Lighting is a major factor for creating a spacious look. Well lit rooms will always look bigger that darker ones.
Natural Light
The best lighting is natural light, so if your home has large windows and lots of light, you want to make sure you preserve it. Choose sheer curtains and light window treatment to showcase the [...]

Here’s some recent ink wash drawings I made over the last week or so. I recently picked up a Sumie Ink Wash brush and was enjoying trying it out on some subjects close at hand. I often am painting in full color with watercolor, so working only in tones was a treat and very informative [...]

Sometimes simplicity can mean great design, and great design should always mean great function. Take this simple shaker style cherry kitchen below. It has clean square lines, calming colors and is seemingly modest.

However, once you settle in and take, notice you may find that this kitchen is ADA compliant, meaning it allows usable space within the [...]

The American Institute of Architects has put forth the concept of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) as an answer to the fragmented approach used in much of construction today.
With IPD the project delivery process looks kind of like the design-build process on steroids. The players all come together to work on the project at the very [...]

Ernestine the Switchboard Operator from Saturday Night Live
I don’t know how many of you remember or have seen the reruns of Ernestine, the silly Switchboard Operator who couldn’t get anything straight… but we liked her! Customer service, alive or dead, has prompted many of you to respond.
A good friend of mine and prominent Canadian businessperson [...]

In theory, the color of a room has the power to affect your mood. Colors can make you feel warm and comfortable, or anxious and excited. Some colors even make you feel hungry. Colors can become associated in our brains with events or people. 
In Feng Shui, Color is one of the easiest ways to shift [...]

When I was a growing up and spending time at my Grandparents home, squeaky floors were warm and inviting just like Grandma’s fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and the candy dish full of Grandpa’s lemon drops. That is just the way it was…the floors at Grandpa and Grandma’s always squeaked. Their home was built in the early 1900’s, and I didn’t think [...]

I want to share a little book which might positively impact your business and creative life. I just finished Dan Pink’s new book “Drive - The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us“. It wraps together some new and older research on cognitive science, psychology and business process thinking. You can also hear Dan speak about [...]

If you haven’t heard of “pozzolans,” then you are missing out on a concrete idea that can make projects greener.  Thousands of years ago the Greeks and Romans built structures that are still standing today by incorporating pozzolans into the mix - literally into the mix.
The Romans used lime and a fine volcanic ash (pozzolana) to create [...]

Whether you are redecorating your own home or designing the interiors for a multi-million dollar development, there are 10 Golden Rules of Interior Design that should always be obeyed. Ignore them at your peril! According to yours truly, they are as follows:

Write a clear and detailed brief. Know exactly what you are trying to achieve, [...]