Page 96 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - December 2015

Sea-Worthy

set the mood. We also have illuminated switches
so our guests can easily nd the light switches

in the dark,” he comments. Another must? Pull-
chains. “I also go for lamps with double-clusters

and pull chains so the guests don’t disturb the
shade while they’re turning the lamp on and o ,”

he notes.

All of the recessed lighting that is used (whether
in guest rooms or public areas) are LED. “For ex-

ample, we found that the halogen lights we had
in the conference room made the room too hot.

Switching to LED was the answer. In cases where

recessed LED lights are above the bed, we made
them directional so there’s less glare,” he explains.

“I never like to see a light bulb, if I can get around
it. I don’t want people to see the source of illumi-

nation, just the light. For example, on the dock, the

lighting is hidden in the ra ers.”
For the desks in the guest rooms where laptops

might be in use, the twins speci ed industrial-style
task lights from companies such as Koch + Lowy

and Robert Sonneman. “I pay a lot of a ention to

The acclaimed lobby area and early 1970s styles. “There are several spe- the weight of lamp base,” Sco states.
includes an open kitchen ci c designers that I lean toward, along with some For the landscaping, uplighting the palm trees
as well as a lobby bar,
si ing area, and breakfast
Scandinavian designs,” he states. “We have a lot
and ancient oaks with LED adds drama. The
lighting on the balconies are made of composite of Lucite lamps and chandeliers in The Black Dol-
room.
material so they will hold up to the salt water en- phin; it’s indestructible. I also love Rougier acrylic

vironment. “They’re high up, so you can’t see that resin lamps from Canada.” The lobby called for
they’re not wrought iron,” Sco notes.
a statement piece, so Sco found teardrop pen-

Finding the perfect lighting for each room “I never like dants from Murano, Italy.
wasn’t a job that ended when the Black Dolphin While the twins eschew cutesy-Coastal, they

Inn opened for business. “I’m upgrading the light- to see a light aren’t afraid to employ a few aquatic touches. “It’s

ing all the time,” Sco admits. “If we do a change not in-your-face Coastal, but more like a Lucite
of fabric in a guest room, I might switch out a lamp bulb. I don’t lamp cut into a pa ern that evokes an iceberg, or

to nd one that picks up those colors. However, a design that evokes the feet of a seashore bird,”
one of the hardest things for me to nd are good want people Sco says. He stays on the look-out for lamps

lampshades. When shading vintage lamps, I like to see the from Rembrandt, Vladimir Kagan, Raymor, or Karl

my shades to look bright, not dull. Just as when Springer at one of his favorite hunting grounds:
you’re buying a suit at Barneys, the best time to source of 1stdibs.com. “They’re all hard to nd, so you really

look for a tie – or, in my case, a lampshade – is right have to search,” he advises. “In all of our suites, we
then when you have the suit on/or when buying illumination, have ceiling fans – this is Florida, a er all – and we

a lamp,” he explains. “Lighting is fashion and you have chandeliers in all of the living room suites. It’s
just the
have to bring your lamps to a lighting showroom breathtaking; guests really love it!”
to get the proper shades. There are times when While the inn provides modern conveniences
light.”
I’ll take 15 lamps in at a time. It’s impossible to that such as at-screen TVs in each room, the furnish-
over the Internet, you’ll just be wasting your time.”
ings take a starring role. “Instead of accessories

With the Smith twins continually updating the like some B&Bs have like straw baskets, we have

inn’s décor, even frequent guests will appreciate beautiful furniture pieces from the 1960s.
the aesthetic freshness — and that’s just one of Sco is very particular about certain aspects of

the many distinctions that has made the Black lighting. “We use plenty of accent lamps, and we
Dolphin Inn a must-see property. put a lot of lighting on dimmers to help our guests
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94 enLIGHTenment Magazine | deceMber 2015
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