apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

As a conceptual piece, I think this is amusing. As an actual in-your-home piece, though, I think it's every bit as hideous looking as plastic mini-blinds hanging over a real window.

But in a windowless office or apartment it would make the area brighter and also lighten the mood.

It would also be good for places that don't get much sunlight during the day in the wintertime, where people often buy special lamps to simulate sunlight. If you've never been in a place like that, it's surprising how nice it is to see what looks like natural light from window...

Back in the 193Os, the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago turned a windowless basement service area into the city's trendiest new lunch spot, Le Petite Cafe by the use of wall-to-wall banks of fluorescent tubes--then new to the market--behind long stretches of glossy, Modern white metal Venetian blinds with wide tapes, that were fronted with equally long planters full of sansevieria, that ultimate Art Deco plant. There was no color and no other decoration in the room (and, unfortunately, the room was long gone by the time I got to Chicago) but photos from the period show it to have been a great-looking, glamorous space and it proved that, used with style & imagination, fluorescents needn't look cheap.

Now fluorescents are popular again, but usually as greener--and curlier--substitutes for "real" light bulbs, but, personally, I like to use them in their original format, as coolly glowing tubes that aren't ashamed to announce what they are. I haven't even looked to see the source of light here, but I happen to love this basic look. Now all it needs is to be tweaked so that it doesn't have such a dorm-room makeshift look about it. M.

Palmer House Le Petite Cafe, 1934

www.chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/hotels%20p-z/palmer%20house%20le%20petit%20cafe.JPG

A friend's father did something similar in their basement. Fluorescent lights behind frosted glass french doors on the south wall to create the illusion one could open a door and walk out of the basement into the backyard. The bank of lights were on a timer too so that in the morning the light was brighter on the left (east) and dimmer on the right (west). Reverse in the evening and a set of 10 christmas lights at night to create the effect of stray outdoor light.

Pretty ingenious DIY.

Funny thing is last week I was talking to a friend about trying to put a plant grow light or a light fixture that was really skinny to simulate sunshine behind my wood blinds to fake a little sunshine. I get absolutely no light at all in my space & it does get depressing sometimes.

I wish they would start mass manufacturing this!

Why? How hard could it possibly be to do this yourself?

This is brilliant, if not exactly beautiful. Great idea.

I'm moving into a windowless NY bedroom on friday and I'd really like to give this a shot. Anyone have any more info or tips for a DIY version? Maybe some better looking blinds? What type of lighting will most closely mimic natural sunlight?

Isn't this the exact same product as this, these people have been patented since like 2001?????

Glo Bees LLC :: Bright Blinds & Shades

Bright Blinds & Shades
Patented Technologies by Glo Bees LLC
Bright Blinds

Bright Blinds invented by Glo bees, which are blinds that can be hung in the window or can be hung on blank walls to give the appearance of a window underneath. Electroluminescent sheeting is responsible for the simulated daylight, and the amount of light emitted is controlled via the same methods as traditional blinds.