Vol. 4, Issue 4
Fall 2023

Recently, Susan Yeley attended the Indiana Conference for Women; an inspiring annual gathering of women entrepreneurs and professionals - the largest of its type in the Midwest. In one of the breakout sessions, author Susan Magsamen presented highlights from her best-selling book, Your Brain on Art, about the new field of neuroaesthetics, and the data scientists have accumulated confirming the transformative effects participating in art has on our bodies and brains. It felt utterly affirming, of both the ways we fill our days as designers at SYH, and the beautiful spaces we work so hard to create for our clients. What we do is, at its core, about helping people live artfully, and we have long known the physical and emotional effects of that work - for ourselves and our clients. Last week in Bloomington, you only needed to step outside to feel as if you were participating in art, the fall palette was so brilliant and present. As the seasons shift and the days get grayer and shorter, and the news - we would be remiss not to mention - feels heartbreakingly and unendingly tragic and divisive, we hope that the brilliance of these transitional seasons will inspire us all to live intentionally, more artfully, and trust that somehow, dancing around a beautiful space with the music loud, will transform us.

New Project Reveal: The Split-Level Shop

We have a different sort of project to reveal this fall, a very special one that we've been working on for a long time: the Susan Yeley Homes Split-Level Digital Download, now available for purchase on our website. Designed to help homeowners update the ubiquitous and glorious split-level, options include plans to open up a split-level's public spaces, or to update the kitchen, and lay out a comfortable living area, while keeping the walls up. In addition, there are four different interior materials schemes and four exterior; all with particular specifications for colors, plumbing and light fixtures, tile and pulls.

Years ago, we wrote a series of blog posts embracing the utilitarian midcentury boxes that are known across the country by a variety of names: bi-, tri-, and quad-levels, back-splits, and our favorite, the splanch. Don't Dis the Split, we called them, and they were and continue to be widely shared.

The posts were so popular, it got us thinking; how can we help our fellow splanch lovers update these charming, efficient homes for a new generation? Our service model at Susan Yeley Homes is comprehensive, so of course we can help redesign, remodel and furnish a split-level, and we have, many times. But we know that comprehensive design services can be out of reach for some, and we wanted to make remodeling accessible for all split homeowners, just as the home style itself was originally meant to be accessible.  

At SYH, we know just how to transform the typical bi-, tri- and, quad-level home; besides the many we've worked on, half our staff lives in them! It was obvious what we needed to do: create a downloadable product for split-level owners -- people who have perhaps more time and chutzpah than extra cash for design services. People who love their splits as much as we do, who may just need an inspiration to get headed down the path of updating them for the 21st century.

What We Are Digging: All the Plaids!

While it comes and goes with trends, we declare plaid to be both timeless and as much a harbinger of fall as pumpkin spice. Susan Rudd is our staff's Goddess of Fall, and she endorses it.

Plaids come in many colors and patterns - which means there is definitely one, or more, for you to love; not only on your favorite scarf or seasonal throw blanket, but also adorning beautiful furniture pieces, wallpaper, and floors. We've rounded up plaid that is vintage (you will be so sustainable) or from retail sources we trust to be acting ethically in the world and reliably with their customers. If you hire us and say you are feeling plaid, we will 1) hug you, 2) accept, and 3) look to places like CR Laine, which sells to-the-trade, stunningly made-in-America upholstery in great fabrics; Zia Tile, and 1st Dibs.