05/05/2026
One of my favorite games to play with my family when we’re out and about is to ask them what they think I, as a designer, would find wrong with the space we happen to find ourselves in. Usually these are either restaurants or hotels, and 99% of the time they get it right when they answer, “Lighting.”
Lighting is the most frequent design mistake I see, and it drives me bonkers. I find spaces equally over lit or just lit in the wrong ways. I’m not against low lighting at all, but it must be done right and too often lighting hasn’t been layered enough.
Another mistake I see on the residential side are interiors that are lacking in personality. Everyone loves a good hotel interior, but few of us really live in them. Bring in visual displays of life of the inhabitants. Trying to view your home from an anthropological perspective, ie: what do your interior say about what you and your partner/husband/wife/family love?
Finally, too often I see clients waiting to invest in their interiors because they have kids, pets, etc…which is a shame. Your life is now, your interior is now, and patina and scrapes are part of it.
