There is a new way to approach our spaces. 

As humans, we now have a biological understanding of the way in which our environments calibrate our beings. Like tuning forks, our buildings strike a chord and create resonances with powerful potentialities. There are no neutral spaces; Our built environments are always acting upon us. Here at Hardholy, we aim to celebrate those that are working in service to our being. We're here to bridge the gap between ideas and physical form, to change the conversation to incorporate our senses and resound with the human condition, creating greater aptitudes for our lives, our children, our growth, our collective. 

As designers, we know there's a better way than designing for the flattened image of a space. We've always known that space must be actively acting as a positive force for health and wellbeing, and sure– making it beautiful is the easy part. We transcend the image, the trend, the flimsy flips, the all-white-everything, and the design school of the unimaginative anywhere. Because it's high time for something better. 

It can be a flower in the windowsill or the rearrangement of a bedroom. It can be the new construction of a forever-home. It can be the space that cradles the values and emotions of a brand that the digital space cannot hold. And it can be anything in between. So we write, to share and to synthesize these ideas into a digestible format for all– not for design professionals, but for those seeking a richer relationship with place as a modality towards relationship with self and community.

In these essays, we invite you to start where you are, even with small moves to inject meaning and purpose into our shelters. When the time comes to create anew, these approaches scale to a more conscious consumerism, and a more sustainable relationship that comes from creating meaning, rooted in place. This is a conversation about a new way forward; A love letter to space and psyche. 

I hope you'll enjoy heartfelt writing about the unseen space between our buildings and ourselves, beyond the flash of social media. Because the power of our spaces can't be contained in an image.

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Contact us: hello@hardholy.com
Want to know more about the design practice behind the words? Visit Melanie Raines—

All artwork by Annie Lynch