Notes from the studio

On proportion. The first thing we measure in a room is never the room. It is the thing the room is for — the table, the bed, the hearth. Rooms are vessels. You cannot size a vessel without first sizing what it will hold.

On light. Of all the free materials available to an interior, light is the one we pay the most attention to. A room with honest light needs very little else. A room with dishonest light — flat, overhead, fluorescent — cannot be rescued by furniture, however good.

On restraint. Restraint is not the absence of decision. It is the presence of a great many decisions, most of which are to leave something out. That is the discipline, and it is the whole job.