Light My Nest

The power of outdoor Lighting Want to add mega value to your home with minimum cost? – The trick is to illuminate the outdoors properly. Just like we see it indoors, good outdoor lighting makes a huge difference in how we feel about a place: Does it appear attractive, inviting and well-kept or sinister and neglected? Good outdoor lighting definitely adds curb appeal and therefore increases the home value. In addition it makes us feel comfortable and secure. It feels welcoming, and at the same time it is definitely a deterrent to uninvited guests. You want to create a welcoming entrance to your home, and you also want to be able to walk safely up the steps. From the inside you want to be able to clearly identify who's coming to visit. So, to get started on this lighting project, stand in front of your house at night facing it and think about the impression you get. The warm lights from the windows probably add an inviting glow, which is definitely the case when you are entertaining and the house is lit up

Today we are going to talk about light bulbs. Since the most common incandescent lamps are disappearing from the shelves, we need to look for alternatives. Why did "they" ban our regular light bulbs? Well, nobody actually banned the incandescent lamps, but it sure feels that way. The quick answer is that it was to save energy. What was wrong with the old incandescent bulb? I'll actually start with what was so unique about it. When the light bulb was invented by Edison 137 years ago, it made a huge impact on the lives of millions of people. Imagine how life was before with gas and oil based lighting and afterwards where light could be turned on with the flip of a switch. The light from an incandescent bulb is warm and pleasant. It has excellent color rendering. (100 on a scale from 0 to 100.) Incandescent bulbs are inexpensive, have a predictable light quality (as in: one bulb puts out the same color as the other), are unfussy about dimming (and change to a warmer hue with dimming, excellent for romantic eveni

Welcome to the first episode of the Light My nest podcast! Today I'm talking about the basics of kitchen lighting design. One of the things I enjoy the most about my job is that I get to visit and see so many really amazing homes. Homes that need a lighting fix. The thing is that most people see and buy their homes in daylight. I can't tell you, just how many times I've heard the following: "We have this open floor plan with lots of skylights, large windows and an amazing view. I love my kitchen during the daytime, but at night it feels like a dungeon. When I go out there and take a look I see something like a 24' ceiling with recessed lights that struggle to illuminate the room, and that's it for lighting the space. It might look wonderfully minimal, but it for sure isn't working. If you just got a new kitchen, you spent days on end choosing the right tone of granite, woods for the cabinet and tile. And now you can't even see it all properly at night when you want to spend time there or you are having people