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1THING: New Build Decks

I once read that the easiest ways to increase the sale price of your home were to paint the front door for a good first impression and add a deck to the back yard. I suppose adding a deck makes the back yard more enticing, perhaps even subconsciously saying to the buyer “purchase this home […]

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An illustration of a deck at dusk

1THING: Plug In Media Rooms

An illustration of a living room with a lamp next to a chair in front of a TV with a word bubble saying "lampshade reflected on a glossy screen"

One of the unexpected joys of my 1THING: Plug In series is the discovery of new ideas and techniques that I can instantly apply to my own home- and the affirmation that some of the solutions that have evolved naturally over time in my home make some sense after all. This post has both. In […]

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1THING: New Build Media Rooms

A diagram illustrating the different lighting zones in a living room, labelled "get in the zone"

With just two months left in my 2022 blogging plan, I’m already growing nostalgic about my 1THING posts. The artificial constraints of narrowing all lighting down to just a single solution for new builds or plug-in retrofits for a handful of common spaces gave me focus and structure for the year, and the sketching exercises […]

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1THING: Plug In Decks

An illustration of a deck with a helicopter hovering above it shining a light down, labelled "PHE (Police Helicopter Effect)"

Today is a notable day in my own fictitious universe, for I am awarding myself the fake Nobel Prize for Illumination Yakking. I toot my own proverbial horn because of my “discovery” of another “disease” rampant in residential lighting and – quite by accident – the theorizing of an ancillary condition. Yes, once again I […]

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THINK LIGHT: Quantity Versus Budget

An illustration labelled "The way it should not go:" A stick figure on the left is holding cash saying "Can you build me a new house?" with a label underneath that says "You. The expert of needs + bank account" A stick figure on the left is wearing a hardhat saying "Sure! it will take 3,127 2x4's and 6,246 nails." with a label underneath that says "the builder. the expert of construction methods + costs"

Budget conversations are my least favorite part of the lighting design process, though I have learned to dive right in rather than soft-pedal the costs and cause everyone bigger headaches down the road. The simple (unfortunate) truth is that really good lighting cannot be delivered for the same price as really bad lighting. Complicating the […]

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1THING: New Build Decks

An illustration of a deck at dusk

I once read that the easiest ways to increase the sale price of your home were to paint the front door for a good first impression and add a deck to the back yard. I suppose adding a deck makes the back yard more enticing, perhaps even subconsciously saying to the buyer “purchase this home […]

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EXPOSURE: Designing Lighting

Cover for Designing Lighting magazine for August 2022

The first article in my series on residential lighting for Designing Lighting is out, and I am honored to be a part of this magazine! Getting the series together was not easy, however, and I have a long way to go before all six articles are complete. What makes this hard? Writing for a peer […]

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