please read this article from Vesoi from the EUP

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what i love more than anything is that period in time when you are first getting to know a client. To me it reads like a “first dance” with someone you really want to like you. It’s always a challenge to go deep and get in there fast. The evaluation of someones needs, wants and desires and the ultimate question of whether you belong together is perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the crazy thing called “interior design”.

Where lighting is concerned and through the portal of Lunaria i have many more opportunities to focus in on this initial exchange.  And while it might be more simplistic in its range it is perhaps more difficult in its’ practice. The following few tips might help you as a consumer to bring your goods to the table so you get what you want when meeting with us at the shop or anyone who is helping you in a design capacity.

1. Have as many visual props as possible - a photo of your space, images of things you like, even a floorplan of your space if possible.

2. know your size limitations that will factor into your decision. The size of your room, the size of your table, the height of your ceiling.

3. Have a sense of what you want to spend. Ultimately there are hundreds of solutions so knowing up front where you budget lies will help you find a filtered down list of your options. After all that $100,000 chandelier will always beat out the $10,000 one!

4. Get real about timelines. Know when you need things and if you will be willing to wait. I understand this need to have something done but honestly if you think about how long something will live in your space waiting an extra month or two for the right thing is so worth the wait!

there are more hints for sure but this is a good start.

One of the things i like most is when lighting manufacturers take something that we use everyday and somehow transform it into a light fixutre. Quasar demonstrates this idea very will with their doccia wall light that plays off the idea of a rainshower and uses crystals as a play on water.

Doccia Square

As is

With BVE Light

Used to be that designers kept the secret of how something would look until the “unveiling” at the completion of a project or delivery of an item but now that’s just not the case. From Google’s Sketch-up to Adobe Acrobat’s Photoshop there are so many ways now to help clients visualize how there space can transform. Here at Lunaria we offer a service where we can take a photo of a customers’ room and superimpose into it an image of the chandelier they are considering. This is useful and has helped to solidify decisions for many people.  And don’t limit yourself with lights, we use this same technology for rugs, wall colors, you name it! Now we are talking basic plug and play but technology can go much farther with the right amount of time allocated to the process.

I’ve been a Brand Van Egmond fan for years and been in pursuit of making them one of our vendors for as long as the store has been in business. Towards the end of last year this dream finally became a reality for us at Lunaria and i’m pleased to say our display is finally on its’ way.  Stay tuned for more details and images of the fixtures when they arrive. THEY ARE SHOWSTOPPERS!!!

A chess piece, a broom, a shiny 007-esque gun, a coffee cup & saucer, a hot mess of metal and crystal and a candle that turns off by blowing. I am loving these whimsical table lamps.

in a conversation yesterday with one of our vendor reps the topic of UL listing came up.  For those of you that don’t know when a fixture from another country comes into the USA the manufacturer can choose to get the fixture UL listed which ensures that safety codes are met by the fixture that meet the standards complaisance’s established for the US market.

One of the major reasons why this is of issue in the USA is because we operate on a different frequency 120volt vs. the European 220volt and therefore the way in which wires are connected because more critical for safety issues.  On the residential front it does not technically matter so much if a fixture has been UL approved as we are talking typically about one or two pcs but you can image how this situation changes when the one and two grows to one hundred or even one thousand.

what had not occur-ed to me and what is worthy of special note is the interplay of insurance for your home and what you choose to put inside of it. Make sure you check with your insurance carrier and your policy to cover yourself if you choose to broaden your aesthetic when selecting fixtures. Also know that just because a fixture is made in the USA does not guarantee it’s UL approved.

UL Approval per Wikipedia

Yesterday i happened upon a great internet article “The Louise’s Papers” about the history and legacy of the mirror. From it’s early creation out of rock crystal and silver in antient Syria and  Egypt to it’s mass produced illiterations today the mirror has been a steadfast componant in our culture.  Like with many design crafts the secret behind the mirrors’ creation was safeguarded with steadfast rigidity as with the extreme example of the isle of Murano during the Renaisance periord where the craftsman were forbidden to leave and punished by death if they did.  And, because mercury was a huge ingredient in the creation of the mirror during early times those that did not leave often met an early death or went crazy anyway!

Today we work with a vendor who’s taken the mirror to yet again another station with his patented technology incorporated into his plasma frames.  A special formulation of two way glass, carved wood and other decoration and special venting make his mirror one that could sit in the most formal of homes hiding a television in what would otherwise have been nothing less than a travesty.  (inquire at the store for more info on this.)

Take a minute and give this one a read, it’s worth the effort.

Texture is wonderful especially when it is delivered in a medium where you don’t expect it. The pillow-like surface that is hard to the touch or as in Artistic Tile’s case a carved stone tile that through it’s process takes on two different colors and to me looks more like fabric than a material which you might use to cover a wall in your bathroom. Technology and innovation are impacting daily what we see in the world of design challenging us as the designer and and the consumer to continually ask for more. Ambra By Artistic Tile

And here are a few more mind-benders:

2010 has arrived and as we start this calendar year we’d love to hear from our readers any ideas either specifically about lighting or design in general that you’d like to learn more about.