In this issue we start at the very beginning— our Living On The Edge Moor, where we joined from the first days, when the project was little more than a hole in the ground, helping shape floor plans, lighting, and flow into a purposeful 6,500-sf home. Then we visit a Paris white box refined by proportion and texture, and Berlin’s Sofi Bakery, a 19th-century factory reworked into a luminous workshop of craft. Next, we head to São Paulo for Upon Return’s pick, Clandestina, where the room and the plate are composed with the same care. Finally, we invite you to our new Reader Room Review—send 2–3 photos of a space or simply ask any design question by replying to this email; Sarita will respond with practical guidance here in the newsletter.

PLAN AND SIMPLE

A blank canvas isn’t empty. For anyone embarking on a custom-built home, that untouched plot is an invitation to dream without limits. There’s no dated tile to work around, no ceiling height to compromise, no inherited floor plan dictating your lifestyle. Instead, every inch becomes an opportunity for deliberate beauty. With a team of architects and designers at the helm, the home emerges not as a structure, but as a story told in light, material, and proportion, perfectly attuned to the way you live (and want to live).

From the placement of a single window to the texture of a stair rail, each decision is orchestrated with care. The architects sculpt the bones of the home to suit the land and light, while designers layer in the soul with furniture, colors, surfaces, and rhythms that feel effortlessly yours. Nothing is off-the-shelf. Everything is on purpose. Starting from scratch means more than building a house. It’s creating something original, personal, and entirely your own.

WHITE AT THE START

A white box is only empty until a designer begins to shape it. In this Parisian interior, calm, warm gray walls and crisp paneling become the canvas for sculptural furniture and layered textures. A serpentine sofa curves like a brushstroke across the room, echoed by rounded armchairs and balanced against the architecture’s linear rhythm. The muted palette lets proportion and form carry the room.

Depth arrives through layering like marble against plaster, velvet against wool, matte surfaces against reflective glass. Even a bronze sculpture plays its part, breaking symmetry with charm. This is how interior designers turn a white box into a living composition.

BAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

In Berlin’s Mitte, Sofi Bakery proves that starting from scratch applies as much to architecture as to bread. Danish architects Mathias Mentze and Alexander Vedel Ottenstein, with Dreimeta, transformed a 19th-century brick factory into a luminous workshop of craft with soft plaster walls, terracotta floors, and timber furniture framing an open kitchen like a stage. Anchored by a monumental elm table beneath a hand-woven wicker pendant by Atelier Vime, the space elevates scratch baking into a study of materiality, light, and design.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: LIVING ON THE EDGE MOOR

When a home begins as little more than a sketch, bringing an interior designer into the process from day one changes everything. For our #IMLivingOnTheEdgeMoor project, Interior Matter worked alongside the architects and builder before construction even began, shaping the floor plans, lighting, and flow of the home around how the family wanted to live. Early involvement meant every doorway, hallway, and system was designed with purpose — setting the stage for interiors that feel seamless and intentional.

From there, we carried the vision through every layer: cabinetry, millwork, furnishings, and finishes tailored to the family’s lifestyle. The result is a 6,500-square-foot residence that feels both personal and enduring, a home where every detail connects back to the whole. This project shows the power of starting from scratch with design at the table from the very beginning. Click here to see more photos →