Doux Nid [du ni]

Where Good Ideas Come From, a video by Steven Johnson, gives insight into the creative process. According to Johnson, creative thought doesn’t necessarily involve a lot of extroverted activity centered around group brainstorming sessions. It can, but Johnson intimates that creative breakthroughs are often connected to solitary work giving rise to intuitive knowledge based on instinct. Merriam Webster describes intuition as the power of faculty of attaning to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference. When intuitive instincts are allowed to incubate over a period of time, new hunches are more out-of-the-box. During this process, Johnson states that connecting to other sources of intuitive understanding also helps widen the work. Joining a network of thinkers online or in your community can finally launch an idea, but it takes time. Be patient. It is worth the wait especially when it comes to home.

Create your own style lab. Home should be a think tank to dream and experiment with the creative process. It should be a place to gather information, brainstorm about beautiful concepts, hone promising ideas that feel right, and discard ones that no longer serve.

First step, be inspired by others. I love to read how interior designers, artists, graphic artists,  and fashion designers feed their creativity and approach their work. Picasso famously worked on a blank canvas for five hours filling it spontaneouly with free-form associations. At the end of the five hours, he declared “now that I begin to see where I’m going with it. I’ll take a new canvas and start again.” Let Picasso inspire you. Make your home a style lab with an ever-evolving canvas powered by your imagination. Experiment. Create. Grow.