Most interior lighting is boring...
I find that most interior lighting is boring, and all-to-often inadequate for a given space. Artistically designed lights can make a room, and at the same time when they offer adequate visibility the functional aspects are a real source of pleasure and beauty.
Over the past year I have been involved in a major remodeling project at my home in Colorado. It's a big space, and I really wanted to take advantage of that space. In the process I visited several lighting stores and found most designs to be plain, uninteresting, and definitely inadequate (i.e., far too small) to fill the spaces of the structure. Here is just one room mid-construction, the living room, with a 19' ceiling and vast windows.
Here are some of the designs I found in lighting stores around town. Not only were the designs uninteresting to me, they didn't fit the modern look I wanted, and the cost would have been enormous to fill the space in an intriguing way. Here are just some of the designs I found:
Some of these lights were more interesting, but other than one style, they wouldn't fit the design, and again size was a real factor.
What I really wanted...
What I really wanted was something stunning, something modern... that would take advantage of the space, be fully functional and have that "knock your socks off" look and appeal. Further it needed to be functional. I've noticed that as the years have gone on, both me and my friends need more light to see clearly, so that was important too. Lastly, since I am a "tech guy" at heart, I wanted something that utilizes the latest in lighting advances -- particularly LED technology. I have followed LEDs for 10+ years, and it's amazing how far things have come making LED an attractive, practical and highly efficient light source.
What I decided to do...
For those of you who know me, you can figure out the punch line. I decided to design and build my own lighting fixtures, taking full advantage of the latest in technology, and tailoring the design to my home and vision that I had for the space. The ensuing project was fully absorbing and fun, and over many additional blog posts I'll provide more of the story, the evolution of the project, and the final result.
