Envisioning Your Dream Home With Experiential Design

You finally found it—the perfect spot for your new home. The views mesmerize, the land beckons to your soul and the experience fills you with a feeling of peace. So, now what? Where do you begin to plan not just any old house but the home of your wildest dreams?

Consider this—have you ever entered a space that made you stop and catch your breath? One extra special, where you felt a strong sense of connection? Have you ever wished your own home could give you that same ethereal feeling and elicit jaw-dropping gasps from friends and family? One that resonates with you in a way that you never imagined possible?

I’m going to share a secret with you. For me, genuinely impactful design comes from a focus on planning how people will experience the space. How does one begin to design the experience of their dream home? It all starts with three mindful steps. 

Connect with the inside

Be bold with your vision of what it would feel like to wake up to a perfect sunrise, read a book by a crackling wood fire, prepare and host a dinner for family and friends, or settle down with a glass in hand after a hectic day at work. Try to hone in on what makes these future daily moments so fulfilling. Feel the emotions. Experience the walls, floors, ceiling, light, furnishing, temperature, and sounds and smells that all come together to shape the dream. Is something soft to the touch or rugged and time-worn? Do you hear music or silence, or possibly animals in the distance? Take it all in— nothing is off the table when you’re dreaming! 

Connect the inside feeling with the shape of the building

The most impactful living spaces always have an intentional connection between the structure and the landscape. This is where windows, doors, views and outdoor living spaces take shape. Where do your views through windows influence the feelings in your dreams (the ones you defined above)? What do you see as you walk through the home in your mind? Or as you move from the bedroom to the kitchen, from the entryway towards the living room? Do some areas feel large and open, while others are quiet and intimate? Are there nods to history or innovative technology? Is it a long walk from one place to another or a short one? What can you see, and what is out of sight?

Imagine your dream home already exists

This can elicit emotions that generate a true sense of arrival at the destination of your wildest dreams. What do you see in the distance? Mountains and slopes that beckon exploration and adventure? Or pastures and hills that sing a sweet melody of invitation to ride out into the sunset? A forest or a river, the fence of a neighboring ranch or lodge? All your dreams of the perfect setting will help define how you shape the connection between your home and the property on which it sits. The experiences you create for yourself as you plan for not only the structure of the house but its shape, placement and supporting drive and the landscaping around it.  

Envision the experience for design direction

By beginning from the inside and shaping the envelope of walls, roof and foundation around that vision, you will be on the right path to a home that will be both fulfilling and memorable.

Experiential design is not for the faint of heart. It takes guts to take risks and go beyond trends and mainstream ideas— risks that some may resist or question. The only way you can know just how excellent the result will be is to put all of your trust in the vision that our wildest dreams have shaped.

 Rochelle L.D. Zemlak is the Founder, Creative Director and Principal Designer for Rochelle Lynne Design Studio, an award-winning, internationally recognized design firm specializing in modern, ranch and mountain-inspired casual luxury. Contact the studio at (403) 851-9908 or visit rochellelynne.com for more information.

Content for this article provided by Rochelle Lynne Design Studio.