By Maria Deschamps
In the coming year, I will be sitting down for a series of conversations with Lynne Stambouly of Illuminated Design, a seasoned professional with 35 years of experience in the lighting industry; together we will explore various aspects of lighting design. Our discussions will cover many lighting questions that today’s design-build world have about lighting and how technology has changed how we light our homes.
Throughout her career, Lynne witnessed significant technological advancements in the lighting industry, including the development of dimmers, residential fixtures, and LED technology. She emphasizes the importance of involving a lighting designer early in project-planning to ensure optimal lighting solutions. Lynne’s extensive experience and insights guide her efforts to help clients achieve the best possible lighting for their needs. For Lynne and her team at Illuminated Design, lighting means everything, and they are dedicated to creating the best lighting environments for their clients.
In 1986, Lynne began her career in St. Louis, Missouri as a sales representative for a major electrical supply company. She excelled in selling various electrical components, gaining a deep understanding of electrical systems, parts and materials. She developed a passion for lighting and electricity and wanted to learn more. Recognizing her enthusiasm, her employers encouraged her to further her education, leading her to attend electrical trade school, where she gained hands-on experience with wiring, light bulb creation, and transformer mechanics. Lynne describes it as “being beyond theoretical; it was physical and visceral” and she loved it!
With her newfound passion, education and determination Lynne decided to jump further into the lighting-electrical industry. She transitioned from electrical sales to lighting with the guidance of Jeff Marsh, a lighting representative who taught her the practical aspects of lighting placement and problem-solving in the field of both residential and commercial projects. This period involved adapting to the challenges posed by overseas manufacturing changes and fostering independent thinking and hands-on learning. She describes her experiences with Jeff as “using a pair of chain pliers to fix the actual problem”.
Her career further developed through mentorship from Kirk Marshall, who introduced her to high-end residential lighting design. This mentorship emphasized how lighting impacts our moods, lifestyle and health, and the importance of understanding and selling high-quality products. I think it’s fair to say that this period is when when Lynne’s awareness of “layering lighting” began.
In Florida, Lynne took a position with a lighting manufacturer as a landscape lighting salesperson and at the same time, an educator. These roles involved extensive travel, seminar teaching, and sitting on design committees. The next step in her career was working in a lighting showroom, collaborating with interior designers and custom home builders, integrating her knowledge and experience to create comprehensive lighting experiences for clients.
Every light in a design must justify its presence. This means understanding why the light is there, what it is doing, and how it interacts with surrounding lights. It should either enhance the overall design or at the very least, not detract from it.
Maria: Talk about when you decided to go out on your own.
Lynne: After 10 years being on the road 90 percent of the time, selling during the week and sitting on design committees, although I loved it – it was time for a change. I now had access to multiple manufacturing lines, and it was the first time I was able to work directly with interior designers and custom home builders. Finally, I had a platform to integrate all my previous knowledge and experience to assist clients in creating the whole lighting experience and fulfill their personal vision. From that point on I established my own lighting showroom and experience center.
For 10 years my team ran a specialty lighting division and lighting showroom here in Naples. Six years ago, we added Illuminated Design. We are three lighting designers, a support team, and another four in AutoCAD/Project Management, and of course we have a sales support and accounting staff. There’s a lot of history between myself and my staff in the lighting business and together we have accumulated many decades of knowledge.
Our team contributes on new construction and renovations, and we consult for manufacturers and system integrators. My efforts are focused on helping the client – the end-user – in realizing the best possible light for their specific lifestyle and situation.
Maria: Define for us the term ‘lighting design’.
Lynne: First, I differentiate between a lighting plan and a lighting design by emphasizing the depth and personalized approach of the latter. A lighting plan or layout is a basic, often symmetrical grid of circles on a page, lacking interaction with specifics or consideration of the client’s lifestyle and usage of the home. It is a straightforward, one-size-fits-all approach.
In contrast, a lighting design is tailored specifically to the homeowner’s life and lifestyle. Every light fixture is placed with purpose, considering its function, interaction with other lights, and its contribution to the overall design. I consider numerous factors such as where the client reads, daily routines such as what light they turn on first in the morning and the last one they turn off at night, and any specific eye conditions. Information about the client’s habits and needs are essential to creating a design that offers depth, perception and subliminal focus on focal points like pieces of art or architectural features.
My process begins with identifying focal points, followed by addressing task lighting, and finally filling in the rest to create a cohesive and “layered” lighting scheme. This meticulous approach ensures that the lighting design enhances the space in a way that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
I also highlight the evolving complexity of modern lighting products and their integration with diverse finishes, fabrics and architectural elements. I associate lighting design to the “frosting on a cake”, where the design-build trades create the foundation, and it is up to the lighting designer to add the final touches that evoke different emotions to enhance the space’s beauty.
Overall, I stress that lighting design is a nuanced and integral part of home design, vastly different from a basic lighting plan.
The system integrators are pulling all the technology together, right? The lighting controls, the shade controls, the sound and entertainment, security, networking, generators and all the technical aspects in the home. All of which can be centrally controlled. So, lighting must be part of that equation; it’s not just a technology, it’s an important component of the overall project.
I work with lots of integrators, and I know that they are ready to include lighting design services. Adding lighting is not done by preparing a simple plan but a lighting design that is customized. It is to everyone’s advantage to have hands-on professional advice with access to specialization and have the resources of multiple lighting manufactures. The results are much more rewarding for everyone involved: the builder, the interior designer, and particularly the homeowner.
Maria: As an interior designer, I love lighting and working with a lighting designer has so many advantages.
Lynne: Interior Design is such a meticulous career. What I mean is all the intricate details that must be attended to, for example, all the time spent selecting tiles and grout, or getting the right paints and color schemes, in addition to designing the custom cabinetry. To select, source and design all those items, and then complete it with a generic lighting grid could render everything differently, make everything look and feel different depending on the light that is used. On top of that – often there’s no highlight on anything. It can become all washed out. To me lighting should accentuate a home. When it doesn’t – it’s a crime. Our method of layering lighting creates an amazing space.
Maria: Tell me about that, what do you start with when “layering” light?
Lynne: We like to design around the lifestyle of the client and around the interior designer’s vision. We ask numerous questions throughout the entire lighting design process. By considering all these factors, we ensure that one light compliments another. This involves decisions on switching, dimming and layering effects to create depth and perception. The goal is to guide the viewer’s focus naturally to key features such as artwork, a beautiful custom designed wall, backsplash or a fireplace wall. This structured approach ensures that every element of the lighting design contributes to the overall ambiance and functionality of the space.
Every light in a design must justify its presence. This means understanding why the light is there, what it is doing, and how it interacts with surrounding lights. It should either enhance the overall design or at the very least, not detract from it.
To layer lighting effectively, it’s essential to create a sense of depth based on the distance between light sources. For instance, imagine standing in a room and looking down a hallway where a piece of art is lit. This not only highlights the artwork but also visually connects you to focal point, giving you a sense of distance and depth.
If there are two beautiful chandeliers hanging in the center of that hallway, they further enhance this depth and add to the visual interest. The focal point, whether it’s a piece of art or a chandelier, serves as the first layer of lighting in a space. This initial consideration helps set the foundation for layering.
It’s important to identify the focal points, whether inside a hallway or in outdoor landscape lighting. For outdoor spaces, I look at the furthest point I want the eye to be drawn to and build the lighting scheme around it.
Layering lighting is akin to working with phyllo dough, a thin dough used in Greek and Lebanese cuisine. Just as multiple layers of phyllo dough add texture and richness to a dish, multiple layers of lighting add depth and dimension to a room. Ideally, every room should have at least two layers of lighting to achieve this effect.
Maria: That’s a great way to look at it. I realize sometimes homeowners fail to grasp the different types of lighting required in a home and how to use them. For example, task versus ambient lighting, and cove or indirect lighting, or using lighting as art.
Lynne: Exactly, sometimes these types of lighting overlap. Task lighting can also be an ambient light when it’s used with dimmers. Cove lighting is similar in the sense that if you have a cove light and it’s turned up it can be used as a task light. The same light can be dimmed down and be very beautiful at night. Again, it gives you another layer of light in your home. But if you turn it on all the way to the maximum you could probably read a book underneath by it. Then just increase an ambient light level on Christmas morning when it’s a little bit cloudy outside and now it’s a general light.
In the Fall issue, Part Two: How to control LED lights, how to select LEDs for the home.
