Ideas & Resources for Making a Difference
As holistic interior designers, we see it as our mission to create spaces that help people live in greater health, happiness and harmony with nature. In a winter marked by droughts, fires, and disease in our communities, this work has never felt more timely and urgent.
Here in Aspen, we are grateful for the recent heavy snows that have ended the dry spell and brought us back outdoors to relax and play together on our sacred mountains.
Meanwhile in Boulder, we are devastated by the late-season fires that have destroyed over 900 homes and upended the lives of people we know, work with, and love.
What will it take for us to live in harmony with nature, and how can design help? We hope you will find the ideas, causes, and resources below as useful and encouraging as we have.
Wishing you health, happiness & harmony in the New Year,
Joe & Matthew
Helping Those Who Lost Homes
This view of the Marshall fire in Boulder, and the snow that arrived a day afterward (By Michael Ciaglo, Getty Images), gives a small glimpse of the devastation.
Next to the loss of life, we can think of no greater loss than that of a home. The rebuilding will take many years, and the emotional recovery even longer.
When viewed from the air, it is hard to fathom, but on the ground the outpouring of support has been profoundly hopeful and inspiring for our Boulder team to witness.
If you feel called to help bring hope to the homeowners impacted by this fire, please consider joining us in donating to the Boulder Community Foundation Wildfire Fund.
Offsetting Our Footprint
It's no secret that a key cause of the climate crisis is an excess of carbon emissions. And this is something to which we all contribute -- especially those of us in the design and home building industry.
Thankfully it has never been easier to estimate our personal climate impact, and to offset it by funding carbon-reducing activities, such as the planting of trees.
We were thrilled to recently find out about Conservation International, one of the most reputable forest conservation organizations. Their Carbon Footprint Calculator allowed us to quickly quantify our footprint and purchase monthly carbon offsets that go towards planting trees.
The monthly amount required was far less than we imagined -- $30-$100 for most households. And while this is no replacement for taking many other steps towards sustainability, it is a simple and effective way to make a difference.
Click here to offset.
Designing with Intention
As holistic designers, we recognize that the choices we make have a lasting impact, especially when building or remodeling a home. How do we create homes that give more than they take?
For us, it all starts with intention. This means carving out a little extra time with our clients at the beginning of a project to slow down, to connect with the land, the history, and the potential of a place, and to inquire into the highest purpose that that can be achieved for all stakeholders.
Through guided meditations and visioning exercises, we have found that surprising insights can arise about what is most important to our clients. Often a bigger picture emerges that prioritizes a deeper level of well being, not just for our clients themselves, but for their loved ones, future generations, their community, and the planet.
Taking this time at the beginning of a project creates a wave of positive intention and innovation that ripples through all aspects of the design process. What results are homes that feel as good as they look, that connect us to nature and the greater whole, and that give so much more than they take.
