MODERNSKI LIGHTING SCHEME

Max and Mark Modernski have been together for almost ten years and have been married for

almost five. After significantly advancing in both of their careers, and saving as much as they could, they made the decision to buy their first home together. They have bought a lovely two-story Craftsman style home, in Berkeley, CA, that was built in 1909.

Max is a Mixed Media Artist and Designer. He is often using a laptop or iPad in all areas of the house or creating art on his easel in the corner of their old living room. Max is always creating something, whether it’s a logo for a new company, a beautiful art piece for someone’s home, or the exhibition collection he’s been working on for years that is a manifestation of his life. He is excited to use the studio on Level One for his larger scale pieces and project research. Max occasionally suffers from insomnia, loves to read and stays up late, in bed, doing so. However, he thinks the current lighting situation, in their new house, is way too bright at nighttime. Max also loves classical music, travel, hiking, and

cooking.

While Max enjoys cooking, It’s Mark who does it for a living. Mark is a Restaurateur. He opened an avant-garde restaurant, about three years ago, called Modernski & Co. It is there where he cooks dishes from his favorite cuisines, whilst only using local ingredients, and adding his own California twist to them. He just recently opened a food truck called Lil’ Modern. It offers more street-food-like versions of their normal dishes and has been doing very well in the college city of Berkeley. Mark also loves travel, jazz music, water sports, and history. He is an early riser (thanks to running his own businesses) but takes naps in the afternoon. Mark also happens to be extremely near sighted and, like Max, has an issue with the current lighting situation in their new home. He has stated that he does not like direct light.

Max and Mark have lots of artwork that they display, naturally. As mentioned above, Mark does not prefer direct lighting and Max thinks the current scheme is too bright, so we will have to stray away from typical art lighting and limit the amount of overall down lights in the house. I’m thinking the use of structural and furniture-integrated luminaires will play a big part in the application of lighting in the new Modernksi house. However, Max’s needs might differ greatly when it comes to his studio space on the first level. Since this is where Max will be mainly working from home, he might need some direct task lighting in the form of table lamps or pendants where he needs extra clarity and visibility.

The Modernski’s have expressed they have a very clear Aesthetic; cutting edge design, clean lines, reflective and translucent surfaces, vivid textures, white color mixed with occasional accent color. They would like most, if not all, of these elements to be considered for the design of their new home. For the lighting design of the Modernksi Project there will be a strong emphasis on the displaying of art, and overall ease of functionality in each space.

Because the client prefers an overall simplistic approach, their home will serve as a wonderful backdrop to the art and furniture on display. The use of white paint on the walls and light-colored wall coverings, not only serves this purpose but will aide in the reflection and disbursement of light, to avoid excessive direct/down lighting. Adhering to the preference for clean lines, less intense lighting at night, and minimal direct light, the use of structural and furniture-integrated luminaires, and up-lighting will be the main source of general lighting for the house. I also think that the addition of dimmer switches and color changing lights will help with the function of each room at any time of the day or night.

The term “less is more” will play a big role in the application of light. Light will be intentional and interesting, not overbearing or taken for granted. Taking all of this into account, I hope to create a space for them that feels like an art gallery, yet somewhere you can just express yourself with no limitations. I hope to create an inspiring atmosphere that is conducive for creating.