INSPIRATION FOR SOULFUL DESIGN WHEN BUILDING NEW
Steep Hill Garage: Built in 2022, photographed winter 2025.
While we are effectively building a new home here at Steep Hill, our goal is to retain the spirit of what this property and cottage has always offered. This means working carefully to create an atmosphere that feels authentic to a vintage eclectic cottage, evokes a sense of immersion in nature and facilitates relaxation. We don’t want anything to feel too precious and at the same time we want everything to feel as though thought and care has gone into its development.
New builds are often all about going as big as possible and making things as modern as possible, however, we’re kind of doing the opposite. For instance, we’re working within the existing footprint of the old cottage, which is about 1200 square feet. So, not huge by North American standards. As for modernization, we are using modern building materials where appropriate but we’re also making a point of incorporating analogue elements and natural materials, even when they are not necessarily the easiest to install or acquire.
While our approach may not be the norm these days, we’ve found a few great sources for wisdom and inspiration when creating a new home that has soul to it. We thought you might be interested in checking these out as well. They’re all available on YouTube.
01. NEW HOUSE OLD SOUL
This series is a mini masterclass in how the past can offer answers as to how new builds can be done right. Brent Hull is a true craftsman and expert on how to infuse authenticity into a new build.
02. HOME & GARDEN UK
What we enjoy most about these home tours and designer insights is seeing how personal every home feels and the way each person treasures their space.
03. THE LOCAL PROJECT
This channel features modern designs with an emphasis on integrating the buildings into their natural environment. The cinematography and production quality on this channel is also very inspiring.
If you have any sources for soulful design inspiration, do share!