The Merits of Good Design

Often fine architecture and custom design is exclusive and esoteric – we can’t all live in the Glass House or Le Courbusier’s Villa Savoye (and that’s okay, since Courbusier’s design didn’t account for water and snow so the roof leaked for years).

The shell is a house; a home is a feeling. Any house, at any time, may ring with the sound of children’s giggles and adult whispers, barking dogs or heated arguments. A house can be a sanctuary or a stopgap. If you are reading a design blog, chances are your house is a place that you strive to make better.

Design will always compete poorly with the needs of mankind. How can one defend the lines of a chair or roofline when, as Alain de Botton wrote, “Architecture has none of the unambiguous advantages of a vaccine or a bowl of rice”.

While it is often awkward to champion the merits of design, it is especially true here in Boston. We are reared with Yankee thrift and practicality. We are taught to put people before things. But by imbuing comfort and functionality through thoughtful design a house becomes better place for those who reside in it. Beautiful design is by no means a guarantor of happy days, but on many occasions it can impart pleasure and comfort.