Design Advice Worth Reading

Good design starts with good information, and the more informed you are going into the design process, the better you and your home will be coming out of it. Here we share honest, process-driven advice on interior design, renovation planning, and furnishing your home well. All written from the perspective of a designer with years of first hand experience.

Explore our series on navigating the contractor bidding process, dive into our The Considered Home series for deep dives on the features that set exceptional homes apart, or browse the full blog below.

Margaret Nubuor 7/10/26 Margaret Nubuor 7/10/26

Why You Shouldn't Rely on AI to Review Contractor Bids

AI tools can help you get your bearings on an unfamiliar document, flag numbers that seem inconsistent, and surface questions worth asking before your first contractor meeting. What they cannot do is tell you what is missing, evaluate a contractor, or prepare you for a negotiation that determines how the next months of your project will go.

Margaret Nubuor 7/3/26 Margaret Nubuor 7/3/26

Things That Make a Summer Home Worth Coming Back To

The best summer homes are designed around how people actually live in them: doors constantly opening and closing, twelve people for dinner, and and tracked in from every direction. Here's what actually makes the difference between a vacation property that works and one that falls short.

Margaret Nubuor 6/26/26 Margaret Nubuor 6/26/26

Interior Design Renderings: When to Trust What You Cannot See

What a rendering cannot do is show you the finished room. It can only show you the direction, proportions, and relationships between pieces. The rest of the details become apparent in person, in the weight of a fabric, the warmth of a finish, and the particular quality of light in a room that is finally complete.

Margaret Nubuor 6/19/26 Margaret Nubuor 6/19/26

Made for Function, Designed For Beauty

The ordinary deserves to be beautiful simply because it can be. Here is our guide to the utilitarian objects worth splurging on, from switch plates and drain covers to brass floor inlays and architectural plasterwork.

Margaret Nubuor 6/12/26 Margaret Nubuor 6/12/26

What a Designer Does During Site Visits

Most clients assume that once construction begins, the designer's job is largely done. The selections have been made, the drawings have been issued, and the contractor knows what to build. In practice, a renovation is a live process with field conditions shifts, and trades working from their own plans without always knowing how every design decision affects their scope. What happens on site every week, and who is there to manage it, has a direct bearing on how your renovation turns out.