The Simple Gift of Light #4 Light can help you move with energy…and perform brilliantly all day long, no matter what you do. Sometimes I feel a bit like a huckster selling a miracle elixir when I talk about the benefits light can bring to our lives. I picture myself standing in a dusty wooden […]
Category: Living Rooms & Great Rooms
GIVING The Simple Gift of Light

Introducing a second new series for 2025 focused on practical advice for designers. Today I start a second new series for the year that I hope will make a strong compliment to the first. Last week I started the Simple Gift of Light series as a place to explore several key benefits of light in […]
The Simple Gift of Light

Introduction to a new series for 2025…and beyond? Light, to me, is the first divine gift of the universe. In the middle of a career centered on light, I have more questions than answers, despite knowing more than ever before. Why, for example, do so many people suffer from light that hurts as much as […]
Free Lighting Design: Worthless?

We recently lost a potential client to a manufacturer who offered “free” lighting design services (so long as you purchased fixtures from them, of course, which have the cost of service buried into the sale price). My first reaction was indignation but, as is often the case, a closer look revealed a much more nuanced […]
Dogs, Dust Bunnies, Downlights, & Disc Lights

In most of our kitchens, we prioritize our dogs or the dust bunnies that inevitably collect on top of cabinets, range hoods, and refrigerators. At least when planning light. We might put more money into our countertops, cabinets, backsplashes, sinks, and appliances than our floor, but we are systematically using the best light in the […]
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The Circle of Light

Not all that is new in lighting is much better. One of the newest trends in architectural and residential lighting is tubes of light about 1” in diameter. When I started my career a rather good number of years ago, we called these T8 Fluorescent Tubes, and they were universally loathed for their institutional feel. […]
We Need Commercialized Lighting Design.

Lately I have heard others describe my work and the work of my company as “not as good” as some others. They are right. That is my goal. I suspect that the average citizen, when asked to describe the work of an architect, might wander into descriptions of skyscrapers and art museums. Frank Gehry, Zaha […]
EXPOSURE: Daring to go Digital

It is time for our lighting systems to move out of the analog Stone Age and into the Digital Era. I’m working on a new CEU focused entirely on the topic and actively exploring the case for change, the systems, and the benefits. I got a jump start writing for Residential Systems in January’s issue […]
Fine Homebuilding Downlight Guide

Fine Homebuilding Magazine is a well-crafted publication focused on the craft of building better and I was honored to be included for my fourth article with them. This time, I focused on products more than applications, a bit of a departure for me and a fun exercise. The result is an 8-page guide to recessed […]
DON’T/DO THIS: Living Rooms

I confess that sketching for the Don’t/Do This series is as fun as it is challenging. While this series allows me much greater freedom than last year’s 1THING series, that freedom comes packaged with a desire to “say it all” in a single room, a single sketch, or a single post. And if I know anything about lighting design, […]