Setting the scene

Shoshana and Wayne Blank, owners of Shoshana Wayne Gallery in Santa Monica, called in the architectural firm of Callas Shortridge after purchasing the condominium next to their seaside unit as a way of expanding their living space. “They wanted to combine the two corner units and have a place to display their art,” architect Joel Zeno says. The solution: A 45-foot-long angled art corridor.

To light their extensive personal art collection, the couple selected a Lutron dimming system. Each of the five separate zones--the hallway gallery, living and dining rooms and master and guest bedrooms--is programmed with four light settings: the brightest is for cleaning, while Wayne Blank describes the lowest as “a warm glow great for candlelit dinner parties.” The system also can be operated manually to override and modulate the other settings. “They have the ability to custom-tailor every light to have the correct luminosity on the artwork,” Zeno says. “Once it’s programmed, they never need to think about it again. And when they leave for work, they just push a button and it turns off the entire house.”

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Resource Guide

Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, (310) 453-7535. Callas Shortridge Architects, Culver City, (310) 280-0404. Lutron dimmer available at Plug, Los Angeles, (323) 653-5635.