The Beauty of the Unfinished Home

Stop waiting for your home to be finished and start building a space that actually tells the vibrant history of your life. Often, the most stunning spaces are those that never stop evolving.

We have been conditioned by a digital culture to view our homes as static projects with a definitive expiration date. This philosophy subtly suggests that the moment we begin to inhabit a space, we are simultaneously initiating its decay. This leads to a lifestyle defined by the anxious protection of surfaces rather than the joy of their use, creating a brittle environment that is easily broken by the simple act of living.  

Our culture often prioritizes the new and shiny, viewing anything aged or repaired as something to be hidden or replaced. This trend of disposable furniture encourages us to choose synthetic, maintenance-free materials designed to actually repel life. The problem is that these disposable choices are often composed of plastics and chemicals that don’t age—they simply fail. When we choose the maintenance-free option, we are ultimately choosing something destined for a landfill when it shows its first sign of wear.  

A home should be a living, breathing companion that matures alongside you. Embracing this philosophy means moving away from the disposable and toward materials with true integrity. Instead of fighting against time, we can lean into the beauty of living finishes—unlacquered brass that develops a deep, hand-rubbed glow from your touch, and natural stone that softens and etches over years of shared meals.  

True tranquility and calm come from a home that doesn't demand perfect protection. When we stop viewing a scratch on a dining table as a defect and start seeing it as a new page in our family’s story, we transform our living spaces from staged sets into vessels for memories. I’ve been diving deep into these themes for my upcoming book, The Living Home — Building the Case for the Unfinished Home. I can’t wait to share more about how we can build spaces anchored in both history and personal heritage.  

I’ll be sharing a first look at the cover and a sample chapter very soon—sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know.