About
Kate Cullen
president
IALD + IES
Kate Cullen is the founder and principal of Cullen Lighting Studio, an award-winning architectural lighting design firm based in Boulder, Colorado, serving the Front Range, the Rocky Mountains, and clients throughout the United States and internationally. With a multidisciplinary design background and extensive lighting expertise, Kate brings a distinctive perspective to her work, emphasizing how architecture and interior design can be seamlessly woven together through light. Her philosophy centers on lighting that enhances a space rather than dominates it, balancing aesthetics, functionality, and atmosphere.
A graduate of Texas Christian University, Kate earned her MFA in Architectural Lighting Design from Parsons School of Design in New York City in 2009. She relocated to Boulder and founded Cullen Lighting Studio in 2011. Since then, her work has ranged from a $48 million residential remodel in Aspen to international projects in St. Lucia.
Cullen Lighting Studio specializes in luxury hospitality, commercial environments, senior living communities, multifamily developments, and high-end residential projects. The studio collaborates closely with architects, interior designers, developers, curators, and private clients to create layered lighting solutions that integrate naturally with the built environment. Known for listening carefully and translating each client’s vision into thoughtful, elevated design, the studio uses light to transform interior and exterior environments while reinforcing the atmosphere, character, and experience of each space.