The most important part of designing a home happens before any design. It is the discovery: understanding how a family truly lives, which is often quite different from how they describe it.
Every residential commission I accept begins in the same way. I visit the family's present home in its ordinary, lived-in state, not tidied for a visitor, and I speak with each member of the household individually. It is a simple practice, but it has shaped every house I have designed.
Why the lived-in home matters
A tidied house shows you how a family would like to live. A lived-in house shows you how they actually do. Where do the keys land? Which chair is worn? Where do the children do their homework? Which room is never used despite its beautiful furniture? Where does the morning light fall, and does anybody sit in it? These details tell me more than any questionnaire.
Why each person is interviewed alone
In a family meeting, the loudest voice tends to set the brief. When I speak with each person separately, I hear very different things. One partner longs for a quiet room to read; another wants a kitchen for entertaining. A teenager wants privacy; a grandparent wants to be close to the life of the house. None of these wishes is wrong, and a good design can usually honour all of them. But first they must be heard.
What I ask
- How does an ordinary weekday unfold, from waking to sleep?
- Where do you feel most at ease in your present home, and why?
- What irritates you every day without your quite noticing?
- How do you entertain, and how often?
- What do you collect, keep or treasure?
- How do you want the house to feel when you come home at night?
From discovery to brief
The discovery becomes a written brief, which I share with the family before design begins. It describes how each room should work and feel, the relationships between rooms, the light and views to be captured, the storage required, and the things to be avoided. When the family recognises themselves in that brief, the design phase moves quickly and confidently.
Why it saves time and money
Most expensive changes during construction come from a brief that was incomplete. A room designed for the wrong use, a kitchen in the wrong place, a dressing room too small for the wardrobe that will fill it. Time spent in discovery is the cheapest time in the whole project.
For virtual clients, too
The same principles apply to clients I work with remotely through our virtual design service. Photographs and video of the home as it is, and individual conversations with the people who live there, give me much of what I need to design well from a distance.
To discuss a commission in confidence, contact kenneth@bhli.us or call +1 (310) 467-5635.
Frequently Asked
What is the discovery phase in luxury interior design?
It is the first stage of a commission, in which the designer learns how the household really lives before design begins. Kenneth Bordewick observes the home in its ordinary lived-in state and interviews each household member individually, then writes a brief for the family to approve.
Why does Kenneth Bordewick interview family members separately?
Because people speak more freely alone. Individual conversations reveal needs and wishes that are often lost in a group meeting, allowing the design to serve every member of the household.
How long does the discovery phase take?
It depends on the size of the household and the project, but it is usually a matter of days or a few weeks, and it is the least expensive time in the project relative to the mistakes it prevents.
Can the discovery process be done remotely?
Yes. For virtual design clients, photographs and video of the home as it is lived in, together with individual video conversations, provide much of the same insight.