Good home lighting makes a tremendous impact on how we feel.
Although it’s often treated as an afterthought, lighting seriously influences how you, your family and your company feel about your home.
The right home lighting can make your surroundings feel spacious, clean and welcoming. It is instrumental in setting the mood of any room in the house.
Warm light makes people want to linger, slow down, move closer together, just like around a camp fire. (No wonder Fast Food restaurants have bland, bright, even illumination. They are anti-lingering!) More »
Home Lighting
Want to add interest to a room, highlight your collectibles, and add ambient lighting: try lighting your cabinets or – like here – add illuminated niches.
One way to take away from the harshness of the main light source in a dining area is to use additional lighting around the edge of the room. This diminishes the strong contrasts between light and shadow in the room and makes it possible to dim the main fixture, usually the pendant light or chandelier over the dining table to a comfortable, more intimate level.
Buffets and hutches can be illuminated from within and light up your collections of china or treasured pieces .
Look for the color temperature of the bulbs you use for your display. In order to get the effect shown here you need to look for bulbs (lamps) close to 3000K (Kelvin.)
Most quality halogen and fluorescent lamps give you the color temperature as well as the CRI (Color Rendering Index.) If there is a choice, look for a CRI as close to 100 as you can get.
My comments to this beautiful dining area: I love how the illuminated niches stand out and add architectural interest to the space. They fill the room with warmth and make the art pieces “pop”.
That said, I find that the pendant light / chandelier looks kind of lost way above the table. Is it even centered? – It looks like some kind of afterthought. Lowering it would do a world of difference.
Rule of thumb for mounting height of a pendant of chandelier : 30″ above the dining table.
Birdie, Birds, chandeliers, Dining Room, Hubbardton Forge, Ingo Maurer
At first I did a double-take when I saw the price for this light string . Then I realized that there’s no comparison to run-of-the-mill Holiday lights. This is fun, whimsical – and actually functional illumination for a room. Designed by Patrick Townsend
Drape String 19 across a room, add a String 10 to a dark corner and enjoy!
At first glance, the String Light 10 and 19 look industrial and exposed, with their variably sized light bulbs protruding from powder coated aluminum casings, dangling at random from a 60 or 84 inch cord.
Plug in this dimmable light fixture and the String Light assumes a wholly new aura. The 17 white bulbs and 2 red bulbs (9/1 in the 10-light version) glow with a whimsical and refreshing energy. Illuminating a room has never been so interesting.
A lot of fun is to be had when decorating a child’s room. All kinds of themes and colors are available to tailor the room to a tot’s tastes. When it comes to lighting, practicality and atmosphere are important.
The first factor to consider is the age of the child. Babies need central lighting during the day, and something soft to let them sleep at night. An effective choice would be a ceiling light, centered in the room with an up-lighting shade and a dimmer switch. More »
Children's rooms, Luceplan, Luceplan On Off, OnOff, Products
This morning when I picked up my latte at my favorite cafe I noticed that something had changed: The place was really gloomy. Why? Well, several track light spots had burned out and had been replaced with squiggly CFLs! Not a pretty sight!
A spiral compact fluorescent lamp is not designed to be used in a recessed can or a closed track fixture. It doesn’t do well with the heat build-up and will just not last as long.
It also doesn’t really produce enough light, so there goes the energy saving concept.
Cans generally need bulbs with built-in reflectors that push the light out into the room instead of illuminating the inside of the can.
If you want to use CFLs in your recessed lights or track heads, there is actually a solution: CFL PAR lamps. They look like a reflector lamp, but are compact fluorescent. We of carry them in our showroom, but you can find them many places now.
Compact Fluorescent, energy efficient, Track Lighting
We have all seen the photos of the sparkly crystal chandelier over the romantic claw-foot tub and for that reason we actually have quite a few clients who want this glamorous look.
I fully understand. It just looks so-o-o wonderfully decadent. BUT – here comes what I always tell my clients:
Electricity and water do not mix. Period!
Someone might just one day reach up and touch the chandelier. You can’t tell from looking at it if it is properly grounded or not or if it has a short that’s otherwise not obvious.
Standing well-grounded in a bathtub full of water, THAT’s a recipe for disaster! More »
Bathroom Lighting
Livingroom Lighting
Nowadays living rooms are not reserved just for special occacions. The living space is frequently the social center of the home.
It is the place to curl up with a good book, watch tv, visit with friends or entertain formally.
Unlike the kitchen and bathroom, where the position of the light fixtures is pretty much determined by the built-in furniture and appliances, the living room needs a more flexible lighting plan.
Lifestyles change over time, and furniture gets moved around. That’s the reason portable lamps work so well in a living area.
It’s amazing how good lighting can change a space. And it doesn’t even have to be expensive. A few tricks make a huge difference in making the living room feel comfortable and inviting. I do so many home consultations where all I do is to haul a few floor and table lamps out from various nooks and crannies throughout the house and demonstrate how creating “pools of Light” creates atmosphere.
More »
Floor Lamps, living room, Reading Lamps, Table Lamps
Bedroom Lighting
There are many factors to consider when choosing the lighting for this very personal space.
This is the area of our home where we are our true selves, where we savor our private time alone or with a loved one.
Not only intended for sleeping, the bedroom is usually the space you get dressed, choose your outfits, curl up with a good book and relax.
Choosing the right bedroom lighting plays a major role in how comfortable you feel, not to mention your ability to choose matching socks! More »
Bedroom, Bedroom Lighting, Reading Lamps
Foyer Lighting creates a warm welcome
Let the entry to your house create a warm welcome for your guests!
Whether you have a grand entry or a narrow corridor, you can use lighting to make the entrance to your home inviting.
The right lighting can make a small space appear larger and a grand entry breathtaking.
With the open floor plans of today the space is often not clearly defined in the entry.
This might at first glance make the lighting design tricky. But just keep in mind what you want to accomplish and things will fall into place. More »
Entryway, Foyer Lighting, Hallway
Light Up Your Laundry Room
I want that laundry room!!!
Inviting, organized, filled with natural light.
Now let’s face reality:
In the majority of our homes the utility and laundry room is a neglected stepchild.
No wonder that the laundry basket has turned into a trip hazard and the ironing board is rarely used for ironing.
Lighting your utility or laundry room right can have a huge impact on how you feel spending any amount of time there. More »
