A common problem in many homes is not having enough light, especially in the main living areas.  A very practical, and often times inexpensive solution to this problem, is making use of a torchiere lamp.

Torchiere lamps throw light up toward the ceiling allowing the light to reflect throughout the room and fill the entire space with light.  The most common way to use this type of lamp is to place one in a corner of a room which will not otherwise get adequate light, or to place one beside a couch or chair. There are a multitude of vendors  who design quality torchiere lights.  In our showroom we have designs ranging from contemporary to traditional, and prices ranging from the low hundreds to multiple thousands and everywhere in between.

If you are looking to increase your overall light level in any room of your home a torchiere may be the easiest solution to the problem.

As fall and winter begin in the upper Midwest, we are often asked about  SAD lighting.  There are many products on the market making all different kinds of claims.  Since these products are  not approved or regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, it can be challenging to figure out which will work best for your particular needs.   That’s why it’s important to understand your options before you choose one.  Mayo clinic has provided some guidlines for shopping for these products:

How bright is it? Some light boxes are brighter than others — which means you need to use them for less time each day than dimmer light boxes to achieve the same effect. Look for a light box that provides the right intensity of light when you’re a comfortable distance away. For example, it may be effective to use a light box that produces 10,000 lux (a measurement of light intensity) 12 to 14 inches (30.5 to 35.6 centimeters) from you for 30 minutes each morning. However, using a box that produces 2,500 lux at the same distance may take two hours or more to achieve the same effect.

Can it be positioned appropriately? Think about where you’ll want to place your light box. Keep in mind, most light boxes need to be positioned within 2 feet (61 centimeters) of you. Make sure the light box you choose can be positioned appropriately.

Does your doctor recommend it? Before you purchase a light box, talk to your doctor, mental health provider or pharmacist. Ask about the light box you’re thinking about buying. He or she may offer additional guidance or tips to make sure that treatment with a light box is safe and as effective as possible for you.

To read the full article from Mayo clinic: click here

Some people in the industry say that the polished brass finish will never go out of style. With that being said, when looking in various showrooms or online, one would be hard pressed to find any fixtures in polished brass.

What do you do when you have polished brass fixtures and hardware throughout your home and want to update?

Currently, bronze and satin nickel finishes dominate the options for finishes in light fixtures and hardware. Depending on budget and how long you plan on living in your home, you can minimize your polished brass by working with the newer finishes that are out there.

Let’s take a bathroom for example, in the past, most of the time the light fixture finish would match the sink faucet hardware. Which in turn, also matched the knobs on the door cabinets, shower and bath hardware and possibly the mirror. You can minimize the polished brass by replacing the light fixture with a finish that matches the colors in your vanity counter top, wall color, and or flooring color. If your bathroom has warm colors in the the three above mentioned areas, a bronze fixture with cream glass may look better. If you have lighter or white colors in your counter, walls, or floor; a satin nickel finish may work better. The mirror frame color could even match your light fixture for a further tie in.

Some bronze finishes have a mixed painted finish look in which multi-colors like brass and copper show through the bronze finish and can pick up those colors within your space.

A finish from Capital Lighting called Winter Gold has a silver/gold mix that could tie in with polished brass hardware.  Kichler Lighting has a Cambridge Bronze finish that’s a mix of antique brass and a bronze finish which makes it a lighter bronze.  Hinkley Lighting has a Brushed Bronze finish or a Brushed Caramel that is a lighter finished brushed brass look.

While polished brass may not be the current trend, by updating with the newer finishes that compliment and work with the brass, you can create an updated look for your home.

Many customers come in, not really knowing where to start when it comes to lighting a new home they are building or doing a large remodel.  Here are some things to consider when starting to think about lighting.

1. Call a lighting showroom, and set up a time to meet with a consultant. Set aside 2-4 hours for this process, any longer than that and you’ll be feeling drained.

2. Make sure to bring plans if you have them, any pictures you might have, and an idea of a budget. Keep in mind, if you haven’t shopped for lighting in a long time, prices have changed.

3. When you come in for the meeting, the consultant will most likely go over your whole plan with you, and make some recommendations of placement and types of lighting for each area, going over details with you.

4. A list will be made, for all of your lighting needs, and notes.

5. Usually, you will walk around the showroom and look at different options, and jot down any that you like or could work.

6. It will be different for every consultant, but usually you will get photocopies or emailed links of all the selections you made, and then you’ll either meet again, or work via email to make all of the final selections. Also, your consultant may want to visit your home to do a walk-through, and talk with your electrician to verify decisions and clarify any questions. The rest of the terms will be discussed at the time of ordering.

Things to Note: You will want to plan the locations before they install all of the junction boxes/wiring. Lighting is the last thing to go in, but you’d want to get it on order at least 2 months prior to your move-in date. Lighting is usually a 2-3 week lead time, but there can be unforeseen backorders. The earlier you can pick out your lighting, the better.

With rising energy costs and a general wish to consume less energy, many homeowners are deciding to install LED recessed lighting. LED recessed fixtures have reached a point in the marketplace where the cost-performance  ratio makes them a viable replacement for older incandescents.

Why choose LED for recessed lighting?  What are some of the differences from traditional incandescent that make LED worth considering?

LED, when performing correctly, uses roughly 25% of the energy of incandescent sources.  This not only leads to energy savings, but fewer watts equates to less heat in the lit spaces.  LED will produce a quarter of the heat of incandescent, and even that small amount of heat is filtered up through the top of the recessed fixture, rather than projected downward like a flood lamp in an incandescent fixture.

Today’s LEDs are reliable and rated operating life can exceed fifteen years.  Imagine not having to get up on a ladder and change a light bulb until your toddlers go off to college!  If you tire of bulb-changing, the investment of LED recessed lighting may appeal to you.

In the not-so-distant past, people have been turned away by the harsh, blue light of LED.  It is now common to find affordable, bright, color-true LEDs in a variety of recessed trim styles and sizes.

Homeowners with existing recessed fixtures may be unable/unwilling to tear open their ceilings to install an entirely new LED system.  Thankfully, many manufacturers supply ‘retrofit’ canisters that replace older incandescent trims, and utilize the existing recessed housings.  Replacing a trim takes only minutes, and there are styles available for less than $100.  If you factor the energy and bulb cost over 15 years for the old light, the money doesn’t seem so daunting.

Even if you are reluctant to change an old fixture, you can still pick up a reliable LED flood bulb for around $30 that will give you the same brightness as incandescent, yet last up to 50 times as long.

Whether new construction, retrofit trim or replacement bulb, you will find many choices of recessed lighting that will bring you energy savings, lower heat and extremely long life- all with a light quality that will please even the most discerning eye.

Watch this short 3 minute video posted by the American Lighting Association for some inexpensive ways to update your lighting and improve how your lighting works for you!

Video: How Lighting Can Update Your Home on a Small Budget

For more lighting tips, visit our website!

People have many options for purchasing lighting. You can go to big box stores, go to many online sites to do your searching and ordering or visit a local lighting showroom. Choosing to work with a consultant at a lighting showroom can be the most beneficial for you.

When working with a consultant, you are working with someone who works with lighting everyday and it’s their specialty. They have a knack for design, and can provide you with options you may not have thought of. Lighting consultants can help lead you through the lighting selection process by asking the right questions, analyzing your needs and space, helping select the best type of lighting and style for your space, offering you the opportunity to see what you are buying, and by providing you with follow up and local service.

Lighting showrooms carry a wide breadth of vendors so the options are limitless. If you are stumped with a lighting issue, (for instance, a wall sconce the needs to provide a lot of light located at the bottom of the stairs that has a low ceiling height, a narrow width and not much clearance) consultants can give you some options for lighting those spaces. Consultants are also knowledgeable about different bulb options, under-cabinet lighting, custom track/monorail lighting, dimmers and wall switches, and many other lighting options that can make a difference in your home and save you money.

Have you ever thought, “I’m having trouble seeing what I am doing,” or “the lighting in this room isn’t quite right?”  If so, you aren’t alone.  The most common lighting complaints revolve around insufficient or unflattering light.  We recommend using an experienced specialist to isolate your lighting challenges and guide you through the placement and selection process. 

Following are some common challenges that you may face:

• ·         Light sources are not bright enough to provide adequate illumination.
• ·         There are too few light sources to adequately light the space.
• ·         Light fixtures may be the wrong design for the room.
• ·         Light fixtures are incorrectly placed in the room.

The amount of light you need depends on the design of the space as well as the distinct visual requirements of rooms such as a home office, kitchen, bathroom or library.  Remember that it usually takes a combination of several light sources, such as ambient, task and accent lighting to achieve your goals.  The age of the occupants and personal lighting preferences should also be considered.  Once all of these factors are considered, you will be able to select the most effective lighting solution for your home.

Dimmers are also important in any lighting design and will make your lighting selections more versatile.  Depending on a room’s usage, like a dining room table being used for homework or a romantic dinner, you can easily change the light level to accommodate each activity.  Rooms with more than one function also benefit from layering light from different lighting sources such as wall sconces, recess lighting and hanging fixtures.

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Most people only think of ceiling fans for summer use, when in fact there are many benefits to using them in the winter.  In any given room there are layers of air with varying degrees of temperature; the warmest air  is near the ceiling.  In the winter months you should run your ceiling fan in a clockwise direction.  This pushes warm air up against the ceiling and then down the walls, gently recirulating warm air through the room without causing a chilling breeze.  This technique has been proven to lower home heating costs by as much as 10%.  Ceiling fans can bring numerous energy saving benefits to your home.  Most ceiling fans use only about as much power as a 100 watt light bulb.  When used properly, ceiling fans can save you money in utility bills in both the winter and summer months.

Most people only pick out lighting every 15-30 years. Lighting changes a lot in that time span, so there are some common mistakes people make that can be avoided.

• Under-sized lighting on the exterior of their home, especially next to large garage doors. When you pick out lights, you’re in a store or showroom that is smaller scale than the exterior of your garage is usually. To avoid this, bring in a picture of your home into a lighting showroom so someone can help you with appropriate scale. Just remember that they will always look larger in the store, than they will look on your house.
• Heights are important.  For fixtures you will be walking under, you’ll want to leave 7’ of clearance from the floor to the fixture.  Over tables, many people hang fixtures to high.  Fixtures should be hung a little above eye level. The general recommendation is 30” between the table and the bottom of the fixture.
• Wall Sconces and Lamps are underused. When building a home, don’t understimate the nice accent lighting that sconces can create. If you’re doing a remodel, see if you can wire in a couple sconces to flank a large window, or fireplace. Also, if you need extra lighting in a room, but don’t have the ability to hardwire anything, add some floor lamps or table lamps. They make many styles that can add quite a bit of lighting for a room, or just create a nice accent as well.
• Installing Only Recessed Lighting in a Bedroom. If its a bedroom in your house that will be used primarily for sleeping, only using recessed for general lighting will not be the best way to do that. When you are laying in bed, you will have spotlights to stare up at. These can be very uncomfortable for a place of rest. Its better to use a fan with a center light, or a semi-flush mount in the middle to provide more soft & diffused light along with the recess.  This gives you the option of having soft light or directional light in the room