Rachel Gallaher is one of the design industry’s most prolific writers, contributing regularly to dozens of titles, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Robb Report, Dwell, Architectural Digest, Azure, Luxe, and Kinfolk. After 13 years at GRAY, a publication she cofounded in 2011, she stepped into freelancing, which has allowed to travel the world interviewing luminaries such as Frank Gehry, India Mahdavi, Ini Archibong, Luca Nichetto, and many more. Rachel is fascinated by the intersection of art and design, as well as how social and cultural forces impact architecture, industrial design, and our approach to the built environment.

Budget Breakdown: A Writer Adds a $239K Backyard Unit to John Prine’s Former Record Label Offices
He used finishes and furnishings that support his health condition and connect with the Nashville outpost’s primary structure.
They Built Their Home Around a Grove of Ancient Stumps in the Washington Woods
Working closely with the contours of the site, Signal Architecture + Research designs a couple’s dream home to suit the needs of...
Before & After: Three Creative Sisters Team Up to Remodel Their Mom’s Forever Home
The cheerful Seattle midcentury sports fish scale shingles, punchy paint, and stained glass windows designed by one of the...
Budget Breakdown: A Tiny Pantry Makes a Big Difference at This $111K Seattle Townhome Renovation
Designed by a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice, the residence gets an update for contemporary cooking and living.
Before & After: A Highland Park Fixer-Upper Sings With a New Archway Motif
A designer and filmmaker take on the run-down condition and wonky layout of a 100-year-old Los Angeles home, modernizing the...
Budget Breakdown: In Rural Texas, a Couple Build an Off-Grid Forever Home for $1.68M
Designed by Murray Legge Architecture, the courtyard house is topped with a jagged roof that harvests solar energy and directs...
Budget Breakdown: This Sears Kit Home in Houston Originally Cost $1,299. It Just Got a $368K Glow Up
A family expands the 1920s prefab with a two-level addition, introducing storage solutions, a primary suite, and a powder room...
Budget Breakdown: A Houston Family Nearly Doubles the Floor Plan of Their Beloved Bungalow for $391K
So what if they went $100K over? A standing-seam metal roof, expert millwork, a playroom with a climbing wall, and a powder-blue...
Budget Breakdown: A Work-From-Home Couple Reenvision a Loft for $291K. The Office Steals the Show
Amy and Tomasz run their photography business from a maple plywood workspace hung with Japanese noren curtains in their...
Budget Breakdown: She Built a $277K Starter Home in Her Childhood Backyard
Most single-family listings in Santa Cruz, California, were asking more than $1 million, so Melissa Virostko and her husband...
Budget Breakdown: This $4,500 DIY Camper Is One Designer’s Ticket to Outdoor Adventure
Douglas Peterson-Hui uses plywood and salvaged parts to craft a tiny trailer packed with vintage vibes.
The Conversation Pit Makes a Comeback at This Family’s South Africa Home
Its outdoor gathering space squares with other modernist touches, like a flat roof, exciting brickwork, and large-format windows...
Retired Vermont-Lovers Build a Forever Home Inspired by Vintage Ski Cabins
The area gets 100 inches of snow per year, so architect David R. MacLean drew up a design with steeply pitched roofs and...
Before & After: A Big Stair Moment Steps Up a ’90s Residence for a Multigenerational Family
A new opening at the center of the refinished Mercer Island home keeps everyone connected, from the basement to the loft.
This Refined Getaway Started as a Rustic A-Frame With No Running Water
Located off paved roads, across a river, and up a mountain, Pablo Pérez Palacios’s cabin in the Mexican wilderness has a rooftop...
On Vancouver Island, a Family Squeezes a Serene Studio Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Best of all, its green roof channels rainwater through the craggy terrain to create a trickling fountain.
This Airy Home on Stilts Is One South American Family’s Beach Retreat for All Seasons
It combines a courtyard, patios, a hole-punched roof, and a pool with beach views but can be buttoned up in winter to create...
A Home in the Oakland Hills Half-Lost in a Fire Gives Its Owner a Whole New Start
Its natural light and suspended feeling among the trees made it worth hanging on to. That, and the opportunity for Sammie Host to...
Budget Breakdown: A Dilapidated Desert House Springs Back to Life for $165K
After falling victim to several hasty renovations, a midcentury home near Joshua Tree is stripped to its studs and fully rebuilt...
Budget Breakdown: A Seattle Family Builds a Rugged Cabin on a Remote Island for $41K
Working with salvaged and donated materials (and without ferry service), the Stinns assemble a dreamy getaway piece by piece.
Before & After: Two Architects Bring Balance to a Shaky Toronto Home
LAMAS Architecture gets to the root of the problem by shoring up its unsettled foundation and fixing damage from a fallen tree.
A Refreshed Midcentury Seattle House Keeps the Details and Cleans Out the Rough Edges
For the second part of a multiphase renovation, the architects at GO’C focused on the original Albert Orin Bumgardner design, and...