From Blueprint to Atmosphere: How We Shape a Home
Every project begins with a plan. There are drawings, elevations, schedules, and technical details, the blueprint of what will become a home. Yet at murfo, we believe that a blueprint is only the beginning. What truly transforms a property is something less tangible, harder to measure, but instantly felt: atmosphere.
More Than Walls and Floors
Walk into any space and you’ll feel it immediately. Some rooms invite you in, others leave you unsettled. Luxury design is not simply about expensive finishes or grand gestures; it’s about creating a sense of harmony that resonates on a deeper level. This is where our work begins.
When Cherie leads a project, she isn’t just thinking about how a room will look in photographs. She’s considering how light will shift across the day, how the proportions will make you feel, how movement flows from one space to the next. A home is a living environment, not a still life, and the design must respond accordingly.
The Principles Behind Atmosphere
So how do we shape that intangible feeling of “rightness”? Over the years, we’ve found that three principles consistently guide us:
Proportion - The bones of a room matter more than its décor. High ceilings can elevate a space, but if the proportions are off, be it, too wide, too narrow, too shallow, even the most beautiful furnishings won’t settle. We spend time perfecting these fundamentals, often reworking layouts so that the space feels natural to inhabit.
Flow - A home should unfold like a story, with each room leading intuitively to the next. Whether it’s an open-plan kitchen that encourages gathering or a tucked-away study for quiet retreat, we design spaces that reflect the rhythms of daily life. Good flow is invisible, but once you’ve experienced it, you can’t live without it.
Materiality - The surfaces you touch every day carry enormous weight. A solid timber floor underfoot, a cool marble surface in the bathroom, a linen curtain filtering soft morning light. These materials shape not just the look of a home but the experience of living in it.
Balancing Vision with Reality
Of course, atmosphere cannot be achieved through design sketches alone. It requires careful execution. That’s why our approach is collaborative: designers, project managers, and craftsmen all work together to ensure that what is imagined in the studio is faithfully translated on site.
Kevin, our Project Manager, often describes his role as “guarding the vision.” On site, he ensures every detail from the joinery to the lighting installation aligns with the atmosphere we’ve set out to achieve. Without this level of attention, even the strongest design concept risks being diluted.
A Personal Reflection
Cherie often recalls one of her favourite moments in any project: the instant when a client walks into their finished home for the first time. They rarely comment on the plasterwork or the bespoke cabinetry, at least not immediately. Instead, they pause, smile, and say, “It just feels right.” That moment captures everything we strive for.
Because in the end, atmosphere isn’t about us. It’s about the lives lived within those walls, the dinner parties, the quiet mornings, the celebrations, the ordinary days. Our role is to create a backdrop where those moments can unfold beautifully.
The murfo Difference
At murfo, shaping a home means moving beyond the blueprint. Yes, we obsess over details, but we also step back to consider the bigger picture: how a space will make someone feel every time they walk through the door. That is where luxury truly lives, not in excess, but in resonance.
When blueprint and atmosphere align, the result is more than a house. It becomes a home with soul.