Tabi Mund from Swoon House Studio is back for Part 2. This time we get into the operational side of running a design practice in Columbus. Tabi talks about growing her practice, what it took to build a real team, and why she leans into vintage sourcing and handmade pieces over mass production. We walk through the new Arcfluence office together, talk about the Westerville house collaboration, and get honest about what construction feels like from the client side. Plus her take on sustainability, community building, and where both of our firms are headed.

Blake Souls from Summit Building and Roofing Company joins Nick and Paul to talk about what 16 years and 300+ kitchens have taught his team about craftsmanship, relationships, and doing the work right. From high-end kitchen renovations with Amish-made cabinetry to converting a single-family home into an assisted living facility, this episode covers the real side of construction in Columbus. Blake also shares his outlook on the 2026 market: interest rates are coming down, homeowners are tapping into equity, and the projects are picking up.

The Arcfluence Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice.

What does luxury residential design actually look like in Central Ohio right now? In this episode, Nick and Paul pull back the curtain on four active projects to break down the specific design decisions that define high-end homes in Columbus and the surrounding region.

They start with indoor-outdoor living, a concept more commonly associated with the West Coast that is gaining traction in Ohio. One project features a nearly 40-foot accordion door system that opens the entire dining and living room to an outdoor entertaining space. They discuss the engineering behind it, including the steel header systems, tempered floor-to-ceiling glass panels, and the track configurations that make these massive openings possible.

From there, the conversation moves to hillside construction. One of their current projects sits as high as 30 feet above grade, requiring a structural approach built entirely on steel columns and concrete footers rather than traditional foundations. Nick and Paul explain how the team navigated site challenges, including the decision to build up rather than cut into the hillside, and what that means for both cost and long-term resilience.

The episode also covers kitchen island design. Multiple clients have recently requested completely flat islands with no sink, prioritizing clean counter space for entertaining. The team's approach has been to scale the island large enough that prep areas and open surfaces coexist without compromise.

Finally, they share lessons from working across different climates, including projects in Tucson, Arizona and experiences in New Mexico, and how regional differences in weather, materials, and building culture influence the way they approach residential architecture back in Ohio.