Pro Spotlight: The Subconscious Effects of Good Design

Who: Jennifer DesJardin of MOTIF Design Solutions

Where: Denver

In her own words: “My goal is to create spaces that people don’t want to leave. I want them to call me and say, ‘We didn’t go out Friday night. We just hung out by the fireplace. We’ve never spent time there before.’”

As homeowners, we tend to think we’re in control of our spaces. We own the furniture we sit on; we selected the appliances we use. But how much control do our homes have over us? Jennifer DesJardin, principal designer of MOTIF Design Solutions in Denver, believes thoughtful design can positively affect how we feel and function in our homes.

With a background in architecture, DesJardin looks at the big picture. “I help my clients see past what’s already in their home,” she says. “I ask a lot of questions to discover what they’re truly looking for. This isn’t a surface-level process.”

“Effective interior design subconsciously tells people what they’re supposed to do in a space,” DesJardin says. “It affects how they interact with their home. That’s why people get a real joy at the end of the remodeling process. That’s why I work so hard.”

Want a home that you’ll respond to deep down? DesJardin reveals the basics below.

Select design elements that work in harmony with the architecture of your home. “Every house has its own visual vocabulary,” DesJardin says. “It has shape, proportions and style. When designing the interior, you have to keep the exterior vocabulary in mind. You want to marry the two. It will immediately give off the sense of character in your design.”

DesJardin matched the interior of this Greenwood Village home to the traditional exterior. “The bathroom was very contemporary,” she says. “I wanted it to be cohesive with the rest of the house, so I added a few traditional elements, including the raised paneling, the crown molding and the French doors. It all worked toward the house’s identity.”

DesJardin suggests emphasizing a point of interest to direct the flow through a room. This will act as a kind of North Star for your space, she says: “It gives the eye a place to land and guides you through the space.”

Before she remodeled this Castle Pines master suite, the flow from the bedroom to the bathroom was awkward and choppy. DesJardin recommended tearing down walls and rearranging the layout to create a visual plane that would naturally flow from one room to the next. “The striking painting is at the end of the axis,” she says. “You can see it even when those barn doors are slightly closed. It draws you right through the room to the master bath.”