Inclusive Design Language : Building a Foundation for Wellbeing

Scrabble game, tile holder with tiles spelling "home" on brown table next to green plant.

The first step in any home design process is learning who you are designing for and their design needs. Particularly when designing for something as intimate as a residential space, effective home design requires a great deal of honesty, vulnerability, and open communication with all parties. When clients are open with us, we can design genuinely supportive spaces. If clients feel embarrassed or guarded, they may not feel comfortable being honest about their lifestyle, limiting the ability of the designed space to serve them.

Open book on black desk with plants, agate inspired wallpaper, and black pillow with embroidered face.

For example, someone who fears judgment may not want to admit to the amount of time they spend curled up watching movies in the evenings, despite being a common way to escape the day and recover. They may perhaps instead overemphasize time spent devoted to their yoga practice. A home designer may then place ample attention on building a dream yoga studio instead of investing in a beautiful, ergonomic, and supportive movie viewing space that would contribute more to daily life. While this is a lighthearted example, there are many instances where this may play out in a more harmful or isolating way. Creating an open dialogue is crucial in preventing any missteps when designing a home.

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One piece of creating open and safe relationships with clients is by using inclusive design language. Inclusive language is defined by the Linguistic Society of America as language that "acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities." Considering language choice does not only help create a more understanding environment between designer and client, but the entire studio team, vendors, and tradespeople. Using inclusive home design language is a small but crucial step in creating open communication and trust between everyone involved in a project.

Blue vase with heliconia vellerigera

There is a long history of home design, grounded in tradition. Learning the historical context of the language used both within design and frequently in any workplace helps us understand if the language is supportive or can cause hurt or harm. Our design studio encourages continued education and learning for our whole team. At our weekly meetings, we share information we've learned in classes we've taken, articles or books we've read, or even conversations that may have opened our thinking. Recently, we have put effort into considering the language surrounding home design.

Table with small objects and thank you card

Recently there was a push in the real estate and home design community to eliminate the term "master bedroom" due to its loaded history, replacing it with "primary bedroom." This step towards considering the legacy of language so frequently overlooked had us wondering, where does other common design language originate? How can we improve our communication to match our intentions as home designers and create welcoming, inclusive, and adaptive spaces?

Yellow white and green floral arrangement in blue planter on wooden table


Through conversations and research, here are a few of the terms we have opted to replace as a studio and the alternatives we have adapted:

Powder room: While the term originated to reference a room where one powdered their wig, the phrase later took on gendered connotations around "powdering one's nose." The language has been replaced with "half-bath" for a more approachable and less gendered option. 

Ladies and gentlemen or guys/gals: We have opted for folks, team, or friends for an option that does not assume or exclude gender identities. 

"Man" as in, man the front desk, manmade, manpower:  Our studio is replacing these with human-made, human power, staff the front desk for options that do not assert gender dominance or preference. 

Grandfather: This phrase, commonly used in home design practices to indicate a non-conforming, pre-existing condition that may remain in violation of the building code, originated in the American South in the 1890s to defy the 15th Amendment and prevent Black Americans from voting. We've opted to use legacy or exempted.

Tipping Point: The phrase was first popularized when referencing white families leaving a neighborhood when a certain number of Black people moved in. We have opted for climax, peak, or crossroads.

His and hers closets or bathrooms: While commonly used in housing and real estate, the wording is gendered and assumes a hetero-normative lifestyle. We have switched to dual closets or dual bathrooms to describe the spaces without attaching any presumptions to their use. 

Walk-up building: We are opting for non-elevator building to avoid language associated with ability. 

Allowed: Frequently used conversationally, allowed implies power over another person to grant permission, and is being replaced with invited. 

Discovered:  In the context of "we discovered this artist's work," the word reinforces colonialist language and systems. We are opting for "we have learned of". 

Blind approval: We are instead using unquestioned approval, automatic approval. 

Idioms: Our studio is making an effort to avoid any idioms and instead speak literally. Many of these phrases have loaded historical origins, and because they are often regional, they may also be confusing or unclear, muddling communication.

If you are interested in learning more about inclusive language, here are a few of many available resources: 

A Progressive's Style Guide 

Conscious Style Guide 

Diversity Style Guide 

While language is only a piece of creating a safe and welcoming space, it is an important one to set the stage for accessibility and break a language pattern that carries an outdated and harmful legacy. This process is an ongoing one, and we are continuing to learn and adapt, both in our language use and in our design practice. We encourage you to join us in a collaborative effort to adapt, update, and improve our communication and continue in the ongoing conversation surrounding compassionate home design.

Sarah Barnard is a WELL and LEED accredited designer and creator of environments that support mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. She creates highly personalized, restorative spaces that are deeply connected to art and the preservation of the environment. An advocate for consciousness, inclusivity, and compassion in the creative process, Sarah has been quoted by Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Vouge, Real Simple, HGTV and many other publications. In 2017 Sarah was recognized as a “Ones to Watch” Scholar by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).

Three trailblazing queer women who shaped design history

At the Moulin-Rouges, Two Women Waltzing By Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Works from the National Gallery in Prague. Photo by: Jan Sedlák, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Odeon, Praha 1985. Public Domain.

At the Moulin-Rouges, Two Women Waltzing By Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Works from the National Gallery in Prague. Photo by: Jan Sedlák, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Odeon, Praha 1985. Public Domain.

Today and every day, we celebrate the pioneering queer women who helped to shape the interior design industry. The erasure of women — particularly queer women — from history is a troubling phenomenon and underscores the importance of sharing the stories of these lesbian and bisexual women who left their mark on design.

Interior of Elsie De Wolfe' music pavilion looking out on to the pool, The Villa Trianon , rendered by William Bruce Ellis Ranken (1881-1941). Public Domain.

Interior of Elsie De Wolfe' music pavilion looking out on to the pool, The Villa Trianon , rendered by William Bruce Ellis Ranken (1881-1941). Public Domain.

Elsie de Wolfe, c. 1880.By Unknown. Public Domain.

Elsie de Wolfe, c. 1880.

By Unknown. Public Domain.

1. Elsie de Wolfe

Elsie de Wolfe is the OG of interior decorating. Born in 1859, she began her career as an actress, which earned her fame and influence among the high society crowd. Realizing she had more of a knack for set design than acting, de Wolfe transitioned into interior decorating — a profession that didn't even exist at the time. Her well-heeled clientèle included Henry Clay Frick, Amy Vanderbilt, Cole Porter, Wallis Simpson, and George Bernard Shaw.

She disapproved of over-designed Victorian interiors, preferring instead to remove clutter and simplify spaces to make entertaining easier. De Wolfe's aesthetic could be described as colorful, airy, and opulent. "I opened the doors and windows of America, and let the air and sunshine in," she once said of her legacy.

She drew much of her inspiration from 18th-century French design, introducing pale paint colors, exotic animal prints, wicker furniture, nature motifs, and strategically placed mirrors into her projects.

De Wolfe's personal life was equally as colorful: she enjoyed a so-called "Boston marriage," living openly and happily with her lover, Elisabeth "Bessie" Marbury, a successful theatrical and literary agent. Their relationship spanned 40 years, and together, the couple renovated several homes in Manhattan and the 'Villa Trianon,' a French estate outside of Versailles. De Wolfe and Marbury continued their relationship until Marbury passed away in 1933, naming de Wolfe as her sole heir.

Portrait of Miss May Morris, Portraits of many persons of note photographed by Frederick Hollyer, Vol. 3, platinum print, late 19th century. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, museum no. 7821-1938. Public Domain.

Portrait of Miss May Morris, Portraits of many persons of note photographed by Frederick Hollyer, Vol. 3, platinum print, late 19th century. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, museum no. 7821-1938. Public Domain.

2. Mary 'May' Morris

Living in the shadow of her famous father, William Morris, Mary 'May' Morris never got the recognition she deserved as a textile designer. The family business, Morris & Co., created printed fabrics and wallpaper, stained glass and artful embroidery — many of their iconic designs are still treasured today, and distributed by the Sanderson brand.

May was a true talent — designing wallpaper, editing her father's poems, and heading up the embroidery department of Morris & Co. at the ripe old age of 23. She was a staunch feminist and socialist, and co-founded the Women's Guild of Arts in 1907, dismayed by the fact that the Art Workers Guild prohibited women from joining their ranks.

She was also a lesbian and lived with her partner, Mary Lobb, in a historic manor house in West Oxfordshire, England for more than twenty years. Lobb was initially brought on by May to work as the 'female gardener' at Kelmscott Manor, but the two struck up a close relationship, and Lobb was invited to move in. The couple was fond of camping in the countryside and visited Iceland together several times. May Morris died in October 1938, and Mary Lobb passed away just five months later in March 1938.

Wallpaper Design. Attributed to William Morris. c. 1881. Photo by Unknown. Public Domain.

Wallpaper Design. Attributed to William Morris. c. 1881. Photo by Unknown. Public Domain.

Portrait of Eileen Gray. c. 1910. By Unknown. Public Domain.

Portrait of Eileen Gray. c. 1910. By Unknown. Public Domain.

Table E.1027, Design by Eileen Gray (1878-1976). Public Domain.

Table E.1027, Design by Eileen Gray (1878-1976). Public Domain.

3. Eileen Gray

The creations of modernist hero Eileen Gray look just as in vogue today as they did in the 1920s and 30s when she designed them. The Irish-born architect and furniture designer opened up a gallery in 1922 along Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris where she sold her pieces.

Her skills were numerous and her style was ever-evolving. Gray was a sought-after interior designer and self-taught architect. Some of her famous works include the often imitated adjustable table E 1027, the tubular Bibendum chair, and E-1027, a modernist-masterpiece-slash-vacation-home on the Côte d'Azur in the South of France.

Gray had many relationships with both men and women. In Paris during the 1920s, she ran with a crowd of celesbian artists and became the lover of the French singer, Damia. Allegedly, the two were fond of driving around the city in a Chenard-Walcker with Damia's pet panther sitting in the back seat — how casual!

Gray's legacy was nearly erased from the history books but has since been revived with the release of two films about her remarkable life. Her ex-boyfriend and fellow architect, Jean Badovici, was often falsely credited for the design of E.1027, although she had designed it for him as a sort of modernist love shack. Thankfully, her work has not been forgotten, and the formerly derelict E.1027 is now a museum that's open to visitors.

The legacies of these three queer women live on through their work. So the next time you spot an adjustable table E.1027 replica, transform a dark, dreary room with a gallon of white paint, or wallpaper your powder room in a Morris print, think of these fearless creatives who helped shape the interior design industry into what it is today.

Sarah Barnard designs healthy, happy, and personalized spaces that are deeply connected to nature and art. To learn more about Sarah Barnard Design, please visit www.SarahBarnard.com.

Russian writer Zinaida Gippius (Зинаида Николаевна Гиппиус, 1869-1945), by Léon Bakst (1906). Public Domain.

Russian writer Zinaida Gippius (Зинаида Николаевна Гиппиус, 1869-1945), by Léon Bakst (1906). Public Domain.