How Do You Light Small Spaces?

One of the questions that I am frequently asked is "how do you handle lighting in small spaces?" Well, I would love to give you a simple answer, but each is as unique as each person. There are a lot of questions to ASK before we can ANSWER. For instance, what is the function of the space? Will you need to read in there? How about relax? Will you need to do different things at different times? Will you have plants in the room? Office space? Will this be a make up room? Well, you get the idea.

For the best answer, go to a Lighting Specialist at your local lighting showroom. They will be able to properly assess your needs. For a general answer, let me offer these suggestions for you:

Powder Room - In this room, you can generally go with lights beside or over your vanity and/or an overhead light. If you plan to apply make-up regularly, the side lighting will reduce the shadows.

Full Bathroom - This room will need more light. Aside from the side lighting at the vanity mirror, you will want to have light for your shower/bath area. If it is in a stand-alone shower, be sure it is rated for this area due to the moisture. Additionally, a commode that is separated into its own little room will need lighting, preferably overhead, with the possible addition of decorative wall sconces.

Reading Nook - This area will need brighter bulbs with higher wattages. Aside from your normal overhead lighting, you will want some bright lighting that will illuminate on your reading area. Wall sconces can do this, or torchiere/floor lamps.

Adding lighting throughout a smaller home or apartment can make an otherwise cramped location seem more open and cheery. Wall sconces, recessed lighting, and other accent lighting is perfect for this as they do not take up valuable floor space. Ever go into a model home and notice how bright and large it seems compared to others? The trick that many realtors use is to keep all of the lights on even during the day!

So what are YOUR questions about lighting? Drop us a line/comment and we will be happy to provide an answer!

Until next time, this is LightingGal from Lighting One, reminding you to ask the Lighting Experts at a Lighting One showroom or other specialty retailer to get the most out of your home. Think it is more expensive? Think again! Check us out to see. http://www.lighting-one.com/ to find your closest retailer.

Where to Use CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights)

Creating an indoor lighting plan usually takes three major factors into consideration: General illumination/ ambient lighting gives a space an overall lighted appearance. Task lighting specifically places light in desired areas to perform work or read. Dramatic/decorative lighting creates mood and adds interest to interior design. Often, outdoor lighting represents a fourth consideration to an entire lighting plan. Energy-efficient CFLs are made in a variety of styles to fit practically every incandescent equivalent currently being used. Many CFLs are offered in dimmable and three-way versions, which allow the user greater control of the lamp’s light output. When working with CFLs, it is recommended that you assess the lamp’s abilities for the given application.

Reprinted with permission from "Green Matters" from Satco Products, Inc. (c) Satco Products, Inc.

Yosemite in Lighting One Showrooms

Lighting One recently joined with Yosemite Home Decor to have their products in selected Lighting One showrooms throughout the country. Located in the Central Valley of Fresno, California, Yosemite Home Decor has set out to become the premier leader in lighting and other home products. The extraordinary beauty and unsurpassed quality of the Yosemite line is guaranteed to transform any home's decor into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

Aside from lighting, Yosemite suppliers our showrooms with decorative accessories and products, including sinks, fireplaces, artwork, plumbing, range hoods, and stone products. This variety of product categories is allowing our showrooms to offer consumers and designers an even wider range of services that we may provide.

See our showroom locator see if the store near you is carrying Yosemite Home Decor Products. The photograph shown is a Yosemite Fireplace in our Lighting One store - Sun Lighting in Tucson, AZ.

Spruce up Your Home for the Holidays!

You have your family coming in for the holidays and you would LOVE to redo your entire home before-hand... but who can afford it these days? Well, there are a few things that you can do to give your home a whole new look without having to take a second mortgage!

Placing a few new lamps around the house can provide a fresh look for your home, while providing much needed lighting for reading, homework, or projects. This additional splash of light will also brighten your home and make it feel more inviting. OR use these new lamps and turn off the overhead lights for an intimate ambiance.

Strategically placed under-cabinet lighting in your kitchen will not only provide better lighting for your workspace, but also provide your kitchen with an updated look, accent your beautiful counters, and add another layer of invitation to your already welcoming kitchen.

While we are in the kitchen, let's take a look at the lighting over your island. Placing a few art-glass mini-pendants over your island will give your entire kitchen a lift and a modern look. Or install an island light for a dual purpose fixture, that will also allow you to showcase your cookware and keep it in a handy place.

Replacing your dining room chandelier can instantly dress up your dining room. Find one that complements your style, whether traditional, modern, casual, elegant, or even eclectic. Add a few sconces on the wall to complement the chandelier, add another layer of lighting, and provide further decoration for the room.

Let's not forget the bathrooms! Sconces to either side of your vanity mirror will not only provide a high-end look for your bathroom, but your make up will thank you as you will see a more natural look with no harsh shadows. Adding a crystal mini-chandelier in your bathroom is a trendy new way to create an elegant up-lift or to enhance your shabby chic feeling.

While you are redecorating, add a few lamps in your bedrooms - reading lamps for homework spaces, torchieres for seating areas, swing arm lamps above the bed for reading, or table lamps for the side tables.

Think ceiling fans are only for the summer? Not so! Ceiling fans can be used all year around. Simply reverse the airflow and your ceiling fan will circulate the heat throughout the room and keep your room from feeling too stuffy. Not only will it help your energy savings (by better distributing the air) but also, if you buy one this time of year, chances are pretty good you can find them on sale!

So, don't spend a fortune redecorating your home. Pick a few of these tips (or even all of them) and you will find yourself with a drastic change in your home for much less than remodeling!

For more design tips, contact your local lighting design specialist. To find a showroom near you, visit www.lighting-one.com.

The product shown in the picture is 0411-RD and is available at participating Lighting One showrooms.

The Color of Lighting

We tend to think of midday sunlight as the standard for pure white light. However when daylight is passed through a prism, the visible light is actually rendered as equal parts of a continuous spectrum. This spectrum is taught to schoolchildren by the name ROY G. BIV. Each letter standing for the visible colors produced by white light in the order it appears across the spectrum, Red, Orange Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. In contrast, artificial light sources give off varying amounts of these colors. Incandescent light includes most of the spectrum but has a large proportion of red and yellow. When dimmed, incandescent light will become more orange in color.

Many people think of fluorescent light as being high in green and blue, but today fluorescent bulbs come in over 200 colors.

Halogen lights produce a brighter, “whiter” light, than both standard incandescent and fluorescent light sources. Because of this brighter, white light, halogens have become very popular for both commercial and residential lighting.

Color temperatures as measured in degrees Kelvin (K) are used to formally rate light bulbs. Temperatures below 3,500 degrees K are warm-toned, more yellow in color; while higher temperatures are increasingly cool, or blue in color.

Color Temperatures
Approximate		Light
6300°		Daylight Fluorescent
5500°		Natural Summer Sunlight
4100°		Deluxe Cool Fluorescent
3000°		Deluxe Warm White Fluorescent
2900°		Quartz Halogen
2800°		100 Watt Incandescent
2600°		“Incandescent” Fluorescent
2500°		40 Watt Incandescent
1800°		Candlelight

For more information on color, or anything about Lighting, visit a lighting expert at your local Lighting One showroom.

The product shown is 1469-ET and is available at Lighting One showrooms.

To find your closest showroom, or to view some of the products available for sale on our website, visit www.lighting-one.com.

Lighting Help for Seasonal Affective Disorder

Most of us have come to spend our waking hours indoors...eliminating sunlight from daily routines. But, as science continues to discover and understand the role light plays in our lives, its use as both a therapeutic and preventative tool is becoming evident.

Our inability to perceive colors adequately, as is the case on a gray winter day or under poor artificial lighting, can negatively affect our mood and energy flow. In the winter, we invariably have less energy, while in the spring we come alive. For many, these mood swings are severe and typify a condition know as Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). Those affected with S.A.D. act like animals prior to hibernation-increased sleep, diet changes and weight gain.

Combat these issues with options ranging from light bulbs to lamps to doctor-recommended light boxes at 10,000 lux. The Chromalux bulb, Verilux Happy Eyes Lamp and Verilux Happy Lite are all choices available as great full spectrum lighting solutions to help treat S.A.D. The Chromalux bulb has its origin in Finland where life must be sustained in almost total darkness for several months each year. With this innovative, extra-long life bulb, the light is purified, allowing colors to maintain their true color and vibrancy. It has been described as the closest thing to natural daylight.

By using full spectrum bulbs, lamps or light boxes in your home or office, you'll brighten up your area and mood allowing you to see and feel better.

Submitted by Jennifer Guerriero with the Light Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, a Lighting One showroom. To locate the Lighting One showroom nearest you, or for more Lighting One Design Tips, please visit www.lighting-one.com. Please note that some products may vary by location.

Mastering the Lighting in Your Master Suite

With today’s open master suites, the master bedroom has taken on a whole new dimension in the home. Decorative sconces, torcheres, portable lamps, or built in cove lighting can provide glare free fill light. If replacing a ceiling globe in the middle of the room, consider an opaque pendant that directs the light up and off the ceiling, unless the fixture is a light unit for a ceiling fan. (When a fixture is attached to a ceiling fan the light should not be directed upward as it creates a very annoying strobe effect when the fan is on.)

Where we have a master bedroom with an adjacent sitting area, more lighting will be required. Recessed lighting is one of the preferred ways to light a general area because the light source is concealed. The room will come alive through accenting artwork, wall washing or grazing. Another way to accent the room is through wall sconces.

Finally consider adding a few control switches near the bed so lights and nightlights can be controlled without getting out of bed.

No matter what your lighting needs are for your Master Suite, a Lighting One showroom should be able to assist you and provide your more Lighting Design Tips. Visit www.lighting-one.com for your nearest showroom.

Making & Cutting Crystal

Over the last couple of postings, we have been discussing crystal for your home lighting design. We will continue on that topic and explore the process of making and cutting crystal.

Making crystal involves heating a mixture of sand, potash, (potassium carbonate) and lead oxide to at least 4,352 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the crystal is formed, smoothed and beveled, the crystal is polished to a smooth, brilliant finish. The act of "polishing" is actually accomplished by dipping the crystal into an acid bath to strip away the outside layer of crystal.

Special cutting wheels can be used to cut intricate designs in the crystal. Sandblasting can also be used to cut a design into the crystal. The sandblasting method produces a frosted design, while leaving the rest of the crystal piece clear. When you see the frosted design, it means the crystal was never brought back to the acid bath to be polished.

While any piece of glass can be called crystal, it can only be called "lead crystal" when there is at least 24% lead oxide in the glass. Usually 30% is the maximum amount of lead oxide used in crystal.

It should be noted that each piece of true, hand cut, lead crystal is a unique product. Even though a specific pattern may be used, there will still be very slight variations in pattern size and spacing of the elements. This only adds more charm to the fixture. Absolute product consistency can only achieved by a fully mechanized production system, not by a craftsperson.

Next posting - How to Care for your Crystal

Item shown is a table lamp #6304-AB, excluisvely available at Lighting One showrooms with an exclusive cut from Waterford Crystal Lighting. Visit http://www.lighting-one.com/ to find your closest retailer so you may see the entire Waterford for Lighting One (TM) collection.

Diffusion in Your Home Lighting Design

Diffusion is where the light is softened to remove some of the glare. A white opal type diffuser will cause a light loss through the glass of approximately 30%. If the lens is more frosted or crackled, the amount of light lost is closer to 10%. Stained glass, although very decorative has a very high diffusion factor. In some cases, much of the light will not pass through the glass at all.

Keep this in mind when planning your lighting design. You need to determine the uses of the room that you will place your fixture or lamp. If you absolutely love that tiffany lamp and the colors complement your room, by all means go ahead and use it (I love tiffany myself)! However, if you plan to use the space for reading, make certain the bulb is facing where your book would be placed (such as in a torchiere) or have additional lighting in that area.

Image shown is 5905-TR, available at Lighting One showrooms.

Posted with permission from Lighting One http://www.lighting-one.com/

Lamp Shades to improve your Home Decor

Shade sizes are expressed in 3 dimensions. The first represents the top diameter, the second represents the bottom diameter, and the third represents the shade's height. One common rule is that the height of a shade should equal the measurement taken from the base of the lamp to the bottom of the bulb socket. However, some newer styles of lamps and accent lamps may vary from this rule, so discretion should be used when selecting your shade.

The lampshade should be at least as wide as the widest point of the lamp body. Most people prefer the lampshade to be several inches wider than the lamp. In addition, the bottom of the shade should cover the bottom of the socket when viewed at eye level.

The harp determines where the shade sits on the lamp base, and can be used to raise or lower the shade. Shades can be made of almost any material, but the most common are silk, cotton, linen, plastic/vinyl and paper.

See a Lighting One sales consultant for more information and design ideas. Posted with permission from Lighting One http://www.lighting-one.com/

Lamps for your Home Design

Accent lamps can be used in bedrooms, bathrooms, hallways, entrances or any spot in your home that may require extra lighting. Because accent lamps are typically under 20" in height, they provide just the right amount of accent lighting for most any home.

Table lamps typically range anywhere from 25" to 32" in height and are used for general purpose lighting in living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms and family rooms. Floor lamps are also an excellent source of illumination, and are especially useful in dark corners of a room or any other areas that regular lighting may not reach.

Desk lamps are typically 12" to 20" high and are used to light a specific work area such as a desk or small work table. When table space is limited, wall lamps are a good alternative, and are quite common in bedrooms.

Lamps are essential home decorating accessories. The style and finish of a lamp is as important as the wallpaper, carpet or paint used in a room. Although polished brass remains a favorite with homeowners, polished brass, wrought iron, neutral tans, off-whites, and antique whites are gaining popularity.

Remember if you purchase a lamp with a three-way switch, you'll need to purchase a three-way bulb. A three-way switch, on its own, will not provide three levels of illumination without a three-way bulb installed.

See a Lighting One sales consultant for more information and design ideas. Posted with permission from Lighting One www.lighting-one.com