Vol. 4, Issue 1
Winter 2023

When we reach mid-winter, and the mornings are still dark and the skies insistently gloomy, we don't have much choice but to lean in and push through, working on intentional patience and practiced gratitude. We suggest staying home and indulging in all the creature comforts that feed your soul, mind and body. Dance around the kitchen to get the blood flowing, or just stand still and notice how low light defines textures differently, inside and out. Winter is a great time to daydream - perhaps about something new to come. Something with color and light, that tells the story of where you have been, and where you are going.

New Project Reveal: Midcentury Modern

It has been said that Bloomington is a "bloom"erang town. This client is one of those bouncers-back. She and her husband hired SYH mid-pandemic to remodel this house that she fondly remembers from her childhood, when it belonged to her mother's best friend. We kept the house's original 1958 layout for the most part, just opening the kitchen up to an adjacent hall—but gutted and reconceived an old addition as well as a very recent one, and completely refaced the exterior and landscaping. In support of the architecture, SYH also curated the furnishings, art, and accessories, carefully mixing old, new and custom. We call these clients Unicorns for their rare and beautiful combination of qualities: their sense of color and whimsy, their commitment to collecting original art and restoring vintage furniture, their groundedness, humor and trust, and the joy they brought to the work.

What We Are Digging: Tadelakt

Tadelakt (rhymes with Cadillac) is a very old process that is recently creeping its way back onto the design scene in the US. A waterproof plaster finish that can be used in wet areas, tadelakt plaster is made from a lime that comes from quarries rich in limestone and dolomite. It's the final step of the manufacturing process that makes this plaster different from others. Put your Scientist hats on with us, please. When combined with black soap, a chemical reaction occurs, forming calcium stearate (geologists and chemists should hang out more often), which makes this plaster waterproof.  Tadelakt is time-consuming to install but long-lasting and so worth it. It is seamless, which means no grout lines! It is hypoallergenic, so mold and mildew don't like to grow on it. It lends a warm minimalist texture to a space that can't be replicated by tile or stone.

Local Vendor Spotlight: Experience Technology 

Part of what makes a home is, of course, the sounds that fill it, from the tinkling of the cat's tags and the call up the stairs for dinner, to the music we make and listen to. Something you can't see in our beautiful after photos is the way we work sound into our designs in partnership with businesses like Experience Technology. Experience helps us design and install custom sound systems (among other smart home things), so that our clients can experience music that is as dialed in and impactful as their newly designed spaces are.

Project on the Horizon?

If you have a new build, renovation, and/or decorating project on the horizon, call us sooner than you think you need us! We want to work with you! Your designer should be your first call, and we do often have a waitlist.

How it works: Initial consultations happen within a couple of weeks of your call, during which Susan Y. meets with you to get to know you and see your space or property. She hears all your hopes and hang-ups, and offers off-the-cuff feedback and advice to help you determine next steps. If the next step for you is comprehensive design services, we pencil you in and launch your project as soon as your name rises to the top.