Author: lightingbyjeffrey

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Aesthetic Lighting Help

Interesting Things I Saw in NYC/ICFF/BDNY/LightFair 2021

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Every year (COVID 2019/2020 excluded) I spend a long weekend, or two in New York. I plan my trip(s) around the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and another design-related show that attracts my attention. In the past, the Architectural Digest Design Show, NY Now and BDNY have provided a second reason to visit. This year, LightFair gave me that excuse. During two visits, I try to absorb ideas, trends and directions that provide a vison of where we are and where we are headed in home furnishings. This year, ICFF was combined with BDNY and Most Wanted, a show featuring emerging home furnishings and design talent. Outside of the show, I visit galleries, showrooms, window-shop and poke around the many corners of the city to simply absorb.

This is the first of two posts covering my trips of 2021. It is concentrated on lighting. The next post will review interesting “non-lighting” (basically, everything else!) finds.

Pure Edge TruTrack

So much track lighting looks like it is pasted on the ceiling. While we need the light at various points around the room, to do so, the track must build a path to those assorted locations. TruTrack is only 5/8” deep, so it can be mounted directly on studs. The drywall is then installed against the track. After following the finishing instructions and using a paintable track cover, the track disappears into the ceiling! Only the head is visible. Finally, a clean look on the ceiling where track is needed.

https://www.pureedgelighting.com/pure/products/trutrack.php

Hide-A-Trim

In the same way that TruTrack allows the track to disappear, Hide-A-Trim has developed tools to hide wall mounted light switches and GCOs. The componentry works with all of the popular brands of control devices. Paint and wall covering expose only the usable or moving parts of the controls.

Hide-A-Trim – Flush mounted GCO

Artemide Lighting

LED has allowed for a complete rethinking of how we build luminaires. The Shoegun lamp rethinks the purpose of a lampshade, dividing it in half and forcing each section to diffuse the light in an unusual and different way.

The classic 1960s Eclisse design has been reintroduced in a series of metallic finishes. As with the Shoegun, an inner-shade can be rotated to serve as a regulator of the light. The size, colors and functionality make these little table lamps highly desirable again.

Artemide – Shoegun Lamp with two, adjustable half-shades
Artemide – Eclisse portable lamps with directional shields.

Kartell

Kartell has always been known for fine acrylic that elevated simple product beyond what “plastic” means to most people. They have so often played with classic designs, typified by the Louis XV inspired, Ghost Chair that I should not have been surprised to see the fine facet-cut crystal rendered in acrylic. These smoke, clear and amber pendants and lamps (Planet) are dazzling.

Equally interesting are the lace inspired resin lamps (Kabuki.) With an offset inner and outer shell, the result is much more delicate than one would expect from thermoplastic!

Kartell – SOHO window featuring the Planet lighting products with a cut-crystal feel.

https://www.kartell.com/US/en

Kartell – SOHO window featuring the Kabuki lamp with a resin-lace look.

Ochre

Ochre does not introduce a lot of new products, but what they present is always intriguing and subtle. Mandala is a soft porcelain rectangle with light that peeks out from behind, with just the softest glowing ring in the face of the porcelain. Very ethereal. https://ochre.us/

Ochre – Mandala sconce with light through and around a delicate porcelain plate.

Original BTC

The new Pebble pendant from Original BTC uses plates of English bone china that are stacked into a sphere to deliver a warm alabaster glow. BTC excels in the use of fine china and each year I look forward to their new pieces, even though they are a bit more transitional than my person preferences. https://www.originalbtc.com/?country=United%20States&cclcl=en_US&redirectSeoId

Original BTC – SOHO showroom front window – Pebble Pendant featuring overlapping English bone china plates.

Bandido

This Mexican company is turning marble into beautifully handcrafted lighting. The NAGA pendant features a collar of marble that encases the diffuser and is topped by a metal cone. This is nicely done marble from a place where polished stone usually means inexpensive souvenir trinkets. This is heirloom quality. https://www.bandidostudio.com/

Bandido – NAGA pendant features a polished stone center ring,

Secto Design

Secto is a Finnish company that has created a line of paper-based laminate covered birch wood. The result is delicate and airy. The pendants seem to float in space (actually, they do, albeit via a cord!) The lightness is accentuated with an LED light source that is tucked up inside and almost invisible, allowing the rays of light to play along with the scored wood shading. I loved this warm Scandinavian feel. This is a look immediately on-trend today with the rise of “Japandi” styling.

https://www.sectodesign.fi/en-us

Secto Design – Paper based laminate covered birch wood shade.

Pablo

You can always count on Pablo to deliver an interesting and exciting new luminaire. This year, Luci forces a rethinking of what we think we know about portable lamps. Luci is unencumbered with cords. These are rechargeable and lightweight floor and table lamps. Light can be brought along wherever it is needed.

Danish company, Luxicole showed a similar product. It however featured a weighty base that subtracted from the light simplicity of the idea. Nonetheless, it is still a nice design.

http://www.pablodesigns.com/

Koncept

Do women still use compacts? The women in my life do not, but Koncept took this purse staple and turned it into the Gravy Wall Sconce. As the photo suggests, all manner of color and patterns are fair game, but more importantly, the reflective “lid” is fully adjustable, allowing the amount and direction of light to be adjusted as needed. This is a fun, playful little luminaire!

https://www.koncept.com/

Koncept – Gravy Wall Sconce with an adjustable front “compact” lid.

Nina Magon for Studio M

Studio M showed a collection of products designed by Houston based, Nina Magon called Zeppelin that made wonderful use of LED. The cylinders of glass feature linear etchings and are encased in a structural frame that hides the light source. That light magnifies the etch and defines the design. It is an elegant collection of light.

https://www.studiomlighting.com/

Nina Magon for Studio M – Zeppelin collection with a linear etched diffuser surrounded by a metal frame.

Aaron Ethan Green

A standout in the Wanted Design section of the show was the Roe collection by Brooklyn designer, Aaron Ethan Green and it was so simple. A collection of marble-sized glass spheres are gathered together in a cluster, reminiscent of fish eggs, hence the name, Roe. Light is nicely diffused and they look so delicate as a pendant or sconce.

https://www.aaronethangreen.com/

Aaron Ethan Green – Roe lighting collection features a collection of marble-sized spheres clustered together.

Roll & Hill

No trip to SOHO is complete without a visit to the Roll & Hill showroom. Imagine my disappointment when I found paper on the windows. Not to worry, they are adding a collection of furniture to their lighting lines that I am sure will be great. Sadly, I was unable to see their new Deco collection, Moonrise. As we exit a fairly strong Mid-Century trend, look for many people to find solace in Art Deco, or pieces that have an inkling of deco. Moonrise is perhaps more than an inkling, but nevertheless interesting and exciting.

https://www.rollandhill.com/

Roll & Hill – Moonrise collection.

Wood

There was a fair amount of wood used in lighting at the show. Much of it borrowing heavily from actual tree architecture. There were driftwood chandeliers, raw wood pendants and this polished tree branch lamp from Joel Seigle, a Brooklyn wood designer. Indo Puri went back to woven wicker, rattan, etc. to create folk-world and earthy lighting products.

https://joelseigle.com/

Joel Seigle – Wood portable lamp.

http://www.indopuri.com/lights.html

Retail

On a sad note, some of my favorite spots in New York closed. It might be hard to say if this is COVID related, or a result of internet sales, but the wildly inventive Ingo Mauer SOHO showroom is no more. Since his recent death, this may be the result of a company change or…? The Stickbulb SOHO showroom also closed. I wonder if this is a trend with no end in sight. I’ll see, when I return in May 2022.

I hope some of these new lighting ideas will inspire you. They sure motivated my creative juices! Remember, my next post will cover “non-lighting” ideas that caught my attention. I know. What could be better than lighting? Stay tuned!

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Aesthetic Lighting Help

May You Have A Well-Lit Holiday Season!

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Many years ago, I participated in an energy-use roundtable. Sitting around the perimeter of a hotel ballroom were representatives from energy producers (utility companies) energy program authors/administrators, governmental agencies and manufacturers. Many aspects of energy use were discussed, but I have been unable to forget the continual pleas from the Canadian utility representatives for more energy efficient holiday lighting. Throughout the day, it was brought up multiple times by all of the electrical producers in attendance. Finally, at about the three-quarter mark in the proceedings, one of the Americans asked what many of us were thinking. “Holiday lighting has been mentioned multiple times by every Canadian sitting around this table. Could someone explain why?”

At that point, all of the Canadians (knowingly) giggled. One of the members of the contingency from BC Hydro, the electric producer for the British Columbia province swallowed his laughter and helped us ill-informed Americans with a little known fact. According to the utilities, Canada is the world’s per-capita leader in the use of holiday lighting. (I have no way of confirming this, but if anyone should know, it was these electricity executives.) The period of time from the second week of December to sometime in mid-January represents the largest levels of electric consumption over the entire year. All production must be geared toward that six to eight week period of electricity demand. ANY reduction, however small is considered a gift to producers. Simply put, holiday lighting dictates their business.

This meeting occurred at the heady early days of energy efficient lighting. Much has changed since. Canada outlawed anything other than LED holiday lights and both Canada and America have made significant strides toward better lighting. Knowing that, let me leave you with a few holiday lighting tips.

  • Outdoors, it is best to remember, less is more. Clark Griswold probably doesn’t live in your neighborhood, but even if he, or his ilk do, your home will be better noticed with a subtle application of festivity.
  • Many people love to set up a “spot light” on their front door for the holiday season. I’m not sure when and why this started, but here we are, stuck with tradition. In this regard, I urge you to revolt. DO NOT light your front door with a spot! Don’t give your relatives an opportunity to quote Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Bruce Springsteen or The Weekend (depending on age!) Aim the spot on a beautiful tree and save yourself a New Year’s law suit because your great aunt was unable to see the porch steps. (We’ll ignore the fact that she had a fourth egg nog.)
  • Telemarketers have been advertising a child’s “cuddly toy” that shoots light out of its belly, delivering a celestial pattern onto the nursery or bedroom ceiling. Yikes! This thing scares the hell out of me! Without better information on the color of light, the lumen intensity and its impact on sleep, I’d run far away from this product. No one needs an insomniac youngster. Buy a stuffed narwhal or cobra instead. It will be safer!

Most importantly, have a wonderful holiday. Please overeat. Have one more drink. Tip your taxi/Uber/Lyft/Curb driver. Resolve to pay more attention to lighting in the New Year. Of all resolutions, this is the one that will deliver dividends for many years to come! Life is too short to live with poor lighting.

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Technical Lighting Help

Non-Visual Photoreceptors

What the heck are non-visual photoreceptors and why do I care about them? I’m not a research scientist, so let me explain this in the way I understand it. Please don’t use this simplified explanation in your application for a Nobel Prize!

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When I started to research the color of light and its impact on human health, perhaps ten years ago, I became aware of the circadian cycle built into the human body (and almost every animal.) Our understanding of the circadian rhythm is actually new science. It was first realized in 2000. At the time, we began to learn about non-visual receptors in our eyes (iPRGC) whose singular job is to detect levels of blue light, thereby turning on and off the body’s production of melatonin, which in turn drives our circadian. More recently, scientists have learned that there are other factors that control this important body-clock.

An educational session at LightFair 2021 talked about new research that has uncovered additional non-visual photoreceptors that help our body function, based on the color of light with which they interface.

In a previous post, (Baseball and Lighting) I reminded readers that our body was engineered with only natural light in mind. The body needs blue light during the day and darkness at night. Unfortunately, we have chosen, over the last 100 years or so to live in opposition to the natural environment, employing artificial light. That artificial light presents to our body wavelengths different than the sun’s and different than what we need, hence the health problems we are encountering.

Melanopsin regulates the circadian with input from the iPRGC in the eye. New research indicates we have other “light sensing proteins,” opsins that have their own specific demand for light and their own specific reason for needing it. Because artificial light does not now deliver that type of wavelength, adverse medical conditions are occurring. Opsin 5, Neuropsin is located in the brain, skin, retina and cornea. Opsin 4, Encephalopsin is found in the brain, skin, retina and fat cells. That means there are tissues in our body that are light sensitive.

It is believed that a reduction of the light anticipated by these opsins is responsible for elevated retinopathy in infants, increases in myopia and the regulation of metabolism. Most every lighting system used today is designed, understandably, for the body’s visual system. In the future, we will likely need to design and employ systems that address the needed wavelengths of light by these opsins.

How Will This Be Done?

Again, we should remember the sun. The sun delivers light at every wavelength, in varying values. By looking at the research and the levels of light required, engineers can create artificial light commensurate with the needs of our visual system AND our non-visual receptors.

The direction in which light reaches us is also important. As you know, most artificial light comes to us from overhead, but the sun travels through the sky in an ever-changing pattern starting very low in the morning, overhead at midday and again, near the opposite horizon in the evening. That means our bodies anticipate more vertical light than we currently receive. We should expect this solution to come in fewer ceiling flush lights, more task plane lighting and even illuminated walls and panels.

At this point, there are some products on the market that address this need. As the research continues and grows, expect to see and hear more. Just remember, like so much in lighting lately, change is afoot!

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Lighting Commentary

Lighting Found In A Crystal Ball

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Perhaps the most well-attended educational program at LightFair is a survey of progress in the lighting industry. One of the speakers started their portion with a reminder of Amara’s Law. I think it a great place to begin this assessment also.

“We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” – Roy Amara

Think back when LED was new. It was a panacea. Light would last 100,000 hours. Cancer would be cured. Cost would be reduced to pennies. Over-estimated? Check. The first half of the law is true.

Today, LED technology is saving millions of dollars in energy costs. The color of light is now more in-tune with the designed environment. LED can be wavelength configured to the demands of edible plants and thereby increase growth and yield, resulting in a reduction in hunger. Science is moments away from stating unequivocally that specific colors of light at specific times can aid in a variety of health concerns, sleeplessness and wellbeing. LED is poised to be a vehicle for increased home automation, better wireless communication and even more paradigm changes. Yet, we think of LED as a different type of light bulb. Under estimated? Check. The second half of the law is also true.

To bounce us from this complacency, here are a few of the things we can expect in the future. LED and solid-state lighting should not yet be taken for granted.

  • Expect better dimming, better color, more color tuning opportunities, tighter tolerances (variations) in output, and smaller physical size of the light source.
  • More granular lighting controls, down to each and every luminaire in a huge office complex, controlled via a smart phone app or computer program. If available already, added simplicity is around the corner.
  • The LED will become a critical sub-function of the much more complex communication technology employ into the future. More “processing” will be built into each luminaire making the actual lighting fixture a vehicle by which the building or home operates. This will increase the building’s operational efficacy and increase the occupant’s satisfaction.
  • Thanks to LED, wireless communication will increase its occupation in the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, thereby expanding the capacity by huge percentages. LiFi is on its way to become bigger than WiFi.
  • Autonomous vehicles will not require street lighting, further reducing electric demand. Even if driverless cars are not fully implemented, street lighting can be switched to an “on demand” mode via communication between the lamp post and the vehicle.
  • All of these changes within a category we can call, “lighting” will open the floodgates for bigger changes in quantum computing, brain interface computing and building-based, low-voltage electricity.         

Could all of this slip right into the primary phrase of Amara’s Law again? Have I and the futurists overestimated the impact of light in the next twenty years? Check back on my blog page in November of 2041!

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Lighting Commentary

LightFair 2021

Untitled – Robert Gober 1991
How many lighting pros who attended LightFair in New York, visited The Whitney Museum and commented on their brilliant name for this unsettling, untitled sculpture? “Foot-candle” anyone?

For those of you unfamiliar, LightFair is an annual tradeshow dedicated to lighting. Twenty years ago, when America started to seriously consider energy efficiency, the aging show received a needed jolt of purpose. Booth after booth featured creative ways to use fluorescent light. HID lighting gained more respect. Even Cold Cathode lighting briefly reappeared. Then, LED arrived.

The introduction of white LED again energized the lighting business. LightFair took on even more value. For the first time in 130 years, we were going to reconsider general lighting with new technology. The show was abuzz with thousands of people talking about light. For a guy who spend a career engulfed in lighting, nirvana had arrived. Change was coming to a dinosaur industry. LightFair provided a platform for displaying, marketing and learning about all the things necessary to create great light with LED. For the next five to eight years, it became THE place to go. LightFair was indispensable.

While the technology continued to improve, growth spurts were soon replaced with marginal, more predictable, year-over-year improvements. LightFair turned in a “connectivity” and “Smart” conference. That lasted until our understanding of the needs of plants grew and horticultural lighting had become the prom queen and king of the show for a year or two.

That brings us to the 2021 edition, just wrapped in New York. Radically smaller and in some ways less self-assured, it was a general disappointment. Sure, much can be blamed on travel reluctance on the part of companies and attendees. The few people there repeated the hopeful mantra, “Wait until Vegas.” (Las Vegas will host the 2022 edition, June 19-23.) While it might be better, almost anything will be, I’m not so sure we will see the vigorous enthusiasm witnessed in the near past. Here are a few reasons.

The End of Seismic Change

This year we again saw growth in efficacy, better understanding of “smart” communication protocols that span products and brands, better color, tighter binning and exciting implementations, the changes were smaller steps than we have enjoyed for almost twenty years. With fewer “ah-ha” moments and stunning discoveries, will attendance return? A 3% growth doesn’t warrant a trip to a trade show. Incandescent-like changes are the reason the show was melting just prior to the demand for better efficacy.

Deteriorating Trade Show Value

I remember the excitement and value that was brought from trade show attendance twenty years ago. This was pre-internet. Catalogs were carted back home via an empty piece of luggage, brought for that specific reason. Companies showed “brand new” products for the first time. Attendance meant you were getting a sneak preview of the next big thing. After returning back to your office, it took a few days to decompress and fully embrace the things just learned.

That is not the case today. Very little “new” is displayed. Booths are filled with flat screens (just like the internet!) to detail the products offered. Catalogs are not displayed, because they are not wanted, or needed. The information is available online. Booth workers appear bored, their heads buried in their mobile phones. With little sizzle to sell and see, what is the point?

Human interaction was however, very much on display. After our long world nightmare, that is surely understood. I must admit, it was nice to catch up with the few people I did know. Does a casual fist-bump, an update on family/golf handicaps or an exchange on work and company justify attending a trade show? The positive evidence is shrinking.

A New Generation of Workers

Trade Shows are a byproduct of the Boomer Generation and the tail end of the Silent Generation. When the economy tanked in 2008. Boomers did not bring the next generation along to shows. They were left in the office to work without information gleaned from shows. This forced them to double-down on unearthing information from online sources. As the economy righted itself, boomers retired and Gen Xers never took their place at shows. They simply did not need information presented in this fashion. They didn’t need the social connection either, having gathered their own circle of influence, also online. An alternate informational and social path is now in play. Millennial and Gen Z workers are even further entrenched in this new medium. It’s too late to change now.

What Happens Now?

Trade shows will likely limp along. As more and more Boomers disappear, smart companies will understand the diminishing returns provided by participation. Shows might consolidate to remain viable for a few additional years, but ultimately, they will die like traveling circuses, Howard Johnson restaurants and incandescent light bulbs.

That said, the next few blog post will reiterate some of the exciting things I picked up during the educational programs presented at LightFair. I’d like to think the educational aspect might keep trade shows alive, but alas, attendance there has always been slimmer than floor attendance. It was even more exaggerated this year. I know from personal experience that online education is more and more in demand. The attendance of my monthly training sessions is ten-fold of what I could attract in-person at any of the scores of trade shows I appeared over the years. The disappearance of LightFair does not mean technology and research will stop. We will simply learn of it in a different way. Sound familiar?

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Technical Lighting Help

Baseball and Lighting

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Summer has ended and that means we’re in the thick of baseball playoffs and well into football season, with most taking place under artificial light. The first Major League baseball game played at night, under a lighted stadium took place in Cincinnati, at Crosley Field on May 24, 1935. The Reds beat the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and a new era in sporting events was born. Along with baseball, high school football games are typically played on Friday nights under the lights. There was even a movie and popular television show that co-opted the term – Friday Night Lights. The NFL regularly schedules professional games on Monday, Thursday and Sunday nights and NCAA football features numerous games on Saturday night. (Should Tuesday and Wednesday feel slighted?) Lighted fields are de rigureur. We might wonder, without light, would these games be as popular? Without popular nighttime competition, would we have fewer self-centered, millionaire, adult-teenagers? One thing is certain, it would be as smaller business.

Before electric lighting, people awoke with the sun and went to sleep at sunset. Work in the fields was impossible in the dark. Candles and fire could provide only a few additional hours of light, before prudence forced their being extinguished. Light substitutes were expensive. Tallow candles in 1880 cost 40¢ per 1000 lumen hours. A fluorescent lamp cost about $0.001 per 1000 lumen hours for the same amount of light. The kerosene required for three hours of light cost about one hour of a workers wage at the time, while today, one hour’s pay buys about 300 days of light.* Sure, baseball would be different, but home life would be equally affected.

Would there be positives to an absence of nighttime illumination? An agrarian economy would likely still exist, forcing most of us to heed the dictates of the sun. Dark nights and blue-rich, sun-filled days are exactly what our body wants and needs. This circadian balance would, with a few exceptions, end sleepless nights and insomnia. There is mounting evidence that cancer rates would be lowered as melatonin levels are no longer suppressed. Of course we’d all need to balance that against the grueling hours of backbreaking physical labor.

We are living in a bit of a lighting renaissance today. The engineers have abandoned 130 year old incandescent technology and continue to escalate improvements in LED. That has allowed designers to reimagine what light could be. Doctors and scientist are developing a better grasp on how light impacts humans (and animals and plants and sea life and….) Both will allow us to enjoy the advantages of light and avoid all of the bad parts light used to deliver.

So is there a happy medium between Laura Ingalls and Aldous Huxley? We are still a few years away from definitive directives on light from the scientific community, but the direction is becoming VERY clear. If we think about a time when farm families arose early, spent most of day out of doors and prepared for sleep around the reddish-amber color of firelight, the closer we can replicate that, the better off we will be today. Our bodies have not changed, the surroundings in which we place them have. In short, we need to consider attending more day-games and fewer nighttime gridiron matches. Despite its impact on team owners’ player’s and groupie’s pocketbooks.

*Steven Johnson, How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World 2015.

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Aesthetic Lighting Help Technical Lighting Help

Too Much Light, or Not Enough?

A friend allowed me to borrow a book he thought would interest me. The 99% City (Mars & Kohlstedt) is described as “a field guide to the hidden world of everyday design” whereby it explores the important, but overlooked elements that make a city function. He knows my passion for better lighting and called my attention to sections on street lighting.

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Not Enough Light

“City of Light – Dissuasive Illumination,” explains that street light was an early way to make streets safer at night. They raised visibility and invited community. Street lights are certainly not new. Ancient Roman, Chinese and 15th century Europe all found value in better nighttime illumination and levels of use continued to increase, until, the book points out, there was pushback. Dark nights were good places for French Revolutionists. On the opposite side of the equation, people engaging in unseemly activities also preferred the dark.

Too Much Light

Another chapter, “Moonlight Towers” talks about the multi-story, arc-light towers that were constructed in Austin, Texas, among other US municipalities in the 1890s. Along with the required daily replacement of the electrodes, the noise, waste and intense glare caused push-back from residents. They were eventually removed in every city, except for the cash-strapped, Austin. The un-electrified towers remain as an indicator of the city’s historic past. Welder’s helmets, no longer required.

Like Austin, at that time, most of our cities are over-lit. Every alleyway has lighting, car lots are blasted with light all night and downtowns are bombarded with excess light that often does nothing but erase our ability to see the sky. Plants and animals are subsequently impact by excess nighttime lighting, effecting migratory patterns, nocturnal predators, adjoining aquatic life and a fairly large swath of conifer varietals, among other plants.

Just the Right Amount of Light

We are nearing a similar “good/bad, more/less light” position today. New research has been published recently that shows lower levels of light, but with better color properties is better for the user, pedestrian and worker in nighttime situations. Most of these measurements are substantially below government mandated levels. We all know that changing government regulations is akin to a “U” turn in an aircraft carrier, but the enticement of lower electric costs should make change inevitable.

Many people still believe more light is better and even higher levels of light are even better than that. Simply put, they are wrong. Our eyes function very well in extremely low levels of light and are slow to adjust to higher levels. Turn on the bedroom light in the middle of the night and you’ll know what I mean. This can be a difficult argument to win, however, especially when perceptions of safety are at stake.

Roadblocks!

Just as headway was being made in convincing people to reduce lumen amounts in outdoor residential applications, energy efficiency introduced better fluorescent, then new LED lamping. Light quantities popped back up. With integrated LED luminaires, the lumen output is staying high and a front porch light is often the last place you’ll find a dimmer. The use of color temperatures over 3000 doesn’t help either. In an effort to do the right thing, the unexpected consequence was the wrong thing. Sigh.

I have always recommended the lowest wattage possible for any surface mounted light on a home, especially if a professional landscape lighting solution has been installed. Anything higher will force visitors to squint as they approach the door. As we adjust to energy efficient product, find the LED lamp that delivers 200 to 400 lumens rather than the 800 lumens you got from a 60 watt incandescent lamp. If using an integrated luminaire, (bravo to you!) install a dimmer. Your guests, along with the birds and trees will thank you.

I do not expect lighting professionals to become Robespierre, shouting “À la lanterne!” if lower light levels are not heeded. (Lampposts served as impromptu gallows for hanging during la révolution française.) I hope some common sense is employed and a happy balance between no light and too much is found. Now, if we are going to argue over the effectiveness of the Jacobins or Cordelier factions as they relate to the French Revolution, a lamppost might be in order. On or off won’t make a difference.

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Aesthetic Lighting Help Technical Lighting Help

Assistance With Lighting

During a recent lecture with a large group of designers, “lighting brand recommendations” was the most popular request I received. Because there are so many brands, it is often difficult for designers, to say nothing of the typical consumer to wrap their arms around this broad category. Combine that with placement optimization and technology changes and the average consumer and professional designer is left with a challenge. So what do you do?

Lighting Designer

As lighting becomes more and more complicated, the need for a professional, well-versed in the practice is becoming more important. The percentage of projects that employ a designer to specifically address lighting is in the single digits. That must increase. LED has created “The Wild, Wild West” where new suppliers crop-up hourly, deliverables are knowingly, or unknowingly exaggerated and the foundation a conventional 60-watt light bulb provided has been shattered. People can’t intuitively relate to lumens. They don’t understand integrated installations and luminaire-control compatibility remains a mystery. We won’t even try to broch the subject of voice-controlled, smart systems.

While it could be a pipe dream, I have to think the employment of lighting designers will increase in the coming years. With Boomers and Gen X holding large percentages of wealth, residential projects should be increasing in value and a desire for a “better” lighting option should be inevitable. Insuring great lighting that saves money and performs more effectively will be worth the professional fees associated with the expertise delivered.

A Friend in the Biz

Weeding through the mass of decorative product is almost as daunting. One of the most popular requests I receive is for a curated list of lighting options. With selected furniture, floor-coverings, window dressings and wall-covering choices made, “What are the decorative lighting options?” if you talk to anyone who works in lighting, this is a common request. Showrooms display a thousand products. E-retailors fill websites with postage-stamp sized images of 36” diameter chandeliers. Both have pros and cons. An internet site allows you to shop in your PJs with no disturbance other than the incessant pop-ups. In the store size and scale is easier to imagine, if there weren’t so darned many other pieces encroaching on the vision. Mass retailers hang hundreds on wire racks, far overhead in a lovely warehouse setting. If that doesn’t get the creative juices flowing, I can’t imagine what will!

Having someone whittle the mass down to four or six options can be amazingly helpful for many people. Unfortunately, not everyone knows someone in lighting. That is why the next group is so valuable.

Lighting Sales People

You can’t buy a mattress without a salesperson. Try; it’s just too complicated. A salesman-free car buying experience could be a joy, unfortunately it is all but impossible, even via an online site. It is time to respect Lighting Salespeople more. Most are real pros. Most have multiple years of experience. A large quantity are ALA (American Lighting Association) Certified. While the average citizen buys a lighting product every seven years, these folks think about, discuss and learn about lighting daily. They are a great resource. What’s more, they are free! Talk to them online or in the retail establishment and they will provide a career of expertise.

Remember, many earn a commission. If you’ve received usable information, buy the luminaire from them! They worked. You learned. Respect that and allow them to earn money and help the next person. Didn’t get what you needed from the sales person? Ask for someone else or try another establishment. Perhaps the lighting store owner is trying to staff their place with minimum wage, junior-high school dropouts. They might be crappy employers and pros refuse to work for them. Taking your business elsewhere will help them understand their poor decisions. Just buy from a quality retailor with good salespeople.

HELP!

When each room in a home featured one light bulb in the center of each room, it was simpler. When each city had one retailer handling lighting and the internet was not yet imagined, it was simpler. Before LED, Smart Homes, Energy Efficiency and sustainability, it was simpler. Now, we need help to insure we are specifying, buying and using the best lighting options possible. Whether it is a Lighting Designer, a professional lighting salesperson or (if you’re lucky) a friend in the business, call them. You’ll be amazed at the difference they make. You’ll be amazed at the difference it will make in your home or business.

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Aesthetic Lighting Help Technical Lighting Help

Consider the Application

So often, aesthetics drive our lighting selection. We pick a luminaire with the idea that it blends well with the surroundings, is decoratively relevant and has spacial parameters that fit in the room. Often times, we overlook the use, or application. That can be a big mistake.

When I started to exercise at my current gym, three corners of the room were somewhat dimly lit. That was ok with me. One corner held bench press equipment and the other two are used for mat work (crunches, abs, etc.) A few years ago, someone must have walked through the place and noticed the inconsistency. The dark corners could easily be resolved with the addition of new lighting fixtures. In a day or two, three new, 2×24 fluorescent wrap-around fixtures were installed and the overall lumen intensity was much more balanced. Great, right? Not so much.

Whether on a mat or under a barbell, you are looking up at the ceiling. Now, instead of non-aggressive overflow lighting from the rest of the room, a glaring light pokes users in the eye as they attempt a crunch or a lift. I realized this a few months ago when the gym reopened after the COVID shutdown. The mats and benches were relocated to a space that features indirect light. Initially, I didn’t understand why I was enjoying my workout more (or, enjoying it as much as one can!) As I laid on the bench or the mat, glaring light was not aimed directly at my eyes. The soft, buffered light was doing its job, but not annoying me. The application of light was good for the user. What a wonderful idea!

Bathroom Lighting

Glistening clear glass has been a HOT lighting trend for almost ten years. While it is beginning to cool now, there are still hundreds of thousands of bathrooms illuminated with clear glass. They look great, but completely ignore the user. Undiffused light, aimed directly at your eyes while in the midst of personal grooming hinders more than helps. What’s more, most are located over the mirror, rather than along each side, making them even more difficult to process. Younger folks can get by with these excesses, but as we age, it becomes more and more of an annoyance. I have predicted for many years that thrift shops and Goodwill stores everywhere will be overwhelmed with these difficult units as soon as the trend is fully buried and gone. To be more helpful to the user, well diffused light will always be a better option, especially in this important area of the home.

Kitchen Island Lighting

The bottom of island pendants are best positioned 36” over the top of the countertop, which is 36” above the floor. That means the light source is typically 6’-0” to 7’-0” off the floor. This location is VERY similar to the over-mirror lights in the bathroom. This location works against the user in much the same way, when the pendants feature clear glass and exposed light bulbs. Rather than aiding in meal preparation, the light causes glare and distracts from the detailed work that occurs on the surface below.

Unshielded light aims directly at the user’s eyes, even when hung in the correct location, making food preparation more difficult that necessary.
Well shielded light does not interfere with function. Light application and the user interaction should be considered along with amount, placement, style and size.

Landscape Lighting

The backbone of good landscape lighting is the obfuscation of the light source in favor of the delivered light. I’m always amused when I see a landscape lighting accent light aimed at a beautiful front door. The house typically looks great. The door becomes a highpoint and visitors can easily find their way to the home’s threshold. Unfortunately, the problem comes when they leave. The light is now aimed directly at the departing guests who are temporarily blinded as they grope toward the unknown step edge. Bad lighting, not the nightcap is the more common cause of sprained ankles and family spats.

Think About the Application

In each instance, lighting was selected and positioned to complement the space, but little regard was given to the humans who will inhabit and use the end result. Sure, we want the place to look good. We need certain amounts of light to function once the sun sets. We also want lighting that physically fills the area. It is time to include one more parameter, the user. With all these points considered, proper lighting application can be achieved.

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Aesthetic Lighting Help

Trends Near The End

I was recently asked to provide thoughts on lighting a new space planned with a heavy vintage industrial motif. I expressed surprise, but was told the clients were very specific and could not be swayed away from their desire. It reminded me of a similar request for a Tuscan kitchen last year, “Well, at least you know you’ll be called back in a few years for a refresh!” I joked.

Determining when a style or finish trend begins to ebb can be tricky. Some wags jest that when it hits the “big box” stores, the end is nigh. That may be the case for high-end goods, but there is still a lot of life for manufacturers and consumers that exist on a tighter budget. For that reason, I believe aging styles should be monitored and employed at reduced levels, eventually disappearing into the history books. With that in mind, here is a list of trends I still see, but know are quickly reaching their expiration date.

Vintage Industrial

If unclear from the introduction, this trend remains viable only at the lowest cost levels. While I still see restaurant designers using it effectively, most everywhere else it is looking, tired, old and cheap. Connected at the hip with the Industrial look is Oil-Rubbed Bronze and Vintage Edison light bulbs. They had a good run. It is now time for vintage to be vintage again.

Farmhouse

At KBIS, probably a decade ago, the running joke was, “Tuscany called. They want their kitchens back!” Just that quickly, a trend, that was almost ubiquitous to the era, was gone. I think the Farmhouse look will suffer the same fate. We’ve all tired of bead board and sliding barn doors. Buckle your seatbelt. When this one dies, it’s going to be a quick one, like its Mediterranean cousin.

Black Finish

Black is a dense color and even in small quantities, commands a lot of attention. When black gained popularity in the past, its life was shorter that most trends, about six years. We are approaching that timeframe now. If I were a manufacturer, I’d be carefully monitoring sales of black products for any signs of slippage. If an iota of reduction is spotted, I’d quickly stop any new development. Because of its kinship to Farmhouse, they could exit together in a similar manner.

Brushed Nickel

Brushed Nickel emerged about twenty years ago. It is now the oldest continuously running finish currently maintaining a smattering of popularity. From higher to budget price points on a wide variety of products and hardware, Brushed Nickel is still widely used. Nonetheless, at the last Salone de Mobile in Milan, not a single luminaire was exhibited using Brushed Nickel. Admittedly, Europeans are not the same as Americans, but trends almost universally start there. While it may not be going tomorrow, expect a reversal of popularity soon. Unlike Farmhouse, this could be a long, drawn-out exodus, similar to what Polished Brass experienced at the end of the 1990s.

Other Likely Partings

There are a few other trends that are a touch farther behind these, but still worth mentioning. Mid-Century Modern, in its most pure expression is evaporating, but lighter, more playful versions are still enjoy success. Pared-down Traditional, so clean and simple you can use it as a plate, is still around, but the pendulum has completed its swing and headed back to traditional with more ornamentation. Still, these simple expressions of design could be slightly altered and easily slip into another style bucket. Bathroom lighting has not changed in over fifty years and that was a minor adjustment. I think a revolution is due. Stay tuned.

Styles continually change. That fact keeps manufactures of products from pants to lighting in business. Knowing when to make more or specify fewer is the reason design professionals have work, otherwise folks would be walking into their Harvest Gold kitchens wearing poodle skirts and Doc Martens, ready to prepare avocado toast.