Listening to this interiew with Michael Wolff reminded me of an excerpt that I once read from Walden by Henry David Thoreau . “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured and far away.” Whether expressed by a contemporary designer expert in communicating brand identity or a Harvard-educated writer and poet who lived over a hundred years ago, it is a message with a timeless quality. Trust your ability to think independently and your sense of self-reliance. Family cultures, corporate cultures, and nation cultures  are full of well-intentioned people who want us to fit in, to conform, and to not rock the boat. They want us to feel safe and accepted. In order to move forward, we are going to have to challenge the status quo.

To nourish efforts in original directions, Wolff recommends developing three design muscles for support.

•  Inquisitiveness: The ability to take a bird’s eye view in order to question everything. Why is it that way? Does it have to be that way? Should it be that way? Are there other options?
•  Appreciation: The quality of seeing our environments through the lens of empathy. Being sensitive to the psychological needs of others and designing solutions based on compassion.
•  Imagination: The ability to let go of labels and notice the world with fresh eyes. Discover the way children do for the first time and create without using preconceived connections.

Let us build our design muscles in support of our  independent thinking and our self-reliance.  Let us  be courageous and break through past formula into creativity.

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I believe that it is easier than you think to connect or reconnect to nature again. Focusing on home is the first step. Even if you live in the middle of a concrete jungle, think about bringing nature inside. To get the conversation started, here are some suggestions for filling your indoor spaces with natural beauty.

• Vineyard Wood: Winemaking can be traced back to the dawn of civilization. It was refined by the Greeks and Romans. Include a little bit of natural history in your home by adding a touch of vineyard wood to your vignettes. Each piece is one of a kind and neutral enough to complement any style from modern to transitional to traditional. Wonderful for adding texture and uniqueness to any kind of tabletop in a dining room, living room, or entry way. Use sandblasted pieces for best look.
• Palm Fronds: From rainforests to deserts, palm trees are found all over the world. Their branches or fronds traditionally symbolized victory and peace for many people. Cut some to accent a favorite vase at home. Stunning and sculptural.  Their evergreen leaves will add a natural crispness to any design scheme.
• Geodes: They are nature’s version of a treasure chest. Once opened, quartz crystals, amethyst crystals, agate, chalcedony, or  jasper banding might be waiting inside. Naturally spectacular for any home.

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In American schools, there are some very dedicated teachers who work tirelessly day in and day out to bring creative opportunities to students. They go the extra mile and invest personal time, energy and money to make their classrooms creative laboratories that nourish natural curiosity and inclinations. According to Sir Ken Robinson in a TED video called Do Schools Kill Creativity?, such creative classrooms are not available to every student. The American system on a whole is built on standardization with an emphasis on developing left-brain abilities in math and science. Linearity and conformity are valued. It is a system that worked in the 20th century. We are accustomed to it.

Unfortunately, that system has produced some unintended consequences. According to Robinson, such a system is impoverishing our creative spirits and energy just as we are entering a new global age of rapid change where left-brain capacities are easily outsourced to other countries. Twenty-first century professions are demanding creative visionaries who not only think outside the box but reinvent the box. How do we take control of our creative lives and nurture innovative thinking in our families?

I believe it all starts at home. Home should be a think tank to uncover innate gifts and experiment with the creative process. It should be a place to follow natural curiosity, gather information, brainstorm about interesting concepts, hone promising ideas that feel right, and discard ones that no longer serve. Let’s create beautiful, comfortable homes that nurture our creative spirits. Here are some ways to get started.

• Eclectic Collections: Unusual objects and collections spark creativity and nurture adaptable and flexible thinking. Connect to other cultures and unfamiliar ways by surrounding yourself with eclectic pieces in your home.  Whether it is Turkish teapots, exotic birds, or campaign pins, follow your passion. Endless fun for the whole family.
• Interactive Surfaces: I love to incorporate oversized bulletin boards, whiteboards, or chalkboards into room designs. They are interactive surfaces for living that are beautiful too. Hang them over sofas, console tables, or sideboards. Prop them against walls. Use them to share crazy photos, new inventions, drawings, stories, ideas, poems, or world events. Get the whole family involved. Great backdrops powered by imagination.
• Containers: Containers are wonderful accessories for the home. My favorites are usually made of handwoven materials or stainless steel. They look great used in multiples on shelves. Oversized containers look fantastic by a hearth or under a sofa table. To make the most of containers, fill them up with thoughtful activities for the family. Not only are they striking to look at but they can nurture creative abilities and thinking too. Fill small ones with art supplies, magnets, favorite collections, etc.. Put costumes in large containers for impromptu plays. Lots of possibilities for fun.

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• What is your family vision?
• What inspires your spirit?
• What gives you peace?
• What gets your creative juices flowing?
• What kind of feeling do you want for the space?
• Do you like formal or casual rooms?
• Do you like rough or smooth textures?
• Do you like patterns?
• What colors do you live well with?
• Do you like light, medium, or dark colors?
• What colors do you have in other rooms?
• How is the room used?
• Who uses the space?
• What is staying in the room?
• Is the space open to other areas?

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Where Good Ideas Come From, a video by Steven Johnson, gives insight into the creative process. According to Johnson, creative thought doesn’t necessarily involve a lot of extroverted activity centered around group brainstorming sessions. It can, but Johnson intimates that creative breakthroughs are often connected to solitary work giving rise to intuitive knowledge based on instinct. Merriam Webster describes intuition as the power of faculty of attaning to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference. When intuitive instincts are allowed to incubate over a period of time, new hunches are more out-of-the-box. During this process, Johnson states that connecting to other sources of intuitive understanding also helps widen the work. Joining a network of thinkers online or in your community can finally launch an idea, but it takes time. Be patient. It is worth the wait especially when it comes to home.

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First step, be inspired by others. I love to read how interior designers, artists, graphic artists,  and fashion designers feed their creativity and approach their work. Picasso famously worked on a blank canvas for five hours filling it spontaneouly with free-form associations. At the end of the five hours, he declared “now that I begin to see where I’m going with it. I’ll take a new canvas and start again.” Let Picasso inspire you. Make your home a style lab with an ever-evolving canvas powered by your imagination. Experiment. Create. Grow.

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• Museum of Modern Art, Architecture and Design Department in New York City
• J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles
• Victoria and Albert Museum in London

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Recently, I found myself in Norway and the Netherlands for the first time. Determined to be a sponge and soak up new points of view, colors, tastes, and smells, I brought my travel journal and camera. Here are some cherished inspirations from my trip:

Stavanger Cathedral in Norway

This structure was originally founded in 1125. I was mesmorized by its atmosphere infused with reverence and puctuated with subtle shades of slate, fawn, and beige along the stone walls. Monochromatically elevated and beautifully quiet with age.

Landscape near Preikestolen

I haven’t seen an alpine landscape like this before. Fresh and rocky with texture. Emerald-green moss hugs each stone forming a stunning visual carpet accented by a spring running through it. It was hard to pull myself away to continue on the journey. So pristine and perfect.

Pelts and Pillows

Whether dining inside or outside, I noticed in Scandinavia that animal pelts and pillows are used to create intimate settings. Placed casually on benches, they define comfortable groupings and add to the dining ambience. Pelt favorites included sheep and reindeer. They were paired with either neutral-palette pillows or bohemian ones for a colorful splash.

Facades and Canals

Amsterdam has a rich architectural history. Just by walking along the 17th-century canals, you get a feel for the city’s past. It is written on the streets. From Dutch Renaissance to Baroque to Neo-Gothic to Art Nouveau and Art Deco, the cityscape is a real visual feast showing where Amsterdam has been and where it is going. Full of promise and inspiration.

Venturing beyond my geographic comfort zone made my senses come alive. Nothing was familiar, so I noticed everything. New information and data to inform my creativity and shape future ventures. Forever changed. I am grateful.

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At an independtly organized TED event, Simon Sinek, author of “Start with Why“, spoke about how great leaders inspire action. He starts by writing three words on a flip chart: why, how, and what.  Mr. Sinek goes on to state that people in leadership positions usually focus on what their organizations do and how they do it, two very important areas. Advertisements for those organizations usually echo the same focus. Here is the rub according to Sinek. What and how usually don’t inspire people to action. Sinek believes that why companies do what they do is really the essence of it all. Why is the larger vision and mission that touches people at their core, makes them jump out of bed and work their tails off, or makes them want to be first in line to buy new products even if it is pouring raining outside.

This video got me thinking. Should we only focus on why at work or when we purchase our favorite things? At Doux Nid, we believe creating a home is a chance to think about why in a very personal way. Why we do things at our core? Home is the perfect place to ask the biggest questions. It is a place to showcase and nurture our largest purpose, encourage our wildest dreams and anchor us to our deepest values. At Doux Nid, we definitely start with why at home.

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