How can I get a SAD therapy light that is visually appealing?

February 12, 2013 10:49 AM

Most SAD therapy lights are somewhere between utilitarian and ugly in terms of design. I want one that is beautiful, such that you could actually design a room around it. I think I would probably need to have it custom made, but I don't even know what sort of person I would begin trying to talk to. Let's ignore the question of cost for the time being, where would I find a person with the requisite skills (lighting, electrical, design, etc...) to build this for me?
posted by mmmmbobo to technology (4 answers total)

Most of the commercial SAD light boxes have replacement bulbs - - perhaps they could be retrofitted into a non-SAD lamp that you find stylish.
posted by fairmettle at 10:58 AM on February 12

Couldn't you just buy the light you want (i.e., based on power, size, timer functions) and hack a new enclosure for it? That would save most of the brainwork involved. I've done similar things with a digital photo frame.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 11:00 AM on February 12 [2 favorites]

The actual electrical design and construction isn't that difficult, as explained on this site but making it look pretty could be as easy or as hard as you want.

You could try asking at the sculpture program at any nearby art schools, that is a field that combines artistic vision with construction.
posted by ChrisHartley at 11:07 AM on February 12

There's a company called INNOSOL who make slightly more design-conscious SAD lamps. You can see some of the models here. (Note that there are two pages of lamps, and the second page has some of the more designer-y ones) They're not amazing, but I do think some are a bit nicer than the usual kind - the egg one is particularly pleasing and unusual, as are some on the second page.
posted by Acheman at 2:27 AM on February 13