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.

Fixing up your home during a recession

In today’s economy and housing market, many people are choosing not to sell their home, but to fix up their existing home instead. This way they can enjoy the property they currently own and when the market rebounds, the time and effort they put in will make their homes more saleable.

One of the largest mistakes a homeowner can make is to not hire a professional to aid in their renovation project, whether it is landscaping, interior design, or remodeling. One can usually see the difference in the finished project when a professional is designing the job.

Starting with outdoor space, a landscape professional can enhance the first impression of your home. In many instances it could be moving old overgrown plantings from the front to the rear yard, or adding to your existing plantings to give a welcome look to your property. In the rear yard, cleaning up and adding new plantings can make the home look younger and more saleable. Adding landscape lighting will both enhance the value to the property, as well as increase the “living space” of the home, as homeowners will enjoy their backyards more often.

Fixing up the interior should be guided by a certified interior designer. Working with color, texture, and light, a designer can give a home a more “comfortable” feeling, and can make spaces appear to be larger. They will work with you to create a home that reflects your personal taste. Their expertise knowledge, expertise, and guidance can help prevent costly mistakes, and can also eliminate features that would be a negative to future prospective buyers.
One aspect of interior design that is rarely discussed is that of interior lighting. If lighting is important to you, be sure to work with a Certified Lighting Designer with lots of lighting experience. It takes years of experience to understand how to use both direct and indirect lighting. Ask about color temperature. Light temperature refers to the color quality that different bulbs produce. Light fixtures and the quality of light they produce have a direct and dramatic impact on the rest of the room. The lighting of items in a room is important, and lighting can make or break a design. Not all light bulbs create light tones and colors equally. This can affect how your furniture and other things look when they are lit at night. A Certified Lighting Designer should be involved with all of your lighting within your project.

Many homeowners, when renovating a bathroom or kitchen, leave it up to their contractor help design their living space and lighting. One should let them make suggestions based on the available space, bur the final plans and layout should be done by a certified specialist.
As a certified lighting designer, I have seen hundreds of floor plans laid out by Architects, interior designers, and kitchen and bath showrooms that have fixture placement that would have shadows, and using builder’s fixtures that waste energy.

One of the additional benefits of upgrading and remodeling now is that you get to enjoy the beauty of your “new home” and will not be rushed to sell until the housing market recovers.

Written by Philip Finkelstein.
Philip is a Lighting One certified lighting designer,
and owner of Illuminations in Rockville Centre, NY
for the past 30 years.

Lighting One showrooms are locally owned and operated and in-store merchandise may vary by location. Product shown is 3653-OPF. For online purchases or to find your nearest Lighting One showroom, go to http://www.lighting-one.com/.

Extend the Enjoyment of your Landscape Lighting

Your home is the single biggest investment you'll ever make. Your home is your castle and your yard is your domain. But for a good part of the year by the time you get home from work your yard is dark. You can't see the landscaping at all, and the house just fades into the night. More and more people are finding that architectural and landscape lighting allows them to extend the enjoyment of their landscape investment into the evening hours. The right lighting creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for the exterior of your home and your yard. You'll even enjoy the lighting from inside.

You can enhance the ambiance of your property at night with low-voltage landscape lighting of trees, shrubs and flowers. You can also increase safety by lighting up stairs, driveways and walkways.

Just like the new low-voltage recessed lighting that many homeowners are using inside their homes to save money as energy costs rise, low voltage landscape lighting is available for outdoors, that uses only 12 volts of electricity. This type of lighting is energy efficient, safe to install, and offers better control of light than 120 Volt builders style lighting.

A certified Lighting One designer can easily create a lighting plan by choosing one or two points of interest and making these the centerpiece of your landscape lighting display, and then building the rest of your lighting plan around your focal points. Unique landscape features, such as sculptures and shaped shrubbery, can be highlighted using spotlights, or a sequence of spotlights can create an interesting mosaic of colors and textures. In addition, up lighting adds visual interest to objects such as trees, bushes, statues and fountains.

Other techniques include the use of path lighting to illuminate the areas where people walk or drive, which adds safety as well as beauty. Floodlighting is also a versatile technique used for illuminating a wide range of features including walls, garden ponds or gazebos.

Use silhouetting to provide dramatic effects on a broad surface, like a wall, behind a landscape feature such as bushes. Wall lighting can be incorporated into a wall that a building, pool or walkway area for added visibility.

Many homeowners let their landscaper or electrician design their landscape lighting, but these people aren't the experts in this field. For the best results and maximum energy savings, a certified lighting designer, trained by Lighting One University or the American Lighting Association, should design your landscape lighting. Whether designing landscape lighting or interior lighting, lighting designers are more familiar with the current trends in lighting and use the most energy-efficient lighting products.

Although a homeowner can easily install a small job, on a major exterior renovation a licensed electrician should be used. A well-planned landscape lighting job will encourage more use of your outdoor property and enhance the value of your home.


Written by Philip Finkelstein, a Lighting One certified lighting designer, and owner of Illuminations in Rockville Centre, NY for the past 30 years. To locate the Lighting One showroom nearest you, visit http://www.lighting-one.com/.

Tips for your Showroom Visit to Create your Unique Home Design

So you are enthusiastically shopping for lighting and you enter your local specialty lighting retailer (you know, the ones with all of the expertise). Your expectation is that you will walk out with your new lighting on order... and then the helpful lighting expert starts asking you all of these relevant questions... unfortunately, you are not prepared for them and these are questions you just can't answer. Well, now you can arrive at your destination with the knowledge needed to create your tailored home design plan. Read on for a list of questions that you may be asked. Print this out, and have your answers prepared in advance. This will assist the process tremendously and expedite your unique plan.

For inside lighting:

What is the size of the room?
What is the décor of the room?
What color is the wall covering used in the room?
What other colors are used in the room?
Are the furnishings light or dark?
What kinds of furnishings are in the room?
How will the room be used?
What are you trying to create with the lighting?
What decorative items do you want to emphasize or de-emphasize in the room?

What is the height of your ceiling? {Editors Note: Added 6/16/08}

For outside lighting:

What is the house like?
What style is the house?
Is it a Ranch, Colonial, or perhaps a Cape Cod?
How big is the house?
What is needed for safety and security?
What is the layout of the landscaping?
What do you want to emphasize or de-emphasize?

There may be other questions of course, but these will cover the basics and allow the design expert to start a plan that is designed to fit your individual needs. If you need assistance, the lighting design experts at Lighting One showrooms are a terrific source. Lighting is what they know best. To locate a showroom in your area, visit http://www.lighting-one.com/ and you are off to a new design for your home.

Item shown is 8015-CM and available at Lighting One showrooms.

Outdoor Lighting for your Home Design

Outdoor lighting makes your home safer and more secure by providing necessary illumination for walkways, steps and entrances. The use of outdoor lighting, in conjunction with timers and photo cells, can add even more peace-of-mind by providing a lived-in look while you're away from home and insuring the area around the house is well lit when you arrive home after dark.

The most common type of outdoor fixture is a brass wall lantern, although materials such as cast aluminum have gained popularity due to their rust-resistant qualities. Generally, a light mounted to one side of every exterior door is the minimum lighting for the exterior of a house, however it is recommended that a lantern or other wall fixture on both sides of the door and a pendant or a post light near driveways and walkways be used for additional safety and security. Be sure to select the appropriate size fixture – one that isn’t too small or too big for your home.

See a Lighting One sales consultant for more information and design ideas.

Landscape Lighting - Design for the Outdoors

Landscape lighting can be used to improve the beauty of your home’s exterior while providing security and safety. Enhance the ambiance of your property at night with low-voltage landscape lighting of trees, shrubs and flowers, plus increase safety by lighting up stairs, driveways, walkways and grounds with post lanterns and tier lights. Low voltage lighting uses only 12 volts of electricity and is safe to install.

You can easily create a lighting plan by choosing one or two points of interest and make these the centerpiece of your landscape lighting display, then build the rest of your lighting plan around your focal point. Unique landscape features, such as sculptures and shaped shrubbery, can be highlighted using spotlights, or a sequence of spotlights can create an interesting mosaic of colors and textures. In addition, up-lighting adds visual interest to objects such as trees, bushes, statues and fountains.
Other techniques include the use of path lighting to illuminate the areas where people walk or drive, which adds an element of safety and beauty. Floodlighting is also a versatile technique used for illuminating a wide range of features including walls, garden ponds or gazebos. This lighting can also be used to make a path attractive and safe.

Use silhouetting to provide dramatic effects on a broad surface, like a wall, behind a landscape feature such as bushes. Wall lighting can be incorporated into a wall bordering a building, pool or walkway area for added visibility.

For maximum light output, light fixtures should not be covered by foliage, tree branches or bushes. Check the fixtures periodically to see if nearby foliage needs pruning. Also, for maximum safety, light and cables should be installed at least five feet from the edge of a swimming pool.
Remember to regularly clean the lenses and fixtures of your landscape lighting and take the time to readjust ground level fixtures if needed.

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