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.

Proper Lighting for your Home Design

Proper lighting gives form and texture to a room by warming a dark corner, highlighting a favorite piece of art or creating just the right mood. With proper lighting your customer can experience a quiet evening curled up with a good book, or tell a great story at an exciting party. Lighting gives a small child the security to sleep at night, while allowing a young mother to tuck her angel in before she lies down. Yet lighting can provide so much more. Studies have shown that bright rooms can energize people while darker rooms cause people’s moods to be more depressed.

So then, what is proper lighting? Proper lighting for one person may not be proper for another. There are many things to consider when determining your lighting needs.

Lighting is used throughout the day, not only after the sun goes down. So, you need a well-designed lighting plan to balance and augment natural sunlight while providing the right light for family activities at night. It is important to seek the help of a lighting design expert to create the best plan for you. While you feel this is not cost-effective for you, in the long-run it will pay off in an optimal design. Most specialty lighting showrooms, like those that are part of Lighting One, offer these services with professionals on hand to help you make the most of your home. If you still choose not to use those services, please do as much research on your own as you can. You will be surprised by how much you do not know. A lighting showroom usually has better quality products that will last a long time and provide the best overall value. If you need assistance locating one in your area, go to the Lighting One website http://www.lighting-one.com/ and search for your closest location. Also, subscribe to this blog to have lighting design tips sent to your email inbox on a regular basis.

Product shown is 0411-RD, available at Lighting One showrooms.

Important Consideration For All Dimmers

It is important to understand what type of fixture and bulbs you will be dimming. Most incandescent fixtures can be dimmed.

However, you must be careful when trying to dim low voltage devices, as most of the time, they will require a special dimmer. If you have a fixture that uses an electronic transformer, you must use a dimmer specified for that application. Likewise, if you have a fixture with a magnetic transformer, a special type of dimmer should be used.

Remember too, when dimming fluorescents you will need to know about the type of ballast used by the fixture to determine the correct type of dimmer.

I don't mean to be repetitive but always be sure to have a licensed electrician install any new dimmers. For more information on dimmers, or for recommendations on local electricians, you may contact your local Lighting One showroom. Use the locator listed at http://www.lighting-one.com/ to locate your closest showroom.

As a reminder, you may access previous Lighting One Design Tips postings on lighting, color, design, and other tips by viewing our blog at http://www.iluciolighting.blogspot.com/.

Feel free to leave any comments you may have.

Item shown is 5655-TB and is available exclusively at a Lighting One showroom.