The 80's may have been "morning in America" to some, but in terms of funding for public projects, they could have been called "midnight in the Big Apple". As schools retrenched and private fortunes in the stock market and real estate began to soar, I found myself partially in the children's bedroom design business.

The second wave of the Baby Boom combined with rising housing costs meant families were fitting more kids in small apartments. It helped that I had grown up sleeping in a Murphy bed, emerging from a closet each night like a vampire. Some basic design principles for dealing with this problem began to emerge.

- using the third dimension; sleeping and play lofts to free up space on the floor

- combining storage units as modular, structural and sculptural elements

- using the Pullman car as a model of built-in miniaturization

- softening surfaces with easy-to-clean industrial carpet

- making it easy for kids to personalize their spaces

- avoiding cuteness to allow kids to grow up with their environment

In the 90's we emerged from "morning in America" to find that "it's the economy, stupid" and re-entered the public sector.