Anjulie Rao

Chicago

Journalist and Critic at Freelance

I write about the built environment. bylines in a lot of places. anjulier at gmail or anjulierao at bsky (she/her)

Articles

How to Navigate Renovation Costs in the Age of Tariffs

1 week ago | dwell.com | Anjulie Rao

Stop panic-hoarding building materials and get familiar with one word: contracts. In January, a colleague was remarking on an ongoing renovation project to transform her attic into a primary bedroom and bath. When the word "tariff" started leaking into the home renovation lexicon, she began chatting with neighbors about how she might avoid fluctuating prices, material delivery delays, and going over budget.
How to Navigate Renovation Costs in the Age of Tariffs

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Anjulie Rao

Stop panic-hoarding building materials and get familiar with one word: contracts. In January, a colleague was remarking on an ongoing renovation project to transform her attic into a primary bedroom and bath. When the word "tariff" started leaking into the home renovation lexicon, she began chatting with neighbors about how she might avoid fluctuating prices, material delivery delays, and going over budget.
How a Former NFL Player Made This Beloved ’60s Shelving System Even More Modular

2 weeks ago | dwell.com | Anjulie Rao

View 4 PhotosPost-gridiron, Kevin Jones took an internship with USM. Now he’s given the company’s famous Haller pieces what might be their most radical update yet. View 4 PhotosFormer NFL running back Kevin Jones is full of surprises. Twenty five years ago, as the number-one college draft pick in the country, Jones was suspected to be choosing between Penn State and Virginia Tech.
Neuroaesthetics Has Been Around for 25 Years. Are Architects Paying Attention Yet?

2 weeks ago | untappedjournal.com | Mark Byrnes |Diana Budds |Anjulie Rao |Peter Shire

When Susan Magsamen’s two-year-old granddaughter needs a nap, she brings her to a quiet room, pulls down the blackout curtains, and turns on a white-noise machine, creating the just-right setting to comfortably lull her to sleep. This type of ritual will sound familiar to caregivers of young children, but Magsamen wonders why, for the most part, we neglect how our environment makes us feel as we get older.
How Great Lakes Cities Are Transforming Dump Sites into Thriving Landscapes

3 weeks ago | azuremagazine.com | Anjulie Rao |Elizabeth Pagliacolo

Landscape designers, community activists and birders are breathing healthy new life into the repositories of dredged lakebed silts – known as “confined disposal facilities” or CDFs, for short. Posted Apr 24, 2025 SHARE We rely on advertising revenue to support the creative content on our site. Please consider whitelisting our site in your settings, or pausing your adblocker while stopping by.
Furniture That Supports Us, When and Where We Need It

3 weeks ago | untappedjournal.com | Mark Byrnes |Anjulie Rao |LinYee Yuan |Peter Shire

I’ve never had an “eye for design.” It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I first truly noticed a piece of furniture: Walking into a friend’s apartment, I observed a skeleton of what might have been a love seat. There were no cushions; cross-hatched wood slats were laid bare, and the grain, illuminated by the sunlight, was dulled from use but still striking. It was not large, but simple, streamlined. I asked if it was meant to be a couch.
What Trump’s Tariffs Could Mean For Homebuilding-and the Housing Crisis

4 weeks ago | dwell.com | Anjulie Rao

Higher materials prices are expected to stall new construction homes and renovations, and make both more expensive for everyone. After President Trump announced his tariffs plan on April 2, what he has deemed "Liberation Day," only to follow up with a 90-day pause on the previously-announced reciprocal tariffs (with exception to a 10 percent flat duty on all imported goods), the public is rightfully flummoxed about precisely what products are about to get more expensive.
What Trump’s Tariffs Could Mean For Homebuilding-and the Housing Crisis

4 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Anjulie Rao

Higher materials prices are expected to stall new construction homes and renovations, and make both more expensive for everyone. After President Trump announced his tariffs plan on April 2, what he has deemed "Liberation Day," only to follow up with a 90-day pause on the previously announced reciprocal tariffs (with exception to a 10 percent flat duty on all imported goods), the public is rightfully flummoxed about precisely what products are about to get more expensive.
Will Rocket Companies’s Recent Acquisitions Transform Home-buying-for the Better?

1 month ago | dwell.com | Anjulie Rao

The mortgage originator snatching up Redfin and Mr. Cooper for nearly $11 billion could reshape the consumer experience as a one-stop shop for purchasing a house. Last month, Rocket Companies, the nation’s second-largest mortgage originator, announced that it is making two major purchases, of real estate giant Redfin and Mr. Cooper—the latter the country’s second-largest collector of mortgage payments—in a series of transactions valuing nearly $11 billion total.
Why We Need the Nation’s First Public Housing Museum

1 month ago | dwell.com | Anjulie Rao

View 5 PhotosOpening this week in Chicago, the National Public Housing Museum wants to reinvigorate our interest in collective well-being by tackling dominant narratives—of crime, poverty, and eventual destruction—head on. View 5 PhotosA 1936 advertisement for the New York City Housing Authority depicts the clamor of city life: a jumble of line drawings depict a leaping alley cat, trash can, train, and fire escape.