david k warfel
Feeling a bit groggy as you start your workday today? Hundreds of millions of Americans will be a bit less productive this morning, require a bit more coffee, and be a little more grumpy than usual. Just like we were last year at this time, and likely will be again next year unless we change... Continue Reading →
It is time to retire your light switches and dimmers…if you want to get the full benefits of good light back into your life. Get them back? Yes, you and I lost out on natural light’s benefits when our ancestors decided houses were better than tents and offices were better than fields. They moved indoors,... Continue Reading →
I am continually grateful for the opportunities to write for magazines, including my longest-yet run with designing lighting.Randy Reid and the team at dl does a great job putting together this industry publication, and the results always look beautiful! My latest article is now live and revisits the promises that light can help us focus... Continue Reading →
I have always been me, yet everything about me- and around me- has changed. This is true of every human on the planet, in every nation: we are always changing. Some of these changes are inevitable: none of us can avoid growing older and encountering the changes that come with aging. Other changes are those... Continue Reading →
There are more lighting products than ever on the shelves, but that can make it tough for a homeowner to make smart choices. Why is lighting getting harder? How can we wade through the hype and get better lighting in our homes? The last fifteen years have seen the biggest disruption in lighting since Thomas... Continue Reading →
I am as guilty as the next lighting designer. See my design above for proof. Once upon a time, light indoors depended on light through windows or flames from candles, lamps and fires. The windows were automatically scheduled to turn on slowly in the morning and turn off slowly in the evening. They changed intensity... Continue Reading →
No. Er, Yes. Wait a minute, is this a trick question? Retailers and websites are hawking new smart gadgets for our homes incessantly, essentially trying to do what Apple did for smart phones: make them cost a whole lot more. There are smart coffee makers, smart pet feeders, smart doorbells, smart thermostats, smart irrigation systems,... Continue Reading →
So now you know- because I am certain you read all of my posts again and again until they are burned in memory- that we need light that helps us adapt to changes in tasks, times, eyes, and moods. Most of the time, I do not add any lights for changing. I add dimmers... Continue Reading →
If you're looking to review the layers of light and apply them to your living room, my article on Houzz.com (link below) would be a good place to start. In addition to my oh-so-nifty sketch, you'll find photographic examples of each layer from multiple projects in multiple styles. Enjoy!
We used to have a better language for light, but lately we stick to words like LED, lumens, and color temperature. Necessary, perhaps, but not particularly inspiring. In history, we used words like Helios, Prometheus, Zeus, and Ra that belied our dependence on light. We organized our temples, our festivals, our stonehenges around light. We wrote... Continue Reading →
the language of light 