Designing A House Around The Family, Not The Guests

I want to design a house with the formation of a human in mind. The people who live there are being shaped by that place. That’s what makes home design matter to me personally, and it’s the concern I bring to my work at Den & Burrow.

A design conversation can move to aesthetics very quickly. Is this a ranch? Is it a Georgian revival? Those questions give us an architectural style, but they leave a deeper question unanswered: How do we want this house to shape the life of the family?

I think of a house as a setting for daily habits and relationships. That perspective changes what I’m looking for in a design. Appearance and convenience are part of it, but I want to understand how the rooms will serve the family.

Take entertaining. A design conversation can get caught up in what happens when guests come over. I want guests to have their section of the house, but I’m designing for the family. What does the family get from that room, that layout, that decision? Those are the people who live there every day.