Finishes come after design development, by design. Once we know how a space works, the materials follow. This ordering surprises people. Finishes are the part everyone has been waiting for — the stone, the tile, the cabinet color, the moment the house gets its face. Precisely because they are so seductive, we make them wait their turn. A palette chosen before the rooms are resolved is decoration guessing at a house. A palette chosen after is a house revealing what it wants to