My investigations into preservation, history, and professionalism are shaped by my interests in interior spaces and everyday life. I write about the preservation of the Hull House Settlement – arguably the most famous settlement houses in America. In the 1960s, all but two of its 13 buildings were demolished and the remaining Hull House mansion was transformed into a house museum. The preservation of Hull House was hotly contested, and invigorated a national audience. This research forms the basis of my current book project where I emphasize the importance of everyday stakeholders – their words, ordeals and recollections – in the preservation of the interior environment. In addition to the preservation of Hull House, I also examine the historical development of interiors. In a current, interdisciplinary, project, titled “A Vernacular of Pain: The Architecture of New York’s Lower East Side,” I examine how pain was used to organize and map the spaces of New York’s Lower East Side in the 1890s. Finally, my investigations into the preservation and history of the interior environment have inspired me to questions about the nature of the interior design profession, and how the practice of design is constituted and shaped from below.