Most folks I know never ask me to advise them on lighting their living rooms, but I get called in often to take a look at kitchens. Modern lifestyles place a much higher emphasis on kitchens than when many of our homes were built, and it makes sense that lighting these spaces has become more […]
CFLS: Ceiling Fan Light Syndrome. Great for vacuuming the carpet, awful for everything else. Everyone uses their living rooms differently, which means everyone’s idea of great lighting will be different. In your living or family room you might watch television, read books, play games, relax on the couch, surf the internet on your iPad, knit, snack, […]
Professional lighting designers use different terms like task, ambient, and accent light when describing what they do. And they may not always talk about storytelling, but it is embedded in their work none-the-less. When I’m working with a client who is converting an old brick warehouse into a frozen yogurt shop, I might suggest neon […]
Need some help applying the language of light your dining room? Check out my article on Houzz. The 5 Layers of a Well-Lit Dining Room […]
Imagine yourself in a windowless, featureless room, like an exam room at the hospital. There is a light switch on the wall that turns on the overhead fluorescent fixtures. You can have bright white light or pitch dark at the flick of a switch. And those are your only two choices. So most of the […]
Choosing a color temperature can be tricky. Read my quick summary on Houzz.com. How to Choose the Right Color Temperature of LED Lightbulb […]
Once you have light for doing and light for knowing, it’s time to think about light for feeling. Can light impact how you feel? Imagine yourself driving a car. Suddenly, you see flashing red and blue lights coming from behind you. Your heartrate rises, your brain goes to high alert, and you reach a state […]
Light isn’t just for doing- it is also for knowing where we are, where we are going, and who we are with. Imagine yourself in a large room that is completely dark- you cannot see anything. Now add the most basic light for reading- a clip-on book light. You can see the pages now, yes? […]
Are you a Houzz.com user? Check out my article on the pros and cons of downlights by clicking the link below. The Pros and Cons of Recessed Lighting […]
Do you know how many footcandles you need to read a magazine? Most likely not, and there is no reason you should. But you are an expert at what you do in your home, and you need light to see it. You need a certain kind of light to read your magazine, light that illuminates […]