Like Floating Fairies

I died a little and went to heaven today.  A client who's house is currently in construction just informed me that after much deliberation, she has decided on the Bocci Chandelier for her entrance hallway!
My reaction upon the news?  I squealed like a school-girl who was just offered a personal meet and greet with Justin Bieber...  I know, I'm pathetic.  Who gets that excited about a light fixture you ask?  That would sadly be me.
I work part time in a lighting design/low voltage office as their CAD jockey...  (Soooo NOT glamourous)  But I took the job for 2 reasons.  I wanted to learn more about lighting because I have always been fascinated with it, oh and it pays really well.  So in the past year & 1/2, I have learned a LOT about lighting and various aspects associated with the Electrical trade.  Beam spreads, conduit sizing, Lutron, LED strips, can housings options, sizing racks for Low Voltage, yadda yadda yadda...  It's all very technical and (no offense to all electricians out there, but) painfully boring to draw, but the reward are the end results.  From this particular office, they are always stunning.  And lucky for me, I get to see the installation of some of the most phenomenal fixtures on the market today.  I have fallen in love over and over again with what lighting and automation technology can bring to a project...
Anyway, back to my beloved Bocci Chandelier.  I have always described this fixture as looking like "Floating Fairies."  I always say it in my "once-upon-a-time" voice and imagine myself with anime starry eyes.  That's how much I love this look.  There is nothing quite like crystalline glass globes cascading from lofty heights, a soft glow emitting from each orb is there not?  Photo after photo that I see of this arrangement is just magical.  Unfortunately, until today, no one thought it was magical enough to purchase for their home...  But FINALLY, after many years of introducing this lighting marvel to any client with a double height space, Mrs. H delivers!!!  I can not wait until the day I stand in the entrance of her Palisades home and marvel upon the heavenly fixture I have admired for so long!  I am secretly praying she gets the one with the most glass globes...  For the full effect!

Though often overlooked and sometimes sadly neglected, lighting is, in my opinion, essential in good space design.  Just as much as the pieces of furniture selected!  Maybe even more so!  I wish I could convince everyone who decides to build or remodel to not skimp on their lighting budget even if it means compromising on a line item that could wait until another day.  Once lighting is in, it's more of a pain to change than, for example a couch or draperies.  Proper lighting creates a mood, and warms the soul.  It enhances architectural elements and sometimes makes them even more striking.  Lighting can change one's perception of space.  I don't think any other tactile sensation can be fully appreciated without proper lighting to bring out depths of colors and textures the way good lighting does.  So doing it right the first time can literally make or break a space.  And concurrently, if lighting can be improved upon for a remodel situation, I believe it should be!

So let there be light!  Whether it is floods of natural light through spans of glass or with a fabulously glittering, perfectly positioned, piece of eye candy, plan it well and let it shine.  I may go as far as to say that I would rather sit in complete darkness than to endure the dogginess of a poorly lit room...  Okay, maybe not as drastic as that, but shouldn't everyone enjoy a well lit room?

Here are some more of my all time favs.  (All fixtures below can be found at Y Lighting.)