the FRANCIS FILES

Notes on New Regency style from the studio of Kevin Francis O'Gara

Container Home Interiors: What Makes Steel Feel Like Home
The Francis Files

Container Home Interiors: What Makes Steel Feel Like Home

Container homes live or die on three problems: width, light and insulation. What six UK builders get right, and what it means for the interiors.

By Kevin Francis O'Gara · August 18, 2026

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the point of view, the portfolio, the series
New Regency Style: The Complete Guide The point of view New Regency Style: The Complete GuideClassical bones, committed color, and enough glamour to make a room feel like an occasion. Design Projects The portfolio Design ProjectsClient homes and my own rooms, with every source and the reasoning behind each decision. Don't Demo, Decorate The series Don't Demo, DecorateHow to update a builder-grade home without renovating, one room at a time.

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How to Wash Sofa Covers Without Shrinking Them The Francis Files How to Wash Sofa Covers Without Shrinking ThemSofa covers shrink from heat and drying, not from water. The temperatures, cycles and drying rules that keep a tailored cover fitting like it did.Hands arranging textile swatches on white desk The Francis Files Budgeting Bespoke Textiles for Hospitality ProjectsMaster budgeting for bespoke textiles in hospitality projects with strategic insights that prevent cost overruns and ensure seamless procurement.Before You Take Out the Dining Room, Know What You're Losing The Francis Files Before You Take Out the Dining Room, Know What You're LosingOpening the wall between the kitchen and dining room costs you four things nobody warns you about. How to take the wall out and still keep a real dining zone.How to Make a Converted Garage Stop Feeling Like a Garage The Francis Files How to Make a Converted Garage Stop Feeling Like a GarageFour things give a converted garage away: the slab, the ceiling, the door opening and the arrival. Fix those and it reads as a room that was always there.How to Design a Privacy Fence That Isn't a Wall The Francis Files How to Design a Privacy Fence That Isn't a WallA fence is the biggest object you will ever buy for the outside of your house. Style, material, color and the sightline test that decides the height.The Side Yard Is the Most Wasted Room You Own The Francis Files The Side Yard Is the Most Wasted Room You OwnA narrow side yard is a design problem with its own rules. How to stop it reading as a corridor, what to plant, and why the drainage comes first.

Design Projects

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Modern Meets Classic: Atlanta Beltline Townhouse Tour Inman Park, Atlanta Modern Meets Classic: Atlanta Beltline Townhouse TourA Historic Kitchen Renovation With Georgia Marble Capitol View, Atlanta · Kitchen A Historic Kitchen Renovation With Georgia MarbleWestover Place Project: Modern Classic Dining Room Reveal Buckhead, Atlanta · Dining room Westover Place Project: Modern Classic Dining Room Reveal

Guides

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The paint index Every paint color I specify, by familyCharcoal, navy, pale blue, sage, blush and white, each with undertones and where I use it. The Best Pale Blue Paint Colors: Calm, Not Cold Paint The Best Pale Blue Paint Colors: Calm, Not ColdLacquered Walls: A Designer's Guide to High Gloss Rooms Finishes Lacquered Walls: A Designer's Guide to High Gloss Rooms

The Notebook

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Billy Baldwin's Bold & Beautiful Interiors

Travel by Design

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Interior design and procurement, in person or virtual.
Work with Kevin

Interior design and procurement, in person or virtual.

I settle the specifications up front, down to grout color and fixture spacing, so crews do not stall and the room lands the way it was drawn.

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