In my initial design meetings, I often ask potential clients what they want to achieve in their future interiors, and in one way or the other, people almost always say that they want their homes to be comfortable. This leaves me with the interesting task of defining this all-important commodity called comfort, and how to achieved it.
And how much are we willing to give up in honor of comfort in the form vs function equation. Or is it possible to have it all?
I also ask how people intend to live in their homes, and this usually brings us to the questions of entertaining. How often do people entertain, and how will the presence of potential guests impact our choices in the furnishing of our homes, and how much we are willing to give up in the form vs function dynamic that is always a part of aesthetic decision-making. Ultimately, I wonder how much are we willing to show of our real selves, and how we really live? Are we all waiting to have perfectly designed interiors before we can invite anyone over?
My mother had a friend when I was growing up called Mei Wah. She was famous for her great parties, and equally famous for the piled-up dishes in her sink, and the stacks of papers on tables around the house. It impressed my mother that she did not care a whit for straightening up before inviting friends over. I think about this sometimes, wondering if part of what makes us feel comfortable in a space is the knowledge that we are seeing the true life of the person we’re visiting, and that we are being welcomed into the inner sanctum, like a member of the family. Is there something to this? We have all experienced the opposite, which is visiting someone at home where we feel scared to sit on any of the furniture lest we sully the white upholstery. Is that comfort?
I’m also interested in a certain kind of interior design photography that is gaining traction in some areas, the kind that has always been featured in my favorite shelter magazine The World of Interiors, as well as others like Appartamento and The Shelby. In these photos, it looks like the owner has just stepped out of the frame, and a certain stylish untidiness gives the shots an honest and lived-in look. Could we all be tiring of a kind of Instagram readiness that feels unreal and even uninteresting?
I do believe that comfort has an emotional quotient to it. Of course there are literal levels of comfort in individual chairs and sofas, but I believe that the true source of comfort is more about feel at ease, and feeling welcome. Certain interiors invite you in, make you want to sit down and stay, maybe for a meal or for the night. These are the interiors that I aspire to create for myself and for others. I have lots of ideas about what creates comfort of this kind which I will share with you in this space.
