the rug on the floor in your bed room and make your way into the morning … til you wrap your self up for the night to sleep.
What did you see when you opened your eyes?
What did you place your feet on as you swung them from the bed to the floor?
What is the last thing you do before you snuggle down at night?
Those are the parts - the little things - that make up architecture that is specific to you.
They will make your every day moments special.
Have you every lived in a toadstool house?
Neither have I, but I’ve always wanted to because I have wanted to understand how it would work!
Remember Big Ears? He lives in a toadstool house with a door in the stem and stairs going up to a room in the top. I have always wondered what that space would be like to live in.
What space would you like to live in?
That is another part of the puzzle.
Think about the spaces you have been in and which ones made you feel lit up inside!
Can you describe what it was about that space that made you feel that way?
Start with the way you feel.
| was it the stillness and the calm way it made you feel |
Then look at the physical built things in the space that might be making you feel that way.
| was it the way the light made the room glow |
What are the things in the space that you could use to recreate that feeling?
| was it the open window on one wall and door opening onto the terrace in the other that made a channel for the light breeze that washed over your skin |
These are the start of finding the little things and the little ways that will make architecture that suits you.
Don’t forget:
You know more than you think you do.
There is SO much to talk about when it comes to finding a home that fits you, that suits your lifestyle and that is
SPECIFIC TO YOU.
My hope is that you find your own way!
Your Place.
I have set up a special place where you can find little things and little ways to help you design + build your place.
I will add things to this place as time goes by and I would love to hear if there is anything that will help you! Connect with me and let me know what would be useful for you to see there.
Til next time!
Start the process to find your architectural language and make your little ideas a reality.
Click here to see the little things I have made for you, or click here if you would like to work with me one on one.