Mr Sam Hecht and Ms Kim Colin of Industrial Facility share their home-making wisdom.

Most of us will have spent a significant amount of our adult lives in houses that aren’t homes. Places where we lay our head, but don’t feel any sort of claim over. So, when you finally find somewhere you can do what you want with and make a space your own, how do you go about it?

Designing a flat or house is one of the most expensive, stressful and time-consuming things you’ll ever do. And if you do it wrong, it’s very difficult to remedy. Do it right, however, and you stand to impress everyone you ever invite in.

In the new monograph Industrial Facility, which celebrates the design studio partnership between award-winning architect Mr Sam Hecht and designer Ms Kim Colin, both Muji designers, Mr Alain de Botton writes: “Design ultimately matters because it offers an invitation to live and be a certain way. When we call a chair or a lamp beautiful, really what we’re saying is that we like the way of life that it suggests to us. We would like to be the way that it already is.”

In conversation with MR PORTER, Mr Hecht says: “Good design has the potential to not only make life more efficient, but also to contribute to our general enjoyment and wellbeing.”

With that in mind, what do the founders of some of the most sought-after office- and homeware value in their own home? What common mistakes should we avoid? What should we always try and invest in? And how to maximise the place we call home?

Consider the architecture of your home

Think about the height of the ceilings, the direction the windows face, when the building was built and how the separate rooms interlink.

“For us, the relationship between the architecture and design of your home is symbiotic,” says Mr Hecht. “Both disciplines benefit from each other.” When shopping for the next thing, always think of how it will fit into the shape of your home. “Architecture tells design to think beyond the walls of the object, to think beyond the shop,” says Ms Colin. “It tells us to think about products as cultural production, and not simply consumption. It tells us that design contributes to the atmosphere of a room.”

Think about how your home changes throughout the day

Where does the sun rise and set in relation to your home? How does it heat and cool? What’s the airflow like? These should all be considered in the layout of your home. “Design is about flow rather than stillness – fluidity of light and circulation of air,” says Mr Hecht. “Interiors are not still photographs. They change based on the time of day. The space should be used accordingly.”

**Avoid stuff – fill your home with things that are practical **

It can be difficult to throw things away. A reading light or a book shelf are essential. But nothing will kill your home more than a heavy sense of surplus clutter. “When design is working well, we hardly notice it,” says Ms Colin. “When it is not working well, it can lead to anxiety and frustration.

“The one rule we always adhere to is – if something is not being used, then it’s not essential. It should find its way to the charity shop.”

Think about every aspect of your home, from the big to the small

Industrial Facility, the design studio founded by Mr Hecht and Ms Colin, designs rubbish bins and doorstops as well as sofas and tables.

“Many people are prepared to put up with things that do not work well,” says Mr Hecht. “Everything in our home has a visual and functional conversation with each other, and so a waste bin is no less important than a table or a chair.”

Think about illumination and maximise natural light

An artfully lit room will hide or obscure any number of imperfections. But starve a room of natural light and fix it with an overly bright bulb, and it can suddenly feel very harsh. There are some easy fixes. “We designed our house without a single ceiling light,” says Ms Colin. “All are either table, floor or wall mounted. It makes for a greater intimacy and control.” As for natural light, “Make some windows and ditch the curtains.”

And always invest in…

“A good chair or two. A good lamp or three. And never skimp on cutlery.”

Industrial Facility by Mr Sam Hecht and Ms Kim Colin (Phaidon) is out now

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