Residential Lighting: A Practical Guide [Hardcover]

Randall Whitehead (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471450553 | ISBN-13: 978-0471450559 | Publication Date: November 21, 2003 | Edition: 1

Residential Lighting is the complete guide to illuminating single-family homes.

• Examines the "how" behind the art of residential lighting.
• Emphasizes use of "light layering"-using variety of lighting sources together.
• Features more illustrations, room-based design strategies, common lighting mistakes, and a larger color section.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…a highly visual guide to the fundamentals of illuminating residential projects… great detail…” (Interior Design, May 2004)

From the Back Cover

An insightful guide to the art and technique of home lighting design

Residential Lighting is a nontechnical reference guide to creating effective lighting designs for residential projects using an easy-to-understand and effective light-layering approach.

Packed with hundreds of informative illustrations and diagrams, this reliable book provides a helpful balance of the latest design techniques and tried-and-true applications. Before and after photos, as well as day and night comparisons, demonstrate how light layering uses the four functions of light (task, accent, decorative, and ambient) to illuminate both interior and exterior spaces.

A valuable resource for real-world practice, this hands-on book offers guidelines for:

• Lighting a variety of rooms and landscapes
• Assessing a client’s needs
• Drawing a reflected ceiling plan
• Writing lighting specifications
• Choosing materials
• Integrating natural light

Residential Lighting is a practical reference for interior designers, architects, and everyone working on residential projects where lighting is integral to the design.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 247 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471450553
• ISBN-13: 978-0471450559
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Lighting

More About the Author

Randall Whitehead is an internationally known architectural lighting designer, based in San Francisco. He is not only a prolific author, but an enlightening and humorous speaker on the world of design as well. His work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Art & Antiques, House Beautiful, Kiplinger's, Horticulture Magazine, Designs for Living, Metropolitan Home, Better Homes & Gardens, Fine Homebuilding and many more.

Randall appears regularly as a guest expert on the Discovery Channel, CNN, HGTV and Martha Stewart Living Radio. He also writes a monthly column called "The Last Word in Lighting" for Residential Lighting Magazine, answering homeowner's and designer's questions on lighting.

Randall has written 7 books on the subject, including Residential Lighting, A Guide to Beautiful and Sustainable Design which is an informative...and often entertaining reference book for home and garden lighting.

His latest endeavor takes him back to his photography roots. It is a compelling collection of images called Lost Dolls, The Hidden Lives of Toys. If you go to www.rwfoundimages.com you can watch a two minute video of dolls doing crazy things.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lighting technique that works!, April 22, 2005

By 

James Preston "Jim Preston" (Santa Clara, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Residential Lighting: A Practical Guide (Hardcover)

I've read a few other lighting books over the years but found that Whitehead's approach is superior for creating moods in rooms. My wife and I prototype interiors in our home and the results from "A Practical Guide" have been outstanding. We move and change the lighting with temporary luminaires and various wattages to explore the various possibilities before using them in real designs for clients.

Beware - after buying into his concepts you will be frustrated by the lighting almost everywhere you go.

- jim

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what a time saver!, December 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Residential Lighting: A Practical Guide (Hardcover)

As a partner in a residential architectural firm in San Francisco I've become intimately aware of the impact good lighting design has on a project. Through the years I've been through many books, lectures, and showrooms to gain knowledge.

One of my favorite sources is Randall Whitehead. If you've ever seen Randall speak about lighting, you already know his passion for the lighting design industry. If you missed his speaking engagements, fear not, because he has produced a new book that is as entertaining and as informative as his speaking engagements. HIs current book "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide" is my favorite to date.

In one book, he has combined the technical aspects of the myriad lighting products available on the market, with solid design principals (in text and illustrated form) along with photographs of successful and unsuccessful installations. All this, broken down into exterior and interior applications room by room, makes up one great resource! Now, I can grab one book to determine the best lighting solution for a given situation. What a timesaver!

This book is a must for anyone faced with deciding how best to light a space. And, when it comes to our homes, everyone of us is a designer, whether we like to admit it or not! The formidable decisions existent within the lighting aspect of residential design has just been made a lot easier, thanks to Randall Whitehead.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I laughed while I learned, December 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Residential Lighting: A Practical Guide (Hardcover)

Randall Whitehead has done a terrific job of explaining what light does and why in a way that is surprisinly entertaining. I can see that this book was written for interior designers and architects, but as a homeowner I found the information easy to understand and very practical.

The other books on the subject tend to be dry and overly technical to the point of being a big snore. This book is unlike any textbook I remember. It is funny while giving you all the 'how to' stuff. There are great photos, cartoons, and drawings throughout the book. Don't miss reading the descriptions of the "before" pictures. You will be laughing, while nodding your head in total agreement.

Anyone who wants to know more about lighting for homes and gardens should read this book.