Happy New Year! I didn’t feel called to do a 2025 recap. Instead, I wanted to share my home to show you what I believe in…This family room space takes care of me and my family. I share this because 2025 was not the easiest year personally, and this particular space in our home has held us. It restores us. That is intentional.
This is Design for the Exhale, rooted in Poetic Modernism®.
I believe visual noise, when used with intention, creates emotional quiet. As a designer, I’m less interested in what fills a space with decoration and more interested in what allows it to exhale.
Depth, texture, and repetition create spaces to breathe… to support… to ease your nervous system. The natural result is “I feel good here.”
Design for the exhale doesn’t live in blank minimalism. A white, empty room is a void. Nature is layered and that is precisely why it calms us. Bark, leaves, shadow, grain, movement. Ever notice …It brings enormous visual information, yet the body relaxes.
A calm that comes from depth is the kind of “noise” I design with. Depth is defined differently for every client and every space. It is not formulaic and is shaped by the people, the place and the way the space is meant to be lived in.
This philosophy extends beyond homes.
It translates seamlessly to offices and commercial spaces as well.
If this resonates with you, and you’re planning to build or renovate, or feeling overwhelmed by design decisions, I would love to work with you in 2026.
#poeticmodernism® #designfor the exhale #interiordesign #bergencountynj #oceancountynj #monmouthcountynj #hudsonvalley #secondhomes