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designing lighting (dl) May 2025

Page 70

Light by light, the tuning is completed. The accent overshoots too high, then it’s too left and must be tweaked back towards the target. Repeat this process until it feels like that one light is the best it can be. Then it’s time to move on to the next. Depending on the scale and the design, this can take minutes, hours, days, or even weeks. Once all the lights in a space are dialed in, only then do you know how it feels.

F I N I S H I N G A R T T H E • F I N I S H I N G O F A R T T H E F I N I S H I N G • O F A R T T H E

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intended objects, while wider optics and lenses broaden out cones of light to blend one beam with another at the confines of a large canvas.

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RESIDENTIAL COLUMN

designing lighting

a game plan for aiming the lights, then divide and conquer with aiming crews starting in different parts of the house. Even the best planned interiors are subject to the shopping habits of the owners, so lighting designs need to be nimble. Lights intended to be general illumination may turn into art accents as an unexpected sculpture manifests itself in the corner of a room. Optics, louvers and lenses are swapped, added or subtracted to change the nature of a beam or to control glare. Focus is created by tightening up spots and aiming at

Now it’s time to bring the spaces into balance by adjusting the scenes in the control system settings. This is another incredibly important step in creating visual comfort within each area. Chandeliers dim to the point where they no longer produce glare, and art accents adjust to levels where clients can enjoy their collection. Global entertaining scenes are set for the ease of use when the client has a large fundraiser or an intimate dinner party. Each room should have a “90% of the time” scene set and ensure the toggle or off button includes everything desired when you transition from one room to the next. These are the basic steps to take design from start to finish and to create a comfortable, user-friendly home full of planned contrast, focus and balance. There will always be a place in the world for people who just draw plans, but the best lighting designs will be performed by those who finish. ■


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