Inside a Segue home: a design walkthrough.

Every Segue unit follows the same short list of rules before it ever gets photographed. None of them are expensive. All of them are the difference between a room that photographs well and one that actually feels good to live in.

Lighting comes first: no single overhead bulb in any common room. At least two light sources at different heights, warm temperature only. It's the cheapest change that makes the biggest difference in how a space feels at 9pm.

A room can look finished in a photo and still feel unfinished to live in. Lighting is usually the gap.

The one splurge is always the sofa — it's the piece people actually spend time on, so it's the one piece we don't compromise on. Everything else is chosen to be good, not the best available.