The Simple Gift of Light #10 There is a part of me that wants lighting design to be so complicated, technical, and artistic that no one else tries it, leaving all of the opportunities to me. In this fantasy world- the one where lighting is too complex for ordinary citizens to grasp- I get to […]
Category: Home Offices
The Glare Zone
The Simple Gift of Light #9 Comfort. Work. Safety. Three of our lighting zones have names that invoke ideas that most of us want: few would say “no comfort, please.” The Glare Zone, however, has a much different ring to it. Perhaps every human eye should come with a READ ME FIRST! warning, every home […]
Coming in January…
2026 is going to be an epic year. The first of several major announcements is coming soon. Stay tuned…. […]
Dumb…or Digital?
Would you rather invest in expensive electrical equipment or your quality of life? Recently one of our custom integration partners asked me why homeowners should choose digitally controlled lighting over panelized dimming systems. As a lighting professional, the choice is so clear to me that it can be difficult to imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to go […]
The Comfort Zone
The Simple Gift of Light #8 I am looking out my window as I write, and the neighborhood is filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of autumn. It is the time of year when, in Wisconsin where I currently live, we pull out our puffy jackets, fleece zip-ups, stocking caps, and gloves. We light […]
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 […]
In the Zones
The Simple Gift of Light #7 The key benefits of light- gentle mornings, energetic days, relaxing evenings, and restful nights- come only when we consume the right light at the right time. But what makes some lighting good and other lighting bad? There are seemingly endless technical considerations that quickly get overwhelming and, honestly, few […]
What’s Your Angle?
Giving the Simple Gift of Light #8 Lighting design is at once quite simple and quite challenging, and the concept of viewing angle is a perfect example of this paradox. Simply put, light travels in a straight line and so does our vision, which makes predicting glare and comfort easy. Easy, that is, so long […]
THINK LIGHT, Think Flooring
One of the perennially difficult aspects of the role of lighting designer is the struggle over budget allocation. Lighting is most often viewed as a utility or commodity, something to be installed as cheaply as possible, but that too often robs the homeowners of comfort, relaxation, energy, and more. So how do we help homeowners […]
LIVING ROOMS: Pick the Places 1
Giving the Simple Gift of Light #6 Welcome to the capital city of relaxation, also known as your Living Room. In my own home, the living room is notable as the location of The Couch. Yes, I capitalized it and no, I do not really refer to our couch that way. In fact, it is […]