Aspirational Design, a Quest for Our Best Self

Design your space to align with who you want to become

Are you a design-around-your-life kind of person? Or a design-to-become kind of person? So often we hear that we should design our homes around the way we live. And this is not wrong. As an interior design firm, we always consider among our priorities the current, practical life our client lives and their needs. But something that often falls through the cracks is a slightly loftier notion, namely, who do we aspire to become as we live in our home? Or, will we allow our home to shape us and not the other way around?

The search for truth, goodness and beauty (the three transcendent virtues as stated by the Catholic Church) is at the core of our human soul. As such, creating a home with specific aesthetic standards may do for our life more than we anticipate. Aspirational design–as I’m calling it here–is not one bit about pretentiousness or showing off. But rather about creating spaces that will foster the person we want to become.

Idealization is a good starting point

Idealization is, in essence, the imagination of a more perfect reality that we haven’t yet reached. And this can–and does–span the material world as well as our inner world. Entire cities have been built to represent the embodiment of virtues or attitudes sought by the government in charge. So it isn’t an outlandish notion to seek beauty and aesthetic concepts that we aspire to well before fully embodying them. In the chaotic modern world one might find peace and the ability to collect one’s thoughts in a contemporary, brutalist church, such as the Benedict monastery in Santiago, Chile.

After a day of stress, walking into this space carrying the weight of life is an experience. The space is solid and imperturbable with its all-creamy white walls and austere furnishings and altar pieces. After just minutes of settling in, one is absorbed by the quiet light streaming through windows tucked behind crevices out of our line of vision. And the solid walls seem to tell us, “Listen. Have, and share in my peace.” It is a gift to leave with a renewed, collected heart. That’s the effect of a space on a person’s existence.

From the public sphere to the private life

And without being false to ourselves, design in the home can and should be aspirational too. This is where we get to determine who and how we want to be. It is our little country to build as the kings and queens of it that we are. A great example of this is the home writer Curzio Malaparte built for himself in Capri. As he wrote to a friend, the home would be ‘a self portrait in stone’ (‘ritratto pietra’) and a ‘house like me’ (‘una casa come me’). He built a house that stands in proud isolation juxtaposing ruggedness and refinement.

A sad, opposite example from the above are some homes assembled only with ease and comfort in mind and no ambition to create something to strive for. My bold guess is that that’s how we end up up with people grocery shopping in their pajamas. The world we inhabit most definitely shapes us. So this leads to the big question we need to ask ourselves: ‘Who do I want to be or become?’ ‘What virtues or qualities do I want to live immersed in and that will allow for me to strive in their direction?’

Take on the challenge!

There are ways to honor my most composed idea of self, even if I am in the midst of raising children, have rambunctious dog and rarely seem to have time to stop. Instead of designing everything to become one big child and dog-proof space, create certain spaces where the children are welcome as long as they enter with care and respect. Not every space in the home needs to be open for the children to spread their toys. Create spaces where one can become grounded in a slice of beauty that reminds one that raising a family has not eliminated one’s own views of the world. By doing this, we are also training our children’s minds toward standards of beauty to become accustomed to and aspire to.

Or maybe I aspire to a place where all feel welcome and embraced by a cozy, all-enveloping hug.  If you want your family life to be cozy and fun and welcoming, create the environment that will foster that. And you will see that a warm, welcoming and fun existence will reign.

What about the bedroom? A couple’s sanctuary can foster the relationship they aspire to embody. Make it special by making it a sensorial place. We too often believe that the bedroom must be a space of quiet and rest. We have been made to believe that soft colors and neutrals are the way to go. But what about fostering a beautiful private place for the couple? A place that brings joy and stimulates the imagination? A happy, space that maybe represents the type of family we want to build.

A final thought…

What a joy it is to step into a space designed with ambition. And this is not a cost issue, but a goal issue. Applying careful curation and restraint, or using the imagination and playfulness to explore are different paths for different goals, both great! The key is intentionality and identity.