2026 Agenda
A Luxury Home Design Summit badge is required for access to the conference sessions, breakfasts, lunch, receptions, and book signings.
*************This policy will be strictly enforced at each function so please wear your badge each day.*************
Monday, May 18, 2026
11:00AM - 6:00PM
Registration for the Conference in the Monomoy building on the campus of the Chatham Bars Inn
Pick up your badge and swag bag.
Registration Sponsor:
Swag Bag Sponsor:
1:30PM-2:30PM
Champagne Welcome and Conference Kick-Off in Monomoy
Champagne Welcome Sponsor:
2:30PM- 2:45PM
Welcome
Publisher, New England Home
Co-Founder, Luxury Home Design Summit
2:45PM-3:30PM
Opening Keynote
The Expressive Home: Craft, Brand, and the Power of Integrated Design
In this inspiring and deeply personal talk, Ray Booth shares his journey from apprentice to partner—and how he built a distinct voice within a collaborative practice while developing his own brand. Drawing on work that spans architecture, interiors, and product design, he explores how a fully integrated approach creates homes that are both timeless and emotionally resonant. This session offers a rare perspective on designing from concept through completion, while staying grounded in craft, collaboration, and authenticity.
Key Takeaways:
- How to build a recognizable design voice while growing within (or alongside) a firm
- The value of an integrated approach across architecture, interiors, and product design
- Strategies for creating homes that balance sophistication with livability and emotion
- Navigating client expectations, social media, and technology without losing design integrity
- Why authenticity, craft, and long-term vision matter more than trends in luxury residential design
Ray Booth
Interior Designer, Author, Partner
McALPINE
Ray Booth is an architecturally trained designer and partner at the prestigious McALPINE firm. His innovative approach to design infuses spaces with a keen sense of place and tranquility as well as layered and bold details, speaking to each individual client and setting. Based out of studios in Nashville and New York City, Ray creates homes across the country that are strikingly sophisticated and wonderfully livable at the same time. He is a master of modern elegance.
As an Alabama native and alumnus of Auburn University’s School of Architecture, Ray's love of house and home was nurtured in the American South. In 2018, his best-selling book, Evocative Interiors, was published by Rizzoli showcasing his luxury residential projects throughout the U.S. In September 2025, Rizzoli published his second book, The Expressive Home: Architecture and Interiors by Ray Booth.
In addition to his architecture and interiors work, Ray’s acclaimed furniture and lighting collections are available from Hickory Chair and Visual Comfort. His collection for Hickory Chair incorporates a contemporary spin on classical design in its refined forms and detailing, and his decorative lighting collection with Visual Comfort & Co. is imbued with a signature appreciation for historical reference in modern shapes.
As an AD 100 Designer, Ray’s work has graced the covers and pages of Architectural Digest, Luxe, Veranda, House Beautiful, Hamptons Cottage & Gardens, among others. With an undimmed passion for beauty, Ray shares his life and homes in New York, Nashville, and Provincetown with his husband John Shea.
Keynote Sponsor:
3:45PM-4:30PM
See, Solve, Sell: The Applied Optimist’s Blueprint For Selling Luxury That Lasts
In the luxury home design market, the most successful firms aren’t just selling aesthetics or execution—they’re selling trust, vision, and a client experience that feels unmistakably premium. At the same time, leaders face growing complexity: shifting affluent consumer behavior, labor constraints, new platforms, new technologies, and the pressure to differentiate without diluting what makes their work distinctive and luxurious.
In this inspiring, energetic, and highly practical keynote, Seth Cohen will introduce the philosophy of Applied Optimism, a framework built on three essential elements — Purpose, Knowledge, and Wonder — that transforms how organizations confront challenges and unlock momentum. Through relatable stories, real-world marketing insights, and hands-on frameworks from his upcoming book Solve for THAT: An Applied Optimist’s Guide to Finding Solutions That Stick, Seth will lead attendees through three critical steps that will help them develop marketing and sales solutions that help today’s and future leaders in the luxury home design industry build client and partner relationships that last.
- Ensure your marketing approach is solving the right problem. Learn to identify what truly needs attention using the Mirror/Window/Door framework.
- How to use purpose, knowledge, and wonder for marketing momentum. Reframe your strategy around meaning, insight, and curiosity to create sales opportunities that stick.
- Win, lose, learn! Use the Rapid Refinement Loop to test, adapt, and grow smarter — fast.
Each participant will have access to three digital worksheets — the Mirror/Window/Door Diagnostic, the Purpose-Knowledge-Wonder Map (PKW Canvas) and the Rapid Refinement Loop Template — to bring these tools back to their teams. Seth will also offer complimentary on-site office hours during the day for a limited number of attendees who want advice on how the the frameworks directly apply to their marketing or community-building challenges.
Seth Cohen
Founder
Optimistic Labs
As founder of Optimistic Labs, Seth brings deep executive and creative experience in entrepreneurship, philanthropy and media. His optimistic focus and strategic approach to leveraging design thinking, storytelling, and innovation has helped some of the world’s most substantial businesses, philanthropies, and media platforms navigate transformation and growth.
Prior to Optimistic Labs, Seth was Chief Impact Officer at Forbes, where he founded the Forbes Impact Lab and launched multiple platforms, including the globally recognized ForbesBLK and the Faith Forward initiatives. Before Forbes, Seth was a senior director of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, where he incubated and directed multimillion-dollar programs that mobilized thousands of young leaders in community-building and philanthropy. His initiatives included REALITY, a global leadership travel program that engaged over 3,000 influential millennials, fostering a vibrant network of service-oriented leaders.
Session Sponsor:
4:15PM- 4:30PM
Monday Marquee Presentation by Grothouse
Monday Marquee Presentation Sponsor:
4:30PM - 4:40PM
Summer by the Sea: Cottages from Watch Hill to Little Compton
Join noted architect Thomas Kligerman as he celebrates the magic of the American summer in his new book, Summer by the Sea, exploring the seaside setting and design of secluded cottages facing the Atlantic along the Rhode Island coast. This is the first book to focus on the seaside cottages of Rhode Island, the birthplace of the shingle style, lauded as the ‘architecture of the American summer’.
4:45PM-5:30PM
Bound by BDC
Where Design Stories Come to Life Presented by the Boston Design Center
Join us for a book signing at the Boathouse with leading voices from the industry. Sip an espresso martini while you chat with Ray Booth and Tom Kligerman as they sign copies of their new books.
Book Signing Event Sponsor:
The Expressive Home: Architecture and Interiors by Ray Booth
Through captivating photography and thoughtful prose, this volume explores Ray’s current breadth of work with eleven spectacular homes that span the country—from a dramatic Los Angeles hillside dwelling with expansive windows to a contemporary Nashville home that marries stone, metal, and wood, to his own Provincetown seaside getaway with an unexpected cutting-edge style. The projects show how Ray pushes the boundaries of design while imbuing spaces with soul.
Thomas Kligerman: Summer by the Sea
This in-depth tour of seaside communities begins with
Watch Hill and moves along the coast, weaving together the history of the state, the evolution of the shingle style, and descriptions of the geology and wildlife that create a unique sense of place. Each chapter explores a different town, capturing landscape and seascape and studying both historic and contemporary shingle style designs.
5:30PM-7:00PM
Welcome Reception- Chatham Bars Inn
Reception Sponsor:
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
7:30AM-6:00PM
Registration in Monomoy
Pick up your badge and swag bag.
Registration Sponsor:
Swag Bag Sponsor:
7:30AM-8:45AM
Breakfast at the Chatham Bars Inn Resort
Breakfast Sponsor:
9:00AM-9:30AM
Welcome and Introduction
Adam Japko
CEO, Esteem Media
Co-Founder, Luxury Home Design Summit
9:30AM - 10:15AM
Artificial Intelligence feels like magic.
Draft a smart prompt, and presto! ChatGPT conjures up your project proposals, crafts your client presentations, and devises your luxury brand positioning. You can even commission Claude to respond to intricate design consultations and high-end client inquiries!
AI is truly awe-inspiring. But most AI-generated content, emails, and strategies are generic at best... and nonsense at worst.
Here's the real danger. We're racing toward the Zero Originality Point. That's the moment when algorithmic convergence, AI training itself on AI-generated content, makes everyone's proposals, presentations, and brand positioning sound exactly the same. Your competitors' work. Your work. Indistinguishable.
That is, until you start building your Digital Doppelgänger.
Your Digital Doppelgänger is your AI-powered creative collaborator. Your virtual twin. They're your brainstorming partner, confidant, writing counterpart, and strategic advisor.
Your Digital Doppelgänger isn't just AI. They are IA... Intelligence Augmentation. They don't replace your skills. They enhance your talents. (Of course, they have the power to destroy too.)
In this exhilarating 45-minute session, Andrew Davis (and his Digital Doppelgänger) will show you how to build your very own AI-powered creative collaborators. He'll show you the four-step iterative process one savvy marketer uses to augment their unique writing style, saving 39 valuable working hours. You'll even witness AI's power to destroy trust and learn the only way to avoid it.
Most importantly, Andrew will demonstrate why AI can make YOU more valuable than ever.
So, are you ready to create your first Digital Doppelgänger?
Andrew Davis
Bestselling Author, Keynote Speaker, and Global Marketing Strategist
Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker. Before building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, Andrew produced for NBC’s Today Show, worked for The Muppets in New York and wrote for Charles Kuralt. He's appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and on NBC and the BBC. Andrew has crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands. Recognized as one of the industry's "Jaw-Dropping Marketing Speakers," Andrew is a mainstay on global marketing influencer lists.
Keynote Sponsor:
10:15AM-11:00AM
Beyond the Grid: Using LinkedIn to Build Authority, Partnerships, and Predictable B2B Growth
Instagram is where luxury design professionals showcase beauty, style, and inspiration—but LinkedIn is where long-term partnerships, referrals, and serious business growth can happen. In this session, we’ll explore how LinkedIn is rapidly becoming the most underutilized growth platform for architects, interior designers, landscape architects, builders, and luxury home brands and their channels. While Instagram blends consumer appeal and peer visibility, LinkedIn offers a clearer path to B2B authority, measurable ROI, and strategic positioning within the professional ecosystem that actually drives projects.
Through real-world examples, campaign snapshots, and simplified analytics, this session will demonstrate how design leaders can use LinkedIn to: position themselves as trusted partners (not just tastemakers), cut through social noise, and support their marketing teams with smarter strategy, clearer goals, and better performance insights. This presentation is designed for founders and CEOs who may not manage campaigns themselves—but who must shape direction, evaluate results, and decide where marketing investments truly deliver long-term value.
Takeaways:
- A clear understanding of where LinkedIn fits alongside Instagram—not as a replacement, but as a complementary growth engine.
- Examples of how design professionals use LinkedIn to attract partnerships, referrals, and high-quality inbound opportunities.
- A practical framework for positioning their firm as a thought leader within the professional design ecosystem.
- Simple metrics that matter—what CEOs should actually look at when reviewing LinkedIn performance and ROI.
- Guidance on how to collaborate with marketing teams to shape content, targeting, and campaign direction without needing to be hands-on.
- A roadmap to early-mover advantage, using LinkedIn before it becomes saturated in the luxury design category.
Jon Gavejian
CEO
Newrocc Digital
Jon brings more than fifteen years of expertise in digital marketing and web development to the forefront for his clients. His journey, which began as a web designer, developer, and SEO expert, laid the foundation for his deep understanding of the technical aspects of the digital landscape. This experience, combined with an intimate understanding of digital marketing efforts cultivated through previous ventures, has shaped Jon's unique approach to navigating the interconnectedness of the digital ecosystem. With a passion for merging elegance with rock-solid technical foundations, Jon has developed innovative industry-leading processes and solutions that simplify complex digital challenges, providing clarity and effectiveness for clients seeking to achieve their organizational objectives.
11:00AM-11:30AM
Networking and Refreshment Break in Monomoy
Break Sponsor:
11:30AM - 12:00PM
Rooted in Craft and Place
What happens when a master luxury design professional meets a constantly changing environment and client vision? This uniquely dynamic, engaging, and fun session explores how luxury home building demands demands consistent expertise combined with variable and adaptive creativity. In a captivating live demonstration, we’ll examine the value of honoring sense of place, embracing variation, and building with intention — themes that speak directly to the hearts of luxury home professionals and clients.
Adam Japko
CEO, Esteem Media
Co-Founder, Luxury Home Design Summit
Session Sponsor:
12:00PM-12:45PM
From Aesthetic to Enterprise: How Great Design Firms Are Built
What does it take to transform a design studio into a nationally recognized firm? This session explores the strategic decisions behind building a clear aesthetic, attracting the right clients, and scaling a business without compromising creative integrity. Drawing from real-world experience, this conversation reveals how intentional positioning, operational discipline, and investment in brand visibility can elevate a firm from local practice to industry leader.
Key Takeaways:
- Define a recognizable aesthetic early to attract aligned clients and establish a strong market position
- Position your firm beyond geography to expand opportunities and build a national (or global) brand
- Structure your team to protect creativity, allowing designers to focus on design while operations support growth
- Invest strategically in presentation and PR to amplify your work and build long-term visibility
- Build systems before you need them so your firm can scale confidently and avoid costly mistakes
Heather French
Creative Director & Principal
French & French Interiors
Matt French
Principal
French & French Interiors
Founded in 2015 by husband-and-wife duo Heather and Matt French, French & French Interiors is a nationally recognized design studio known for its distinctive, narrative-driven approach to high-end residential and boutique commercial projects. Celebrated for their confident use of color and folk-inspired sensibility, their work is defined by a layered, expressive point of view that feels both collected and sophisticated. The French & French style is shaped by a refined East Coast perspective informed by their Southern upbringing, and rooted in the soulful artistry of Santa Fe, where the studio is based.
Their work has been celebrated in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Luxe Interiors + Design, and The Wall Street Journal. They were featured designers in the 2024 Kips Bay Dallas Show House, and were recently named winners of the 2026 Luxe RED Awards.
12:45PM-12:55PM
Luxury Home Design Summit Scholarships for Up and Coming Design Professionals
Scholarship Sponsor:
12:55PM- 1:00PM
Special Giveaway Announcement
An opportunity to win 600 sq. ft. of performance engineered European white oak flooring. Proudly crafted in Italy, our Famiglia Collection is made rom authentic European white oak and designed for modern living. Itis pet-friendly and versatile, making it ideal for a wide range of spaces, from kitchens to basements.
Giveaway Sponsor:
1:00PM-2:30PM
Lunch at the Chatham Bars Inn
Lunch Sponsor:
2:30PM-3:15PM
Afternoon Roundtable Sessions
Relevant topics within disciplines or cross-disciplines will be spearheaded by roundtable chairs during the second part of lunch in a conversational, informal format -- space is limited to first-come, first-served.
Roundtable Topic #1: To be announced
Roundtable Topic #2: What’s driving YOU crazy? A candid, interactive Q & A
Chair: Jim Gauthier, Principal, Jim Gauthier and Company
Led by expert interior designer and industry consultant Jim Gauthier, this interactive session will provide a platform to address a variety of relevant industry issues. Known for his lively discussions and practical advice, Jim is prepared to address your questions. Whether you want to dive into hot topics such as fee structures, setting client boundaries, growing your business, or anything else, you can expect to gain actionable insights to better navigate the current challenges of today’s design world. (Session is best suited for interior designers, but all are welcome).
Roundtable Topic #3: To be announced
3:30PM-4:15PM
Designing for the California Coast
In this richly detailed and forward-looking session, Tim Barber explores what truly defines coastal living—and how architects and designers can respond with resilience, beauty, and intention. From environmental forces like wind, salt air, and shifting light to evolving risks such as fire and sea-level rise, this talk offers a comprehensive framework for creating coastal homes that are both enduring and deeply connected to place.
Key Takeaways:
- How coastal climate, light, and environmental conditions shape design decisions
- Strategies for mitigating risk—from fire and flooding to material durability and infrastructure
- Design approaches that balance openness, privacy, and functionality in coastal settings
- Planning principles for long-term adaptability, maintenance, and multi-generational use
- Practical ways to create homes that are resilient, livable, and timeless along the coast
Tim Barber, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP Founding Principal
Tim Barber Architects
The grandson of a carpenter and the son of an engineer, Tim’s childhood was informed by the Federal and Greek Revival buildings in his historic hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio – learning how architectural traditions are influenced by time and context.
Following a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati, Tim worked on the downtown Cincinnati redevelopment. He joined the first Earth Day celebration in 1970 and continues to advocate for sustainable design. His early work in Los Angeles focused on the revitalization of multi-family housing. He established award-winning Tim Barber Architects in Los Angeles in 1994, focused on shaping the future of vernacular, residential architecture. In 2022, Tim returned to school to earn a master’s degree in Historical & Sustainable Architecture from NYU London. He holds a Certificate in Classical Architecture, and is a USGBC LEED Accredited Professional.
Tim is a Co-Founder and former President of the Southern California Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA-SoCal) and has served on the National Board of the ICAA as President of the College of Chapters. In 2023, he was recognized with the ICAA-SoCal Legacy Award for his contributions to building the organization’s highly regarded education program. Currently serving on the Holmby-Westwood Property Owners Association Architectural Supervising Committee, he also supports the U.S. Green Building Council California (USGBCCA), the Los Angeles Conservancy, TreePeople, and Habitat for Humanity.
4:15PM-4:25PM
Announcement by Nantucket by Design presented by Marla Mullen
4:25PM-5:15PM
Mark Hutker, FAIA
Partner
Hutker Architects
Wendy Estela
Founder and Attorney
Estela Law
Nancy Lagassé
Founder | Partner
The Lagasse Group Custom Builders
Kevin Lagassé
Founder | Partner
The Lagasse Group Custom Builders
5:15PM-5:30PM
Tuesday Marquee Presentation by TimberTech
Wednesday Marquee Presentation Sponsored by:
5:30PM-7:00PM
Networking Reception at the Chatham Bars Inn
Networking Sponsor:
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
8:00AM-12:00PM
Registration for the Conference at Monomoy
Pick up your badge and Swag Bag
Registration Sponsor:
Swag Bag Sponsor:
8:00AM-9:00AM
Breakfast at the Beach House Grill in the Chatham Bars Inn
Breakfast Sponsor:
9:15AM-10:15AM
Keynotes: Russell Windham & Bill Curtis, Curtis & Windham Architects
Russell Windham is a co-founder of award-winning architecture firm, Curtis & Windham Architects, along with Bill Curtis. Based in Houston, Texas, the firm comprises three independent but collaborative studios specializing in interiors, gardens, and landscapes and has received consecutive Palladio Awards and multiple John Staub Awards. They are also the recipient of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s highest honor, the Arthur Ross Award.
Bill Curtis, a founding co-principal of Curtis & Windham Architects, began collaborating with partner Russell Windham in 1992, shortly after both parties relocated to Houston. Returning to their native Texas roots, they established a firm capable of expressing itself through a traditional and classical architectural language. Though their practice has grown considerably in the ensuing decades, this commitment to respecting and revitalizing the local historical context has not wavered.
Russell Windham & Bill Curtis
Co-Founders and Architects
Curtis & Windham Architects
Keynote Sponsor:
10:15AM-11:00AM
Operational Excellence and the AI Tech Stack: A CEO's Guide to Smarter Scaling for Luxury Firms
What You'll Learn:
- How to audit your existing tech stack and pinpoint exactly where AI delivers the highest return without adding complexity to your team
- Why starting with the tools you already have outperforms chasing the newest platform almost every time
- What custom AI application development looks like for design and build firms, and when it makes sense to build vs. buy
- How to onboard your team into AI in a way that actually sticks, using a process-first approach that creates consistency firm-wide
Jenna Gaidusek
Founder
AI for Interior Designers™
Jenna is one of the most sought-after voices on AI strategy for design and build professionals. A designer turned tech educator, she has spent the past several years working directly with interior designers, architects, and luxury home builders to build AI-integrated workflows, custom software applications, and scalable business systems from the ground up. Her advisory work spans sole practitioners to large multi-team firms, and her clients consistently move from AI curiosity to operational implementation. She is a nationally recognized speaker, the host of the AI for Interior Designers™ podcast, and the creator of the industry's first AI certification program for design professionals. Jenna is based in Charleston, SC and speaks at major design industry events including KBIS, High Point Market, IDS, and ASID.
11:00AM-11:30AM
Networking and Refreshment Break in Monomoy and Book Signing
Break Sponsor:
Book Signing with Russell Windham & Bill Curtis
During our morning break, meet keynotes Russell and Bill as they introduce their new book, Building on Tradition: The Work of Curtis & Windham Architects. William Curtis and Russell Windham have worked to show that classical architecture can embody the same attention to context and custom approach to design often ascribed to more modern movements, underscoring how versatile classical ideals and details can be.
11:30AM-12:15PM
What Every Business Owner Must Know and Do to Protect Against Cyberattacks, Ransomware, and Cyber Fraud
Cybercriminals are no longer just targeting large enterprises — today, small and mid-sized businesses are prime targets for ransomware, phishing, wire fraud, and AI-generated social engineering scams. In this session, Craig Rabe, founder and cybersecurity expert at First Class Networks, will break down the real-world threats facing ERA members in plain language — and provide a simple roadmap business owners can follow to dramatically reduce risk.
Designed specifically for non-technical business leaders, this session will mix real case studies with actionable steps attendees can take to protect their business, their team, and their reputation.
Craig Rabe is the founder and President of First Class Networks, a top-rated Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) serving Greater Boston. With over 25 years in IT and cybersecurity, Craig is known for helping small businesses protect themselves against ransomware, data breaches, and compliance risks. He recently served as President of the Winchester Chamber of Commerce, is a board member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Boston, and was named Arlington’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
He has written the cybersecurity book Not IF, But WHEN (Right Now Hackers are coming after Your Data, Your Money & your Business – Here’s what you can do to stop them cold), and co-authored the Amazon #1 Best Selling book FROM Exposed to Secure (The Cost of Cybersecurity and Compliance and the Best Way to keep your Company Safe).
12:15PM-1:00PM
Designing for the Longevity Economy: The Next Major Growth Opportunity in Luxury Residential Design
- Why the Longevity Economy matters now: How unprecedented longevity, generational wealth transfer, and changing homeowner expectations are reshaping demand for luxury homes — and where the biggest growth opportunities lie for design and building professionals.
- Designing for longevity without sacrificing luxury: How “invisible” architectural and interior strategies — such as future elevator provisions, concealed structural support, flexible floor plans, and site planning — can increase long-term home value, reduce future retrofit costs, and become powerful differentiators in client conversations.
- Technology as an enabler: How sensing, monitoring, and emerging assistive technologies — including smart home systems and robotics — will shape living environments in the 2030s and beyond.
Michael Oh
CEO
TSP Smart Spaces
Michael Oh is an MIT-educated aerospace engineer and serial entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience at the intersection of technology, design, and the built environment. He founded Tech Superpowers in 1992 as an IT services company and, following a successful strategic exit, continues to build his current venture as CEO of TSP Smart Spaces.
Now in his third appearance at the Luxury Home Design Summit, Michael focuses on finding trends that are shaping tomorrow’s homes — from AI and construction technology to research emerging from MIT’s AgeLab.
1:00PM
Closing Remarks and Conference Adjourns