Eco Friendly Living Room Furniture for Daily Comfort
When my friend Sarah called me last Tuesday morning, she was practically in tears. She'd just moved into her dream apartment in Portland's Pearl District, and the smell was making…
Restore workplace design: Offices That Support Health
The fluorescent lights in my old corporate office used to make this barely perceptible humming sound. You know the one – that high-pitched whine that sits just at the edge…
Biophilic design philosophy: The Thinking Behind Nature-Inspired Spaces
There's something profound that happens when you sit in a space that just *feels* right – you know what I mean? That inexplicable sense of ease, like your nervous system…
Testing Cork Insulation Changed How I See Building Materials (And Made Me Question Everything)
I was standing in a conference room last month, watching a contractor examine a sample of cork board insulation like it might bite him. “This stuff actually works?” he asked,…
Why I Stopped Ordering Everything “Heavy Duty” – Real Talk on Using Less Material
I was standing next to this massive dumpster in Seattle last month, watching a crew tear down this old office building, and man… it just hit me wrong. Really wrong.…
Professional Standards and Certifications in Biophilic Design
I spent a day with someone pursuing WELL certification for their corporate office redesign. They were documenting everything—light levels, air quality metrics, materials sourcing, acoustic performance, daylighting analysis. It seemed…
What Are Some Green Building Materials? Popular Options
Yesterday, I watched a contractor reject a batch of reclaimed steel beams because they had "too much character." The rust patina and minor surface imperfections that told decades of stories…
Biophilic hotel: Hospitality That Embraces the Natural World
Standing in the lobby of the 1 Hotels Brooklyn Bridge last Tuesday, I couldn't help but run my fingers along the reclaimed wood reception desk while breathing in what I…
Biophilic materials: Wood
I was hunched over my laptop at 2 AM last night, obsessing over the grain patterns in a piece of reclaimed Douglas fir I'd been considering for a client's meditation…
Restorative healthcare design: Hospitals That Heal with Nature
Walking through the corridors of Swedish Medical Centre in Seattle last month, I couldn't help but notice how different this place felt compared to the sterile, fluorescent-lit hospitals of my…