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

Varaluz is a lighting company which Creative Lighting has supported for many years. More recently however, we have begun to feature their styles in a much more deliberate way, and for good reason! Varaluz lighting products are assembled in the Philippians where recycling is a way of life. This being the case, when you invest in a Varaluz light you are investing in a product which is made of at least 70% recycled steel and 100% recycled or reclaimed glass. Elements that are used in their glass ranges from recycled soda bottles to pearl shells.

With the heavy emphasis Varaluz places on recycled materials and sustainability, one might come to the conclusion that they lack style. Nothing can be further from the truth. The styles which Varaluz boast range in inspiration from the organic to the industrial. This being said, if you decide on a Varaluz light you can be confident you will have a fixture that is both fresh and unique.

To investigate Varaluz further please stop into our showroom where you will be able to see many of their creative and beautiful designs.

Since we look at lighting all day, we are not easily impressed with new LED offerings from our manufacturers.  Puck lights, undercabinet fixtures and LED tape lighting ( like rope lighting, but flatter!) need to give off bright, flattering illumination in order for the staff to take notice.  Everybody makes LED, but very few companies’ offerings produce high-quality light at a price that isn’t offensive.

Because of the aforementioned reasons, I was reluctant to take a look Diode LED, yet another company promising the moon.

Turns out, I was very impressed.

Orinda, California’s Diode LED (Pixar’s next door neighbor) started making LED lights for high end vehicles such as Lexus and Infiniti.  Their engineers are no strangers to crisp, white light that can be easily dimmed.  Due to customer demand, the folks at Diode have produced puck lights, tape light (dry and damp location) and low-profile undercabinet bars that are brighter than halogen but use a fraction of the energy.

While most companies emphasize the quality of the LED chip in the production of fixtures, Diode uses high-quality drivers as well.  Drivers are what regulate the voltage to the LED chips and are usually the weakest link in the installation.  Diode’s drivers are affordable but promise to be more reliable than many brands’.

We invite you to stop into our St Paul showroom where one of our lighting consultants can show you the Diode LED display.  We believe you’ll be as impressed as we are!

Refract Undercabinet LightBar

Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios, by Loius Comfort Tiffany.

In 1865, Tiffany traveled to Europe to the Victoria and Albert Museum. He admired the glass but was convinced he could improve on it. In 1878 his interest turned toward the creation of stained glass. At that time he opened his own studio and glass foundry. Today his designs are found everywhere. They  range from prairie, craftsman. art nouveav, and contemporary.

At one time when you said you had a tiffany it came from his studio. Now it refers to the style of his designs.What they all have in common are the individual hand cut pieces of glass.

How is a tiffany style lamp made?

First: The puzzled must be designed. Then actual pieces have to be designed to create the puzzle.

Second: These pieces once created have to be cut.

Third: The rough edges on each piece have to be smoothed.

Fourth: All copper foil and zinc egdes soldered together one at a time until the entire fixture is done.

This is why all tiffany lamps are so unique and individual. No two are alike. It’s like buying a piece of sculpture that no else owns and worth every penny!!

The American Lighting Association provides an easy to ready chart outlining the new incandescent bulb requirements.  Check it out if you have questions! 

http://www.americanlightingassoc.com/About-ALA/Press-Releases/New-U-S–Energy-Efficiency-Legislation-for-Light-B.aspx

Experience Hand Crafted Quality from Hubbardton Forge

A new display gallery  is currently up in our showroom featuring a variety of lighting fixtures from one of our “made in America” companies that specializes in forged iron products.

Hubbardton Forge is a company that started as a blacksmithing and metals studio in an old barn in Vermont and has grown into a well known manufacturer in the lighting industry that makes quality lighting and lamps out of hand crafted forged iron.

They have a complete line of table and floor lamps, wall sconces, ceiling and hanging fixtures, pendants, and outdoor lights.

To see the new and various Hubbardton Forge products currently showing in Creative Lighting’s showroom with the different finishes and glass choices, will give you a true sense of the exceptional quality this manufacturer strives to achieve.

Crystorama Lighting is a leader in quality lighting products.  They continue to introduce innovative  designs while staying true to the classic styles that go back to the orgins of the company.

Crystorama Lighting was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1958 by Abraham Kleinberg. The company was initially established as a primary importer of crystal chandeliers from Bohemia-Northern Czechoslovakia and offered the finest selection of classical crystal designs. Abraham Kleinberg’s passion as an artist and designer was inspired from various cultures around the world. Through his travels he has incorporated into the product line the full hand cut crystal, the craftsmanship of decorative ironwork, and the meticulous manner by which ornate castings are hand chased to bring out their intricate detailing. Crystorama’s rich heritage has continued over the last 50 years by working with design communities in Europe, India, Asia, and North America. The classically designed chandeliers continue to use the authentic molds and patterns to maintain the traditions of our forefathers. In a world of mass production, Crystorama Lighting continues to offer classical chandeliers that require years of experience and specialized craftsmanship.

At Creative Lighting we appreciate the impact a great lighing fixture can have in any space.  Visit our showroom to see some of the latest Crystorama designs like these shown here.

Authenticity Lighting made it’s debut at the January Dallas market.   This new company was founded on a simple premise: produce beautiful, high quality lighting with an honest and straight forward approach.  To accomplish this they took a fresh look at every aspect of the process, from initial sketches and design to material and finish selection, all the way through to final production and delivery.

Seen above are two peices from the Monarch Collection.  It  features four styles in two finishes: Antique Gold Leaf or Rustic Iron.  It’s shape and seeded glass panels echo the floating freedom of a butterfly in flight.  Monarch is offered in two chandelier sizes, plus a mini chandelier and a two light wall sconce.

Come to the Creative Lighting showroom to see a gallery of fixtures from Authenticity Lighting!