Love the words IDEAT Magazine came up with that speak to the blended family intrigue of this home. « Sometimes 1 + 1 = 5 ». Brilliantly simple. Deceptively smart. One forgets that design is not always about beauty and comfort, but also function and feasibility. Does your home work for you, or do you work for your home? Are people getting in the way of themselves or others? Do you have a space where you can retire to in peace? Where you can cook for an audience? Where children can independently grow up while in plain sight? Are your family’s idiosyncrasies valued? I have a stepson who does his laundry at 11pm… Do you think I kept the laundry machine in the master bathroom? No, I buried it in the basement, which is not a recommended selling point (laundry should be on bedroom floors). Do you have 2 daughters from different families? Put them on the same floor with a shared bathroom. One boy in the coop? Give him his own bathroom. Stinky, loud teenagers? Make a fun space as far away from the master (one more shout-out to the basement) as possible. Man with a big hockey bag? You got it.. rear basement entry in back with a heated floor so he can dry out his equipment. Design has your every foible covered. There is nothing too strange nor a desire too vain that we cannot accommodate. Well, perhaps one thing: I will never go against core design principles. These principles are mostly spatial flow and function. We do live in the land of plenty where, for some reason, nothing is ever enough. I would like you to perhaps engage in embracing restraint. Modesty. Simplicity. Parsimony. And find a basement.. it could be in your attic or back yard, the front stoop or an unused closet. Yes… I have made fun forts in closets. Designers FIND spaces that already exist. You have them. We’re coming for you.
