LytePod

What happens when a top interior designer who's spent a decade crafting unforgettable spaces reveals why lighting isn't just another layer in the design—it's the secret weapon that makes or breaks whether a room feels right? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Sarah Kuchar, an interior designer who's built her practice around creating experiences that make people feel somet...

What happens when a lighting designer who's lit more than 2,000 homes explains why billionaires hire him as insurance—and why the most powerful design tool isn't complexity or technology, but simplicity, trust, and the courage to make people feel comfortable in spaces worth tens of millions of dollars? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Pete Romaniello, IALD, a high-end re...

What happens when an architectural photographer who's spent years translating design into visual stories sits down and reveals why the material you picked, the light you specified, and the space you created might never look right in a photograph—unless you understand the difference between taking a picture and making one? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Kendall McCourty...

What happens when two lighting scientists who've spent decades studying how light impacts human health sit down and reveal why the lighting industry has all the science it needs to make a difference—but still isn't asking the right questions? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Mark Rea and Mariana Figueiro, two pioneering researchers in circadian lighting and light's biolo...

What happens when an integrator who's spent 30 years building luxury smart homes sits down and reveals why lighting—not AV, not home theater, not even video walls—has completely grasped his company, and why a lighting package that started at a few hundred thousand dollars ended up over $5 million because they learned to break it down and build it back up the right way? In this episode of LytePOD,...

What happens when a PhD who studies color science sits down and reveals why the material you picked never looks right once it's installed—and why the answer has nothing to do with the material and everything to do with the light? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Tony Esposito, a color science researcher and co-chair of the IES Color Committee, for a rare, unfiltered conv...

What happens when an Italian architect and a Los Angeles lighting designer sit down in Frankfurt and reveal why the best design doesn't come from specialization—it comes from understanding culture, trust, and the courage to say no when you're not the right fit? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Michele, an architect from Milan, and Travis, a lighting designer from Los Ang...

What happens when a healthcare lighting designer who's spent years navigating the most complex, code-heavy, human-centered design challenges sits down and reveals why the lighting industry still doesn't understand what hospitals really need—and why light matters more than anyone thinks? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Ryan Conover, a healthcare lighting specialist, for...

What happens when a lighting designer who lit one of Chicago's most iconic public spaces sits down and reveals why the most powerful design tool isn't technology or talent—it's leading with heart, not ego? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Giulio Pedota, the lighting designer behind Chicago's stunning Riverwalk, for a rare, unfiltered conversation about what it really tak...

What happens when a lighting designer who's built her life around betting on herself sits down and reveals why everything she once believed about success was completely wrong—and what came next changed everything? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Golsana Heshmati, founder of Seed, a boutique lighting design studio in New York City, for a conversation about what it really...

What happens when a lighting designer who's built a thriving practice around education sits down and reveals why he's giving away all his secrets—and why that terrifying decision might be the only way to change an industry that's been failing homeowners for decades? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with David Warfel, founder of Light Can Help You, for a rare, unfiltered conve...

What happens when a lighting designer with four decades of experience sits down and reveals the uncomfortable truth about what creative professionals get wrong about money—and why that misunderstanding quietly undermines everything else they're trying to build? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Charles Stone, Past President of the International Association of Lighting Des...

What happens when custom integrators stop dabbling in lighting and start building entire divisions around it—and why is this the fastest-growing category in luxury residential technology today? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Rob Doherty Listen now to discover why lighting isn't just another subsystem—it's the experience that brings everything else to life. ❤️ Big appre...

What happens when two lighting designers and two manufacturers sit down in the same room and get brutally honest about spec swaps, value engineering, custom details, and what really breaks when a project goes sideways on site? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel brings together voices from London, Florence, and Dubai for a rare, unfiltered conversation about the real friction points betwe...

What does it take to build a career shaped by deep listening, quiet confidence, and the courage to lead without losing yourself in the process? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Teal Brogden, co-leader of HLB Lighting Design, one of the world's most influential architectural lighting design firms, to unpack what it really means to lead with empathy, curiosity, and panache...

What does it take to build a culture that outlives the people who shaped it? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Carrie Hawley and Teal Brogden, co-leaders of HLB Lighting Design — one of the world's most influential architectural lighting design firms — to unpack the business of building, scaling, and leading a design firm that's built to last. This is a candid, deeply hum...

Tom Doherty has spent 40 years in consumer electronics and two decades arguing for one quietly subversive idea: that the lighting industry has spent decades failing homeowners — and the custom integration channel is finally the one fixing it. He's the Director of New Technology Initiatives at HTSA, the international trade consortium of premium residential integrators. He was inducted into the inau...

The IALD Enlighten America's conference filled up the keynote hall - 200+ lighting designers were on edge, as soon as the conversation was over, we recorded this podcast. Sam Koerbel sits down with Emad and Ketty, two lighting designers navigating the seismic shift that artificial intelligence is bringing to the design world. This isn't a conversation about hype or fear. It's a candid, deeply huma...

What happens when you sit down with an architect who's spent decades designing the custom homes of billionaires in one of the world's most demanding environments—and ask her what it really takes to turn a house into a legacy? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel travels to Aspen, Colorado, to sit down with Sarah Broughton, a world-renowned architect and designer whose work has redefined wh...

What happens when you sit down with an interior designer who's spent years shaping the energy of some of the country's most ambitious sports venues—and ask her how light transforms hospitality into emotion? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel travels to Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego to sit down with Edith Ponciano, an elite interior designer whose work has redefined what it means to exp...

What happens when you sit down with a lighting designer who's saving 90% of his time using AI—and ask him to show you exactly how he does it? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel travels to Dubai to sit down with Faraz Izhar, a lighting designer who has transformed his entire workflow using artificial intelligence—not as a replacement for creativity, but as a power tool that amplifies it....

What happens when you sit down with someone who's built one of the world's most successful lighting design practices—and ask him what it really takes to turn creativity into a sustainable business without losing the soul of the work? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Paul Miles, founder of a global lighting design practice spanning nine studios across four continents, to...

In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel sits down with Chip Israel and Kelly Jones, co-CEOs of Lighting Design Alliance (LDA), to unpack the philosophy, process, and people-first culture that transformed a small firm into one of the industry's most respected design teams—and what happened when they recently merged with a larger technology-focused company to unlock the next chapter of growth....

What happens when you sit down with a lighting designer who's spent decades crafting immersive luxury experiences across the Middle East—and ask him what it really takes to turn a journey into an emotion? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel travels to Dubai to sit down with Paul Miles, a veteran lighting designer who has shaped some of the region's most ambitious hospitality projects—from...

What happens when you sit down with a lighting designer who's spent two decades navigating one of the world's most dynamic, culturally complex markets—and ask him how culture, design, and architecture really intersect? In this episode of LytePOD, host Sam Koerbel travels to Dubai to sit down with Siddharth (Sid) Mathur, a veteran lighting designer who has witnessed firsthand the transformation of...