TWO LIGHT FIXTURES

Occasionally we have the opportunity to design and make light fixtures. Here are two examples, quite different in style, location and purpose:

The first shows one of a pair illuminating the entrance to a garden gate. 
 The second is an interior sconce in an asymmetric fan shape @ a stair well. Below it is a unique branch from a redwood tree.

 © Kumaran Design 2012

KIND WORDS

I share this note, a letter of recognition to be sure,  but you'll get a sense of how I approach design:

We think of Thamby Kumaran with gratitude and fondness every day: he designed and built the winery and office where we work; he designed, sited, and built the home we line in. He designed and built the adjacent home for our parents, with the special needs brought by their more of eight decades of living.

Every view, every carefully crafted piece of joinery, every relaxing place to work and serene setting in which to reflect and seek calmness has been touched by his vision, humanity and craft.

We chose a challenging property on the east side of Napa Valley high in the hills. No road, no buildings, unlimited opportunity to do it right or to do it wrong.

Somehow we found Thamby. He learned the spirit of the land and placed the buildings in just the right sites and at just the right scale. (Now, we know  that he also learned our spirit and gently guided us to the right choices.) Thamby is simultaneously practical and visionary, disciplined and inventive, determined and collaborative.

We have worked with Thamby on three projects over a siz-year span. We have lived in the home he built for us for 14 years. We know we will seek his help for our next project, whenever and wherever it may be.        

 Leighton and Linda,  St. Helena, CA

DEXTER'S SHOP UPDATE - the first 8 months.

Received a call from Dexter recently. He shared how thrilled he is about how the auto repair shop performs. He never had to turn the heat on through this past winter. Though  a radiant system was installed in the slab -  he really wanted a 'warm' experience having spent dozens of years on an unheated shop floor. He just didn't need it. And he rarely turns on the lights during work days (unlike his previous shops). The south window wall + high windows around the east and north give plenty of general lighting. Dexter's Shop is a good example of simple passive solar design. Not needing and automotive shop? Passive solar design is applicable to most any building. (see previous post, DEXTER'S SHOP, dated 1/20/12)