Elegantly chaired by Aidan Walker and focused around Kevin McCloud’s new book 43 Principles of Home, five of us joined in a panel debate at Grand Designs Live earlier this month. We each had five minutes before the audience asked questions, with answers limited to around two per panel guest.

As editor of KBB Review, Andrew Davies began by voicing the kitchen industry’s umbrage at Kevin’s comments that cabinetry was mostly overpriced, with little difference in quality between a £5K or £50K kitchen. Andrew explained there were really two separate kitchen industries – the mass market at £6.5K and the bespoke starting at  £20K. It is not hard to see why customers don’t get service or design included in the former and rarely in the latter.

Kevin McCloud called for more transparency around manufacturing, and the opportunity for customers to meet the workers. Ethics and artisanship are both ways of improving value for money. Paying high prices for lookalike fashion-inspired cabinetry is wrong in his view. He agrees with our tweet that ‘the designer is a valuable aspect of the kitchen process’. I assume he would like design service separately itemised, not included in margins, as I advocate. He clearly has a preference for the hand-made, as do most of us, especially those that have a history, design or art background, because design is the means through which creativity is expressed. It is also the medium through which householders can express their personalities: going for the ‘autobiographical’ home is one of Kevin’s 43 principles.

Martin Gill of Poggenpol cleverly nicked an IKEA shelf panel from a display and compared it with their version, demonstrating clearly what quality manufacturing buys, pointing out that only 40% of a budget is spent on cabinetry. His four parts of a ‘kitchen’ included appliances, countertops, cabinetry and fitting, with unfortunately no mention of the environment or design, as pointed out by a member of the audience.

IKEA sent their range strategist, Gerry Dufresne, who told us that with worldwide sales of one million kitchens they can be ‘eco’ with a policy of minimal use of materials and in doing so, take advantage of large-scale production to keep prices low. Intriguing, clever and cheap, IKEA leaves the customer to provide the excitement, as theirs is basically a well-designed DIY product. It will be interesting to see how they compete with Howden’s who are providing a story to their DIY and trade kitchens.

Simon Grantham of Miele explained how quality and engineering is ‘core eco’ and how being family run keeps a company on track, which seems true in this case. His contribution was a lesson in German commitment to long term and ethical values.

I spoke up for the customer’s right to creativity. I found myself thinking of Sir Ken Robinson’s ideas as expressed in his TED YouTube video (or in The Element, his new book). Creativity is an integral part of a customizable product and one that customers all too often fail to experience. I mentioned artisan makers and small companies, whom I feel offer the best route to the above, as well as to customer service. Buying a kitchen is an emotional transaction, not just financial; furniture, in addition to making the space comfortable, is at the core of kitchen design. I suggested there is a need for a college course to study kitchens, an area that is now central to home design. We are trapped by the history of the meaning of the word.

So, was the debate worth it? Yes, but it barely scratched the surface. In the words of Kevin McCloud, it’s about ethics, value, and service. The industry needs to be jolted into raising its game. The design institutions should link up with education to develop a joined-up design service. Why do customers at the higher end, or simply those that want to maximizes their home space, have to employ a kitchen designer (all too often a sales person in disguise), a kitchen manufacturer, an architect, a builder, a lighting designer, an electrician and an interior decorator?

When a customer employs a kitchen company, they are entitled to a holistic experience, maybe like having a personal chef prepare you a meal; he or she must plan for your taste, choose the right ingredients, and tailor it to your appetite. Clients want more than an empathetic health check for their kitchen, albeit with a prescription for improved cabinetry. The environment matters, but so too does unique and personalised content. An artisan maker can build something for them that is well-made, even if basic, in these lean times when insisting on creativity, passion and good things seems like going against the grain.

It was a day for those who love ideas and stories. Last month, I participated in TEDxObserver in a format more camp-fire than classroom.

Twenty-one speakers talked about survival, campaigning and making a difference, in sixteen minute slots. They broadcasted the best currency available, their own brand of optimism. For many, it was a response to difficulties faced in their own lives, but also for the purpose of making the lives of others more worth living. For others it was giving something back, whether as entertainment, or ideas, both big and small.

It is hard to know whose performance to start describing – maybe the dancing psychologist/researcher, Peter Lovatt who got us dancing in our seats. (See the video of him here.) I found out later he and his wife dance in their kitchen. Mark Solms is a neuro-psycho-analyst, wine-making farmer who offered a historical solution to South Africa’s land problem. Or maybe Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian who lost his three daughters to Israeli shelling while they were at home together. He is the embodiment of anti-hate messages with a personal philosophy that we could all use at times, especially in the world’s most troubled region. Another standout was Renee Redzepi, the Danish chef whose restaurant Noma was voted best in the world. His menus combine wildness, fresh flavours and sourcing of ingredients in a way that is unshakably connected to its origins. He has set up a gastronomic research institute in Copenhagen. I so want go and taste them.

My response to the talks involved a full spectrum of emotions. I was alternatively enchanted, appalled, worried or inspired. Music provided necessary breaks to accommodate the intensity of the lectures. Young British soul singer Alice Russell and Senegalese musician Baaba Maal took us away from the conference chambers into a place where we could rest, especially necessary after hearing about the experience of British Paralympic athlete Martine Wright, who sat next to the 7/7 bomber and found herself alive with no legs.

Ex-Downing St policy adviser, Geoff Mulgan brought us a dose of applied research, patiently explaining how happiness can be measured, applied and put money back in its place. Sara Brown, who runs Piggy BankKids, a program to reduce maternal and infant mortality in developing countries, reminded how far a small amount of money can go. Similarly, former supermodel and founder of the Happy Hearts Foundation Petra Nemcova builds schools after tsunamis and disasters. Such messages were a call to action. A film clip from Home by director Yann Arthus-Bertrand reminded us of the beauty of the planet and the pressure we are putting it under to feed and clothe us. The title is particularly evocative to a designer like myself who has spent a large part of his life re-enforcing the value, meaning and safety of ‘home’.

This TEDx event was locally organised by the Observer’s feature writer, Carole Cadwalladr and editor John Mullholland. Although the sessions occasionally felt disjointed, one of the highlights was allowing real people, rather than celebrities, to tell their stories, which made for a visceral rather than intellectual experience. Visceral learning is a more powerful way of remembering things, especially on such a variety of topics. TED and the Observer have developed a winning format that could be applied at future conferences. I can see many more coming up and hope to be involved in some way.

Our desire for home design that speaks to the heart and gives comfort to the soul has never been stronger. Last weekend at Grand Designs Live, I joined designer, writer and TV presenter Kevin McCloud; Habitat creative director Theo Williams; and designer, author and TV presenter Naomi Cleaver in a panel, “Home is where the heart is: interior design with emotion.” (It’s not a coincidence the name of the seminar is eponymous with the title of Ilse Crawford’s recent book).

Kevin talked about his new book 43 Principles of Home, while Naomi discussed her own title, Joy of Home, and Theo Williams talked about the new direction for Habitat. I chose 10 books that highlight thinkers who have valuable insight into planning our homes, but who, for one reason or another, have not become prominent voices in the world of design. Here’s the list:

1. A Perfect Mess by Eric Abrahamson and David Freeman.

The antidote for those who want total control over their environments. Mess, it turns out, can be good for us. There are hidden benefits to disorder. Brace yourself for some undoing of shibboleths.

2. World of Goods: An anthropology of consumption by Mary Douglas and Baron Isherwood.

Our motives for purchasing goods are a thinly disguised communications system. We want to tell ourselves and others about who we are through buying things from clothes to furnishings.

3. Happiness by Richard Layard.
Fascinating, unorthodox insights into where, when. how and with whom we feel happy. Based on research from psychologists, neuroscientists, economists, sociologists and philosophers.

4. I’m Still Here by John Zeisel.
Zeisel is a leading neuroscientist and sociologist whose advanced approach to designing environments for Alzheimer’s sufferers offers many clues for home design.

5. Healing Spaces by Esther M. Steinberg.
Readable account covering the science of well-being and place based on the way our brains, emotions and hormones are hard wired. Moving and accessible with a lot of joined up thinking.

6. Wabi Sabi for artists, designers, poets and philosophers by Leonard Koren.

The Japanese concept of imperfection and understanding of nature’s explained as key to beauty, time and authentic environments. Straightforward language to the point of poetry and truly inspiring ideas.

7. The Art Instinct by Denis Dutton.

We are hard wired to art. Its not a nicety, more a necessity and it’s a relief to see this set out in such a comprehensive way. Using Darwin’s evolution theory as a basis, Dutton explains art as a motivation for creativity, our admiration for skill and our need for transcendence.

8. Alexander Technique by John Gray.

Explains its core tenet of how moving with economy can be achieved and its benefit for long-term body maintenance and well-being. Not quite yoga for westerners but along those lines and taught at many performing arts schools as essential for enhancing the performance of the body’s architecture.

9. The Craftsman by Richard Sennett.

Redefining craftsmanship in a civilised society through rigorous and original analysis; from the definition of 10,000 hours of work, skills that take you beyond technical ability, the appreciation of the hand and to exploring the philosophy applied to making things. It speaks to both practitioners and users alike.

10. House as a mirror of self by Clare Cooper Marcus.

Exploration of bonding with your home and garden, as a child and adult; what self-expression means as you evolve your relationship with home, living and working, privacy and going beyond the house as ego to the call of the soul. Cooper Marcus narrates moving interviews many householders from her base in San Francisco to form the basis of her research.