Cook County lighting consultant Jim Miller contends that the most important part in a construction or remodeling project is lighting but it is one of the last things people consider.
Are you remodeling? Planning to build a house or cabin? Repurposing a room and need to figure out how to light it better? Expert help will be on the way if you call local lighting consultant Jim Miller.
“The single most important part in any new construction or remodeling project is lighting, and it’s almost always one of the last things people consider,” Miller said. “Very, very few light fixtures exist even in a lot of luxury homes in the Twin Cities, and the ones that are there are extremely inadequate for the large spaces, he said. Installing them later is “way more expensive.”
“The thing to do,” Miller said, “is to do it right the first time.”
Miller started his lighting career at Thompson Lighting in Minnetonka way back in 1983. He was then recruited by Cartier Lighting in Plymouth and worked for them as a manager, buyer, and senior lighting designer until February of this year, commuting for over 10 years after establishing a home in Hovland. While he was a commuter, he represented the company as a lighting designer up and down the entire North Shore.
Cook County lighting consultant Jim Miller knows just how to light up the holidays…and the dark days of winter…and the rest of the year as well.
Miller, an American Lighting Association-certified senior lighting designer, is now on his own as a freelance consultant and designer and has launched Northern Lights Lighting Design and Sales. He comes well recommended. Architect Sara Sousanka, author of the widely acclaimed book The Not So Big House, has referred to him as “my lighting angel.”
Miller has worked in homes designed by prominent Minnesota architects and has lighted many of the luxury homes featured in Twin Cities home tours. He has lighted the homes and vacation retreats of professional sports figures and CEOs of large Minnesota corporations and has traveled as far as Florida, Hawaii and the Grand Cayman Islands to do it. He has been involved in lighting numerous Cook County landmarks as well, such as WTIP Radio, the Angry Trout Restaurant, and Hungry Jack Lodge, where his client said, “I don’t know what I would have done without you!” He has worked with local contractors such as Steve Sande and Mike Borman and is networked with the largest lighting showroom in Minnesota.
One happy set of clients was Dr. Michael Sampson and Kathy Nevers, who said Miller made their project “fun, simple, and easy” and considered his ability to understand their style “unsurpassable.” She also said, “We don’t know what we would have done without Jim.”
Miller also designed the lighting for John Redshaw and Kristen Carlsgaard’s house. John told Miller, “Lighting makes such a big difference, and you knew exactly what to do, uplighting our ceiling, sizing fixtures to the space. We’d have been clueless without you. Your lighting touches made our home feel homey.”
Anybody can go online today and order a light and have it here in three to four days, Miller said. But is it the right light? Is it a quality light? Is it the right fit? Will it illuminate the way you want it to? “It’s a gamble,” he said.
According to Miller, a room that feels really good to be in is layered with different types of lighting. It will have ambient lighting, task lighting, reading lighting, mood lighting, cabinet lighting, and up lighting. Uplighting will highlight beautiful woodwork on a ceiling, for example. “I think every room should have at least two to three levels of light,” he said. The old light fixture on the ceiling in the middle of the room is simply inadequate.
An adequate lighting plan will include both the ability to have bright light and the ability to control it and conserve energy, Miller said. “It’s like buying a fast car. You don’t have to drive fast all the time. But it’s there when you need it.”
Lighting can be adjustable, with controls for various layers of light throughout a room. As Miller puts it, the lighting you need for watching a movie is different from the lighting you need to pick out underwear from your drawer. His favorite part of a project is choosing fixtures that coordinate with the design of a building.
“I can supply fixtures at Internet pricing, and my expertise is a guarantee that the fixture will fit the space and illuminate the area the way it’s supposed to,” Miller said.
Miller is focusing on residential lighting and is available to consult for a fee or consult and obtain the lighting for his clients as well. He can be reached at (218) 475-2656, (218) 370-9603, or pinecrestomg@boreal.org.
Miller is happy to be living full-time in Cook County after first living here for three years in the 1970s. He is also a father and a musician, performing at numerous venues throughout the community. In more ways than one, he makes the world a brighter place.
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