Helena Myers of The Myers Touch reveals how she and the team do a deep dive into a client's needs to create a considered space that balances wellness with style and functionality.
In my role as both a designer and cultural developer at The Myers Touch, I'm driven by a dual mission: to educate and inspire. My aim? To guide both my team and our clients in seeing our homes not just as physical spaces, but as reflections of who we are and supporters of our life values. For me, those values include care, fun, and hospitality.
When I think of the kitchen-living spaces we design for our clients, I don't just see them as the 'heart of the home'. I prefer to call them 'the home of the heart'. These spaces are where we find enrichment in several ways. Consider those moments that deeply move us – a breathtaking sunset, a soul-stirring piece of music, or a cherished holiday memory. These experiences touch something deeply personal within us, something that can't be taken away – it's what we call 'the emotionality of design'.
At The Myers Touch, we love working with clients who want us to create spaces that resonate with their souls. Often, clients approach us with ideas of how they want their kitchen to look or function. But before we embark on the design journey with them, we apply a personalised design approach where we encourage them to take a step back by asking them this question first: "How do you want to feel in this space?". This is what we call our in-house Life + Design approach. Their answers can be very different if we are speaking to a couple, but this question unlocks a whole new dimension of conversation, which then enables us to create a kitchen where the soul of those who enjoy being in this room can truly sing.
Of course, some clients may initially feel they're not creative in this way or understand the process we will be taking them on, but we help them tap into their creative side. One way we can do this is to ask what they may have felt when they were walking down a street in a new place, looking for the right restaurant to celebrate a Valentine’s occasion or a friend’s party. We ask them to think about how they chose a restaurant, not just on its food choice, but depending on its look and atmosphere considering factors such as the restaurant’s ambience, lighting or intimacy... so, we all do it all the time!
Another way we do this is by asking clients to recall an atmosphere from a kitchen where they fondly remember the feeling of intimacy, fun, food or space they experienced. Sometimes they describe childhood memories of their family preparing and eating a delicious Sunday lunch around a family table, cooking a treasured family recipe with a grandparent or happily sitting in a kitchen remembering a regular event taking place in the kitchen. It’s these customer experiences that are often wrapped in images or memories of specific places, rituals, smells or ways of doing things that have positively drawn them towards wanting to recreate these memories in their new kitchen, or a yearning to discover these types of experiences for the first time with their own family.
From there, our clients begin to trust in our approach so we can design a personalised kitchen that will enrich the household relationships within it and improve their overall quality of life through efficiency, functionality and the beauty of their space.
Connectivity in a kitchen space is a vital ingredient for well-being. Think about the relationships we have – with ourselves, with others, and with something beyond what we see. For example, we have often thought ‘Can we design a kitchen to save a marriage?’ Perhaps not, but we can create spaces that encourage relationships to flourish where efficiency, personalisation, and beauty coexist, offering a different perspective on living.
Nature, creativity, and relationships are the cornerstones of a fulfilling life. By weaving them into our homes, we enrich not only our own lives but also those of generations to come. As we continue on our journey of crafting wellness into design spaces, we as designers are aware of the profound impact a well-designed kitchen can have on our clients’ lives and our pursuit to ensure the centre of their home remains a haven of wellbeing for years to come. It's more than just a space we design; it's a sanctuary where the soul finds solace and the heart finds home.
