There are many reasons why people begin blogs.  One of them seems to be “finding your own voice”.  I have to admit that after 12 years of baby-raising, and 9 years of firm-running I haven’t maybe spent as much time as I should have developing my voice.  Or rather, I’ve been developing my voice by thoroughly living life, but have not taken the opportunity to reflect on how it sounds.

The last several months, however, have presented a series of opportunities to do just that.  Reflection.  Quite often in my residential design practice, clients want very much to get from A to B, and have specific requirements that are relatively easy to achieve (like where the bathroom goes in relation to the bedroom), but few ask why, why do you make the design decisions you make?.  Most of those decisions happen behind the scenes, and in the end, the client gets a thoughtful design even if they don’t understand the thought that went into it.  Recently though, I had a client ask why, and really wanted to hear the answer.  I found that my answers came as easily as knowing where to put the bathroom, and that I was able to communicate my design intent effectively.  There are certain design moves that are extremely important to me, and through this blog I intend to share some of them with you.

This reflection on design is but one of my aspirations here, the other is to share these reflections in the context of our own home renovation.  As my husband likes to say, “the cobblers are finally getting their shoes”.  We are on the verge of beginning a large addition to our historic home, and I’m expecting to learn a few things that will enhance my role as a designer through this process.  Since my primary goal is reflection, I’ll be mostly writing here, and using unedited iPhone photos as illustration.

Please enjoy.