Doux Nid [du ni]

According to the author, Jordan Ayan, who wrote Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas, there are four elements that make up our creative spirit or creative C.O.R.E.: curiosity, openness, risk tolerance, and energy. Ayan states that one way to feed and expand our creative C.O.R.E is travel. Great artists have known this for a long time. Paul Gaughin traveled to Tahiti, Ernest Hemingway haunted France, Spain, East Africa, and Cuba, and the Beatles traveled all the way to India for fresh perspectives. Travel is really one of our greatest teachers.

Recently, I found myself in Norway and the Netherlands for the first time. Determined to be a sponge and soak up new points of view, colors, tastes, and smells, I brought my travel journal and camera. Here are some cherished inspirations from my trip:

Stavanger Cathedral in Norway

This structure was originally founded in 1125. I was mesmorized by its atmosphere infused with reverence and puctuated with subtle shades of slate, fawn, and beige along the stone walls. Monochromatically elevated and beautifully quiet with age.

Landscape near Preikestolen

I haven’t seen an alpine landscape like this before. Fresh and rocky with texture. Emerald-green moss hugs each stone forming a stunning visual carpet accented by a spring running through it. It was hard to pull myself away to continue on the journey. So pristine and perfect.

Pelts and Pillows

Whether dining inside or outside, I noticed in Scandinavia that animal pelts and pillows are used to create intimate settings. Placed casually on benches, they define comfortable groupings and add to the dining ambience. Pelt favorites included sheep and reindeer. They were paired with either neutral-palette pillows or bohemian ones for a colorful splash.

Facades and Canals

Amsterdam has a rich architectural history. Just by walking along the 17th-century canals, you get a feel for the city’s past. It is written on the streets. From Dutch Renaissance to Baroque to Neo-Gothic to Art Nouveau and Art Deco, the cityscape is a real visual feast showing where Amsterdam has been and where it is going. Full of promise and inspiration.

Venturing beyond my geographic comfort zone made my senses come alive. Nothing was familiar, so I noticed everything. New information and data to inform my creativity and shape future ventures. Forever changed. I am grateful.

At an independtly organized TED event, Simon Sinek, author of “Start with Why“, spoke about how great leaders inspire action. He starts by writing three words on a flip chart: why, how, and what.  Mr. Sinek goes on to state that people in leadership positions usually focus on what their organizations do and how they do it, two very important areas. Advertisements for those organizations usually echo the same focus. Here is the rub according to Sinek. What and how usually don’t inspire people to action. Sinek believes that why companies do what they do is really the essence of it all. Why is the larger vision and mission that touches people at their core, makes them jump out of bed and work their tails off, or makes them want to be first in line to buy new products even if it is pouring raining outside.

This video got me thinking. Should we only focus on why at work or when we purchase our favorite things? At Doux Nid, we believe creating a home is a chance to think about why in a very personal way. Why we do things at our core? Home is the perfect place to ask the biggest questions. It is a place to showcase and nurture our largest purpose, encourage our wildest dreams and anchor us to our deepest values. At Doux Nid, we definitely start with why at home.