Designing a space with intention
Q: Have you created a nurturing space in your home?
Disco Dialogues is a newsletter and interview series where Kinnari and Mitali engage in deliberate dialogue aimed to spark inner growth. Our posts start with a question to encourage reflection on topics ranging from creativity, courage and curiosity to self-care and relationships. The hope is that by sharing the dialogues that we have with ourselves and with each other, we can start meaningful conversations within our community.
Kinnari’s Dialogue
“Have you created another nook yet?” my therapist asked during our call. It had been three weeks since we had moved into a new house. She was familiar with the “nook” in my San Francisco home - a space that I had created very intentionally off the hallway to meditate and read. She knew how necessary such a place was for my well-being.
“Not yet…” I responded. I had been walking around the house trying to figure out where it should be. I couldn’t find a corner in the living room, family room or hallway that worked - much harder to find a quiet corner in a house with an open floor plan. But after sitting with the intention for a while, it came to me. It needed to be in my bedroom - the one place I could escape to, in order to get some quiet time away from the kids.
This past week, with my husband and girls away on a trip, I’ve found myself starting and sometimes ending my day in the new “nook”. It’s just a little corner next to my bed, but it’s perfect. I’ve hung three paintings there that remind me of a certain mindset I am working on cultivating, a beautiful plant and a little altar. Creating this space has reminded me how much I crave these moments of intentionality in my life. It's more than just finding a corner; the act of consciously designing my environment can become a powerful way to nurture myself.
Our surroundings have the ability to influence our mindset and behaviors. In today’s world, where distractions are endless and our attention is constantly pulled in multiple directions, having an intentional, distraction-free space is a simple but profound act of self-care. Whether it's a dedicated meditation corner, a cozy reading nook, or a vibrant creative space, consciously designed spaces can have a big impact. It doesn't have to be an entire room - it could be as small as a chair by the window, a shelf with your favorite books, or a cushion on the floor where you light a candle. What’s essential is that the space resonates with you, that it’s designed with purpose. It’s about creating a sense of belonging—not just in your home, but within yourself.
Every morning since the kids have been away, I’ve had the luxury of a slow start. Instead of waking up to a crying baby, I’ve gotten to watch the dappled light streaming in through my window and start my morning with a few deep breaths. My new nook has become a small but vital part of my day.
“What is a place in your home that you can retreat to?”
Mitali’s Dialogue
What makes a house a home? During covid, I realized that my house wasn't yet a “home”. Prior to 2020, I had been busy with a full-time job, commuting to work five days a week, and our weekends had been packed with kids’ activities and social engagements. Our house was functional but it didn't have the warmth of a home. It wasn’t a place where we were creating memories as a family.
So when we all got stuck indoors during the pandemic, I took the opportunity to rethink the place that I had been calling home for six years. The changes didn't happen overnight. As I started spending more time in my house, sitting in different areas and observing the flow of people and activity, I realized that each space needed to be redesigned around a specific purpose.
My home became the canvas on which I experimented with my creativity. I moved furniture around between rooms as I attempted to create spaces that allowed us to congregate for meals, to engage in conversation, to play games together and watch movies as a family. My kids’ rooms turned into sanctuaries where they could focus on their school work without distractions (but with oversight). My walls became galleries for my kids’ art work.
Redesigning spaces became more than just setting up rooms in my house. It meant imagining new corners within a room and turning it into something personal. As I started to spend more time reading and writing for Disco Dialogues, I attempted to create an atelier where my ideas could flow. My desk moved to different spots in my bedroom - against a wall, against a window, with a view of trees, as I experimented with each layout for a few months until I landed on something that felt just right. 🙂 I moved my reading chair to 3 different rooms trying to find a space that was cozy, comfortable, had good natural light, and also allowed me to read undisturbed.
I couldn't stop moving furniture. I started to rearrange rooms to mirror the seasons, finding new ways of using a room. In the spring the couch in my living room faced the big windows looking out onto our front yard so that I could enjoy the new blooms and sunlight streaming into the room. In the fall the couch faced the fireplace so that we could all cozy up around the fire as the temperatures started to drop. Redesigning existing spaces became a mindful practice for me, something that brought me joy and unleashed my creativity.
Sometimes spaces just found a new purpose organically. The media room that I carved out from a part of our garage during covid has found multiple uses over the past couple of years. It became a cave for me to escape to during my depression episodes and a karaoke/dance party room to entertain friends when I craved social connection and a hangout zone for the kids to disappear to and play video games when their friends came over.
This weekend I finally tackled one of the last bastions in my house - my partner’s office. After years of nagging him to do something with the space, I rolled up my sleeves and led an effort with him to convert the office into both a haven for his work and a refuge from the commotion created by our kids. As I moved a chair into the room, found the right lighting and envisioned the kids' art on the walls, I realized that creating new spaces in our home is my way of reminding the family of the love we share in this home.
Zen zones. Atomic Habit - also talks about this - keep fruits visible - so you are pushed to consume more of them. Ditto with mindfulness/ meditation spaces which call u to them often.