How to DIY A Designer Barn Door for 100 Bucks

 

Barn Door in the master closet of The New Southern Home by NWC Construction

The Barn Door has made its way from the farmyard and into home interiors where its sliding entry and raw, reclaimed wood is both practical and poetic. About a year ago, I started seeing the barn door in master bedrooms, closets and bathrooms of show homes such as The New Southern Home, recently on tour during the Southeast Building Conference. The barn door is hailed for its utility in universal design because it provides greater accessibility  allowing users to move in and out of a space without having to maneuver around hinged doors.

 

Barn door with Hafele hardware

Despite its humble beginnings as a way to keep the hay and horses contained, a barn door can be pricey home decor. (Just the hardware alone can cost upwards of $1,400.) However, with a little ingenuity, elbow grease and strategic scouting for materials, you too can build a barn door on a budget that rivals designer versions.

 

DIY Barn Door for under $100

My dear friend Julia Reilly is a DIY'er who recently tackled the task and produced a beautiful barn door for her bathroom at a fraction of the cost. Here's her step by step DIY Recipe for building a barn door on a budget.

1. Search out Reclaimed Wood:

 

Reclaimed wood from an old fence is used as the Barn Door cross bucks

Julia used reclaimed wood from an old fence (pictured above) as the cross bucks of her barn door. She purchased the reclaimed wood from a local antique shop/salvage yard.

2. Age or Paint the New Wood:

 

The base of the barn door is made of new wood planks purchased from Lowes at a cost of $7 each.

New wood planks form the base of the barn door. Julia purchased the wood planks at Lowe's at a cost of $7 each. To extend the length of the door, plywood was added to the top and bottom. To get an aged look for the barn door, create an oxidizing mixture out of  vinegar soaked with a piece of steel wool.  Let the mixture sit for 24 hours, then brushed the vinegar on the wood planks to instantly age the wood. This gives the barn door its raw, timeworn character.

Reclaimed fence wood is used as the cross bucks on this barn door. The bottom half of the door is aged with vinegar oxidizing mixture. If you want a more whimsical or contemporary look, then give it a coat of paint. Julia opted to paint the door a bright yellow for a pop of color in her bathroom. She used two coats of Behr satin finish in yellow gold.

3. Build the Hardware:

The barn door hardware consists of a steel rod  with pulleys and steel door holders. Pipe pieces function as extenders to create space for the sliding track. Pulleys and steel door holders install at an angle to allow gravity to keep the door shut and prevent it from opening. The hardware costs $28 for the steel rod and $12 for the pulleys.

The bathroom darn door in the closed position, stays closed because the hardware track is angled.
Julia's DIY  barn door cost under $100 and is just one designer element in her recently redone masterbath. In my next posting, I'll show you how she worked with SB Tile & Stone to transform her 1980s space into a stylish spa-worthy retreat.

The Emotional Alchemy of Designer Ben Barnard

 

Porter chair by Designer Ben Barnard

In the grand old days when all hotels had ‘Porters’ the gentlemen were given chairs that provided cover over their heads to protect them from the wind and rain as they sat by the open doors. That’s the narrative of British Designer Ben Barnard's latest creation, the Porter Chair. "Our inspiration comes from, a cocooned experience, wrapped in opulent fabric. This also makes the chair great for conversation because it blocks out noise from around you," explains Barnard, who debuted the Porter Chair during the London Design Festival at Design Junction, an exhibition for established and emerging contemporary designers. Everything that Barnard creates evolves from a narrative—designed to elicit an emotional experience through carefully calculated use of materials and form that follow function. Ben Barnard's Porter Chair caught my eye at the London Design Festival because I detected a trend in modern furniture design that I call "cocooning."  It's when furniture functions to shut the world out and create your own private haven from the chaos and white noise of daily life.

 

Blogger Karen LeBlanc in the Porter Chair at Design Junction

Barnard's Porter Chair is a prototype—one of his debut products as he breaks out as an independent designer.  At 38-years-old, Barnard has been preparing for this moment since his childhood. At the age of nine, he worked on a table in his dad's furniture shop that was a wedding gift for Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Furniture making is Barnard's destiny. His father, John Barnard , is a luxury furniture maker known for his flamboyant style. Ben Barnard has turned that childhood apprenticeship, formal cabinet making education at UK's esteemed High Wycombe and work abroad for major furniture manufacturers into a process he calls "Emotional Alchemy." He is producing works that elicit emotional responses rooted in strong narratives.

 

The Bhodi table by Designer Ben Barnard

"My two styles are currently Zen minimalism and opulent boutique hotel— my two aesthetic and sensory loves, bringing elegant simplicity into form," says Barnard. The Bhodi table evolved from Barnard's "boutique side."

 "I love the rich patterns and colours of the Middle East and Asia, Morocco, Istanbul, Arabia, India, China etc through my travels. I think that’s what tipped the scales aesthetically to create the Porter chair and the Bhodi table although I have always been into Eastern philosophy and spiritual practices- hence the story behind Bhodi table. The colours purple and gold are Indian-esq, there are 7 levels representing enlightenment, the scorched Oak is to resemble old Indian wooden bowls and the shape for them actually came from a Tibetan singing bowl my wife bought me for my first birthday with her last year," explains Barnard.

 

The Journal Desk by Designer Ben Barnard blends a mixture of soft leather and high gloss lacquer in a single white vision topped with a silver plated handle.

The Journal Desk personifies Barnard's Zen side.  "I fall in love with and get very passionate about forms, materials, mechanisms, ambiences and how they make me feel, or experiences that I can imbue into a product.  I utterly love the products I create and that energy translates through them to the client’s experience. You're buying energy, passion and emotion, not just a desk or a chair," explains Barnard.

The Illume floor lamp by Designer Ben Barnard features 3 walnut legs that meet at a central top joint supporting the black and silver lined shade, to create a soft light.

The Illume Floor lamp also exemplifies Barnard's creative process to emotionally connect with the consumer: "The product has to do its job, so form follows function otherwise it’s art. The materials and the story/emotion they create are inseparable and cannot be sidelined; they stand in equal importance. First you fall in love with the product, you have that emotional connection, and then you expect it to do what it does flawlessly," explains Barnard. Barnard is based in South London and manufactures using sustainable materials.  He offers custom furniture both to the public and private clients directly and via interior designers as well as range furniture to select retailers.

The Not So Normal Seats in London

I just returned from the London Design Festival, a heady mix of designer debuts, product launches, exhibitions, trade shows and showroom events. With so much ground to cover in so little time (8 days), the experience was total sensory overload. It was admittedly difficult to focus my attention amid all that creative buzz but this quirky character with his leopard spotted hairdo made me stop and do a double take.

 

Blogger Karen LeBlanc with Designer John Niero of Just Not Normal at London Design Festival

His name is John Niero, a Los Angeles based furniture and lighting designer abroad in London launching two new chairs. His company is called Just Not Normal, which reflects my personal design mantra. Steve Jobs said it best: "Designers must produce what the public has yet imagined." Job's words of wisdom guided me through the difficult task of curating design finds at this massive event. Niero's work was all about the unexpected and riffs on iconic pieces.

 

The Corset by Just Not Normal

The Corset—sober and restrained on the front and a surprising jolt of electric green on the back with its webbed corset that supports the seat by wrapping around a thin rod of stainless steel recessed in a shallow groove routered into the frame. The legs and arms are finished in powder coated steel.

 

The Corset by Just Not Normal

His mark III chair draws inspiration from two icons of different times: the classic mid-century Eames Lounge Chair and the 1970s Lincoln Continental.

The Markiii 4 by Just Not Normal

It's made of a continuous piece of curving bent ply with a walnut veneer tapering at each end.  Niero says the minimalist design allows the beauty of the wood, stainless steel and leather to shine.

The Markiii 4 by Just Not Normal

Niero debuted his chairs at Tent London, one of five huge exhibitions and trade shows tied to London Design Week.

An American's Musings About Scandinavian Design (Plus a Sneak Peek at100% Norway)

 

The Size Chair by the Torsteinsen Design Team

Scandinavian design is known and celebrated for its ergonomic, functional and sustainable qualities. As a culture, Americans are infatuated with the style yet it puzzles me how we are so enamoured with the design works from a Northern European region and people that many of us know very little about. Consumers tend to use the term "Scandinavian design" loosely as a moniker to describe "modern" or "contemporary."

 

Tilt Lamp by Caroline Langfeldt, a designer from the Bergen Academy of Art. Her work appears in the exhibit “KHiB with Friends” at Tent London during the London Design Festival

Sure Scandinavian design spans those style spectrums but beyond the surface labels lies much more. Scandinavian design is about creating a user experience, solving a problem, finding a better way and above all, it stirs the soul. I would even venture to say that the American affinity for Scandinavian style is more about seeking a refuge from our own noisy, embellished, often over-the-top culture.

Tomorrow, I head to London for the week-long London Design Festival and I will have rare access to some of Norway's most celebrated and revered designers as well as up and coming design stars.

 

The Copper Mirror Series by Amy Hunting and Oscar Narud use the simple, raw materials of granite, steel and copper.

Many will converge at the exhibition 100% Norway, part of a huge trade show called Tent London. This year 100% Norway is celebrating it's 10th anniversary as a participant in the London Design Festival with a theme entitled "10 by 10"— 10 designers representative of Norwegian heritage and history and 10 emerging designers with novel ideas. 100% Norway also provides an exclusive introduction into products and designs that the world has never seen before.

 

The Butterfly Copper Light by Atle Tveit & Sven Ivar Dysthe. Manufactured by Northern Lighting

In my opinion, one of the shortcomings of American design is this tendency to make it all about the shock factor and show rather than usefulness, function, longterm value and relevance. The Scandinavians get it right by creating timeless pieces that never outgrow their relevance nor usefulness. Here are some of my design picks from 100% Norway born of this whole idea of finding a better way or a solution to a problem.

 

Swing Chair, by Peter Opsvik on exhibit at 100% Norway during The London Design Festival

Peter Opsvik, one of Norway's most established product designers, is introducing a new, more dynamic way of sitting with his Swing Chair. Opsvik says the Swing Chair is inspired by the bar chairs and hammocks he experienced while traveling in Mexico. "My theory about sitting is that if we are allowed to move, we move. The same holds true for sitting," explains Opsvik.

The Trialog Chair by Philipp VonHase on exhibit at 100% Norway during The London Design Festival

Philipp VonHase crafted the three-legged Trialog Chair as highly ergonomic with reverse sitting and a backrest that functions as an armrest when used backwards or sideways. VonHase noticed that when sitting in conventional chairs people tend to sink into the seat and don’t know where naturally to put our arms and hands.  Trialog Chair is VonHase's answer.

 

The Allen Stool by Strek Collective

The Allen Stool by Strek Collective, a design studio of four Norwegian designers,  is stackable for easy storage made possible by a hexagonal shaped profile.

 

The Drift Stool by Lars Beller Fjetland

Norwegian Designer Lars Beller Fjetland seeks alternative ways of thinking about sustainable design and creating new and unexpected combinations of materials in his designs such as the Drift Stool. "The drift stool has mass where it needs it— thicker where the joints are meeting and it's just the meeting of cork and wood. I think this is one of the most environmentally friendly sitting devices on the market," says Bellar Fjetland. The inspiration for ”Drifted” series came to Bellar while walking along the water's edge examining objects and material that had drifted ashore including driftwood bleached and scoured by the ocean and old cork. These textures, shapes and material set the basis for the stool ”Drifted”. The name plays off the material's ability to drift with the current.

 

Chair from The Equal Series by Lars Beller Fjetland

Other works by  Lars Beller Fjetland include The Equal series consisting of a chair and barstool made of ash and cast aluminium and inspired by the study of various tools, bikes and domestic appliances.

 

Cloche Light by Lars Beller Fjetland

Bellar's The Cloche is a lamp that gets personal by creating a sense of intimate space in public areas with a design strongly influenced by nature mimicing the bell-shaped blooms of the bluebell juxtaposed with the bold industrial designs of the 30s and 40s.

 

Sun, an art installation by Christine Istad & Lisa Pacini

I couldn't resist showing you this etheral art installation that begs a moment of silence to pause and reflect on its serene beauty. Norway is known for its long summers of endless sunshine and dark winters devoid of the sun. In a cultural nod to this phenomenon, 100% Norway commissioned The Sun installation that came all the way from Tromsø in the North of Norway.

The Secret to Scandinavian Design

Skandium now presents ARTEK TODAY, an exhibition at our Marylebone store, inspiring contemporary living with these classic pieces. Skandium is a British company owned by three London-based Scandinavians. It operates four stores out of which one is the Fritz Hansen store in Margaret Street, Fitzrovia and one concession on the lower fround floor in the department store Selfridges, all in London. Skandium also does wholesale, contract sales and interior design services. Skandium is exclusive agent in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland for the brands Asplund, Iittala, Le Klint, Marimekko, Design House Stockholm, Woodnotes and Jonathan Adler

 

The British market is very special for Artek. The iconic Stool 60 was first introduced to an international public at the exhibition ‘Wood Only’ at Fortnum & Mason in 1933. The exhibition served as a springboard for the international success of Alvar Aalto’s furniture. The company Artek was founded (1935, meaning Art and Technology) by four young idealists, Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl. Artek is one of the internationally most well known design companies in the world, with a strategy that combines sustainable design values within a space in a multi-disciplinary field, embracing architecture, art and design. Artek’s aim is to create an ever broader concept for its collections in which the products by Alvar and Aino Aalto are now complemented by the furniture of Ilmari Tapiovaara.

Artek furniture is still well loved by the British market and it is with no small excitement that we welcome Arket to present ‘Artek Today’ in our Marylebone store during London Design Festival 2013.

This year we will see 4 design studio’s present 4 completely different yet equally remarkable products. Duo Cate&Nelson unveil their graceful new tea pot design. Emma Lonsdale puts a smile on your face with the print she created for Skandium, our first own production fabric called ‘Sunday Stroll’.

[caption id="attachment_2229" align="aligncenter" width="731"] Sunday Stroll Fabric by Designer Emma Lonsdale at Skandium[/caption]

 

Stig Lindbergs elegant illustrations will once again be brought to life with our own range of Skandium designed and produced mugs. Don’t miss the chance to win a set of Lindberg mugs with our in store illustration competition. Last but not least Studio Skandium will be launching our new Sky cabinet series.

SKY CABINET by STUDIO SKANDIUM

Studio Skandium developed the Sky cabinet series with the intention of adding a more so- phisticated cabinet to our collection. The aim was something uncomplicated and timeless that works in any space and mixes with any style, whilst maintaining integrity and character. We used a thin, angled frame around the body to emphasize the quality craftsmanship. The slim frame also adds a touch of elegance. Essentially all cabinets by necessity are boxes but the Sky cabinet series has a lightness to it that makes them less obtrusive in its space.

There are four different cabinet sizes in the Sky series. Sky One is a slightly higher cabinet with five drawers, utilising a taller space better than a four draw option. Sky Two is a four- drawer unit and Sky Three is a three-drawer unit, both are ideal to be lined up in various compositions along a wall. Sky Four is a two-drawer bedside unit. The cabinets aren’t as deep as our Bello cabinets, which make’s them particularly useful in smaller spaces.

The Sky cabinet series are available in the same four colours as our Bello series so both Bello and Sky can be used in the same interior. Developed by the Skandium team and hand-made in London, England.

Brompton Design District

Bridge Collection at Bamford

Inspired by the construction of iconic bridges around the globe, eye catching rhythms of geometry have been captured in this birch furniture collection. Symbolic of the structure and patterns in our lives, we invite you to break the matrix for a day and visit us at Bamford.

Arthur Analts is a London-based Latvian industrial designer. Recently awarded as ‘The Best New Designer’ in Latvia, Arthur moved to London to continue his studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Analts is young and ambitious, with his work appearing in Icon and other international and local magazines, and he is aiming to be a name to watch for in both Western and Eastern design. Both the smart bent aluminium shelf ‘Wow’ followed by the award-winning ‘Led Zeppelin’ ladder are clever experiments into material possibilities. The colourful finish is Arthur's reference to his passion for urban cityscapes and street typography that has inspired his lifestyle since mid-teens.

Arthur enjoys the working process, sketching everywhere and on everything, working from early till late, sometimes even moving his working time to New York EST. He has an eye for proportion and he works very fast, but with the passion for quality in every detail of his work.

Award-Winning Design Objects 3D Printed into Reality

There's a new technology infiltrating the design world that's democratizing the creative and manufacturing process. It's called 3D printing and it's the future of customized, made-on-demand housewares, decorative objects, spare parts and much more. So how does it work? 3D printing deposits layer upon layer of material until it literally prints an object into reality. 3D printers can use a variety of materials to create objects including rubber, plastic, paper, polyurethane-like materials, metals and more.

The London Design Festival is one of the first international design events to recognize 3D printing as a design discipline and game changer. During the weeklong event, the trade show 100% Design played host to designers of 3D printed furniture, housewares and art objects including one of the world's largest 3D Printing stores, iMakr .100% Design gave 3D printing technology some street cred in the design world by hosting a contest for 3D printed works. Here's an exclusive look at some of the emerging and award-winning talent in 3D printing from 100% Design's 3D Printing Contest.

"Rib Lamp" By Gonzalo Castro

 

"Rib Lamp" By Gonzalo Castro

Designer Gonzalo Castro says his Rib Lamp draws inspiration from the curved bones of the human body that embrace what's in the inside.  "The light produces a very peaceful and calm environment," says Castro.

"Ivory Bookend" By Stewart Davies

 

Winning designer Stewart Davies is a student in his final year of studies in product design.  "I designed this bookend so that when not in use, it can be placed as a small sculpture on a shelf or table," explains Davies. He drew inspiration from the desire to draw focus on endangered African elephants.

"Sir Wrap the enveloped 3D printed vase" By Ernesto Venanzi

 

Italian industrial designer Ernesto Venanzi believes that 3D printing is the future of customized product manufacturing. "3D printing is still in its embryonic state and we, the makers, the designers, the art critics, have to demonstrate to the people the beauty that this technique could achieve in every single stage of its history," says Venanzi. Sir Wrap aims to demonstrate how the 3D printing can build industrially an item that would only be possible to make by hand. "A multiple stage injection moulding process can't build that shape. The 3D texture over the shape itself makes things even harder to make for traditional techniques," says Venanzi

"Twist & Shake" 3D Printed Salt and Pepper Shakers" By Joe White

 

"Twist & Shake" 3D Printed Salt and Pepper Shakers" By Joe White

Designer Joe White calls his award-winning work, a modern 'twist' on the classic salt and pepper pot design. "I used the unique manufacturing abilities of 3D printing to create a product that is both futuristic and stylish in appearance. It also draws upon the natural forms of roots and vines," says White. The twisting heads of the pots create an unusual aesthetic touch yet still remain functional. The pot stand demonstrates the benefits of 3D printing with its intertwining handle design.

"Set Me Free" By Sedef Ala

 

Designer Sedef Ala took a humorous approach to this award-winning bookmark design. "There are many occasions that we have to read a specific book, whose subject we might not find enjoyable enough. This design might ease the bitter truth of having to read a boring book. The character has an impression of escaping from a book, just reflecting our inner world," says Ala. All of these award-winning 3D printed works are on display in the iMakr store in Central London for a promotional period.

As we close the gap between creator and consumer, 3D printing gives us a personal connection to things in a way never possible. Consumer grade versions of 3D printers and scanners are beginning to emerge in the marketplace. One example is Matterform’s 3D scanner, a lightweight, portable scanner that can scan a physical object and create a digital file ready for 3D printing and Printerbot.

Well-Cultured Decor

Well-Cultured—handmade crafts, fusion colors and intricate patterns and textures inspired by Africa, Asia and Latin America

American Designers Abroad for London Debuts

It's that time of year when architectural, product, fabric and furniture Designers launch their Autumn/Winter collections to consumers. For trendwatchers and interior design professionals, the radar is up for undiscovered talent, emerging trends and mutations of existing ones such as this whole idea of Nature-in-Design. It's a well established aesthetic that is by no means in danger of becoming trite or overused thanks to a steady influx of new interpretations. One example is the glamming it up for mother nature's handiwork as in this Superordinate Antler Chandelier by American lighting manufacturer Roll & Hill.

There are those in the design world that credit The Superordinate Antler Lamps with helping initiate the back-to-nature movement in design. The ceramic lamp is made up of twelve antlers and is available in white, black, chrome, or gold. Roll & Hill is one of several American Designers and companies featured at British manufacturer SCP's two design department stores—on the East and West Ends of London and as part of its "All American Theme," specially curated for the London Design Festival that starts Saturday September 14th. I'll be there covering the event, and there is A LOT of ground to cover so I wanted to kick-start my design reporting with a series of sneak peeks at what's to come.

 

Woody Endless Designed by Jason Miller for Roll & Hill Lighting. 

Inspired by 1970’s Supergraphics, Jason Miller's Endless for Roll & Hill is a modular LED lighting system made of half‐cylinder sections that can be joined back to back or end to end. The addition of corner units allows for the creation of three‐dimensional installations. Here are some of the other highlights that I've curated from the Autumn/Winter Collection of SCP. I was drawn to the lighting collection by Roll & Hill for its streamlined, sculptural quality of light fixtures such as the Rudi pendant lamp, designed by Lukas Peet and inspired by jewelry. Rudi is made from bent metal tubes that hold handmade cold cathode lamps. The fixtures hang from their cords, which are hand knotted around the metal tubes.

From The American Design Club, the Driftwood Bottle opener caught my eye. A brass bottle opener is embedded in colored reclaimed driftwood salvaged from the beaches of New York State by designer Kiel Mead.

 

Driftwood Bottle Opener, Designed by Kiel Mead from The American Design Club

Feeding my metallic infatuation are these simple and sleek cylinder salt and pepper shakers in either brass or copper—both with a radial brushed finish designed to patina over time.

Metallic Salt and Pepper Shakers, Designed by Ladies & Gentlemen from The American Design Club

British Industrial Designer Terence Woodgate designs furniture and lighting works for SCP and his new 2013 edition of the Woodgate sofa system is a big draw on the showroom floor.

 

Woodgate sofa system by Terence Woodgate for SCP

Terence's stripped-down, elegant, modern approach to design produces incredibly light, lean furniture pieces such as the Sax Coffee Table.

 

Sax coffee table with bronze legs by Terence Woodgate

I couldn't resist showing you another metallic fav find, The Axial pendant light made in the UK by Bec Brittain. The cube-shaped light has an angled cross-section cut on the underside and is made from steel with a gold passivate finish. I love the raw elegance of this fixture.

 

Axial Suspension Light by Bec Brittain for SCP

SCP is hosting a week-long series of launches promoting its relationships with American designers and companies. It's all part of The Shoreditch design district, which has historical roots in the young bohemian British artist movement. Shoreditch is one of four design districts hosting product launches, designer talks, workshops and special events during the London Design Festival. Keep checking back daily for exclusive blog posts featuring designer interviews and cutting-edge design finds.

Inside the Design Mind of Todd Bracher

New York based designer Todd Bracher’s collaboration with 3M Architectural Markets exemplifies the synergy when science and design converge to create an engineering marvel. The team has harnessed best of LED lighting and tamed its limitations to expand the aesthetic and functional power of this energy-efficient light source.

In just a few days, Bracher and 3M Architectural Markets will debut at the London Design Festival its revolutionary Lightfalls, a state-of-the-art architectural lighting system that capitalises on the laws of physics to distribute light from a single LED source over a large space to create a “Virtual LED.” The concept fascinates me as well as the design so I bring you this exclusive interview with Todd Bracher as we peer into his design mind and learn more about the creative and scientific process behind the creation of Lightfalls.

Lightfalls by 3M Achitectural Markets designed by Todd Bracher

One of the drawbacks to LED lighting is that it's omnidirectional. It seems you've created a lighting fixture that spreads light—a breakthrough that addresses one of the limitations in LEDs. Was that part of your inspiration, reasoning and thought process in the design of Lightfalls?
You are correct.  LEDs are omnidirectional and that was part of the inspiration behind Lightfalls, by asking how can we control the light, do we have the ability to do control it better and more efficiently than before? That is the wonderful partnership with 3M, their optical team explained to me that ‘light is 100% predictable." We know what we want to achieve so we can engineer a solution to completely control the light.  We knew we wanted to bring a lighting solution to the market that provides an architectural solution not just look beautiful.  We wanted great efficiency, simple installation, physical scale at an economical cost, and flexible design options for the specifier.  So together 3M and I developed a method called Lightfalls which does exactly that.

 

Close up of Lightfalls by 3M Achitectural Markets designed by Todd Bracher

Please tell us about some of the applications/uses of Lightfalls that you envision?

The beauty behind Lightfalls is that you can light large spaces with little installation effort, little costs involved with electrical work as it can have as little as one powered LED over a good 10-  foot section.  Which means for the architect they can have a large accent piece for relatively little cost and low installation time. I envision Lightfalls used in ceiling and wall applications where the desire is to have a wow factor while providing superb ambient light for low cost.   The cost is low as you need only a single LED in some cases where to normally light a 10-foot fixture you would need multiple LEDS, multiple power supplies etc.  Lightfalls is designed to be very easy to install which also lowers the cost as there is really no wiring as it is a completely passive system and not electrical other than the LED.

Closeup view of single light in Lightfalls by 3M Achitectural Markets designed by Todd Bracher

How would you describe the lighting effect of Lightfalls? And how did you create it? 

The lighting effect is a result of physics.  It is 100% explosive and dynamic.  We also have developed a ‘dichroic’ filter that shifts the color of the light and allows it to separate through the system resulting in a play in light never seen before. When dimmed down, the result is rich.  3M only uses the highest quality full spectrum LEDs that burn wonderfully.  The light is truly the best available and Lightfalls presents it beautifully. Lightfalls was born from asking ‘what if’?  As a sort of experiment, we tried to push the limits of what is possible... and feel that now we understand this is possible... what else can we achieve— that question is even more interesting.

Bracher also designed a specially commissioned space by 3M Architectural Markets at the trade show 100% Design during the London Design Festival.

 

Closeup view of single light in Lightfalls by 3M Achitectural Markets designed by Todd Bracher