david k warfel
Light can help us. And we need help. Every so often I need to take a break from reading the news lest my outlook turn irreversibly grim. (Weird, I just used “lest” in a sentence.) Even forgetting climate disasters, wars, and political messes is not enough to turn the tide of news positive. We- humans-... Continue Reading →
Drumroll, please! Okay, that was unnecessary, but I do feel like celebrating this first post in my 2023 DON'T/DO THIS series. I did a run of these a few years back that were featured on Houzz.com, but I’m older, wiser, and…well, at least older. So here I go again, revisiting, revising, expanding, and enhancing my... Continue Reading →
I am very, very excited about my writing plans for this blog in the year ahead. The excitement for this coming year began more than twelve months ago when I set a plan for my 2022 posts. I thoroughly enjoyed blogging in 2022. For the first time, my writing was guided by a year-long plan... Continue Reading →
'Tis the season...for lots and lots of darkness in the upper Midwest. Today there are exactly nine hours between sunrise and sunset, leaving fifteen in the dark. This is the season, in other words, for plug-in solutions to add a little light to my life. And that makes for a fitting end to my 2022... Continue Reading →
The third article in my series on Lighting Hope is out in Designing Lighting! I learned a few things writing this article about the future of power that surprised me, particularly that my focus on low voltage lighting may be suitable for the near future...but there could be something even more revolutionary ahead. Digital power... Continue Reading →
I have fallen into the habit of stating that while I personally celebrate Christmas, professionally I celebrate Winter Solstice. Winter Solstice, which for me in Wisconsin, USA, is December 21st, marks the point in the Earth's annual orbit around the sun where we "tip" back towards longer days. As a lighting designer, that means that... Continue Reading →
Is our binary view of the industry letting us off the hook? In an era of polarization, fundamentalism, and absolutist ideologies, it is easy for me to fall into statements like "builders install the cheapest lighting possible so they can maximize profits" or "interior designers think lighting means a trendy chandelier." But is the world... Continue Reading →
An unpredicted grand finale to my 1THING posts takes me to the darkest places of our homes. It is early December as I sit down to write the last 1THING: New Build post of the year. Like my own life, I started with a plan and a clear vision for where I was headed with... Continue Reading →
I am working on a article extolling the virtues of low voltage power distribution and I find myself wondering, as Mike Teolis from Colorbeam said, "can anyone give me a valid reason why we need 120 volt infrastructure for a 14 watt LED putting out 1000 lumens?" I love to geek out on lighting technology... Continue Reading →
A year ago, when I was planning my 2022 blog writing, I imagined a series on gear where I could talk shop about different fixtures and technologies. I saw myself geeking out on light bulbs, recessed adjustable downlights, tape light, step lights, and any other piece of equipment we use in our work every day.... Continue Reading →
the language of light 