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In this lesson, I'm going to talk
about the importance of lighting and how it can make everyone
look amazing or not.
It can change and alter architecture.
It can make art look more important.
It can raise the ceiling of a room.
It can create theater of a room.
Lighting can create a mood.
There's so many different options
that are available today.
And I want to take away some of the mystery of what
type of light bulbs are out there
and LED versus incandescent.
There are so many options with dimming systems.
And I want to share what you can do at home.
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I love working with natural light.
It's the most beautiful light.
Like if you've gone outside at sunset,
and everyone looks absolutely ravishing,
and it's because it's that really warm, sexy light.
And I encourage everyone to bring in as much natural light
as they can.
Because it not only makes us look good.
It makes us feel good.
These are two examples of what I have
done architecturally to these spaces
to increase the natural light.
So for example, this is an entrance vestibule in a home.
And there was a second story above.
And what I wanted to do was create some shadowing
and highlight this cornucopia that's in the space.
And so looking at even if it's a sliver of an opening to let
the sun in can create magic.
Another space that I looked at was
removing a large section of a second floor,
putting in an enormous skylight, and putting in a tree.
And it not only transforms the first floor.
It also transforms the second floor.
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Architectural lighting is really anything
that is attached to the architecture.
So it could be a step light.
It could be a sconce.
It could be a pendant that hangs from over a dining table.
And architectural lighting also is important
because it provides way finding.
So for example, if you go over to someone's home,
and there is two sconces at the door,
it helps provide way finding so you
know where the front door is.
So lighting also is very informative.
In this project, this was a 18-foot corridor
to the guest rooms.
And we created this arched opening.
And we wanted to highlight and accentuate this beautiful form.
So we used LED lights that really
made the architecture sing.
To create successful lighting, it's
important that your eye travels around so
having light at something low, having
something at a medium level, and also having something high.
And it creates visual interest.
And it also enhances the architecture.
Here you have a pendant, and then
you also have a pair of lamps.
You're creating different levels.
So you have the lamps.
And you have the pendant and the architectural lighting.
And there are also some downlights
that light the floor.
Because if you see, the floor also has a pattern.
And we wanted to really highlight
the details of the space.
This is the reception and lobby.
Looking at what the architectural features are,
we have some large columns.
We have some alcoves and a bar.
And we're looking at groupings of furniture
where people are going to gather.
I really wanted it to feel natural and organic
and bring in as much natural light as I can.
And we did this with using linen.
And it's, like, a very gauze-like texture that--
that blocked a lot of the strong rays of the natural light
to come in.
This is a floor plan that indicates
where some of the architectural lights would be placed.
And when designing into that knowing
that there will be lamps, there'll be floor lamps,
there will be sconces, there'll be
different types of maybe an art piece that illuminates light.
So there are many different ways to bring it to a space.
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So we were designing this hotel.
The salon area where everyone is hanging out and having drinks
was a really large, expansive ceiling.
And I didn't want to puncture the wall with a ton of--
of downlights.
And because you just never know when
you would do an installation of furniture,
sometimes things change.
So it's nice to keep some things a little flexible.
So what I did is I installed decorative lights
in repetition.
So it creates light in a very generalized way.
We had a condition where we had to provide
enough light in a corridor for the guest with one J box.
So we had a idea where to have one light that
had two light sources.
So this is a sconce that actually sits on the wall,
but also wraps up on the ceiling.
And if you look at the installation,
it not only is a statement.
But it also provides double light.
And it just looks incredible.
This sconce is a creative solution to a limitation.
If you're living in apartment, and you can't do anything
with the electrical, there's so many different types
of solutions.
You can still have a light fixture over ceiling.
And you can swag a beautiful cord.
There's so many different cords that are on the market.
These are two really beautiful silk cords that we use.
We'll rewire a light that is really accessible to anyone.
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So dimmability is really an important factor
to consider because you also are going to create a mood,
but it also can enhance a task.
And there are many different types of dimming solutions
that are on the market.
These two are brass and black and metal.
And these we use in a lot of our residential projects.
And they're extraordinary.
And they're very sexy.
And there are solutions on the market that have
toggle switches and dimmers.
And you can set the different intensity of light
by these toggle switches.
I recommend getting a light bulb that has a wattage of about 100
because you can dim it down to 20 if you want.
If you have the dimmability function on your light,
then you might as well go as high because then you
can go as low as you want.
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Lighting can also be art.
For example, these are two massive sconces
that were designed in the '80s by Ingo Maurer.
And he had these fabricated in a village in Japan.
And they're quite extraordinary.
These I put in the entrance of the hotel.
They're art and they provide a glow.
And they feel very natural.
They make a statement that represents
the hotel and its location.
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There are many different types of light bulbs
on the market and things to consider shade types.
This is a lamp that we designed that has a brass shade.
And the function of this lamp really
provides downlight only because the light will not
penetrate the shade.
So if you have a beautiful tabletop, maybe the table is--
is ceramic, and you want to show off the--
the top of the table, then this would be a great light
because it's really illuminating down.
Or you want to read?
This is the perfect lamp for that
because it's providing downlight.
And the lamp also is quite beautiful.
And it's really making the base of the lamp the star.
So there are many different types of light sources
and light bulbs on the market.
And there's incandescent versus LED.
And a lot of people are confused on which
is the best light for me.
So I want to just take you through three
different light bulbs.
You have a clear glass, etched glass, and frosted glass.
And you can see I turn them on.
And they really have their own glow.
For example, I take one shade.
This one gives a little more diffused,
and then this one is actually a little brighter
because the light reflects the white.
So it makes it a little more powerful.
This is just a very easy dimming solution.
You can go full blast, or you can really
dial it down and create a mood.
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This is an LED strip which has been great architecturally
for us because we can really highlight
so many different forms of architecture.
We use this in closets a lot.
We use it in kitchens.
And initially, when this light came out, it was a little cold.
And I'm going to show you this.
And still, a lot of architecture at night
uses this cooler light.
But I prefer on interior to use something
that's about a 2,700 Kelvin, which is this.
And you can see the difference of this light source
is much warmer as opposed to this cooler light source.
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This is a power strip that has a cotton and silk cord.
This comes in so many different colors.
And I have these in all the rooms in my home.
And this is an easy thing that everyone can have.
And it's USB and it also has electrical outlets.
And so this is just an ingenious thing to have at home.
I mean, everyone needs cord management.
And this is the perfect vehicle for cord management.
And it looks so fucking good.
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