Five Essential Elements for a Home that Nurtures the Spirit
August 1, 2019
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Text by Debra Judge Silber   Photography by Susan Teare and Jim Westphalen
If youâre planning a new home or remodel, your list of must-haves probably includes a specific number of bedrooms and baths, a well-equipped kitchen, and space to entertain friends and family. Maybe it includes a breathtaking view, or a grand entryway.
But consider, for a moment, what really evokes contentment in the places that you love. What is it, really, that enables you to feel happy and at ease when you cross that threshold?
To Stowe, Vermont-based Architectural Designer Milford Cushman, designing a great home isnât about expansive square footage or a jaw-dropping entryway. Itâs about identifying what is specialâsacred, evenâin our everyday experiences. Itâs asking, says Cushman, âWhat are the qualities of those places, those senses, that offer moments of poetry for you in everyday life?â It is this mindful, human-centered approach to designing and renovating homes that Cushman, his wife, Terri Gregory, and their team at Cushman Design Group have applied to more than 1,000 projects across the country. Over more than three decades, Cushman has found names for these qualities. He calls them Comfort, Beauty, Efficiency, Prospect, and Refuge.
Comfort
Comfort, to many of us, is a cushy couch and a warm blanket. When applied to a whole house, its definition expands. âIt means places that allow us to really be ourselves, either by ourselves or with our family,â Cushman explains. Invoking this quality in a home means paying attention to the intimacy of spaces while introducing elements we associate with comfort: soft furniture, rugs, fireplaces. And while we may not think of natural materials such as stone or wood as âcomfortable,â Cushman says they calm us subconsciously by reminding us of solidity and renewal. Because CDG designs the interiors of most of their homes, they can carry comfort cues from the architecture down to the level of touchâto fabrics that soothe and colors that feel ârightâ not only for the place weâre in, but that match our personal tastes.
Beauty
Cushman recognizes that our perception of beauty is also highly personal, which leads to a whole raft of questions for clients. âWe ask, literally, âWhat is beautiful to you?â Because each of us has a different sense of what that means,â he says. Like comfort, beauty is the sum of many partsâcolor, texture, shapeâeven soundâthat conspire to delight us. âThe human spirit is intrigued with variety, with shadow and highlight, with texture,â Cushman observes, and so it is not just beautiful materials that create a remarkable space, but the craftsmanship that brings them together in unique ways.
And itâs not just the expensive stone countertop or handcrafted dining table. âBeauty also has everything to do with our appreciation of where the sun comes up in the morning, our ability to access the outdoors, of being able to open windows and doors and hear the birds,â Cushman notes, all which need to be considered in creating a beautiful home.
Photo by Susan Teare
Efficiency
To most of us, âefficiencyâ means energy efficiency. But whatâs often overlooked, Cushman points out, is that efficiency begins with designing right-sized spaces. âWe pride ourselves on being able to design âjust-big-enoughâ spaces that are totally functional,â he says. If the budget is tight, a well-defined space is more economical; if money is no object, a house thatâs âjust big enoughâ allows a budget for higher craftsmanshipâmore beauty, that is. Smart-sized homes not only function better and require less material, they also take less energy to heat and cool. When their design exceeds todayâs energy codes, their demands on the planet are reduced even more.
âI try to inspire our clients to think beyond their own tenure in the building weâre designing for them,â Cushman says. Itâs a goal thatâs as good for our own sense of wholeness as it is for the environment.
Prospect and Refuge
Thereâs nothing like taking in the view of a mountain from your back porch, just as thereâs nothing like curling up with a book in a sheltered nook. Prospectâthe ability to see out and take in a view of all that surrounds usâand Refugeâthe sense of being in a protected spaceâare complementary elements that tap deeply into our psychology and our biology. Prospect brings us to the edge with a sense of discovery and daring. Refuge provides a sanctuary when we feel the need to be safe. The border between the two, Cushman explains, is where the magic happens. In the natural world, it is in these placesâwhere forest meets field, where river meets oceanâthat life explodes. It has a human aspect, too.
âI think one of the delights of the interplay between prospect and refuge is that the human spirit is delighted in having options,â Cushman says. âWe can choose what to experience next.â
Cushmanâs view of home design as more than floorplans and fixtures might seem unusual. But thatâs the point. âOur best clients recognize that what we bring to their lives is our wisdom,â he says. âThat wisdom is more than building a good, sturdy, energy-efficient, handsome building. Itâs really about the intangibles.â
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