Reflections On What We Love

This February, we’re taking inspiration from Valentine’s Day and ideas of love, to reflect on what brings us joy in this time of year. Perhaps you are enjoying the same things we are, we would love to know.

Our Drafter, Lia Sommer, is loving spending time watercoloring with friends.

This winter I am loving spending time watercoloring with friends. One of our friends, who is a water coloring artist and teacher, shares her knowledge with everybody during our creative gatherings. We sit around a big table with our brushes, paints, and water cups, while café style music plays in the background. It’s a relaxing and fun way to reconnect with my Chinese community and gives us a chance to discuss our lives in the U.S. using both English and our native tongue. Fun things always happen here!

Our Project Architect, Troy Howe, is loving experiencing all the mountains have to offer.

I love being in the mountains this time of year. Standing on top of a snowy mountain ridge on a sunny day and looking across the Cascades is almost magical. Skiing at local Crystal Mountain resort recently on a crystal-clear day we could see the beauty of the distant snow-capped Olympic mountains and Puget Sound, a rare pleasure. Mt. Rainier stood just one valley away from us. The sight was simply breathtaking. The natural beauty of the Cascades brings a profound sense of peace and joy.

Our Project Designer, Roy Stark McGarrah, loves to plan adventures to warm places during the winter.

The quiet and dark of winter often leads me to start imagining the places I’d like to visit and people I’d like to see. This year, I’ve loved planning a trip with my partner to visit family in Turkey. Thinking about the warm Mediterranean weather and delicious food gives me respite from the cold and rain of the Seattle winter. I love coming up with different itineraries and thinking about how each might feel and who I could share the time with. Should we fly back to the U.S. from Istanbul directly or should we stop in Sarajevo to experience the Bosnian cultural melting pot? These thoughts warm me in this dark season.

Our Principal Architect, Terry Phelan, loves the creative process of planning and preparing shared meals.

I love the creative process of preparing special meals to share with friends and family. One recent winter weekend a visiting friend and I spent the afternoon at Pike Place Market. While there we gathered ingredients for making 3 different meals, sampling and selecting fresh seafood and produce as we built our menu. Once home we set to brining, chopping, and stirring, sipping red wine and tasting sauces as they developed. Late afternoon dark settled outside, and we were warm and happy sharing stories and appetizers in the kitchen and welcoming other friends to join us.

Not so surprisingly, each one of our “things we love” relates back to the work we do at Living Shelter Architects and how we each contribute to achieving our mission. We each bring a connection to community, a connection to the natural world, adventurous and innovative perspectives on healthy and resilient design, and a love of the creative process.

Do you want to work with people passionate about sustainable living? Are you wondering how to incorporate sustainable practices into your home or community? We’d love for you to get in touch, contact us.

5 Things We Learned At The Northwest Green Building Slam + Summit

In October, Living Shelter Architects participated in the annual Northwest Green Building Slam + Summit. It was an inspiring event and we wanted to take a moment to distill down the highlights and what we felt was most important to share with you. These are the 5 things we learned from our experience at the Slam + Summit:

1.     Why did we participate in the Green Building Slam and Summit?

We love being involved with EcoBuilding Guild events – the participants are so engaged and passionate about the difference they can make in the world of residential design and construction. Over the years, we have been honored to present at 8 of the 12 Seattle Slam events. I always attend, whether presenting or not, as so many members of ‘my tribe’ are there sharing their most interesting stories and projects of the past year. It invigorates and inspires!

2.     What about our Net Zero Carbon DADU project did we most want to resonate with the audience?

For our Net Zero Carbon DADU project, we wanted to share the possibilities of achieving a high level of sustainability by using integrated design on a small project. This was also our talented project designer Roy McGarrah’s first project in the Slam, and both his style and his cool folding ship’s ladder for accessing the loft and roof deck were a hit with the audience.

3.     What did we enjoy most about being part of the Net Zero Carbon panel at the summit?

What we enjoyed most was how the panel format made integrated design more visible by having the all different players interacting - people could see how we synergize design alternatives, and maybe get excited about working in a partnership like this themselves. This format also allows us more interactive time with the attendees, sharing parts of the project that are the most interesting to them.

4.     What are our takeaways from the slam/summit weekend?

This is such a special gathering and a bit hard to explain. Some might call the experience a hybrid of building science nerd-out and hippy love fest. We are all on a mission to save a viable world for our children’s children and other living beings, using building and climate science as our guide. There was an increased focus on the social elements of sustainability this time, which was so timely with so many marginalized populations growing. In all, I feel inspired by and cared for by my fellow green building enthusiasts and want to spend more time with them.

5.     Did we discover anything that we want to incorporate into our future projects?

Not really any nuts and bolts things to incorporate – what I discovered was more about how to work together more thoughtfully, along with a deeper desire to engage with both colleagues and non-profit organizations on with social equity projects.

Living Shelter Architects thrives on collaboration and inspiration. Attending the Green Building Slam + Summit energizes our team and provides us with a place to share, learn and network with like-minded people.

Do you want to work with people passionate about sustainable living? Are you wondering how to incorporate sustainable practices into your home or community? We’d love for you to get in touch, contact us.

Design Process Demystified

Ever wonder how the design process works when working with an architect? From a high level view, most design professionals follow similar steps, but every architect has their own unique process to go from design concepts to a finished building. Before engaging an architect, it’s important that you understand how their design process works and if that process feels like a good fit for your personality and how hands-on you want to be with your building project.

What sets Living Shelter Architects apart from others is our focus on healthy choices, personal connections, and establishing a cohesive partnership to create the right design for your situation. Design is not a product but a collaborative process that takes thought, research, coordination, and time to create the right place for you, your budget, and your site.

Let’s explore what happens when you hire Living Shelter Architects for your building project. Our design process consists of six phases which give many opportunities for us to discuss, define, and refine the project direction and details over time. Each of the design process phases are outlined below:

Phase 1: The Initial Meeting

The first hour of consultation is free, and can be held at our place or yours. This is where we find out the basics of what is important to you – the project you are considering, what your goals and special needs are, what styles appeal to you, and what your budget is.

We discuss what is included in different levels of architectural service, help you understand the soft and hard costs involved in the project you have in mind, and determine whether the chemistry is right. After all, we will be working closely over some time, and how well we relate with each other will impact both your experience and the quality of the finished product.

To get started, please complete the questionnaire on the contact page. If we decide to work together, we then enter into a simple Consultation Services Agreement to establish a program and budget, explore some options, and determine how to serve you in the best way possible.

What happens next? We move into the research and discovery phase call Phase 2: Program and Feasibility.

Phase 2: Program and Feasibility

Programming is a research and discovery phase, where we explore many questions and answers. For Custom Homes and Remodel projects, we provide you a series of questionnaires to help you think about how you want to live, which guide us when we design your new space.

For Business and Community projects, a Master Planning process is a better programming tool. This can include a Design Charrette with your team of stakeholders, followed with a written outline that is used to help direct each phase of the project.

We conduct pre-design research during this phase, so need legal information pertaining to the site, such as surveys and easements, ready for us to use. If we are going to remodel or retrofit an existing building, As-Built building plans are provided. Photographs from books, magazines, and websites can be very helpful in conveying your individual tastes and goals to us, so we take time to go over them in detail and discuss what aspects you are drawn to.

We visit the building site to get familiar with its gifts and surroundings, and develop a few thumbnail sketches to explore some spatial relationship options. These activities and follow up discussions help determine what priorities you would like reflected in the design and how those are best approached with our services.

No matter the size or scope of the project, we have found a Team Approach early in the process makes for a better outcome. If you have a building contractor selected, we like to bring them in to the conversation at this early stage. This ensures a continuity in the design direction and delivery, and secures you a place on their schedule of work. If desired, we can suggest contractors and associates to join the team.

Many people believe that architects jump right into the design phase and immediately begin producing drawings and models for their clients, but we actually spend about 5-8% of our total effort beforehand. Now that we’ve done our research, we’re ready to get to start designing in Phase 3: Schematic Design!   

Phase 3: Schematic Design

The Schematic Design is the first phase of the drawing-producing services, where about 10-12% of our total effort is spent. This includes basic layouts of proposed floor plans, site plans showing how the buildings relate to the surroundings, outlines of the most prominent elevations, and a simple massing model to help visualize the structure in three dimensions. There are typically 1 to 3 client meetings in this phase.

The drawings are presented for your review where options and refinements are discussed. This is the easiest time to make changes, so you may want to take some additional time with the proposed design alternatives. If there are major revisions to a single alternative, or you would like to see more options, a second round of design is done before completion of this phase.

We really like to have a builder selected and on the team by this point. That way, after the review and refinements noted, your builder can be tasked with creating a ballpark estimate of the construction cost. If the cost range is within your comfort level, the process can continue – if not, this is the time for more adjustments before moving forward.

With an Integrated Design approach, this phase will include at least one in-depth team meeting and follow up discussions to identify which elements provide the biggest offset to others, such as a higher level of insulation and better windows for a much smaller heating/cooling system. If you are a business or organization, your operational structures and practices become elements of this integration.

Architectural fees can now be estimated, and if appropriate, a fixed-fee amount determined for the remainder of the project. Fees are based on the complexity of the building and site, the code enforcement jurisdiction, and the level of service and documentation we all agree is best. A Construction Documents and Services Contract is prepared for you to sign, and we are set to continue to Phase 4: Design Development!

Phase 4: Design Development

In Design Development, we start moving forward with one design, and develop it further (hence the name!). This includes refined floor plans, a site plan, all exterior elevations and building sections. This is also a great time to develop some interior elevations and integrate Landscape and Interior Design team members. The massing model can also be further developed in this phase to study detail elements and finishes. We typically expect to spend about 20% of our total effort here, including 2 to 4 client meetings.

The Structural Engineering consultant starts their design work in the Design Development phase, so we meet with them to go through options that best meet your program and goals. Structural elements can be expressed or hidden in a building, and different solutions are more appropriate for each of these directions.

Once the design drawings have been approved by all parties, we are ready to shift to Phase 5; Construction Documents!

Phase 5: Construction Documents

Blueprints, Permits, Action! We take care in preparing accurate plans to build from, so there are limited surprises in the field. There are several levels of Construction Documentation, and we are happy to customize our services for individual project needs. Due to the focus on production and the variety of options in this phase, 35% to 55% of our time can be spent here.

Our first focus in this phase is preparing permit-ready documents. This includes coordination with structural consultants and making sure the code requirements are clearly described so your permit review goes as smoothly as possible.

Then we add finish details and specifications as appropriate to the project. This section of service adds good value because permit documents do not address the finer details which pull a project together, create a Net Positive building, or specify healthy or sustainable products.

With an Integrated Design approach, this phase includes time documenting the design decisions and systems coordination completed in earlier phases. Some of this is done in our office, and some by other consultants on the team.

Builders will use the Construction Documents for bidding, and if you are getting a construction loan your bank will use these as well. A more thorough set of documents makes for a tighter bid from a seasoned contractor, with less left to assumptions and allowances. Some of our custom home clients also want to act as their own contractor, which can require a higher level of documentation than for drawings used by a seasoned builder.

With the construction documents completed and permits in hand, we’re ready to move forward into Phase 6: Construction Administration!

Phase 6: Construction Administration

As with our Construction Documents services, this phase has different levels available. Our time here can be as little as 5% of the total effort to as much as 25%. No matter what the service level, we always remain available to answer questions from code officials and contractors throughout the project - the main difference lies in the frequency, depth, and documentation level of phone, email and site consultations.

On each project, a pre-construction meeting with the entire team is required before anyone onsite sets a form or swings a hammer. Regular onsite meetings are scheduled as appropriate to ensure everything is going as planned. Having us as your advocates, coordinating adjustments with contractors and consultants, and just having another set of eyes and ears while things are in motion, can all make a huge difference in your experience and peace of mind.  

With an Integrated Design approach, the construction phase is highly efficient. The extra time spent at the beginning really pays off now. With early project planning dedicated to systems coordination and finish details, this phase can focus on quality control.

At the end, we offer a final walk-through service to ensure no detail is missed. Technically, this marks the completion of our design process. However, we love to learn how your project is working out a year out, and to help fine tune any elements that will add value. Getting photographs after landscaping has matured is also a real treat for us, and will allow us to better tell your story to others and inspire them to take their own steps toward healthy living!

6 Reasons Why An Architect Will Save You Money

As architects, we know that building your dream home is a huge financial (and time!) commitment. We have all heard cautionary tales of cost overruns and construction delays. Many homeowners begin custom home projects with excitement and enthusiasm but end them with frustration about a lengthy and overwhelming process. As architects, we can help.

A common misstep that homeowners make is waiting too long to hire an architect. An architect is a start-to-finish resource—not just your designer or permit specialist, but your advocate, advisor, project coordinator, and guide as you turn your dream into reality. Starting your project with an architect will provide you with valuable insights and expertise that will save you money not only during construction but throughout the life of your building.

How can an architect save you money?

1. We are creative problem solvers

We analyze your constraints and highlight multiple ways to achieve your goals. Creative solutions come in all sizes and prices, and we ensure you have the information you need to choose which solution is right for you.

For example, perhaps you think an addition is the solution to your needs, but you might just need to reallocate and reorganize the space you have. Architects can see the opportunities that might not be apparent to you, especially if you live in the home and are accustomed to its current patterns.

This interior remodel reconfigured existing spaces to add function and daylight in key areas — without increasing square footage.

2. We balance soft costs and hard costs

Soft costs include services and fees relating to design and permitting. Design services aren’t free, but they are a relatively small percentage of construction cost (5-12% of most custom homes, depending on the services provided). Creative problem solving at the beginning of a project can add up to significant savings during construction and occupancy.

Hard costs are direct construction costs—materials and labor. Material and resource efficiency is key to managing hard costs. Architects can:

• Right-size your home so you are not overbuilding and overspending on space (and therefore labor and materials) you don’t need.

• Design for energy efficiency so your home is more affordable to heat and cool.

• Suggest unconventional strategies to achieve conventional goals.

For example, we helped one client achieve a 20% cost savings on structural additions by choosing to lift up their existing house and build below it, rather than building on top of the existing structure. Learn more about this unconventional solution here.

The existing home would have had to undergo significant structural alterations to support a new second story. Lifting the existing home and building the addition beneath allowed for most of the existing structure to remain, and eliminated the need for a new roof!

 

3. We balance first costs and life-cycle costs

Buildings –like cars—cost more than their initial purchase price, or “first cost.” They need to operate effectively and efficiently for their entire life cycle. They need to be heated, cooled, illuminated, and ventilated. They need to draw and supply power and water for the various activities that take place inside. All of these systems can be designed to take advantage of natural resources on your site to save on long-term operations cost.

A sneakier part of life-cycle cost is maintenance – interior and exterior material choices can have a lot to do with how much you spend to care for a home over the course of its life. You can save money in the long-term if you choose:

• Materials that weather with age rather than degrade

• Materials that are durable for their climate and use

• Materials that support occupant health

Concerned with the cradle-to-grave life cycle of materials and processes? Then we can help you evaluate the environmental costs of your project life-cycle as well.

4. We design buildings to be resilient systems

Buildings are systems, not just an enclosure for stuff. All the parts of the system have an impact on operational cost, which is a significant factor in how affordable it will be to live in your house long-term. We consider the interdependency of many factors when designing for operational cost savings: the equipment and appliances you put into your home, the performance of the building envelope, and your preferences and behaviors as an occupant.

For example, our Yakima Net Positive Project incorporates passive solar, geothermal, PV panels, super-insulated walls, and smart home integration. Learn more about these integrated systems here.

Site-wide sustainable strategies provide the basis for long-term cost savings. This geothermal field was a key integrated system for this net-positive energy home.

5. We know when to standardize and when to customize

While every project presents a unique set of goals and constraints, there are many similarities we encounter from one project to the next. Our approach to every job includes evaluating where we can save time and money by drawing from proven solutions on past projects and where customization and innovation are the best way to address a new set of challenges.

For example, Roy Farms is a family-owned Yakima Valley farm that has been in operation for more than 100 years. As part of their commitment to a sustainable future, they asked us to remodel an existing farm building to create a healthy and satisfying work space for their field employees. For remodels like this, customization can be an important strategy, where unusual conditions or constraints exist and energy and material efficiency are important goals. Learn more about the ways we upgraded this farm to meet their sustainability goals here.

Custom wall and roof assemblies were key to reusing most of the existing structure while increasing energy efficiency.

6. Knowledge is Purchasing Power

When you hire an architect, you get years of experience and insight focused on your needs. We are your advisor and advocate, and work to empower you to make decisions that support your goals. When we work with you from the beginning of your custom home project, we can make sure you get a home ideally suited to your needs. Our consistent involvement as your advocate from start-to-finish brings you a level of control throughout the process, so that you avoid the unhappy surprises of budget overruns and higher than expected maintenance costs.
 

If you are in the early planning stages of a new construction or remodeling project and you’d like to discuss it with us, please fill out our Brief Online Questionnaire.

If you are interested in a new custom home or home remodel and would like to have a more in-depth discussion of project priorities, site issues, and design goals, please contact us.

Family Builds Out Old Home By Lifting It Up, Up, Up – by David Hayes

Betsy Grant and her husband Steve have wanted to own a home in the Olde Town section of Issaquah since they lived in an apartment on Front Street in 2001.

Their dream came to fruition in 2014 when a property went up for sale on First Avenue Northeast — a 1,070-square-foot rambler built in the 1950s. 

“We love the neighborhood. We wanted to be where we could walk places and ride our bikes all the time,” Betsy Grant said. “We found the location. Now we’re creating the house to fit our family.”

With two sets of twins, the Grants needed more space for their family of six. They are increasing the home’s square footage to about 2,100 and are upsizing from three bedrooms and one bath to five bedrooms, three baths and a utility guest room. They are also making the first floor more accessible for their son with special needs. 

With an all-in budget of $450,000, they didn’t want to tear down the existing structure to make way for a new one. Betsy Grant credits her architect Terry Phelan of Living Shelter Design Architects with the idea of the lift — jacking up the old house and filling in with new structure underneath. 

“I like the idea of keeping the character of the neighborhood and upgrading so the house has another 100 years of use without disregarding everything that’s already here,” Phelan said.

“We wanted to do the most cost- and resource-efficient way of making our house two stories,” Betsy Grant said. “Terry’s company came up with idea of lifting it. Two companies did a cost analysis, if it made sense to raise it.

“By raising, we save the entire roof, save all of the outside structure and the bottom subfloor and bottom structure. We get to reuse the whole foundation,” Grant added.

Craig Dye of Old Town Builders admits he was skeptical of the idea at first.

“We were shaking our heads,” Dye said. “But we sat down, did the math and saw, with the engineering requirements, it made a lot of sense to lift the existing structure.”

Dye explained that homes built in mid 1950s often had a keyway at the top of the foundation and a 2-by-4 would sit in there that was good enough to keep lateral movement from happening in a seismic event. 

“Now they require you to bolt it into the foundation. So we would be required to come in and open all the walls and positively tie into the foundation. That’s one big chunk of change right there,” he said.

Phelan said another benefit of the lift was headroom. 

“They had a pretty low ceiling on the existing structure. So by lifting, they got to choose a higher ceiling height,” she said.

With Old Town Builders on board last year, Dye said they found the right people to do the lift job on the home Jan. 11.

“We found a wonderful company, Cook Structural Movers from Fall City, with three brothers who’ve been doing it for decades,” Dye said. “Their father is a contractor and said he could do it on a dare. So he found a way and did it. Now they have specialized tools. For example, they have these hydraulic pumps and jacks. They’ll start lifting it up and once the jacks have enough head space, they’ll slip in another course of these ties. Shimmy it up, set another tie beam in and move the jack up. Just a beautiful operation.”

Grant said it took just three hours to get the home up on the pylons stacked in each of the four corners, surprising the neighbors. 

“The neighbors next door are working with Terry on a project of their own and are in the design phase,” she said. “They told me, ‘We came home and all of a sudden the house next door was taller than ours.’ It happened so fast.”

Now two years into the project, Grant feels like they’re in the home stretch. 

Dye had a different definition of home stretch.

“We’re probably at a timeline of being completely done with all the little finishes. Probably looking at another four-and-a-half to five months,” he said.

Dye said he’s amazed by Cook Structural Movers’ ability to match their lift with his build underneath.

“They gave us about an extra foot and half where top of walls will land. We have to do two things — build as plumb as possible and try to make the top plate outline match the existing pretty close. We know our walls won’t exactly be plumb here and there, so we’ll have to cheat in a touch here and there to make it land right. When the house comes down, they can nudge it into place with the jacks. Dan was telling me he could get it to match within an eighth- to quarter-inch. It is amazing.”

During the construction, the Grants were fortunate to find a rental just down the street.

“We’re staying six doors down — a miracle of timing,” she said. “A family was moving out of a rental house at the exact time we needed to move out of our house. We came to an agreement with the owner. Which is great. We can come down here and bug Craig’s crew any time we want and the kids get to play with friends on street and still walk to school. It worked out really, really well.” 

Thanks to dear David Hayes from The Issaquah Press for the good article, here is the link to the website:

http://www.theeastside.news/issaquah/news/local/issaquah-family-builds-out-old-home-by-lifting-it-up/article_ce4772d4-dc51-11e6-8490-e3c9f2bc2988.html

4 Tips for Preparing Your Home for a Loved One with Parkinson’s Disease

By Guest Blogger Jim Vogel

There are an estimated 60,000 Americans diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) each year, and the illness seems to be especially prominent in the senior population. As a result, many families are opening their homes to elder loved ones with Parkinson’s rather than opting for them to live on their own (which can create dangerous circumstances as the disease progresses) or in a senior care facility. The disease can make some everyday, seemingly-harmless tasks become hazardous. Chopping vegetables in the kitchen, for example, is a greater risk. Falls (anywhere in the house) are a very real threat.

If you are one of the generous individuals acting as a caregiver for your ailing loved one, there are several ways to make this transition easier for both of you. Here are a few tips on how to get your home ready for your newest resident:

Start with simple adjustments in each room of the house.

This guide from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research offers advice for quick, cost-effective tweaks that will help protect your loved one. For example, remove any power cords or loose rugs from the floor that may make getting around even more difficult for someone with mobility issues, and increase the amount of light in dark hallways by adding lamps or battery-powered wall sconces.

Consider heftier home modifications if they are needed.

You and your loved one will benefit from having a home safety tour together and then discussing any adjustments to living spaces that will make life at home more manageable. For example, installing hand rails in the bathroom will make getting in and out of the bathtub safer, while structural changes such as widening doorways, and replacing carpeted floors with hard, smooth flooring surfaces will accommodate individuals who use walkers or wheelchairs.

Stock your fridge full of healthy, nutrient-dense foods.

This is a good habit for any family to practice, and those with PD are no exception. Maintaining a healthy diet and staying active not only makes us feel our best, but can also ward off conditions like osteoporosis that individuals with PD are prone to.Keep your fridge stocked with healthy foods and ready-to-drink filtered water. Your loved one should also consult his doctor about any special dietary and exercise needs, especially if he suffers from any other conditions (such as diabetes) or takes medication.

Get some extra help if you need it.

It’s completely natural – and reasonable – to feel overwhelmed as a caregiver. If that’s the case, it may be worthwhile to hire a part-time or even full-time caregiver. These professionals can provide special support to both you and your loved one, especially if the PD has advanced to a stage that makes everyday tasks difficult. In order to find the right caregiver for you and your family’s unique situation, be sure to ask potential candidates specific questions. For example, “What caregiving training have you had?” and “What drew you to caregiving?”

As the Michael J. Fox Foundation notes, Parkinson’s is a “highly individualistic disease that everyone experiences differently.”  There are many long-term benefits to your loved one being in a familiar, residential environment, including the ability to personalize and customize surroundings as the needs of the person receiving care change, a reduction in pre-mature decline, and an extended and improved quality of life. Although no one wants to watch someone they care about deal with any hardships brought on by PD, inviting a loved one to live with you after this diagnosis can be a wonderful way for you both to spend quality time together and lean on one another for support.

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About Jim Vogel 

Jim vogel Created ElderAction.org along with his wife after they became caregivers for their aging parents. The site is dedicated to promoting senior health and providing valuable information to seniors and their caregivers to help ensure our nation’s seniors are able to thrive throughout their golden years.

At Peace in Your Home, Part 3: An Exercise in Spatial Mindfulness

We hope you enjoyed Parts 1 and 2 of our continuing discussion of home. In this concluding post on the topic, we’d like to offer a few questions to encourage your exploration of home and guide you as you explore how you can create restorative spaces:

Restful 

What type of space do you need to relax in? Should it be quiet, or is there a particular sound you find relaxing? What colors, textures, views, and smells help you feel relaxed? Do you currently have a space like this? A relaxing space might be a whole room or just a quiet corner.

Social 

What sort of social interaction do you enjoy at home? Perhaps you love to entertain, and need a dedicated gathering space for many friends. Or maybe you prefer smaller interactions with family and limited guests. How can you accommodate the social activities that are meaningful to you?

Natural 

What aspects of the natural world do you enjoy? Can you introduce your favorite type of plant, material, animal, or color into your space? Even without a garden or yard, there are ways to bring elements of nature into your home and engage all of your senses.

Creative/Spiritual   

What activities, hobbies, or practices do you find fulfilling? Do these activities have a dedicated space or presence in your home? Do you have any rituals or traditions surrounding these activities? Some examples may include cooking, crafting, gardening, reading or writing, playing an instrument, or a more formal religious or spiritual practice.

At Peace in Your Home, Part 2: Spatial Mindfulness

We hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our discussion on home last week, Nesting Instincts. We’re continuing the discussion this week, with a focus on strategies and rituals that can help craft a peaceful environment.

The qualities and features required to create a restorative home depend on the needs of the inhabitants. In his book A Home for the Soul, architect Anthony Lawlor describes that there is often “a gap between who we are and where we live”[1]. We may need a home that provides peace and quiet, but where we live may seem to be more of a source of disagreement and disorder. Rather than ascribing to a rigid system or approach, Lawlor suggests that anyone can evaluate their home with a spatial mindfulness that focuses on accommodating and celebrating meaningful daily activities. What are the rituals of your daily life? What do you find comforting and enjoyable? How can you make space for these activities and honor them? Lawlor urges that “each room in your home can care for a different aspect of your soul and all rooms together can renew and enliven wholeness within you.”[2]

The Danish tradition of hygge incorporates a similar mindfulness, bringing simple but meaningful intentions to everyday spaces and interactions. Hygge is challenging to define in English, roughly translating as “cozy-ness,” while its root word in Norwegian means “well-being.”[3]

Writer Louisa Thomsen Brits, who is half Danish and half English, captures the variety of setting and ritual embodied in the word, describing hygge as:

“…the art of building sanctuary and community, of inviting closeness and paying attention to what makes us feel open hearted and alive…. In our overstretched, complex, modern lives, hygge is a resourceful, tangible way to find deeper connection to our families, our communities, our children, our homes and our earth.”[4]

Hygge is not just about the home, it is also about the people and experiences that enrich homes and communities. It is important to note that the origins of the word “home” don’t all focus on a single, private dwelling either. Within various languages and periods in history “home” has been used to describe a collection of dwellings, a small village, or a community.[5] Depending on how far we are from it, we use the term home to refer to our broader geographic background as well. Home does not stop at the walls of our house, or even at the fence surrounding our yard. The private dwelling can only do so much to repair the soul. As social beings, we thrive on a network of connections to other people and places.

Architect Christopher Day writes that if we aim to design places that heal and restore, they must be “accessible for all, not just for globetrotters and meditators but especially for those who lack the outer or inner means.”[6] Mindfully tending to our own needs necessarily encompasses being aware of shared communal needs as well. The serious challenges of housing affordability and homelessness cannot be addressed one single-family dwelling at a time. Our communities need spaces that provide refuge for the most vulnerable members. We need spaces to gather and learn from one another; that allow us to publicly voice support and dissent; celebrate and mourn; and recharge and reconnect with each other and the natural world. Home is more than just shelter. It reflects our choices, values, and daily rituals, but is also in dialogue with us and can change with our needs. Our homes and selves are intertwined, and neither is perfect. Perfect is fragile, stressful, and untenable. Homes and communities that foster resilience are works in progress, as are we.

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[1] Anthony Lawlor, A Home for the Soul, 16

[2] Ibid, 15

[3] Visit Denmark, Accessed August 3, 2016

[4] Louisa Thomsen Brits, “Hygge,”  Accessed August 4, 2016

[5] Moore, A Prehistory of Home, 7-8.Architect Christopher Day (link)

[6] Christopher Day, Places of the Soul (London: Thorsons, 1995), 140

Intrigued by the idea of “Hygge”? read more here: https://www.trouva.com/stories/how-to-make-your-home-cosy-for-winter

At Peace in Your Home, Part 1: Nesting Instincts

I had a roommate in college who would spend days at the library studying for finals. She would stop home briefly to shower and change as needed, but for the larger part of a week would dwell elsewhere. Once all of her finals were complete, she would return home in full force, immersing herself in the space she had forsaken for the demands of school. She would thoroughly clean our apartment with celebratory relief, cook piles of food to share with friends, and generally reconnect with her home

When the stresses and challenges that are an undeniable part of daily life pull our physical and mental energies in one direction (or many, simultaneously), we often experience a counterbalancing urge to return to our “home base.” There are innate connections between humans and home. While home can take many forms depending on location, available resources, and cultural traditions, all homes serve a few universal purposes.

The most basic function of a home is to provide us with shelter. Animals and insects large and small construct shelter as well, but human homes are unique not only in their variety of appearance, but in their ability to reflect layers of personal and cultural meaning. In his book A Prehistory of Home , anthropologist Jerry Moore offers an expansive look at human homes, from ancient settlements to contemporary suburbs. Moore points out that home has always been a human “project” – our homes reflect many decisions and choices about our constraints, values, and identity, and they change as we change over time.[1]

We craft our homes as we craft ourselves.  Some approaches to this craft are based in long-standing cultural practices: The Eastern traditions of Feng Shui and mandalas are used to connect spatial order at various scales with a greater cosmological order. More of-the-moment approaches are catalogued in countless do-it-yourself magazines, each proclaiming to be the missing link in our search for a well-ordered home. Marie Kondo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, has sold more than six million copies and has been published in more than forty languages.[2] The desire to improve the spaces around us is a deeply rooted and powerful instinct.

The relationship between home and self –between our surroundings and our psyche –is one of exchange and interconnection. The way we feel influences how we interact with our homes. Our homes in turn shape how we feel and how we see ourselves. We start and end each day at home, and it is within our abilities to create homes that bridge the gap between what we need from the world and what we get. A home like this does not wall out the world and separate us from each other. It mends the parts of the soul that need the most care so we can continue to find our place in the world.

We’ll be continuing this discussion of home over the next couple of weeks, and we’d love to hear from you on this topic. What aspects of your home help you recharge? What activities do you like to celebrate? What is missing from your home that would make it a more restorative environment?

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[1] Jerry D. Moore, A Prehistory of Home (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012), 3.

[2] KonMari Media, “The Author,” https://konmari.com/. Accessed August 3, 2016

Photo credit: Peter Rimar, Wikimedia Commons

Homeowners Share Their Thoughts on Integrated Design

If you’re curious about what it is like to be a part of an integrated design project, take a few minutes and watch our clients describe what the process was like from their perspective.