The Principles of Home Design

Changemaker
22 October 2023

On a walk with my brother this week, I thought about home design. We looked at various styles of houses including mid-century modern, craftsman, contemporary, Georgian, and other designs as well.

If design means “creating and executing according to a plan or vision,” then I wondered what home design indicates about a person, specifically, external design versus internal.

By answering the following questions, I got some clarity, so I wanted to share them with you:

What’s your (internal/external) design?
Are you executing it in line with your goals?
If there’s a gap between design and execution, what needs to change to create alignment?

Your Current Model

Your design choices inform your environment. Putting up Christmas lights to delight passersby is a design choice. So is leaving the grass uncut.

Are you someone with a gated property? Do you prefer semi-circular driveways? What about landscaping? What style of home appeals to you?

Big picture, consider your current model home and whether it showcases your personal style today or whether it needs a refresh.

Appearances

You may think I’m talking about physical appearance. Certainly how you dress and present yourself holds value but that’s only one part of the design. Your home’s mechanics (heat, lights, protection) need to function properly for you to feel comfortable at home.

Your outward manifestation – how you look – is a direct consequence of how you see yourself internally.

The modern world focuses a lot on the external. Am I attractive? Do my clothes look good? Am I thin, young, successful by society’s standards?

Physical appearance (your body) is only one part of you because you are more than your appearance. Mind, body, heart, and spirit: these are the elements that make up your human design. To execute your vision, you must incorporate all of them.

Implementing Plans

Recall the design definition above: design is about executing a vision.

What is your plan? Replace “plan” with “purpose” because that’s the real goal here. Get clear on your purpose so you can carry out your vision.

Vision without purpose cannot succeed. Without purpose, vision stays in the clouds. It’s hard to connect to the intangible. Purpose grounds vision. You can hold on to a vision connected to purpose because of its foundation: your values.

I like homes designed in keeping with their surroundings. Warm woods, south-facing windows, and wrap-around verandahs appeal to me. I don’t want gates to keep people out. I want a welcoming pathway to my front door. My home reflects my values.

Aligning Your Self

Your home will experience mighty storms, where you need to rebuild from scratch. It will stay well-maintained if you oil your rusty gates and it will fall into disrepair if you make no investments in its upkeep.

You may find yourself surprised to discover a mismatch in your home design.

Misalignment typically happens when one part of you grows more quickly than other parts. Remind yourself that your design consists of mind, body, heart, and spirit.

As such, if you find you have grown since your last self-assessment, what part of your design do you need to adjust in order to establish alignment again?

Your Redesign

In sum, I recommend you (re)design your home. Find a style that suits you and supports your foundation.

Start with your vision and see how it fits you in relation to where you are now. Recognize the direct linkage between your vision and your purpose. Purpose comes from identifying your values. Thank of values as your blueprints. They drive your behaviours which in turn get demonstrated through your actions.

While human design encompasses the external and internal, notice that three fourths of the design is actually internal.

Header Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash

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