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LIVING ROOMS: Pick the Products

Giving the Simple Gift of Light #8 “THE CLAW CHOOSES WHO WILL GO AND WHO WILL STAY” – Alien #17, Toy Story Sometimes choosing light fixtures can seem like an arcade game, and that is not a good thing. You take a good look at the products but cannot quiet the nagging suspicion that there […]

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1THING: New Build Bedrooms

An illustrated depiction of a bedroom featuring a bed fit for two, two lamps on either side, and a ceiling fan. Script text at the bottom reads "Lamps are great...but usually not enough."

I am having fun with both 1THING series, and this week’s post on bedrooms is no exception. I am pretty good at overcomplicating things, so the mental gymnastics of forcing myself to make a single choice is proving to be good exercise. Plus, I think I might quit my job so I can just sketch and doodle […]

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What is Lighting Design?

On the left, there is a light switch connected to two light fixtures by a wire. All three items have a red tag with a white $ indicating that this is an affordable setup. On the right, there is the same setup with slight variations on details, making the items more elegant. The red tags on these show two and three $ indicating that it is more expensive. Below the left section, text reads in quotation marks "regular lighting." The text below the right section reads in quotation marks "lighting design."

“What do you do for a living?” inquired my seat mate on a recent flight. “I am a lighting designer,” I replied. [BLANK STARE] Explaining my job is, well, difficult at best. If people have any awareness of lighting design, it likely falls into the sentiments displayed in the image above. Our lighting plans, so […]

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GEAR TALK: COB Tape Light

An illustration of four different types of COB tape types and the wiring that goes inside them.

Just about two and a half years ago I saw my first sample of COB tape light and I bet my jaw literally dropped. Tape light- a generic name for flexible linear LED strips- is a key tool in our quest for good lighting. We use it just about everywhere, and that makes us a […]

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Exposure: A Better Bath

A photograph of small circular lighting fixtures in a shower stall.

  In the fourth and final SMART LIGHTING SERIES video from Wipliance, Lee and I take a quick bathroom break to explore the Light Can Help You approach to lighting. We push back against common trends like downlights over the sink and vanity lights over the mirror to deliver a better experience. We also use a […]

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THINK LIGHT: Color Temperature

An illustration of a camera recording a lightbulb on a monitor. The lightbulb is yellow, but is depicted as green on the monitor. Text below reads "Why Choosing Color Temperature is Hard"

A few years ago I wrote a pulp piece for Houzz.com on how to choose the “right” color temperature of light. At the time there were just a few choices homeowners faced with lighting: choose 2700°K warm white, 3000°K not-quite-as-warm light, or perhaps 3500°K “neutral” white or 4000°K cool light. I recommended 2700°K for traditional […]

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Exposure: The Dallas Kitchen

A photograph of an illuminated kitchen with a small island.

  Lee Travis and his team from Wipliance released their third video shot in the ProSource Lighting Technology and Learning Center in Dallas, Texas! Lee and I discuss layered lighting in kitchens in this short video. We designed the Learning Center to share good lighting with others, and I am thrilled with this shoot join […]

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Exposure: Dallas Part 2

A photograph of a well-lit living room

  Wipliance is rolling them out fast and furiously! Their second video in the series showcases the main interior living area of the ProSource Lighting Technology and Learning Center in Dallas, Texas. It was fun filming with Lee Travis of Wipliance, though I confess it does get a little embarrassing watching myself on camera. All […]

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Light Can Help You