James Bedell (@jamesbedell) has been a follower of the 100K project from the beginning. He also happens to be a young and talented professional Lighting designer in NYC working for firms such as Tirshchwell Architectural Lighting. He founded Build2Sustain in 2008, a consulting firm with the mission of bringing sustainable design to commercial environments.

Over the past few years James has teased me a bit in the most friendliest of ways about our exposed CFL lighting and urged us to consider more pleasant alternatives. Well we finally took him up on his offers and have engaged him to help us design more professional lighting options for our Postgreen Homes. In true 100K fashion, James has wholeheartedly agreed to sharing the design process and considerations here on both the 100K blog and his own blog.

Below is an excerpt from our email exchange when we were setting up this consultation listing the many areas we need lighting design advice:

General residential lighting tips for new construction on a budget.

Good sources for residential lighting design for DIY and budget new construction projects.

Kitchen lighting

LED under cabinet lighting on a reasonable budget (we are looking at IKEA options now)

More interesting kitchen lighting like hidden LED lights under the bottom cabs that light the floor and/or LED lights above the top cabs to illuminate the ceiling.

LED vs CFL vs Halogen – I know halogen is preferred for light quality, bit it’s not really an option for us as one of our key goals and differentiators is to have 100% energy efficient lighting in our homes where most others only go 50-75%…

Reducing number of base lights in our homes for cost while maintaining decent light in each room. We’ve actually been told that we have a lot more lights in our base model than most typical builders in Philly which drives up our electric cost.

Attractive (not bulky) track or wire lighting that could illuminate art with multiple lights plugged into one source (see #5 above).

Reasonably priced adjustable recessed lighting that could be used for illuminating artwork or closets.

Budget and modular exterior lighting systems/strategies for small urban back yards and roof decks (our back yard is 13′ x 18′).

James will be focusing on our highest priority items like kitchen lighting and affordable configurations for artwork illumination on the many surfaces in our homes that offer prime real estate for showcasing one’s art, whether it be a collection of pieces from local starving artists or your vintage collection of KISS posters.

Stay tuned for more on this project in the coming weeks and check out James’s intro post on his own blog. If you have some time, take a look through his past posts for a designer’s perspective on everyday lighting design. One of my personal favorites from last year were his tips on lighting a Christmas tree like a pro.

If you enjoyed reading this post I can promise you'll love our new writing over at Postgreen Homes. Yeah, we know that's the same thing your favorite band said and their new album is nowhere near as good as their early stuff, but seriously, we are actually still getting better.

There also isn't much conversation to be had here . . . at least not with us. So come on over to the Postgreen Homes Blog and tell us what you think of our new(ish) digs and crazy ideas. We will be sure to tell you what we think of your opinion.