20 May 2010

Some notes and observations about LED lighting in bath design

Check out these LED-equipped shower heads.





They seem to be all the rage and the design press dutifully repeats what they're fed by the manufacturers. "Chomatherapy is good!" "Light is therapeutic!" "Colored lights will heal the sick, make the blind see and the lame walk again!"

Hogwash, all of it.

What no one seems to be willing to say is that these showers are tacky. Multi-colored LEDs are tacky. There I said it.

Multicolored LEDs belong in theme parks, not in homes. The surest way to ruin a perfectly lovely modern bath design is to install one of these things.

15 comments:

  1. Flame on friend! Couldn't agree with you more.

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  2. And pulsing LED lights will cure equine back aches, prevent stocking up in the legs and laminitis. If you throw in a magnet or two, you could cure the horse of cancer!!

    Amazing how many people fall for that crap, really smart people too.

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  3. Thanks Pam!

    DWB: It is amazing how many people fall for this crap. Equally amazing is the violent reaction I get when I demand evidence that a pseudo-scientific cure or idea works. Ask a Feng Shui snake oil salesman for proof that Feng Shui does anything but rope in gullible people some time. Hilarity will ensue, trust me.

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  4. Green "chromatherapy" bathing water...now if that doesn't make my stomach churn. Pa-leeze!

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  5. Laurie: Everybody knows that green light heals, cures and enhances one's zest for life. If you can't go along with that, something's wrong with you. Hah!

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  6. but.. but.. a red LED shower would work so well in a Psycho-themed bathroom! Actually, that would be pretty awesome.. can you tell that I'm a horror movie fan?

    I'd like one of these with just plain white light so that I could shower in the dark though.. those are pretty fabulous looking showed heads.

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  7. I don't believe in chromatherapy for artificial lighting. But I do believe that taking risks with color is a good thing.

    Admittedly most people overdo it, and in small residential spaces it's even tougher to pull off.

    But as an architect who has been conditioned to be completely terrified of color, I admire those who take chances with mixing color and light.

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  8. Nim: I would love to see your Psycho-themed bathroom.

    Caitlin: Thanks for your comment. I like when people take risks with color too but I have never seen an instance of projected, color light in a residential setting that didn't look forced and cheap. I'm sure someone will come up with an application for this technology that's appropriate for home use, these shower heads ain't it.

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  9. Ugh. I don't even have multi-colored LED lights on my Christmas tree. And am I the only one who hates a rainshower that just pours water straight down?! Your options are being waterboarded every morning or freeze while shaving your legs. no thanks.

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  10. You know, whoever invented the rain head was NOT A contact lens wearer. I can't so much as look at one without my lenses twitching.

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  11. I would definitely need a bigger water heater so that I could stand in the warm rain for HOURS... now if I could only figure out how to read in the shower, I'd be set!

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  12. Well, the health stuff is obviously absurd and worthy of all manner of ridicule. But I can think of designs where this could work. A "Tron" bathroom, perhaps. People have done way sillier things.

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  13. Nim: You can run those things on a recirculating pump so that the same water runs through the system until you turn it off. How to read in the shower? Easy. Put a Kindle in a water proof dive bag, similar to one you'd use for a camera. Problem solved.

    Señor Subjunctivo! Welcome back! In my excitement over seeing your name around here again I'll look past your idea for a Tron-themed bathroom. Hah!

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  14. These showers use lots of water :-s

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  15. Not all of them do, in fact a couple of them use less water than a conventional shower. The real water killers ate the waterfalls.

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