“Looks like a room everyone would feel at home in” was a comment someone recently left under one of interiors and garden designer Nick Spain’s Instagram posts. It hit the nail on the head: the spaces he creates lure you in and put you at ease, even if you’re simply scrolling by. And then there’s the way he slips in the unexpected so seamlessly, you’d assume it had always been there. Turquoise checkerboard floors in an 1800s home’s kitchen?! I’m drooling. Today, we picked his brain about the method to his magic-making. —Lindsey DeSimone, senior marketing manager

Also in today’s Home Front:

• Mind-bending bar stools.

• A peek inside Nick’s camera roll

• What to do when your front door opens into the dining room

Nick’s Current Mood

I see a broader shift towards celebrating more analog, offline ways of inhabiting spaces, and away from ideas of perfection and trendiness dictated by social media. It feels like we’re waking up to just how much of what we’ve been consuming has been quietly (or not so quietly) fed to us by corporations and algorithms in a way that doesn’t leave much room for actual humanity to shine through.

I think that means we’re going to see a strengthening appreciation of idiosyncrasy over formulaic concepts of beauty. We talk with our clients about how every space, indoors or out, should have something that is a little weird, surprising, or imperfect. The unexpected delights—and that delight is what makes it memorable. I also want to acknowledge the inherent hypocrisy of me talking about this in a Substack post that I will probably be sharing on Instagram.

My top design “dos” for bringing this look home:

Buck Perfection
Think about how you might design a room that you find both ugly and beautiful. Ask yourself what objects live in that space.

Look to the Past
Buy a few vintage books or see if there are any historic homes to tour in your area. Take one idea from them that you haven’t seen anywhere else and test it out in your own home.

Audit Your Style
Write down a list of your current stylistic preferences and aesthetic beliefs. Then question every single one. Revel in what it’s like to privilege curiosity over certainty.

1. I have a thing for trompe l’oeil, and the backs on these bar stools are too good...