One of the things our clients love about our lighting line is how easily it can be customized and adapted to solve a specific design challenge. Nothing thrills us more than being presented with a design problem in need of a solution. You want a 25-foot triple ring chandelier? No problem.

That’s exactly what Michelle Koenig of Bruchele Interiors wanted for a new house on the Jersey Shore.

After collaborating closely with Michelle, Richard created the new fixture, and our master installer, Bob, and I trekked to the Shore to install it.

Our client was building a house in the tiny hamlet of Sea Girt, one of the many places that was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. We were happy to see that boardwalk repairs seemed to be coming along well.

Once we found the house, tucked between the beach and a nature preserve, we knew immediately where we would be installing this leviathan light fixture. It would hang three stories down through a staircase in the middle of this tower.

Twenty-five feet from the top.

We proceeded to lay out all the hardware and wiring.

And the Cristallo hand-blown glass globes. That’s the homeowner, Lynn, in the back.

Then John, the licensed electrician on the site, and owner of some of the world’s most awesome kneepads, installed the canopy.

Here he’s gently hooking up a Maya globe. By the way, remember that long shot of the staircase above? John is sitting on temporary scaffolding at the very top.

Bob courageously joins him, and gingerly hangs a Malina.

With the first ring and globes in place, Bob starts wiring up the second batch.

Carefully lowering it down.

Thankfully Bob and John can now work on more solid ground.

Bob hangs a Nina, Mosque and Raja.

John tells a joke about people changing light bulbs. Bob finds it amusing.

The three rings of the Chandelier are in place.

And after some more wiring magic.

Voila!

The view from below.

Bob is also a photography phenom. He took a lot of these masterful shots.

And here’s Lynn, the very happy owner.

We had a great Time in Sea Girt. Thanks for the delicious treats Lynn.

We hope that all areas that were affected by Sandy continue to build, thrive and prosper.

Till next time, Stay Radiant!
Chuck

CX Design’s Supervisor of Pastries and Donuts

Mona of K6 Design Studio searched from Southampton to Sagaponack for the perfect spot to build her Long Island dream home.

And after two long years she realized that she was never going to find it.

So she put her considerable design savvy to the task of transforming a flat, empty plot in the hamlet of Water Mill into this beautiful family retreat.

But do not be deceived by the stunning results. Mona speculates that building this home from scratch probably took a few years off her life. She only got through it with the help of “a lot of wine, then scotch, then rum.”

Which is perhaps why she placed her expansive wine room within arm’s reach of the dining table.

Mona, who began her career in the world of finance, finds design much more rewarding and challenging. As she puts it, “People don’t realize that design is more difficult than finance because finance has equations.”

One daunting problem that had no pat solution was where to find lighting fixtures that would not only fit her home’s aesthetic — an elegant look perhaps best described as Middle East Modern — but also stand out in the vast space created by the 23-foot ceilings in her living room and entryway.

After a frustrating search, her Eureka! moment came when she ran across an ad for our Cristallo Chandeliers. She found their grand presence, unique melding of contemporary and Old World design, and extensive collection of glass shapes, including some with Middle Eastern character, to be the perfect solution.

Installing her new lights would be a challenge, especially because quite often, Mona’s appeals to her area craftsmen were met with the phrase “we don’t do that here,” like when she requested 2 1/2-inch thick doors, or levers instead of door knobs, or floor vents made of the same wood as the floors.

But she knew that her vendors’ recalcitrance was due to their concern about her resale value, and she had nothing but high praise for their craftsmenship. Her very competent electricians were no exception.

They built special scaffolding that wouldn’t mar Mona’s walnut floors and installed winches in the ceiling so the large fixtures could be lowered for bulb changes and cleaning.

Once the lights were installed, however, Mona panicked. They didn’t fill the space as she had envisioned because they were too close to the ceiling. She called CX owner, Richard Cleves — or as we like to call him, ” CX Design’s Fixture First Responder ” — who talked her down from a high shelf in the wine room and solved the problem by lowering the chandeliers on chains.

The results, we think, speak for themselves. Thank you Mona for inviting us into your beautiful home. We look forward to seeing where else your considerable, equation-free talents take you.

Till next time, Stay Radiant!
Chuck
CX Design’s Senior Water Cooler Gossip Columnist