During the years of my profession when I inform some one of what it is that I do, the most often response is their telling me about the source of their furniture.

There are many in the furniture industry and profession who identify themselves as interior designers.

Furniture in and of itself is not interior design.

Furniture is a small, but very important small, part of an interior space of about 6-7%.

Look at your entire interior residential space including walls, floors, ceilings, etc. and evaluate how much of that cubic space is actually furniture.

Look at all of the design elements in the space: lines, forms, colors, masses, and textures. How much is composed of furniture?

The level of consciousness with which we look at life, as well as our residential environments, determines what we see, the depth, width, and and height of what we see, and the quality there of.

What is the level at which you choose to look, see, and experience your residential environment?

Food for thought.

What is the most abundant, most often used, least costly, most varied, and most freely used commodity for the human species?

Opinions.

Many people unsolicitly feel compelled to express what they think about your residence even when it is not a factor in their lives.

You paid too much.

You’ll never get your investment back.

It doesn’t belong in this neighborhood.

I don’t like it.

Some times, if you listen carefully at all of the opinions expressed, they come from many and some times opposite positions.

So, “what is a mother to do”?

Smile gently, look them in the eyes and say “really” and go your merry way.

The only opinion of merit about your residence is yours.

” Unto thine own self be true.”

Food for thought.

All of my life cars have had rear view mirrors. Now, they have cameras and screens of which the purpose of both is to see where you’ve been and what’s behind you.

When you drive, you look through the windshield to see where you are going and what is ahead and not into the rear view mirrors.

This same approach can be used, and would be intellectual in doing such, in the approaches we use for the designs, interior and exterior, of our residences.

During my life time cars always had rear view mirrors. Now they have cameras and ‘screens the purpose of both is to see where you’ve beenWhen we drive we look through the windshield in from of us to see where are going and what lies ahead and not into the rear view mirror to see where we’ve been.The same approach we have for driving could be, but generally is not, used for the designs, inside and outside, for the houses in which we live.

If you look at the majority of houses and their furnishings in this country, you will see that they are based upon designs of the past. Designs that can be seen in the rear view mirror.

Civilizations only make progress when they move forward and not remain in the static and comfort of past designs.

The best and only authentic designs reflect the times, materials, life styles, and intellectual level of their day.

The choices you make in the designs, interior and exterior, of your residence as to whether you remain stationary depending upon the past or choose to go forward is a personal one. You may not be interested in or comfortable in going forward.

You make the choices with which you live.

Food for thought.

Spring is in the air and out side plants are beginning to bring forth manifestations for the season.

All of which is a welcome change from the indoor restrictions required by the winter weather and the virus restrictions.

In the information that comes across my desk about trends happening for the housing industry a relationship between indoor and out door spaces is prominent.

Observing the history of housing over the course of civilizations, this desire for a good relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces has basically always been present.

The evolution of housing for the human species has been a relationship of shelter requirements and the out doors.

Thusly, there is a basic human need for some outdoor spaces in our lives. People are less healthy and psychologically balanced in a primarily closed environment.

We once again come around to the basic physical laws of the universe and their roles in existence.

The principles of aesthetics are also manifest in our relationship with the outdoors as we experience the beauty of nature, upon which all beauty is based, which adds joy and completeness to our lives in tune with the universe.

Food for thought.

Examples of human beings decorating the walls of their interior dwelling spaces going back thousands of years can be found in different places around the world.

While their reasons for doing such may be different from why people might do it today, there is still a desire to decorate the interior spaces in which we live.

Spices have also played an important role in civilizations for thousands of years from their uses to enhance foods, their commercial value, their status, their financial value, et cetera.

For much of the current world’s population, many types, kinds, and examples of art are plentiful and easily available for our personal use and spices from around the world are readily available in grocery stores.

So what do art and spices have to do with each other as the subject of this blog?

As spices enhance the flavor of our foods and offer almost unlimited options for different recipes, so can art have the same effect on our residential interior environments.

Think of art as the spice for our homes.

Including art as a part of our lives greatly enhances our day to day existence and offers us many different available directions as to the ambiance we choose for our selves.

While art on and for walls generally offers the most available spaces for the placement of art, art can be manifest in many elements for home furnishings.

The choices you make in art are a reflection of who you are.

Think about it.

Recently came across a study which again verifies the affect that our environment has on our behavior.

This study focuses on home offices that were a result of the restrictions brought about from the virus, but the principles involved apply to all of our interior environments.

The goal is to work in an environment that makes the most effective and productive uses of our time and isn’t that what the goal of working should be?

A place where what needs to be done can be done without distractions and which enhances results for time spent.

A space that is congruent with our physical, emotional, and psychological needs as well as our business requirements.

Individual needs will vary per individual, but try to have excellent lighting, some access to outdoors, even if just a view, and different activities during the day to refresh and restore our energy while trying to avoid in a rut routine in a dull monotonous environment which saps our energy and enthusiasm.

A home offices is a part of our residential environment and should be manifest as such.

Any resources expended to making our working environment more effective and productive will prove to be an excellent business investment.

Food for thought.

During this present situation around the world with the virus, many are restricted to staying more in their homes and health becomes a top priority.

Our physical health in all ways necessary for our living is most important.

But, our psychological and emotional health are also important as all aspects of our health are tied together and inter work with each other.

The colors in your home, the lights, natural and man made, the arrangements of spaces, your furnishings, and all of the physical things that you see and use every day, all of it together, manifest in how you react and use your residential spaces and are important parts of your emotional and psychological health.

When you have intelligent design and quality aesthetic interiors in all of the these components, your day to day living is much more comfortable, efficient, productive, enjoyable, and beautiful.

And aren’t these things more needed and used in the present stay at home requirements?

Any resources you have expended in the past, are doing now, and will do in the future will greatly enhance your living as monies well spent.

Think about it.

” Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. ” Alexander Pope 1711

This pearl of wisdom from over four hundred years ago has relevance to our homes today.

Looking at the designs of the outsides and insides and furnishings of the majority of residences in this country today, one finds that the styles more often used are those that go back to previous periods of civilization.

Yet, the latest in sizes, technology, choices, et cetera for television screens and receptions, the latest in computer availability, smart phones, smart cars, and smart appliances are constantly being chosen moving to the new as it becomes available.

There are many and varied reasons why these choices are being made.

Much goes back to the habits, culture, and comfort aspects of that with which we are familiar, the emotional aspects of human behavior patterns, and the fears and discomfort of the new and unknown.

What are you missing in your life’s journey when you only live with designs of past periods?

Authentic designs only come into being if they are manifest and representative of the times, materials, life styles, et cetera when they come into being.

Every thing else is but a copy or interpretation or repeat.

In which would you prefer to live?

The choice is yours.

Food for thought.

Crediting my grand mother with the saying: ” There is more than one way to cook chicken.“ seems to have some relevance to some of the situations involving our residential life styles today.

Due to the restrictions placed by the virus, more people are working and some are raising and educating children from our homes.

Also, these restrictions have severely reduced our social contacts with other people thus making it more important for the emotional and psychological activities than now must take place in our homes.

Perhaps these changes to our residential life styles can be an incentive for us to take a critical look at all of our interior spaces, how they are used, and for what purposes.

Are we making the best uses of our interior spaces? Can more and/or different activities take place in different than currently used places?

Is there any space any where in our house that is not being used or could be used more productively or efficiently?

Are we making the best use of storage, natural light and views, sizes and shapes of rooms, their relationship to each other, and traffic patterns?

There can be situations here in which imagination and creativity manifest more results than knowledge.

As in all interior design situations, we need to work with the laws of physics and the principles of aesthetics.

Food for thought.

The virus is affecting the entire world and putting more demands on our living environment.

How do these demands, with which we have to live today and which are probably going to make changes to our residential uses more permanent, say about our homes?

Basic shelter from the elements is first. We need plumbing and power sources for lighting, indoor climate control and for living activities. Resources for activities of human expression are needed.

Above these requirements, life is enhanced when we express our emotional selves and life styles in our home environment.

Because of the virus, new requirements are coming into focus.

There is now a need for cleaner and healthier air, eliminating objects and activities for better germ control, more spaces and larger spaces for more and more varied activities at home

Think about how these changes affect you personally now and in future for long term results.

We generally choose to eat foods that taste good. Using this same approach we can make changes to our residential environments that also allow us to live with beauty.

A well designed residential interior combines beauty, functions, personalities, and life styles to be complete.

Using the laws of physics and the principles of aesthetics, we are unlimited in what we can manifest for our living environments.

Food for thought.