It is time to retire your light switches and dimmers…if you want to get the full benefits of good light back into your life. Get them back? Yes, you and I lost out on natural light’s benefits when our ancestors decided houses were better than tents and offices were better than fields. They moved indoors, […]
Straight from the depths of the mind of a lighting designer, here comes another fascinating, edge-of-your-seat, page-turning buying guide for the most exciting of all light fixtures: under-cabinet LED tape light. Oh yeah! Buying LED tape light (those tiny flexible LED strips with adhesive backing) would be easier if it weren’t for the seemingly endless […]
While at a business lunch a few hours ago, I had to look up today’s sunset time so I could arrange to meet the client at the project site after dark to view the new lighting. My weather app told me 8:15. That’s good for tonight, as I won’t have to stay awake as long. […]
Experts tell me I should consider lighting as “the jewelry of the home.” This has always bothered me instinctually, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that I understood why. Jewelry is useless. Wait, wait, I am not advocating that we give up jewelry on our bodies and in our homes. I happen to […]
Let’s take a quick break from the philosophical and answer a very basic question: How do you choose light fixtures? The answer is different from room to room and from person to person, but here are a few tips to guide the process for your dining room. Step 1: Choose a Size Most online chandelier-sizing […]
So now you know- because I am certain you read all of my posts again and again until they are burned in memory- that we need light that helps us adapt to changes in tasks, times, eyes, and moods. Most of the time, I do not add any lights for changing. I add dimmers […]
If you’re looking to review the layers of light and apply them to your living room, my article on Houzz.com (link below) would be a good place to start. In addition to my oh-so-nifty sketch, you’ll find photographic examples of each layer from multiple projects in multiple styles. Enjoy! How to Light Your Living Room […]
My latest story published on Houzz.com (link below) features photos from Houzz’s deep archive of photos and a sketch that simplifies patio lighting into six ideas. Writing the articles is a fun challenge. How do I make lighting design digestible? Any suggestions you have are welcome. 🙂 6 Ideas for Lighting Your Patio […]
We used to have a better language for light, but lately we stick to words like LED, lumens, and color temperature. Necessary, perhaps, but not particularly inspiring. In history, we used words like Helios, Prometheus, Zeus, and Ra that belied our dependence on light. We organized our temples, our festivals, our stonehenges around light. We wrote […]
Sometimes I get questions that seem simple but are complex to answer. A recent Houzz reader asked me “what spacing should I use for my recessed downlights?” Yep, this post is definitely on the practical side. Hmm. A lot of “designers” have rules of thumb for spacing downlights- perhaps you need one for every so […]
Adapting to changing lighting conditions is so critical to the human visual experience that we have a body part designed just for this task- the iris. Each eye has a constantly changing aperture- opening- that allows us to see easily at sunset and at mid-day. The iris allows us to appreciate a candle-lit dinner and […]