Berkeley’s Faircompanies Redefines the Meaning of Home | Home + Design

Berkeley husband-and-wife duo Kirsten Dirksen and Nicolás Boullosa have built a massive YouTube following by showcasing homes suited for simple living, wellness, and balance with the environment. They got a jump start on this particular path in 2010 after uploading a video recounting their subject’s life in a minuscule apartment in Manhattan that went viral. Last spring, they released Life-Changing Homes: Eco-Friendly Designs that Promote Well-Being, a compendium of photos and stories documenting around 80 one-of-a-kind residences they’ve encountered on their global travels. The featured dwellings reflect a belief central to their work: Home is meant to be a meaningful place where people can thrive, rather than a pure monetary investment.

“[For] the people we talked to, [a house] is about finding something that’s going to really fit how they want to live and help shape their life,” says Dirksen. “It’s not saying, ‘Who’s going to buy this and what can I sell it for?’ but, ‘How can this affect who I am as a person and how I live?’”

Boullosa and Dirksen met in Barcelona, and she began making videos for Faircompanies, a eco-conscious design and sustainability website the pair cofounded; today, their YouTube channel has more than 2 million subscribers. Their videos and Life-Changing Homes invite audiences to peek into residences that range from the simple (a Oregon “hobbit home” and a refurbished settlers’ cabin in Minnesota) to the innovative (a repurposed Italian stable). The homes exemplify the value of living with intention, remind audiences that being efficient doesn’t preclude simplicity, and emphasize that involving the natural world—whether by leaving space for a garden, factoring in extreme weather events or wildfire, or integrating homes into hillsides or underground—is important for well-being.

“There are a lot of homes [where] you’re forced into seeing nature from every angle, being in nature or letting nature inside—but not seeing it as this house that’s a bunker [or] protection against nature,” adds Dirksen.

But even for those who might not be ready for a complete redesign or life change, Dirksen and Boullosa advise reinventing existing spaces based on personal preference—for example, they rarely see dining rooms or spare bedrooms during their travels, as most people utilize all of their space for daily living—and embracing a home that’s right for your current stage of life. “Impermanence is one of the big topics in the book,” says Boullosa. “Time is not an abstract thing. We are all evolving, and sometimes having the perks or the perfect house is not as important as actually enjoying the place.”

Find Dirksen and Boullosa’s videos at youtube.com/@kirstendirksen and learn more at faircompanies.com.