As we begin our exploration into understanding the function of design in our changing world, it is easy to set our eyes on the outside world. Our culture moves at a fast pace where the possibilities to design and redesign the function of things we consider to be normal and things we hope to normalize is limitless. However, over the course of this past year as Covid has ravaged our social life and physical connection to others, at Artisan Minds we have placed our focus on the Home as a place to nurture creative expression.
Home is where we feel taken care of, loved, and safe. Home is where we extend our desire for comfort into a physical space, shooting our roots into each rift and cavity in hopes of creating a foundation for ourselves and our families. In this age of remote school, facetimed happy hours, and Zoom business meetings, many of us have had to adapt and readapt these spaces to fit an array of changing needs. All of this would be made simpler, if home belonged to the individual. However, home is likely a shared space filled with an array of noise, clutter, guests, wants, and needs. Whether it is filled with sticky surfaces and well-loved toys from children, or sinks of soaking pots and pans from a partner’s midnight snack, the home is rarely a space where a single person can express total control. So how do we design for these multi-functional spaces? How do we craft comfort, authenticity, focus, and love all into one space?
Emily Henry, a Santa Fe based interior designer, has been tackling these questions in her work. We had the pleasure of working with Emily on a new brand identity for Emily Henry Interiors and were able to explore these questions together. With a strong feeling for the pulse of Northern New Mexico craftsmanship and culture, Emily designs interiors that balance the understated and sophisticated for a wide array of impressive clientele. Her designs are timeless and elegant, allowing her the ability to design comfortable homes that simply get better with age. What is unique about her work, is her ability to see spaces as multifunctional. Emily crafted the tagline for Emily Henry Interiors, The Art of Home, which we believe is a true reflection of her work. https://www.emilyhenryinteriors.com/
But the beauty of home is not stagnant. For most it is fluid and dynamic, but for some it is transportable and can be hitched on the back of a truck to be whisked away on any adventure. The featured images above are of a friend’s temporary home, a Scotsman 12 foot trailer to be specific. While the trailer doesn’t include much, it’s minimal space and inclusion of basic necessities highlights the joy of living simply. In the trailer, your meals are subject to the three simple burners, the rations of food tucked into the vintage, wood paneled cabinets, and the comfort of cooking in a tiny home. But the freedom to travel wherever your wheels can take you without sacrificing the comfort of a home is a liberating feeling.
This well designed functional space has become the reality of many people who lost their home, or are traveling throughout the Americas, working remotely, taking time off or just taking a long much needed adventure.
In the end, home is ever changing, but the feeling of love and comfort radiates through the bones of the house, wafts through the kitchen, and rests on the couch. Design gives us the thought to make these feelings more tangible. When we view the home as a place of creativity, we learn to consider it as a space that we not only love, but one that loves us back. And the reciprocity of that is where the beauty lays. For me having grown up all over the world, home is where I and my people are. Home