david k warfel
This is my first midlife crisis, and I'm full of excitement and energy (and yes, more than a little anxiety). This phase of life has not been easy, but I'm looking ahead in hope. Why? When I look behind me I see so many seemingly disconnected experiences: spending two years volunteering with Habitat for Humanity,... Continue Reading →
I believe light is a gift that can help us live better lives. A powerful combination of human history, personal experience, and deepening research backs me up: light can help us sleep better, wake up easier, heal faster, feel happier, suffer less pain, reduce the symptoms of aging...and the list goes on. My teenage sons... Continue Reading →
It is winter, between Christmas and New Year's, and a perfect time to write about lighting and darkness. All around town, otherwise nondescript homes are festooned with thousands of tiny lights. Twinkle lights on downtown trees add glow to the sidewalks and storefronts, and in many living rooms are even more trees and more... Continue Reading →
Lighting Design never goes on sale. Or does it? Black Friday sales flyers have been filling my inbox and mailbox for days. Later this week millions will push back from the Thanksgiving table and rush to the stores to pick up doorbuster deals. We will buy Christmas gifts for family and friends and big screen... Continue Reading →
Adolescence happens, and it is a miracle any of us survive to adulthood. After a childhood filled with light (see earlier posts) both indoors and out, I began to encounter the opposite: darkness. At the same time I also took the “light as a toy” theory to heart and began manipulating human emotions with my... Continue Reading →
Last night I was honored to deliver the keynote address at the American Institute of Architects Illinois Prairie conference in Carbondale. I had fun tying together thoughts from a number of blog posts and writing this “sermon.” Lighting is a product. It costs you money. Light is a gift. Light can help you live better. When I was... Continue Reading →
Try not to look at the geeky high school boy and his cute girlfriend, but note the east-facing window by my bed, the adjustable lamp on the wall, and the string of Christmas lights above. She's still cute, by the way, and I'm still geeky. But neither of us wear silk shirts or use nautical... Continue Reading →
From left: my grandfather, oldest sister, either me or my brother in my dad's arms, a neighbor, and my mother. I have no idea why this picture was taken, but this is what I called the front porch of the farm house. I am an overly-sensitive midwestern farm boy, which means I grew up in... Continue Reading →
My own journey towards the light is less of a straight line than an upwards spiral. I tend to lose my way frequently, like a moth drawn to a streetlight. It can take a seemingly outsized effort to pull me away from the artificial and back towards my true nature. Hmm. That sounds nice, but... Continue Reading →
