The older I become and the more I pay attention to privilege and beautiful things, the more I see design in all aspects of our life. Now part of this I think is driven by capitalism and consumerism, or a large part. But us humans love to take in new things, to follow trends, to refresh our space, or to refresh our lives.

That’s why this blog will not be about design in the strictly traditional sense, meaning it will not only be about architecture, or interiors. But it will be about the design of a well-lived life. Or the design of privilege, because we as a species desire so much to live comfortably, and here North America, we have so much wealth to do so. It’s really mind boggling.

Take, for example the street I live on. Currently the stand-alone homes are going for in between 2 and 3 million dollars. If someone wanted to design their life and they were to think about what a good life means to them, often that means homeownership. Ther are so many perks of stand-alone home ownership. Mainly that it acts as your own unique castle. You get to do whatever you want, and no one knows what goes on in between your walls. Moreover, you get the privilege of privacy. Homes do not share walls with anyone. You’ll never hear your next-door neighbor’s pounding music a calm Tuesday afternoon. Additionally, say you wanted to play the piano at 10pm… you totally could because your life is designed for your enjoyment.

The abundance of wealth is astonishing.

This was extremely evident to me when I was returning from some time spent in North Africa. I had the extremely good fortune of being able to extend my studies in Morocco and live off a business venture while doing so. Now granted I was living on maybe two thousand dollars a month, but the exchange rate worked in my favour, and I was able to live very comfortably. But this was not the richest of areas and I can vividly remember on my return trip, sitting in the gate area in the airport in Montreal, coming back to Toronto, being really overwhelmed by the sheer amount of wealth people had only on their bodies.

I’m talking raw, selvedge denim. Apple Watches. Expensive leather backpacks. Canadian Goose winter parkas. Or Patagonia hiking boots, worn not on the mountain side, but on an airplane. I immediately felt out-of-place, and self conscious. I had no such wealth on me.

It blew me away how wealthy we are here in North America and how evident it was on the bodies of my fellow passengers. It’s evident that design is only accessed by money and that we are obsessed with designing our lives in every aspect. So I think the quote at the top of the page resonates, design is good business.

So, in conclusion maybe this blog will be more about how I would like to design my life, from top to bottom, to enjoy as much luxury as I can (but still being conscious about it)