Welcome to House of Daylight

Welcome to House of Daylight. We are a design studio and lifestyle community that looks to simply create and share great design. 

Design and architecture is flooded with a massive collection of knowledge, experience, and detail, and we want to be a melting pot for all ideas and knowledge to be shared and celebrated.

We aim to provide a place where any creative individual can be heard and appreciated across any creative field. We all have unique minds, opinions, and histories that allow us to see the world differently, and creativity is an outlet for all of our makeup to be expressed. It is one of the most powerful tools we have as humans, and we can all learn from each other by sharing and interacting with each other's projects and ideas.

Our focus as a studio is within architecture and design, which will be the majority of what we will talk about and pursue in projects. This area of design is extremely special because it involves countless other design professionals throughout its process. Engineers, urban planners, craftspeople, artists, graphic designers, brand designers, interior designers, and so many more go into making a place unique and giving it its own story.

Architecture is a field full of highly skilled, expert professionals that have chiseled the profession into what it is today. It is a complex and historical profession that has been taught and refined for thousands of years. It’s fascinating that even with its vast history and compounded knowledge, that architecture continues to evolve and grow with new ideas every day. 

My name is Grant, and I am a designer working in architecture. This relatively intimidating and complex field has driven me to forge my own path in design and thinking, and to connect further with other creatives. My experience within the profession ranges from high end commercial & residential, to builder and budget friendly home design. Throughout my time in firms, I have always felt that there is a lack of efficiency and simplicity in the process of design. Being able to simply communicate and focus on the essence of a design is truly a skill and ultra important, especially when dealing with client relationships. Too often, architects and designers use wordy vocabulary, complicated systems, or explain processes that are a bit much for a client to appreciate or digest. Or, the main idea or inspiration behind a pursuit doesn’t come through in the end product. This type of approach can lead to paths of questions from clients that further complicate projects, or make them feel as though they don’t understand the design direction. Taking a step back from the detailed processes of creativity and communicating ideas in a way that is fun, engaging, and clear is what I hope to accomplish with House of Daylight.

What does House of Daylight mean?

House of Daylight was chosen as the name for multiple reasons. The name gives off a sense of warmth and brightness because of the word ‘Daylight’, and the word ‘House’ is associated with a place everyone has and can relate to, their home. Warm, light-filled spaces is a general design feature that we hope to incorporate into our designs, and also made sense for the name.

It also embodies the idea I mentioned earlier of bringing creative individuals together under one roof; a home. This online space (and maybe one day, a physical space) will serve as a home for people to feel comfortable to share and have a common platform for creative thinking and work.

Lastly, the idea of simply creating great design, and clearly communicating the main ideas of a project is based in the name. Imagine the scene of a dark, gray home interior with all of the window shades  closed. In the middle of the room is a burlap sack labeled ‘Ideas’. The house is dark, dusty, and nothing really stands out. One day, somebody walks in, looking to buy the home. They can barely see where they are walking, and trip on the ‘Ideas’ bag. They get frustrated that they can’t see anything and end up not buying the home. Many more people walk through the home, tripping on the ‘Ideas’ bag and squinting to see around every corner, shortly leaving in disgust. One day, a final person enters the home. They slowly walk around, taking careful note of the space they are walking through. They see the bag in the middle of the room and approach it with caution and interest. As they see the bag, they become more curious about what could be inside, but it’s just too dark to be able to see. Eventually, after taking their time walking around the home, they find the window shades and open them all up to let the light in. It is a beautiful, sunny day outside and the light begins to fill the space. The materials of the home begin to regain their color. The wood tones in the floors start warming to a light brown hue, the furniture colors begin to pop, and the walls begin to have light dancing on them. The person opens one last shade, striking a light on the ‘Ideas’ bag. The bag begins to absorb the daylight, and slowly begins to move. It begins to grow, and get larger, until it seems like it's about to burst. Green stems start shooting out of the bag, one by one. Flowers begin to sprout and continue to grow until the whole house becomes lush with greenery and colorful blooms. The person looks at their real estate agent and says, “I’ll take it!”.

This story is a fun way to think about ideas and the fact they need to be nurtured or brought to our attention in order for them to grow. A lot of ideas are just sitting, waiting to be unlocked, and we just have to have the correct environments and attitude to let them flourish.

Simply creating great design starts with shining a light on the main ideas of a creative pursuit or design, and capturing the essence of the project. Keeping these ideas in the front of our minds as you move through a project ensures it doesn’t get lost or muddied up with further development and information.

Thank you to all who ended up reading this, it is the first post of hopefully many. I will continue to build this space into something we can all use to share and collaborate in.

I plan to continue to talk about what House of Daylight has to offer, my own path of professional development, creative lifestyle, design ideas, projects, music, general tips, and anything else that feels right to share. Please leave a comment below saying hello, I’d love to hear from you!

Welcome to House of Daylight!