The Art of Illumination: Residential Lighting Design [Paperback]

Glenn M. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1998

Glenn Johnson has illuminated some of the world's most exclusive estate houses. Now, for the first time, he reveals step by step how his philosophy of illuminating and accentuating residential architecture and interior design can be realized in every room in a home. This exquisitely illustrated guide features fullcolor photos of the homes of clients Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, Aaron Spelling, and many more. It offers examples covering many residential styles and provides all the how-tos for achieving the perfect lighting effects.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Glenn Johnson, who for more than 20 years has illuminated some of the world's most exclusive homes, galleries, clubs, and museums, now reveals his lighting philosophy and techniques in a step-by-step book that shows the reader how to achieve perfect illumination in every room of the home. In what is almost a textbook for lighting designers, Johnson guides the reader through the basics of lamps and lighting technology to a technical and aesthetic comprehension of how to dramatically transform a room or an entire building with carefully-planned illumination. --Mark A. Hetts

Review

"Johnson generously shares the expertise he's gained in 22 years as a lightning designer...now based in Utah, he jets around the country planning lighting for high-end clients with names like Spielberg, Getty and Newton-John."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing; 70th edition (October 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070329591
• ISBN-13: 978-0070329591
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Lighting

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Art of Ilummination: Residential Lighting Design, January 14, 2000

By 

Jim Coudon (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Illumination: Residential Lighting Design (Paperback)

This book IS NOT for the average Homeowner or person building a new home. This book is more geared, in my opinion, to a lighting designer. I purchased the book in order to find out as much as I could about residential lighting tips for my new home and was disappointed to find that it wasn't very helpful in this regard.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cogent, coherent way of thinking about illumination, March 26, 2001

By 

Patricia Tryon (Longmont, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of Illumination: Residential Lighting Design (Paperback)

Those looking for "connect the dots" instructions for various lighting projects will probably be happier looking for more detail-oriented books, perhaps books in the Sunset or Black and Decker series.

That said, I rate this above the other dozen or so books I have recently acquired on this topic in preparation for working on a new house. The reason is simple: this is the book that suggests ways of thinking about lighting and demonstrates the consequences of planning -- or not planning -- in various ways. To think usefully, not to mention creatively, about lighting, I felt I needed a way to think about the overall impact. While other books provide lots of specific information about particular situations, this is the one that offers more of a systemic outlook.

But it is not lacking in specifics. It offers enough detail about every technical aspect of lighting that I finally feel able to listen more intelligently to lighting specialists and electricians. The information seems up-to-date, at least in terms of what's available in the market where we live, and it is the single book on the topic that I would not part with as we begin the day-to-day slogging through making another house into our home.

Don't buy this book if what you really want is a specific recipe to cook up half a dozen recessed lights and some task lighting in your kitchen. You'll be disappointed. But if you're willing to tease apart the vagaries of your particular space and suss out the special uses of your own kitchen, this book will reward you by empowering you to develop and evaluate lighting solutions for yourself.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of a Sales Brochure, March 20, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Illumination: Residential Lighting Design (Paperback)

Though creative, this book seems to be nothing more than a sales brochure for Mr. Johnson's firm. There is not enough substance in the book to allow anyone other than Mr. Johnson or his associates to create the design schemes shown in the book. Mr. Johnson's ADAPTIVE design is creative, but is given only in a generalized sense. There is no real design criteria (lumens/ft2, wattage for varying spaces, etc.)to help the reader know if all ADAPTIVE design elements are actually achieved if someone other than Mr. Johnson were to design the lighting scheme. Mr. Johnson's work is very beautiful and artistic. I only wish the book had more substance.