“Trust the unfolding.” This was the mantra behind the creation of this room. And just like meditation is a practice, trusting the unfolding is a practice too. The unfolding for this project felt slow—too slow at times. The office project was moving along at a steady clip, yet after several months, we still hadn’t settled on the final floor plan for the meditation room. Ultimately, that was a good thing. Why? Because that is simply how long it took to arrive at what felt r

Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub; it is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges. We make a vessel from a lump of clay; it is the space within the vessel that makes it useful. We make doors and windows for a room; but it is these empty spaces that make the room livable. Thus, while the tangible has advantages, it is the intangible that makes it useful. — Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 11 This was the poem that my guinea pig recited to me

Last Fall I embarked on Project Guinea Pig. What was the purpose? The purpose was to find a test kitchen for the Happy Eyes framework. I needed to find someone who was looking to fully redo a room or two. I wanted to see the process through the full transformation. From beginning to end. And I wanted feedback. Did the framework keep us razor-focused on the purpose of the room? The first letter of the framework acronym begins with “M” for meaning. Did it help to organi

When I was pregnant with my second son, I spent an enormous amount of time scrolling on Pinterest looking for inspiration for his nursery...

Just to be clear I never dreamed of having an all-brown office. When we moved to this house the office was just that. All brown. Brown...

A couple months ago, I went to Sedona with my high school friend. On the flight there in a half-conscious state I pecked out a rough...

Often when we start a project in one room, it bleeds into another. That's why going into a project thinking you will only focus on one...

For many years a favorite subject of my daydreams was the name of my hypothetical design business. The first name I came up with was...