What is it about light that inspires you?

This morning, Philips Lighting (@PhilipsLightUS) tweeted,

“Everything we see, most of what we do, & much of what we feel is touched by light.” What is it about light that inspires you?

What a great musing for a Friday morning! I am inspired by the fact that light can literally transform the ambiance of a space. Philips recently gave a restaurant that hosts speed dating events a lighting makeover. The room went from this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To this:

Isn’t that incredible? No change in furniture or other decor – purely a lighting makeover.

The thing is, the impact of lighting is underappreciated! Unless the lighting design is glaringly horrible, the average person rarely looks around a room and thinks “a few minor lighting upgrades would really help here.” More often, people consider wall color, furniture, flooring, appliances, countertops, cabinetry – anything but the lighting.

The longer that I work for a lighting company, the more often I walk into a space and think about how the lighting design enhances (or detracts from) the ambiance. When you see photos like the ones above, or dynamic scenes showing kitchens with and without lighting, you realize that lighting does effect “everything we see, most of what we do, and much of what we feel” – perhaps more so than other elements of interior design.

What inspires you about lighting?

Photos from Philips Lighting’s Speed Date Challenge Video