Warmer, Cooler

Not long ago I worked with a couple to help them locate the site for their new house. They knew the general setting, but didn’t know exactly where it should be. I asked them to drive their van to a spot on the land that felt like the place to park. Once they did, I picked up two sticks, designating two gate posts, and asked them where the gateway to the entry yard might be. As I moved from side to side and back and forth, they told me if I was “warmer, or cooler” in response to when it felt like I was closer or farther from the right spot. They came to agreement on the precise location, and I planted the sticks in the ground to mark the spot. I then asked the husband to take a 5-minute hike while I worked with the wife to find the spot for the front door. With my arms up like goal posts, I walked in the direction of where the door might be. “Warmer, warmer…” Walking farther, she called out, “cooler, cooler… cold!! Come back!” I returned: “warmer, warmer, very warm…” then, “no, no, no — cooler! Walk back!” She could feel from a distance of about forty feet where the door felt just right – within a range of a couple feet back and forth and side to side. Then I asked her to imagine the angle of the side of the house facing her: straight on, or askew. We continued the warmer/cooler game as she felt the right orientation. I scuffed the ground with my foot to mark the spot. When her husband returned, I repeated the warmer/cooler game with him. Without knowing the position his wife determined, he felt his own “just-right spot”. To their surprise, it was virtually the same position! I asked them how they knew the location. “I don’t know, but I could feel it.”

I work with this game at every stage of the design process: determining the best height for a window sill, the most pleasing proportion for a room, the right color for a wall. This, or that? Warmer, or cooler? By asking these questions and pondering the answers, an overall sense of coherence and beauty is developed. It's a process of coaxing a house to sing.

Finding the warm spot that's "just-right" is the Beauty Mind at play. It’s not an esoteric experience available only to the most sensitive intuitive types; it is something we all know.

You engage this process when creating a centerpiece on the dining table, placing a picture on a wall, or deciding what tie or scarf to put on. These are all activities where you ponder multiple possibilities of what feels best: this or that? Next time, ask yourself, "does it feel warmer, or cooler?"