Earlier this month, Will Breaux, Director of CASA Companies, was invited to the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) Design + Tech Annual Conference in NYC to speak to interior designers about the importance of lighting in home design.

Will is a 25 year veteran of custom installation and consumer electronics, dubbed an integrator. With extensive background in design and installation of home electronics, he migrated into the lighting space due to passion for the category. After hundreds of hours of training in lighting design and some really cool projects, the CI channel took notice, and Tony Monteleone, publisher of several trade publications including Dealerscope and Connected Design, invited him to be a panelist at this significant event. Sitting along side Sara McElroy - Silver Shoe Designs in NY and Greg Barrett – Director of Lighting and Shades for Savant, Tony moderated the panel where the group focused on utilizing integrators and bringing quality lighting into the home space. The annual event was held at Samsung 837, the flagship Samsung store and event space, where hundreds of designers were in attendance for the sold out event. The event was hosted by Steve Greenburg, a national TV personality, host of “What the Heck is That?” gameshow, and regular on Great Day Houston.

This specific panel was centered around lighting, with Greg bringing in the manufacturer perspective, highlighting the features and unique attributes that Savant can bring to lighting in the home space. These include Daylight mode, which can sync interior lighting to the color temperature of the sun outdoors. Studies have shown this concept to be valuable in sleeping well at night, making the home environment look pleasing during the day, and allowing homeowners to be more productive at peak hours – all using color shifts in the lighting fixture to match Circadian Rhythm. Sara discussed projects where lighting enhanced significant architectural features and priceless art. Will showed real world examples of color shift, the impact that can have on a space, and how designers can bring in proper lighting to a space even as a retrofit option. All panelists agreed that working cohesively with a lighting designer and integrator can yield the best results, ultimately bridging multiple lighting manufacturers into a unified control platform to make it easy and intuitive for any homeowner who cares about how their space looks.

The event, and specifically the panel, were a huge success with several designers staying after to ask questions and acknowledge the importance of the topic. Pamela McNally, SVP Marketing for NKBA, thanked the panel and touted it as one of the more engaging of the event. Will was invited to an interview for NKBA media outlets to discuss what is new and next for lighting in the home space. Color control, digitally addressable fixtures anyone? All media will be streamed and accessible to NKBA members. Stay tuned for more events and social media platforms to discuss lighting.

In the meantime, if you have a project where lighting design, fixture specification, or consultation is a priority, reach out to the CASA design team.

Sponsors for the event were Samsung, WAC Lighting, and Savant, among others.

Special thank you to NKBA for having us!