Design Philosophy
A home that loves you back
If I took a photo of any random surface in your home, could I pick out the things you clearly love?
If the answer is 'no' you’re part of the majority.
The design options widely available today are fast fashion for your home. Emotionless, textureless, mostly lacking form and function, sometimes bizarre, short-lived in many ways, targeted at creating the generic aesthetic of today rather than a deeply connected aesthetic that brings comfort and joy for years to come. There is a planned obsolescence in mass production, meant to catch the eye now but which will fall apart or feel dated very quickly. While we enjoy the funny reels people make poking fun at this phenomenon, it draws attention to a real problem: Fast fashion creates surface-level interiors that leave us feeling disconnected and don’t provide the delight, passive care, and emotional support that our environments are capable of providing.
Our homes are our havens and our retreat. Not only should their beauty uplift us effortlessly, but they are imbued with the capacity to help us regulate our nervous systems, the ability to passively care for ourselves, and the potential to help us grow in emotional security if we design them well. They can bring peace even when unkempt, support us when we’re busy, and do the heavy lifting of reviving us when we’re low.
Slow Design KC helps my clients curate spaces that bring a grounded contentment by designing in layers, paying particular attention to all 5 senses and our emotions, with an emphasis on using items you already own, collecting and displaying items of sentimental value, and shopping for things that are pre-loved. I’m working to reduce the consumption of mass production, consume locally, patronize the arts, and use our spaces as a portal to living an embodied life.
Design over time
Your environment is the core support to your life and lifestyle, and deserves the time and intention it takes to build a strong foundation. I approach design differently, working to define a Design Portrait- an intuitive design that you can follow long after our project is over- alleviating the process (and your budget) of time-bound stress.
Some changes, such as a new paint color, are high-impact instantly. Others- like replicating the feeling of a cozy evening snuggled up with your grandma under her favourite afghan- take time. We go slow and design over time.
Together we will set an intention towards a space, defining its purpose, how it should feel, how it needs to serve you, what special needs it should meet, and what your priorities are in the evolution of the space. These things will be put into your Design Portrait, which becomes the blueprint of your space. From there, each change is held up to those blueprints, enabling you to make cohesive purchasing choices at any pace.
Design for all
I’m the mom to three autistic kiddos, who all have ADHD, anxiety, and a few other things mixed in to boot. I have made and remade different design accommodations over the years, mainly aimed at furthering development and moderating sensory-related outbursts. It wasn’t until a very interesting conversation with my middlest that I started researching, training, and designing for neurodiversity more holistically.
One day my son was working in the sensory room during Occupational Therapy. The room, which had always had neutral surfaces, moderate light, and a lot of happy rainbow-colored art, had been rearranged, lighting changed, and new art added. My son took in the changes and popped out with, “This room hurts my head.” One very interesting conversation later, we discovered he feels most calm and able to function with a dark monochromatic color scheme and his thoughts and emotions get very jumbled in rooms with lots of colors, ESPECIALLY bright complimentary colors. While I love color and art, he finds it harder to communicate and has to work harder to use his coping skills with those visual distractions. This was simultaneously a “Whoa!” and “Duh!” moment for me as a designer and mother.
Designing for neurodiversity can mean many things, from checking the texture of a blanket to removing smells from a room. They’re all equally important when we set out to purposefully create a space that is comfortable, beautiful, and calms the nervous systems of neurodiverse folks. Give yourself and your loved ones the gift of deep connected accommodations in your own home.
Unearthing your home's vitality
Feng Shui is the practice of balancing and harmonizing our embodied energy with that of our surroundings. It’s a way of decoding and unifying the energy within us and around us, and embracing the natural cycle of the five elements. Developed over thousands of years, it marries the rich beauty of metaphor with ancient shamanic practices meant to usher in positive energy and clear out negative energy.
We often don’t notice an imbalance of energy, but we can witness it. It can result in persistent yet unforeseen obstacles in life, feelings of insecurity or unhappiness, health problems, or just plain being stuck. Being mindful of the messages you’ve written with your home and rewriting the messages that aren’t aligned with your greatest good can help welcome change and clear the path ahead of you.
