What I’ve Learned About Smart City Planning That Actually Includes Nature
Living in the same house for nearly four decades gives you a front-row seat to how communities grow and change around you. What started as farmland beyond our back fence…
My Journey with Faux Leather in Our Nature-Inspired Home (And Why It Actually Works)
So here’s something I never thought I’d be writing about – faux leather in a nature-inspired home. I know, I know. It sounds completely contradictory. When I first started getting…
The Data Behind Natural Light: Why Your Workspace Needs More Daylight
When I first started optimizing my home office setup, I’ll admit I was focused on the obvious stuff – ergonomic chair, fast internet, decent monitor. Natural light wasn’t even on…
How I Accidentally Became the Dad Who Researches Natural Light Patterns (And Why My Kids Are Sleeping Better)
Look, I never thought I’d be the guy who has strong opinions about window coverings, but here we are. It started during those brutal 3am feeding sessions with our daughter…
How Plants and Natural Light Transformed My Tiny Studio Into a (Slightly) Less Depressing Place to Work From Home
Okay, so I need to tell you about something that basically saved my sanity during the pandemic – and it wasn’t therapy or meditation apps or any of that stuff…
Phyllotaxy in Plants Optimizing Light for Lower Leaves
# How I Got Obsessed with the Secret Math Behind Leaf Arrangements (And Why It Changed How I See My Garden) I was having coffee on my fire escape last…
What I’ve Learned About Making a Home More Natural-Friendly After Eight Years of Trial and Error
When my wife had her stroke eight years ago, I started reading about something called biophilic design – basically bringing natural elements into your living space. At first, it sounded…
How Nature Sounds Changed Our Home and Could Transform Public Spaces Too
When I step out our back door these days, I’m struck by how much more aware I’ve become of the sounds around me. The rustle of leaves in the maple…
When Your Apartment Gets a Digital Nature Upgrade (And Why I’m Not Sure How to Feel About It)
Look, I spend way too much time staring at screens already – between work, doom-scrolling Instagram, and watching Netflix in my tiny studio – so the idea that technology might…
Native vs. Exotic Plants: What I’ve Learned About Making Green Spaces Work in the City
Living in a tiny Chicago apartment with basically no natural light has taught me more about plants than I ever expected to know. When I started trying to bring some…
How I Learned to Work with My Apartment’s Weird Weather (And Why It Actually Matters)
So here’s something weird that happened to me last week. I was standing on our building’s rooftop garden, watering the tomatoes, when I realized that one side of my body…
Making Tiny Apartments Kid-Friendly: What I Learned About Bringing Nature Into Small Spaces
Okay, I’m definitely not a parent and I don’t claim to be an expert on kid spaces, but something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how kids growing…
Real Talk: The Hidden Costs of Making Your Small Space “Nature-Inspired”
Walking into one of those Instagram-worthy biophilic spaces makes me feel some type of way. You know the ones – all that gorgeous reclaimed wood, those smooth stone countertops, plants…
Following Nature’s Lead: How Our Family Learned to Design Spaces That Change with the Seasons
You know what I’ve been obsessing over lately? How our house changes throughout the year. I was sitting in the kitchen this morning, watching my daughter eat breakfast in this…
Trying to Bring Nature Into My Tiny Apartment’s Home Office (Spoiler: Virtual Trees Are Weird But Also Kind of Work?)
When I first started working from home during the pandemic, I literally set up my laptop on my kitchen table facing a brick wall. My one window shows nothing but…