NRV Blueprint March 2025

design

why good design matters

Way back when, in the year 2011, I, like many others, started a blog. At the time, it was the hottest form of media, utilized by everyone from mainstream news sources to recipe creators, and technical websites to do-it-yourself home improvers. My little corner of the blogging universe was titled “My House Analysis”, aptly named for the kind Design shapes how we live. More than a decade ago, Cassidy Jones with Slate Creek Builders started “Her House Analysis” to explore floor plans, home elevations, and design choices—often focusing on what wasn’t working. But over time, she realized the real challenge lies in defining what makes a home truly great. Frank Lloyd Wright believed comfort, utility, and beauty should work in harmony, a philosophy that continues to guide her approach. Thoughtful design isn’t just about aesthetics—it enhances daily life. When we get it right, we don’t just live in our homes; we thrive in them.

of content I created: floor plan critiques, home elevation commentaries, and design choice assessments. My inspiration came from everywhere: real estate listings, homes I’ve lived in, or visited, neighborhood drive-bys, the internet in general, and good ol’ HGTV. At the heart of my two cents then was the same thing that still inspires my work today-a desire to find or create good design in the residential environment. Oftentimes, however, I found that my blog posts veered mostly off course- pointing out poor design choices instead of celebrating good ones! It was much easier to critique the poorly laid out kitchen with a bad traffic flow or the imbalanced exterior elevation with bad curb appeal than it was to talk about what actually makes good design, well, good. But still, this quest for good design has its claws in me- and I still feel compelled to the cause. Now, however, my hunts tend to be via social media and Pinterest, but I find that what I’m saving and tagging for later are design concepts that I deem good. Frank Lloyd Wright, the renowned architect and designer (whose work I’ve admired for my entire life), is often referenced for his insistence that the design of a home means the design of everything, all considered together, all the time. This certainly meant the livability of the floor plan must be considered, but his broad vision of good design also included how the home suited the environment and the surroundings, the materials used being native to the region, and every furnishing or fixture was chosen (or built!) with intention. Wright’s homes most often included full furniture designs, so that he could plan exactly what item suited which room, at what scale, from what materials, and for what purpose. It was from this comprehensive view of design that Wright asserted that -

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