Designing for the Human Experience

May 19, 2019

Good design should cater to your personal journey and allow room for growth. Susan's discussing of designing for the human experience and how it relates to her work and her clients.

Your house is the foundation for your life – it’s the base and basis of everything. You start and end all your days in your home. It affects your mood, your ambitions, your energy, and how much you can accomplish during the day. It surrounds you and gives you a safe space to call your own.

It is of importance to create a home that fulfills your personal experiences, the journey you are on and the way in which you live. So many people are living in environments that aren’t well suited to their lifestyle or needs, which can create undue stress without even realizing it.

Image via the Inhabitant

As the younger generations continue to house hop more frequently than any of their predecessors, they aren’t really creating homes or taking the time to live in and personalize them. Millennials and Gen Z’ers are treating their homes more like a hotel, it is just a place to sleep, shower and dress, but not a place to call their own as it has no real personality.

If you spend time scrolling Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest, everyone seems to have the perfect home. But do they? Designing the right home goes well beyond the look or aesthetic and has more to do with functionality – how you use and live in the space to be supportive of your life.

Image via Booking.com

Our human experience is constantly evolving and changing… your home should be too. Take time to evaluate your needs and wants. Think through what you love and don’t love about your home, then make the necessary changes. I always say that a home should be in a state of perpetual beta. Mine is, even as a designer! The condo I renovated three years ago was the perfect space for me then, but I miss a fireplace and my garden. I’m longing for an outdoor patio, even a small balcony would do, to get my hands in the dirt and grow herbs and flowers. A home change might be in order… we shall see. A house does not need to be complete or perfect, but it should be adaptive to change along with you.