Posts Tagged ‘lighting’

Question: New drapes or replace the exsisting lighting?
I get a bonus every year from work. Today I find out if we owe anything on our taxes, and if we don’t, I’d like to spend the bonus on something for the house.

Last year we got new blinds, but I’d like to add some warmth to the rooms with some soft window treatments. However my husband and I agreed that if the bonus should go toward “home improvement”, so we also talked about replacing the lighting. It’s a new construction home, and we didn’t get a choice on the lighting, so all the ceiling lights are the hideous shiny 80s brass things.

We plan to put the house on the market in a year or so, so we have tried to keep everything neutral. If I got drapes, I would want to add color and do something different in every room. Since color is such a personal thing, I imagine the drapes are not something that would “improve” the value of the home. We would leave the hardware (rods and brackets), but probably take the actual drapes with us when we move. Even if they don’t stay, I think the house will “show” better if we have soft treatments on the windows.

Lighting on the other hand would stay with the house and improve the value. We installed a bronze ceiling fan in the great room last year and I would like to carry that through the rest of the first floor lighting. I’d like something in stained glass in the foyer, but something more simple for the rest of the first floor (2-3 flush ceiling lights, pendant lights over the kitchen island and informal dining room and a chandelier over the formal dining room table).

Answer:

Answer by lefttheroom222
I say go with the fixtures…people notice fixtures. Brass makes people run from a home.

If you do decide on drapes, don’t go all out and do custom. It isn’t worth it if you are not staying. You could always do something cheap and basic.

While people become increasingly budget conscious the demand for solar lights to use in landscaping, home decor plans or for driveways have increased dramatically. Although a novel concept, solar lights driveways are gaining quick populatiry all over the world for being known as user friendly and trendy ways of lighting up your drive way.

Now it would not be at all a hard task to find, a firm involved in selling green energy related products, which would provide solar lights for your driveways. If you hunt the net you are certain to come across chiliads of websites of such firms and it might be surprising to mark that distinct solar powered lamps are now usable roughly between the range of $20 to $150. However note that it is important to find solar lights that suit your driveway and remember also that the products should be of an acceptable quality.

The advantages of solar lights driveways are many and they include no pollution factor and the clarity and visibility at night while you drive on the driveway. Numerous people do not recognize that it assist mark limits of the driveways that would discourage people not drive on to lawns wreck havoc on the your cautiously leaned grass and expensive new sprinklers. Furthermore, potential burglars and trespasses can be kept away from crossing your drive way. Solar lights driveways are not merely lights but rather an investment with zero costs. Plus it gives your driveway a superb outlook.

Solar lights for driveways are available in a variety of different shapes in order to suit the varying wishes of the customers. What might hinder the growth of this great new idea is the belief in some that solar lights driveways cast a dim light. This has no logical basis. Use of solar power does not in any way suggest that the lighting is going to be dim. This is merely a myth encouraged by those who consider green energy to be inferior.

If the dream for a greener, safer and cleaner future is to come true concepts such as solar lights driveways need to be promoted more vigorously in order to persuade customers to purchase such eco friendly products. More solar lights driveways, the better it will be for the future our planet.

How to Install a Low-flow Faucet Aerator

You may have noticed, but the choice to be green doesn’t have to burn a hole in your wallet. It can even be as easy as putting a $2.99 add on to your faucet. Remember, it’s easy to make more expensive mistakes if you don’t spend some time on research. Many manufacturers currently advertise their product as “earth friendly” or “green” but there are no government standards in place to define what makes an item eco-friendly or not.

Follow these 5 tips to assist you on your journey to create a kitchen that will save you money, give you a fresh new look, & save the world all at once:

1. Buy a low-flow water faucet/aerator

• Why: A shiny new faucet is a simple upgrade, but kitchen faucets can vary from 1.5 – 4 gallons per minute in water flow. Low-flow bathroom faucets with the Environmental Protection Agency’s new WaterSense label are usually 30 percent more efficient than older models.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Until the government comes up with some industry standard for low-flow kitchen faucets, for $3 to $11 you can make most new or existing taps more efficient simply by attaching an aerator. These devices save water, and lower utility bills as well, because less hot water is used. Because of this, low-flow aerators will generally pay for themselves in just a couple of months.

• Cons: With lower flow, it might take a bit longer to fill that 2 gallon pot for spaghetti night.

• Suggested Purchase: Look for a gallon per minute rating of less than 2 gallons per minute or GPM (some are as high as 4 GPM). Many Kohler faucets offer an aerator option that can reduce the GPM rate by about 25 percent. Don’t forget, even though it’s more expensive, you can purchase an adjustable aerator for your faucet. Keep the aerator on the low setting when using the sink for average use and set it to high flow to fill up big pans with water. Another green choice is a hands-free faucet, like the Danze Parma D421058, $480 or other low-flow Danze faucets.

• Keep in Mind: When you find a faucet that fits your budget and style, make sure it has a lifetime warranty that covers stains and water-wasting leaks. Also, some kitchen aerators will allow you to flip between two flow rates without affecting the water temperature

2. Switch to low wattage lighting

• Why: Modern kitchens can use up to 2,000 watts for lighting (especially track lighting) because standard incandescent, halogen, and xenon lights are energy vacuums. All that burning heat from your inefficient lights might motivate you to turn down the A/C to keep the room cool.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Switch to cool-burning compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in your fixtures, and also consider adding some LED or fluorescent under cabinet task lighting. This simple DIY fix costs about $199 for 5 fluorescent fixtures.

• Cons: A handful of CFLs and LEDs cast a bluish or other odd color light. Before you buy, ask if you can return the fixture if you don’t like the way the light looks with your décor. Even better, try the light in the store or ask an associate for a recommendation.

• Suggested Purchase: Strips are the most common type of task lighting, round “hockey puck” lights are best for casting pools of light onto a counter and linear lights are best if you need more versatile fixtures. Both circle “puck” light fictures and linear lights can be included with LEDs.

• Keep in Mind: If your cabinets don’t have a built-in valence to hide task lighting, either add one or choose a fixture with a sleek housing that’s not as noticeable.

3. Install a ceiling fan

• Why: Kitchens get hot, and if you use an air conditioner to cool things off, it will gobble up a lot of energy and money.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: A ceiling fan in the kitchen will use only a fraction of the electricity that an A/C would.

• Cons: Aesthetics, few people have ceiling fans in kitchens for a reason, it doesn’t usually look good.

• Suggested Purchase: There are a number of great models from Hampton Bay, Harbor Breeze, and Hunter, and most circulate air about the same. So rather than shop for a particular brand, go for a style you like and remember that lighting affects energy use.

• Keep in Mind: You might be able to find CFLs designed for ceiling fans that can replace the original bulbs and save energy. You need to remember CFLs on the market now don’t function correctly with fans that have light dimmers.

4. Refurbish with second hand materials

• Why: A new countertop or cabinet face can change the whole look of your kitchen, but producing them keeps coal power plants polluting the air and some “earth friendly” materials aren’t as green as they might seem.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Before you buy new, see if you can find used materials.

• Suggested Purchase: Salvage shops are stocked with new or lightly used stone countertops, hardwood flooring, decorative lumber, and kitchen cabinets, so they’re a great place to look for bargains. Even better, Habitat for Humanity sells used and surplus building materials at outlets called ReStores.

• Keep in Mind: If you will buy brand new, at least search for greener cabinets and other products made from sustainable lumber and materials.

5. Trade in/Sell the biggest energy hogs

• Why: The appliances in your kitchen that take the most energy to operate are refrigerators and dishwashers. The more geriatric these appliances are, the less energy efficient they are and the more expensive they are to run.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Only open the doors when you know what you want. Don’t waste energy by “browsing” with an open fridge. Also, it usually doesn’t pay to salvage working appliances with new ones. But when you choose to update, search for models that are quieter and need less energy. Yes, energy efficient models cost more BUT, you’ll recover the investment as your utility bills decrease.

• Suggested Purchase: Look for appliances that are Energy Star qualified. These ENERGY STAR approved fridges need only 50% of the energy as the energy hogs manufactured before 1993. Also ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator models use high efficiency compressors, improved insulation, and more precise temperature and defrost mechanisms to improve energy efficiency. Switching out a dishwasher manufactured before 1994 with an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher can save you more than $300 a decade in utility costs. These also use much less water than conventional models. If not on city septic, this can also help extend the life of your septic tank.

• Keep in Mind: You don’t have to get rid of all the old appliances at once. Start with the ones that are the biggest energy hogs. When repairs of your old energgy hog appliance would cost more than 50% of a new appliance, go ahead and replace them with a new one.

If this is all seems complicated some online retailers make it easier for you such as Designer Plumbing Outlet with the help of Site Search technology by SLI Systems. When browsing the fixtures on their website you can just click one button to refine your search by “Eco-Friendly” results. This helps simplify your search and makes going green even easier when buying new.

 

For more tips about Cooper Lighting and an updated version of curved track lighting go to home decorating ideas.

Curved track lighting has brought about a new standard in home and business lighting design.  Decorators and designers are no longer limited to fixed lighting systems and unaffordable installations.  With curved track lighting, a decorator can shape their interior lighting in any shape they see deem appropriate.  Gone are the days of settling for standard overhead lighting, where the only opportunity for changing was through exorbitant contractor services.  Using a curved track lighting approach, designers can easily manipulate the lighting setup themselves. 

The majority of curved track lighting functions in an extremely straightforward and simple to use fashion.  When selecting curved track lighting, the best to use types are typically sold as a series of rails.  These independent rails can then be fixed together with a series of hubs that can rotate.  This makes the lighting very easy to design, with the rails simply clicking together and rotating without the need for any extravagant tools or intense labor.  The rails simply connect and rotate to the wanted angle.  The setup as a whole connects to a single point fixed to the ceiling.  This anchor can also be adjusted, raising and lowering according to the lighting needs.

This is a lighting system that all designers can work with.  The kits themselves are fairly cheap, and definitely cheaper than hiring extravagant contractor services.  The kits need no difficult installation, and only fix to the ceiling or wall itself at a single anchor.  This ease of installation and manipulation allows the decorator to spend more time focusing on their design than on installation.  Vendors make curved track lighting available in all themes, fitting with all kinds of environments, from the rustic to the sophisticated. 

Designers turn to curved track lighting for the ultimate in flexibility and lowest level of hassle.  Curved track lighting can give a designer the power to create a sophisticated lighting design without spending too much.  The low voltage and slidable light fixtures make curved track lighting the best solution when a sophisticated, yet flexible, solution is required.  There are many curved track lighting manufacturers in the United States, with some of the most recognized names including Bellacor and Lightolier.  Interior Lighting Designers is another well known name in track lighting, providing affordable installation services across the country.  Curved track lighting is a great solution for designers and decorators.

Go to home decorating ideas for an updated version of Cooper Lighting and more info about interior design ideas.

For a wide variety of solid state, halo, or LED lighting requirements, Cooper Lighting has the widest spectrum and quality of products seen on the market today.  With Cooper Lighting, buyers can design their lighting selection to fit the theme of the area they are working with.  Cooper Lighting not only provides a great range of products, but also guarantees low cost solutions that will last for years.  With the Cooper 3 year warranty, buyers can rest assured that they will save money with their selection. 

LED lights normally last around 50,000 hours, far exceeding the lifetimes of both incandescent and fluorescent lighting products.  With such a long lifetime, LED lights can save a significant deal of money in replacement costs.  This does not even take into account the significantly lower energy consumption seen with LED lighting.  Halo lighting consumes much less energy, saving possibly hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the long haul.  Although there may be heavy upfront expenses involved, the savings over the long haul typically make it very much worthwhile.

Cooper Lighting offers a wide assortment of products, including flat back lighting fixtures, art glass fixtures, track lights, and much more.  With Cooper lighting, everything required can be found with minimal frustration or searching.  Cooper Lighting specializes in recessed lighting, allowing the home decorator to put just the right emphasis on their furniture.  Recessed lighting is a great means to introduce style and elegance to a home.  You can find Cooper Lighting in an array of forms, such as sconces, pendants, and track lighting.

Cooper Lighting experts can help customers achieve the best appearance for their home.  The right lighting in a home can go a long way to create a wonderful atmosphere, but it requires making the right choices with a broad selection.  The Cooper Lighting applications gallery can help consumers make their selection.  The application gallery demonstrates a variety of Cooper products in action, under many circumstances.  Cooper Lighting began in 1956, and has grown to become an internationally recognized vendor of lighting solutions.  Cooper Lighting emphasizes the needs of the customer, providing such guarantees as a 3 year service plan on all products.  Cooper Lighting is a name to be trusted in the lighting industry.  A visit to their site will reveal a wide selection of products at a spectrum of price points.

track lighting

There is no doubt that proper lighting in a room is very important, regardless of whether the room is used for sleeping, relaxation, work, or pursuing favorite hobbies. No matter what the task, activity or purpose, good lighting design can add to the functionality of a room, as well as to the overall design and decor by creating and enhancing moods with light. Floor lamps have a great advantage over many other types of fixtures and lamps because they are portable.

With many types of lighting fixtures, such as recessed lights, chandeliers, wall lamps, and sconces, the lighting is permanently in place once the fixture has been installed. Even in the case of track lighting, which is so popular because it is permanent lighting that is still adjustable, there are still limitations. In addition, there is the additional cost and hassle involved in properly installing these modern fixtures, which often requires the expertise of an electrician or at the very least a handy and experienced do-it-yourselfer.

One thing that people really appreciate about floors lamps is the fact that they are very easy to use in just about any spot in a room that needs additional lighting. At the same time, unlike table lamps, there is no need for additional furniture to accommodate them so it’s easy to make them work in just about any setting.

Many times, people will use both table lamps in conjunction with matching floor lamps to provide complete coverage for a room. The table lamps can provide more focused light for reading and conversation, while the floor lamp fixtures often provide more of the ambient light. There are many manufacturers of light fixtures these days that make sets of lamps that include one or two table lamps and a floor lamp in a coordinating style.

One thing that should be kept first and foremost in mind when choosing to include a floor lamp is safety. There was a time, not all that long ago, when this type of lamp was actually considered to be rather dangerous because they had a tendency to tip over easily. However, during the course of the last ten years or so, the lighting design manufacturers have been successful at improving the designs of these popular types of lamps.

These days, all floor lamps sold in the US must meet the requirements set out the UL for “tip-ability” standards. This UL certification shows that the floor lamp has a base that is heavy enough to minimize the potential for the lamp to fall over accidentally. This in turn reduces the chance of damage to the lamp due to a fall and injury to people nearby, as well as electrical shocks or fires that can result from a hot floor lamp being tipped over.

If you happen to be in the market for floor lamps to improve the lighting in a bedroom, living room or study, then you will discover that there is a wide range of choices and many floor lamp styles available. Regardless of the decor style of the room, there are a variety of floor lamp models that will fit right into the scheme of the room and will make a difference in the home lighting design, making the space feel more welcoming, while also improving the functionality of the space.