The Lighting Doctor
Resimercial Design Warms Up Even the Most Sterile Spaces
For those of you who are not familiar with the term, resimercial, it refers to the trend that we’re seeing in commercial spaces where they are now being designed to have a more residential appearance…
Lost in Transition
What differentiates a chandelier from a pendant?
For me, the rule of thumb was that a chandelier had arms and a pendant fixture does not. It was also generally felt that chandeliers are more…
Multiple Personalities
I really like the trend of hanging multiple fixtures in a space. Visually, something happens that turns the fixtures into more than just lighting. They become room dividers or can help make rooms…
LEDs in 2018
Yes, I’m totally obsessed with LEDs. Admittedly, we got off to a rough start in the beginning. They got introduced onto the market a little too early. They didn’t have much lumen output, the color…
The Importance of Lighting for the Ceiling
When people are designing the lighting for their homes, they're thinking about lighting the art and the table tops or illumination for the bathrooms and in closets, but what they may not be…
The Fashion of Light: When to Update Your Fixtures
People may not realize it, but lighting fixtures do fall in and out of fashion, just like clothing. I look at the light fixtures that I had hanging in my house in the 1980's and I shudder. Some…
Exterior Lighting Techniques
To most homeowners, outdoor lighting means a pair of decorative wall sconces by the front door, a few lights along the walkway and perhaps floodlights for security. Exterior lighting can do much more…
How to Choose the Right Reading Light
Whether you're reading in bed or lounging in your Lay-Z-Boy, it’s important to have a good reading light. I know many of you are reading off of your tablet or Kindle, but there's still a whole bunch…
Stepping Up: Stairwell Lighting
Lighting stairways has always been a bit of a challenge. There are many more choices to make today than there used to be. This is a good thing. Which one is the right one for you, though, is the real…
Recessed Fixtures: The Hole Dilemma
Recessed fixtures have become a standard part of home interiors. Since the 1990s, people have been stuck with what I call the "contractor’s special," which is a grid of 6-inch-diameter downlights per…
