During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us worked from home and were confined there. We learned to value our homes. The result was a boom in residential design. Post-pandemic, employees are continuing to seek the flexibility to work from home some days, and many companies are accommodating them. The way we are defining and designing the home is still in the midst of a cultural shift.

That’s why now is the perfect time for an exploration of residential design through the eyes of two veteran home designers. I am grateful to our alumni Gail Davis ’11 (AAS), principal of Gail Davis Design, for sharing her story, which drives the aesthetic of the homes she creates, as well as the brand of her firm. See our cover story, “Creating Spaces of Love & Refuge.” The wonderful Kiki Dennis ’00 (AAS), partner and residential design co-lead at Deborah Berke Partners, has been kind enough to give us a glimpse into her transformation from the owner of a boutique residential design firm to a partner at an architecture firm in “Where Residential Design Can Take You.”

NYSID is unique in that we make residential design studios an essential, rather than an elective, component of our undergraduate degrees and the professional-level graduate program. The first two major studios in the undergraduate programs are Residential Design I and II. In the MFA1, there are distinct projects that focus specifically on environments for living. While we teach commercial and institutional design just as thoroughly, we believe a knowledge of residential design is foundational. It’s the best way for students to grasp early on that space planning is about an intimate understanding of the end-users. A knowledge of art history, antiques, and the decorative arts is core to residential design, and fluency in these subjects has served our alumni well no matter what sector they end up in. Take the example of Marie Aiello ’04 (AAS), who recently leveraged her firm’s residential design successes into the design of a massive luxury hotel for developers (“How a Small Firm Laid the Groundwork for a Multibillion-Dollar Hotel”).

The biggest news of late at NYSID is the launch of the College’s first semester-long or yearlong study abroad program through a partnership with SRISA, the Santa Reparata International School of Art, in Florence, Italy. Our BFA students can now study in Florence while being able to stay on track within their degree program through online NYSID studio classes. We have been wanting to offer a semester abroad since I began at NYSID 22 years ago, but because of the structure of NYSID’s undergraduate curriculum, with its specific sequential courses, the College was never able to do so until now. (See “Want to Be a Better Designer? Study Abroad!”) There are no words to express my gratitude to those friends of NYSID who donated to study abroad grants in honor of my 10th anniversary as president. You have not only helped current and future students have a life-altering experience, you have also supported an important new direction for the College.

May your home bring you comfort, your work bring you challenge, and your travels bring you adventure.

DAVID SPROULS, PRESIDENT, NYSID