Kindred Space
It has been about a year since I launched the new Kindred Interiors website, and a little over a year since our rebranding. I realized that although I posted some explanations and definitions on Instagram, I never really delved into the thought process and inspiration behind Kindred. Over the past year, this summer in particular, the richness of this small word in the greater context of my work and my life has continued revealing itself.
K I N D R E D —
A little background. Did you know I have a B.A. in Religious Studies? (With a minor in English — thus my love of writing :). I went back to school for my degree in Interior Design two years later. Although religion and interiors may seem unrelated, I would heartily argue that they inform one another more often than you may think. One of my favorite classes during undergrad was called “Sacred Space”. The principal work for that class was Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. Although highly philosophical and academic in nature (not a casual summer read I would say!), Eliade’s definition of “sacred space” stuck with me on a visceral level. This is Moses’ “holy ground” as described in Exodus, so holy that Moses had to take off his sandals to enter it. According to Eliade, “religious man” experiences space as non-homogeneous — Space is either sacred or not sacred, based on where and how God may reveal Himself to us. There is much more to the book of course, and I am simplifying “sacred space” a good bit, but hopefully you get the idea.
Fast forward more than 10 years, and this notion of sacred space has become foundational in how I think about my work!
Back in the day, only churches, temples, and the like would have been deemed “sacred”. But now I would adamantly insist that sacred spaces exist everywhere and anywhere, if only we pause and develop the discipline to discover the Divine already present there.
And so our homes can contain sacred spaces, too. They can and they should. This is my goal in interior design — to identify and honor the sacrality in our spaces. We are all inter-connected by this desire, are we not? We all desire rest and peace in our bedrooms, to some degree. We desire rejuvenation and cleanliness in our bathrooms; connection and togetherness perhaps in our living spaces; health, vibrancy, and even earthiness in our kitchens. We may use never-ending adjectives to describe these distinct spaces, and we may even disagree on some. But there is a commonality in the notion of “home”, yes?
We are all kindred in our delineation of and desire for sacred space within our homes. This is my heart passion — to nurture and celebrate this sacrality that connects us. This is a holistic approach to interior design. This is Kindred.
This notion of sacred spaces creating a kindred spirit among us may resonate with you, but then what? How does that impact how we design our interiors? Great question! Much like you may experience God in a church or other house of worship, my prayer is that you also encounter the Holy Spirit moving in and through the rooms of your homes. God’s omnipresence is obviously not a new idea. We certainly speak of encountering the Divine in nature and other spaces outside of traditional places of worship. But do we encounter the same arresting beauty or pristine stillness or perfect silence inside our houses that we may also encounter in open spaces of God’s creation? We should! How do we achieve that?
We pay attention. We ask ourselves hard questions. We identify the feelings and experiences we desire for a space, and we design with those in mind.
I believe a nursery can be one of the most sacred spaces in a home. This is where we spend intimate, fleeting moments learning a new human. This is where a mama may feel the most vulnerable, doing so many things for the first time, or at least for the first time with this little one. This is where we nurture and celebrate new life, where we do hard things again and again because we are needed unlike we’ve ever been needed before. What a space for God to break into, to be present, to render those moments holy rather than forgotten. So we design thoughtfully, for who will live and flourish there. We choose every piece with care. This space will contain some of your little one’s first colors, textures, sounds, and smells. Surely this is sacred ground.
I hope to delve more into this subject in the coming months with you, especially how we incorporate our children well into our spaces. Have a wonderful week — I appreciate you!