Archive for November, 2009

Shedding Light on Lamp Shades

Friday, November 27th, 2009

lampshadesChoosing a lamp shade might seem like a relatively simple task, but in truth, there are several things to consider. The wrong shade can not only turn your new designer table lamp into an eyesore; it can also throw off a room’s entire lighting scheme. Below are some things to consider that will help you select just the right shade to compliment your lamp and enhance the overall lighting in your space.

Shape – This is probably the easiest rule to remember when shopping for a lamp shade: match the shape of the shade to the shape of the lamp base. A rounded base, for instance, should get a round shade, while a square or rectangular base should get a square shade. Bases with a combination of curves and angles can happily go either way.

Proportion – More important to shape is the size and proportion of the shade you choose. A lamp shade should measure about one- to two-thirds the height of the base, and two times the width. It should be tall enough to cover all of the lighting elements and hardware without covering up any of the base, and the widest part of the lamp shade should be about a half-inch wider in diameter than the widest part of the base. (more…)

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Knowing Your Light Fixtures

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

light fixturesWe mention various types of light fixtures all the time here at Lighting by Lux, but what do all the terms mean, exactly? In order to perfect your lighting plan, it’s essential to know the difference between different types of fixtures and the type of lighting they produce. Here is a quick and easy reference guide to the three main categories of light fixtures – portable, surface-mount and recessed – and the types of fixtures that fall under each category:

A Portable Fixture has a cord with a plug and can be easily moved from place to place. Portable fixtures include table lamps, floor lamps, torchieres (a floor lamp that projects light toward the ceiling), uplights (a small fixture that can be placed on the floor and concealed behind furniture), swags (hanging fixtures with a plug-in cord), adjustable accent lights, and external stake lights for your garden. These tend to be the most widely-used fixtures in residences, most likely because of their flexibility and ease-of-use, as well as because of their usefulness in providing both ambient and task lighting..

The term “surface-mounted” is fairly self-explanatory – these are fixtures that are permanently mounted to the wall, floor or ceiling (or some other surface outdoors), and require being hardwired into your electrical system. These include flush and semi-flush ceiling fixtures, pendants and chandeliers, wall sconces, porch lights and track lights. The problem with surface-mounted lighting is that, unless it is wired to a dimmer switch, it is often too bright to serve as ambient lighting, and it usually casts too many shadows to serve well as task lighting. For this reason, surface-mounted fixtures are often decorative and should almost never be relied on as a sole source of illumination in your room’s lighting plan.

Recessed fixtures, like surface-mounted, are hardwired into the home’s electrical system, and are sunken beneath the surface of the floor or ceiling. Since their installation involves cutting, drilling and wiring, they are usually only added to a home during either new construction or a remodeling project. The type of recessed fixture you choose depends on which your home is undergoing, as fixture housing is designed for either one or the other. If you are in a position to install recessed lighting, be sure your design places them where they are easy to get to for maintenance purposes. They won’t do you much good once they burn out if access is too difficult to be worth the trouble.

Knowing the right terms should make both planning and shopping for the right light fixture much easier. Of course, the best lighting plans integrate combinations from all three categories to provide functional, flexible lighting in any room.

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Living Room Lighting

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

living room lightingAs its name suggests, the living room is the home’s most heavy-duty multi-tasker. On any given day, it can function as a daycare, a reading room, a home theater, a game room, a home office, a casual dining room and an entertainment hall – often all at the same time. Lighting for your living room needs to be flexible and meet many different needs. The following tips will help you develop a lighting plan that takes all of these functions into consideration and helps to create a space where you’re comfortable doing all that living.

Begin by drawing up a plan of the room’s layout. How is the furniture arranged? Where are all of the outlets located? If your home is still being built or renovated, now is the time to plan how many outlets to include and where to locate them. In a large room, plan to include outlets in the floor so that lamps can be used in the middle of the room without having their exposed cords pose a tripping hazard. Next, consider each area of the room and how it will be used, being honest about your family’s habits; you might plan a little reading nook over by the book case, but are all of your family members likely to use it, or are they more likely to camp out on the sofa with their favorite book? Be realistic. Don’t base your lighting plan on wishful thinking.

Create a checklist of everything you’ll need to consider, being sure to include the following:

  • What will your general lighting source be? A common choice for ambient lighting in living rooms is table and floor lamps. If this is the case, then it’s important to position lamps carefully; too many lamps, for example, can look cluttered, while placing lamps around the perimeter can leave a well of darkness in the middle of the room. Another option to consider for general lighting is a chandelier or pendant light. Hanging one low in the corner of a room in place of a floor lamp can be an unexpected and stylish choice to provide soft ambient light.
  • What will be the focal point of accent lighting? Refer to our previous post on Defining Features with Light for some good tips in this area, and be careful not to overdo it. Too many focal points in a room lose their impact and defeat the purpose.
  • How will you layer in extra lighting to create softness? Decorative lamps, pendants and sconces, as well as undershelf lighting and recessed uplights are all good choices. Our post on Creating Drama with Light has more great tips on this type of lighting.
  • Don’t forget task lighting. Whether for reading, playing games or working puzzles, an adjustable, swing-arm lamp can be positioned just right for the task at hand.
  • Finally, remember to consider how your lighting will be controlled. Each lighitng effect needs to have its own control so that you can vary the amount, levels and combinations of lighting as needed.

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Now With Power Reviews

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Power ReviewsAfter minor wailing and gnashing of teeth, we’re finally live with Power Reviews Express and we couldn’t be more excited (Ok a long vacation would do the trick) but we are very excited to have this implemented. In a nutshell the on-site product review world is fraught with dupes, fakes, irrelevant rants and sadly, outright fraud. The reviews you see on some sites could be the merchant themselves, a competitor or a third uncle with an axe to grind.

Using a third party service to handle our on-site reviews adds credible, verified reviews from our customers but most importantly distinguishes between reviewers and those who actually own the product being reviewed. Take this review for example; “Debby” is a verified buyer, meaning she received her review request as a direct result of purchasing that product from us.

Non-verified buyers are simply identified as verified reviewers. Verified reviewers are still more credible than anonymous commenter’s but for the ultimate “from the horses mouth” credibility keep an eye out for the reviews tagged by verified buyers. If you have any questions about the review process or questions in general please feel free to contact us anytime.

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All About Ceiling Fans

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Ceiling fanCeiling fans have come a long, long way since they were first invented in the late 1800s. Although they’ve been around for well over a century, it took the energy crisis of the 1970s to make them popular with homeowners. But despite their contribution to year-round energy-efficiency, what they lacked in looks made them an unpopular choice among interior designers.

Today, however, things have changed. Ceiling fan design has improved in leaps and bounds over the last decade, and today’s fans not only function more efficiently than ever, they also come in a wide range of designs and finishes to match almost any décor, making them a must-have item in warmer climates where cooling bills tend to run high. Even in cooler climates, they’re catching on, thanks not only to their newfound aesthetic value, but also to their ability to reduce heating bills by up to ten percent by preventing warm air from pooling uselessly on the ceiling.

How do you know which ceiling fan is right for you? There are a few things you should consider before purchasing ceiling fans for your home. One of those things is quality. Although you can find inexpensive fans, they tend to shake and make a lot of noise at high speeds, and their fan blades are more prone to warping over time, lessening their efficiency. It’s worth it to make room in the budget for a quality fan with solid construction, self-cooling motors and balanced blades. Some top of the line fans even have built-in air filters that improve the quality of the air that they circulate. That sure beats trying to sleep under a noisy, rickety fan that shakes so much you lose sleep worrying how well it’s bolted to the ceiling.

Today’s fans also come with options. Where twenty years ago you could only find down-rod, pull-chord fans with four down lights, today you can find fans that mouth flush to the ceiling, and fans with remote controls that operate not only the fan’s speed, but the brightness of the lighting. More importantly, the lighting options on today’s fans are almost endless, with single dome lights and up lights being popular options. Many modern fans have lighting kits that can be swapped out for something else if you grow tired of your current selection.

Finally, the style options of today’s ceiling fans are practically limitless. Where before your choices were between five or six wide blades, brass-and-wood or all white, now your blade options are almost as broad as your finish options. For modern décor, you could choose a sleek and narrow three-blade metal design with a contemporary, industrial feel. The blades can be thin and straight or curved for optimum efficiency. More traditional homes still have a choice of wooden blades in almost any finish, as well as brushed metal, pewter, canvas, bamboo or even molded plastic. Metal finishes go far beyond the brass fixtures of old to include brushed steel, copper, verdigris or bronze.

With so many options, you’re certain to find a fan that blends in perfectly with your home décor and that contributes to a comfortable, efficient and temperate living space. Happy hunting!

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