“Lighting technology is evolving so rapidly that manufacturers are not printing brochures. They send us electronic files with pictures,” says John G. Seward, owner and president of Illuminations, the go-to shop for classic contemporary lighting.
Some of the most striking changes are in the previously pedestrian world of fluorescent lighting.
Current fluorescents are better looking than the old-fashioned, stumpy, white screw-ins notorious for casting a hospital pallor. Today the industry is encasing the bulbs in decorative shapes — such as plumes and globes — and in sculpted or hand-blown Venetian glass. They come in shades from parchment to polished chrome and are installed in fixtures that stand on the floor, sit on a desk, hang from a pendant or are mounted in a wall sconce.
| Resources |
| » Illuminations, Inc. illuminc.com The Lansburgh Building 415 8th Street, NW Washington (Downtown) 202.783.4888 and 3323 Cady’s Alley, NW Washington (Georgetown) 202-965-4888 |
| » Gilmore Lighting Design gilmorelight.com 7939 Norfolk Avenue, #200 Baltimore 301-907-7575 |
| » Crampton Lighting Design cramptonlightingdesign.com 606 Bosley Avenue Baltimore 410-494-4477 |
| » energy + light + control [email protected] Lee Odess 3821 39th Street, #D94 NW Washington 202-203-8007 |
Fluorescents work well in bathrooms — especially when edging a mirror or illuminating ceiling molding. Manufacturers are fashioning fluorescents just 5/8 inch in diameter, which confer a more chic aesthetic than the old style one-inch tubes.
“Instead of three fluorescents next to each other we’re selling one long thin bulb hung in suspension over spacious kitchen islands and expansive countertops. They give off a broad, even light,” says Seward.
They also take up less space, do not give off heat and have shelf lives of up to 10,000 hours. “So in a transient area like DC, people will live in their house without ever changing a bulb,” he adds.
LEDs, short for ‘light-emitting diodes,’ are another lighting option that has gone through a metamorphosis. When placed on narrow quarter-inch flexible strips they are easily installed with self-adhesive tape under and above cabinets, as counter accents, in display and bookcases or under banisters.
They can also be clustered in groups of three or four — or six or 10 — in a hanging pendant, an ambient-light floor lamp or a wall sconce.
One stunning table standing lamp in Illuminations, Talak by Artemide, contains 80 LEDs in a thin, elongated arm that swings gracefully over a desk or the side of your reclining chair.
LEDs are expensive now but can last as long as your mortgage, according to the Alliance to Save Energy, the nonprofit organization that promotes energy efficiency. And, the price is dropping.
Lighting designers work with architects to establish the hierarchy of how space in a room should be seen, says Debra Gilmore, president and principal of Gilmore Lighting Design.
“Lighting enhances a space and defines it,” she says. Architects call us to improve the rooms they’ve created. We look at how the space will be used, what the furniture finishes are and consider the character of lighting that can enrich the setting.”
You can likely remember a dinner party with scrumptious food and a tablemate who took a fancy to you — but can’t recall the dining room itself. That is because the ambience was not memorable. Poor lighting can create glare and wash the color out of the guests and place settings alike.
A smart lighting plan is one way to reinvent your environment and make every aspect of your home memorable.
