The latest ideas and products, tips & techniques for lighting your home and garden, from America's top home lighting designer.
From http://www.ResidentialLighting.com, Lightovation keynote speaker Randall Whitehead explores the show at Dallas Market Center in his own inimitable way and highlights his favorite lighting products.
These are clips from a Landscape Lightng Seminar I did in August for Kichler Light & Learn.
Read MoreBathrooms (and kitchens) should be the first areas considered in remodel projects. Homeowners can add 80-90% of their investment of a bath or kitchen remodel onto the value of their home. Today that's a very good return. Plus, getting the lighting right in these spaces will make them dramatic, functional and relaxing.
Read MoreKitchens are now becoming the center for casual entertaining. With the way the economy is now, more homeowners are having people over for a meal instead of going out to a restaurant. Often friends and family bring an appetizer, salad or desert to add to the meal. Everyone gathers around the kitchen island or table as others trail in, so the kitchen needs to be as inviting as the rest of the house.
Read MoreCan modern lighting, particularly LEDs, be integrated successfully into traditional homes? Yes, absolutely! Today design magazines are filled with very modern looking homes and interiors, and LED lighting lends itself seamlessly to the clean lines of this style of architecture.
Read MoreResidential Lighting Magazine asked me to report on my top picks for products and companies at LightFair 2015, held in early May this year at Javits Center in New York.
Read MoreManufacturers have finally gotten the word that people want a warmer quality of light in residential and hospitality applications- light that more closely resembles the incandescent light we have been used to all our lives. Many manufacturers are now making lamps in warmer tones- a welcome development.
Read MoreRooms with high sloped ceilings can often be a challenge to light. If done thoughtfully, they can end up being the most beautiful room in the home. Layering task, accent, task and ambient light creates a welcoming and cohesive space.
Read MoreFor those of you who dread the idea of hanging holiday lights in the trees. I have good news for you.
Read MoreI'm always interested to see what is coming out of the European market…especially in the realm of lighting. Take for example the Plumen, a wonderful reinterpretation of the standard CFL lamp.
Read MoreAdvances in light sources had been in stasis for a long time. It wasn’t until the introduction of the improved compact fluorescents and warmer colored LEDs that we really started seeing a shakeup of the status quo.
Read MoreThe lighting industry has lately been so caught up with LED technology, looking only at technical measurements like lumen output, color temperature and CRI (color rendering index), that at times it seems we've totally forgotten about the most important thing- the human aspect of our relationship with light.
Read MoreIn these hard economic times homeowners are not moving into the next bigger house but are instead staying put and investing their hard-earned (if somewhat deflated) equity into upgrading their present residences. If budgets are tight, sometimes green design isn't first on the list, as there's a perception that it's more expensive.
Read MoreIn my ongoing efforts to help introduce LED lighting to consumers I continue to bump up against one major stumbling block…and that is the somewhat limited color temperature offerings.
Read MoreLight performs four functions: Task - Lighting by which you do work, such as the under cabinet lighting in the kitchen or a reading lamp. Accent - Lighting used to high light objects in a space. Decorative - These are what I like to call architectural bling. Ambient - This is the gentle fill light for a room.
Read MoreAs the US government is beginning to phase out less efficient incandescent bulbs, people are looking at alternative sources and finding themselves less than satisfied.
I, like everyone else, have had a long love affair with incandescent bulbs. They are inexpensive, come in lots of shapes and wattages... and best of all, they get yellower in color as you dim them. For me, incandescent light is like fire light or candle light. Unfortunately, what people are finding in the bulb isle of home improvement centers, big-box stores and hardware stores doesn't even come close to what people want.
Read MoreFinally, bathrooms are getting their due in the design world. Kitchens have enjoyed luxury upgrades for many years, but the bath has always seemed somehow less important. It has been seen as a purely functional space where you shower, shave, apply make-up and use the toilet.
Read MoreKitchens have evolved into the new centers for casual entertaining. Now it’s more likely that guests will congregate in the kitchen as the meal is being prepared, often lending a hand while sipping on a glass of wine instead of waiting passively in the living room.
Read MorePeople often have a hard time choosing the right size decorative lantern for the exterior of their home. It can be a little overwhelming at the lighting store. There are lots and lots of choices, often all crammed together. What I typically see is that homeowners tend to choose fixtures that are too small: when installed they look dinky on the house. Here is my recommendation of what to do when trying to select the right size fixture:
Read MoreThe techniques of lighting have greatly evolved beyond simple table lamps and chandeliers, yet many homeowners have not updated their thinking much beyond this approach. It’s true that progressive design is a hot topic, but it’s not for everyone. How does the owner of a more traditionally styled house make use of today’s lighting techniques in conjunction with newer light sources? Can new lighting techniques be applied to non-cutting edge spaces to enhance the sense of warmth and comfort that these cozy interiors inspire? The answer is a resounding... yes!
Read MoreAuthor, designer, innovator, and lecturer Randall Whitehead is America's top expert in residential lighting. He has drawn upon his experience from over thirty years of consulting practice to develop a unique and comprehensive body of knowledge about lighting and how it affects us everywhere we live and work. Randall has appeared many times as a guest expert on The Discovery Channel, HGTV, and CNNfn. He has developed an extensive series of seminars on lighting design and has produced them throughout the United States, Canada and South America.
Bathrooms (and kitchens) should be the first areas considered in remodel projects. Homeowners can add 80-90% of their investment of a bath or kitchen remodel onto the value of their home. Today that's a very good return. Plus, getting the lighting right in these spaces will make them dramatic, functional and relaxing.
Kitchens are now becoming the center for casual entertaining. With the way the economy is now, more homeowners are having people over for a meal instead of going out to a restaurant. Often friends and family bring an appetizer, salad or desert to add to the meal. Everyone gathers around the kitchen island or table as others trail in, so the kitchen needs to be as inviting as the rest of the house.
