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DESIGNER versus DESIGNER?

Are interior designers and lighting designers competitive or complimentary? I am on my way home from my first trip to High Point Market and the relationship between interior designer and lighting designer is at the forefront of my mind, a direct result of the interactions I had at Market. Interior designers were everywhere – in […]

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Don’t Mock Me

A window with four panes in a wooden wall, lit from above with tape LED lights, it's dark outside

Light is a tricky substance.  You cannot hear it, taste it, feel it, or smell it.  You can only see light when it comes directly into your eyes or bounces off of something.  It is predictable, so long as you can memorize the trillions of possibilities and recall the correct answer. I can’t. Lighting design […]

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Does it cost more?

An industrial ceiling with red lamps hanging down at intervals

One of the reasons that light in our homes and workplaces is not good for us is that our primary considerations are 1) how cheaply can we get lighting and 2) how few watts can we use.  I am often asked “will good lighting cost more than regular lighting?” Yep. Let’s say you hire a […]

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Lighting Malady: 4CnF Syndrome

A yellow triangular warning sign with a lightbulb symbol and crossbones below it.

The most common lighting malady I diagnose is CFLS, or Ceiling Fan Light Syndrome.  Statistically speaking (and I am completely making this up), CFLS affects three of every four Americans at some point in their lives.  If you or someone you know is suffering from CFLS, please contact your designer immediately. One common side effect […]

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Houzz, Bulbs, & Photos

A brightly lit modern kitchen with drawings of three people doing various tasks in it

My latest story from Houzz.com shares the same information from my light bulb buying guide but in National Geographic Style (lots of pretty pictures).  I think that helps the medicine go down a bit better! Read my version of the story. A Lighting Pro’s 5 Tips for Buying LED Bulbs […]

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Rainbow Red Velvet

An illustration of a person holding a prism with light going in and a rainbow emerging with these words on each of the colors: Change easier, Focus clearly, Feel better, Know more, Do better

The Gift of Light must be fully unwrapped to be understood.  Inside the gift box of white light are all the colors of the rainbow, only visible when we split the wavelengths apart with a prism or raindrops.  The power of light is also multi-layered, affecting our lives in many ways.  My approach to better […]

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The Good Old Days of Light

An icon of a sun on the left labelled: how we used to light. An icon of an LED light bulb on the right labelled: how we light today.

I like to believe that I am a forward thinker and not a person who looks behind longingly at The Good Old Days. Most of the time. When it comes to architecture, I love where the world is headed. We’re seeing modern homes with large expanses of glass, schools with huge amounts of daylight, factories […]

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Lighting can hurt you.

An icon of a red light bulb with a smile to the left of an icon of a blue light bulb with a frown. Underneath it says "lighting can hurt you"

I believe light is a gift that can help us live better lives.  A powerful combination of human history, personal experience, and deepening research backs me up: light can help us sleep better, wake up easier, heal faster, feel happier, suffer less pain, reduce the symptoms of aging…and the list goes on. My teenage sons […]

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Kitchen Counter Lighting

The Right Light for Kitchen Counters (Read the companion story on Houzz.com) After the paint is dry and the counters are set in place, the kitchen becomes the most difficult place in the house to change.  Getting lighting on the countertops has to be done right the first time, and here are a few tips […]

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Long Nights Need Better Lights

A bedroom with a ceiling fan, several large pieces of art on the wall, and a low wide chest of drawers with a lamp on it. There are two lamps on either side of the bed.

My latest Houzz article shares four ways to brighten up these long, dark nights at home.  I forgot to add that wearing an LED headlamp might also help, but anyone who lives with you will get very annoyed.  On second thought, stick with the four options in the article.  Click on the image below, and […]

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Light Can Help You