There exists a book so potent in its design insights that I believe it will be used for decades, perhaps centuries, to come. Its name is “A Pattern Language” and it was written about thirty years ago by Christopher Alexander and a team of researchers. It finds the underlying concept behind almost every aspect of what makes our built environment supportive of human life and then, in a series of numerous short chapters, describes these principles in a way that’s easy to understand and use in your own design. The result is a large number of “patterns,” nuggets of understanding [...]

Have you ever noticed how pleasing the lighting is in a nice restaurant? How rich the setting can seem with just the right features accented, with pools of light in all the right places. It’s because designers in such places are keenly aware of the importance of providing several different “layers” to the lighting. This is something we can do in a home as well, though on a more junior scale. Using lighting to enrich an environment is an inexpensive way to create a feeling of tranquility and luxury. Some light fixtures may not seem cheap when you’re looking at [...]