themes: conscious & subconscious

This newsletter is sponsored by Fittes. I upgraded the vents throughout my home to their ​Luxe+ Collection​, and the difference is incredible. The vents are DIY-friendly, easy to install, and customizable to blend seamlessly into any space. See the ​full transformation in the video here​.

A good theme in a home is not usually immediately identified. It is felt first subconsciously. "What is this place, why does it feel so dialed?" You look around and gradually discover what's happening. There is a balance of curiosity + cohesion.

A theme that's immediately identified: "Wow, this is super Eames-midcentury" is fine, but it's more on the nose and a lot less mysterious.

To make a great theme in a home, it's both conscious and subconscious. Subconscious might be a palette, a style, and materials that you just prefer over others. You are just drawn to certain things. You might love a certain color, or pendant light, or wallpaper, and somebody else might not.

But once you have identified a palette that you like, you have to stop somewhere. You cannot say yes to everything. I legitimately like chrome, nickel, shiny gold, burnished brass, shiny copper, burnished copper - I like them all - but I'm not going to say yes to all of them in a theme.

This is where a conscious theme begins. It's curation or filtering. A simple way to do this is to pick 7-10 things you really like, whether that is a color, or tile, or metal, or light fixture, or design period, and repeat these things throughout your home.

Some of the ways I did it in my house: