Royal Philips NV this month announced that it has developed an LED light that is a lot more efficient and cost effective than the best fluorescents on the market.

What’s the big deal?

Well, think about all the places around you that are illuminated by the fluorescents that we now consider energy saving: hospitals, schools, supermarkets, public buildings, malls. That’s a lot!
This prototype that is designed to replace fluorescent tubes is twice as efficient as what it will be replacing.
I can’t do the math, but looking at this I can see that we are in for a major change in what we call energy efficient lighting.

Press Release. Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) announces a new innovation in LED lighting, creating the world’s most energy-efficient LED lamp suitable for general lighting applications. Philips researchers developed a tube lighting (TL) replacement TLED prototype that produces a record 200 lumens per watt of high-quality white light (compared with 100lm/W for fluorescent lighting and just 15lm/W for traditional light bulbs). This prototype TLED lamp is twice as efficient as predecessor lamps, basically halving the energy used.

With lighting accounting for more than 19% of the world’s total electricity consumption, this innovation promises to drive massive energy and cost savings across the globe. The 200lm/W TLED lamp is expected to hit the market in 2015 for office and industry applications before ultimately being used in the home.

The new TLED prototype lamp from Philips marks the first time that lighting engineers have been able to reach 200lm/W efficiency without compromising on light quality1, with all parameters required to meet the stringent requirements for office lighting. “This again is a major breakthrough in LED lighting and will further drive the transformation of the lighting industry,” explains Rene van Schooten, CEO Light Sources & Electronics for Philips Lighting. “After being recognized for our quality of LED light (mimicking traditional light bulbs) to creating new experience with Philips Hue (the connected light system for the home), we now present the next innovative step in doubling lighting efficiency. It’s exciting to imagine the massive energy and cost savings it will bring to our planet and customers.”

Significant energy and cost savings
The TLED lamps are intended to replace fluorescent tube lighting used in office and industry, which currently account for more than half of the world’s total lighting. Conversion to the twice-as-efficient 200lm/W TLED lamps will generate significant energy and cost savings.

In the US alone, for example, fluorescent lights consume around 200 terawatts-hours of electricity annually. If these lights were all replaced with 200lm/W TLEDs, the US would use around 100 terawatts-hours less energy (equivalent to 50 medium sized power plants) saving more than US$12 billion and preventing around 60 million metric tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.2

Philips creates the world’s most energy-efficient warm white LED lamp

First LED lamp prototype delivering 200 lumen per watt high quality light, halving the energy use compared to current LED lamps
This new LED innovation from Philips underlines the value and power of its lighting business, bringing together its expertise in LED technology, lamps, applications and systems. Market leading innovations from Philips Lumileds, as in phosphor technology and blue LEDs, together contribute to the high quality of light and advances in efficiency.

1 Comfortable, workable light requires a color temperature of 3000–4000 kelvins, a color rendering index of at least 80, and an R9 saturated red level of no less than 20
2 U.S. Department of Energy report January 2012: Energy savings potential of solid-state lighting in general illumination applications

For further information, please contact:
Jeannet Harpe
Philips Lighting
Tel: +31 6 53722221
E-mail: jeannet.harpe@philips.com

Marieke van Wichen
Philips Research
Tel: +31 621163537
Email: marieke.van.wichen@philips.com

Hudson Valley Lighting Haverhill Pendant

Scenario: Brand new kitchen.

You chose the most beautiful counter top or island surface with lots of color and drama. You spent more on it than you spent on your first car. It is a dream.
So of course it would be a crying shame, if you could only fully enjoy the beautiful colors and feel of the exquisite materials during the daytime.

So, now the question is: How to light your kitchen surfaces.
For the work areas undercabinet lighting is a great way to light the counters. Pendant lights over the island add the light that is needed for food prep and meals.
Pendants add a atmosphere in comparison to using just recessed lights, and in rooms with high ceilings they bring the light down to a level where it is needed as task lighting.

Incancescent
If you are using good old Edison bulbs in the fixtures over your counter they have a warm tone of light (2700K, as in Kelvin, to be nerdy) that works well with warm colors. This type of light and this color temperature (the 2700K) is what we are all really familiar with. It has a warm tone, makes its surroundings look cozy, inviting, just like candlelight.
Incandescent lighting might, however, not quite have the punch to bring out the colors and pizzazz in your materials.

Halogen
Halogen provides excellent task lighting and really brings out the sparkle in  granite and many other unique stone surfaces. The clean, white light offers illumination that just can’t be beat by incandescent or fluorescent lamps.
The drawback of halogen under cabinet lighting is the heat it produces. It might actually make the surfaces warm to the touch, not ideal for cooking and entertaining on a hot summer day and therefore most likely will increase the cooling cost.

Fluorescent
Fluorescent under cabinet lights have a bad rep.
Most of us still remember the cheap garage lights that flickered and hummed, and made us look sickly.
If you haven’t changed out your fluorescent lights since those old days you are in for a surprise.
Recent advances in the technology of fluorescent lights have made this an excellent option.
The color temperature ranges have improved and so has the CRI (Color rendering index), which measures the the ability of a light source to reproduce colors.
What I like about fluorescent lighting is the even distribution of the light without hot spots. They don’t give off much heat and are energy-efficient.
I am, however, worried about the recycling aspect and the mercury they contain.
Fluorescent under cabinet lights can generally not be dimmed. I don’t see this as a huge turn-off. I’d just get the wattage needed for the workspace based on the distance from the bottom of the cabinet to the work surface and not worry about using them as mood lights. But that’s just me.

Xenon
Xenon lights are very similar to halogen lights. They do not give off quite as much heat as halogen  but on the other hand they don’t provide quite as bright a light.
Xenon is a a good choice if you are not after the extra sparkle that halogen produces and don’t want the heat produced by halogen..
Another advantage is its longer lifespan. The average Xenon bulbs last 2-1/2 times longer than their halogen counterparts.
One last selling point for Xenon: Xenon bulbs do not require that special handling you are asked to use when you deal with halogen bulbs. It is sometimes tough enough to exchange those tiny bulbs. Now holding onto them with a tissue while contorting yourself under the cabinet light adds to the excitement. We have seen grown men cry!
Xenon bulbs are not this sensitive. You can eliminate that one obstacle from the procedure and just hold them with your bare hands. Yeah.
But, then there’s the sparkle……    Guess, you can’t have it all.

LED
Cool, long lasting, super energy efficient. What is there not to love about LED?
When LED lighting was first introduced into the residential market cove and under cabinet lighting were some of the first applications it was used for.
Well, LED was obviously not where it is now, and the light output was not quite strong enough for other uses in the home. This has of course changed a lot just over the last few years.
LED has so much to offer. The main advantage is the incredible savings in energy and the long life of LED.
Unfortunately many manufacturers jumped on the LED bandwagon without going all the way with their design. A lot of inferior products have hit the market and we now see a lot of LED under cabinet lights with horrible color reproduction, hot spots where you see the reflection of the individual diodes on you counter top, multiple surface shadows, you name it.

But, there are also excellent choices out there like the Tech Lighting Illume. They are expensive, but worth every penny in the long run.

This entire morning I have been surfing the web looking for in-depth info on LED lighting for the home.

LED Step lights by WAC Lighting

We get SO many questions from our clients, and even though I have attended many sales meetings and demos from pros in the field, I am still digging, since I want to know more and be able to translate it all into terms we all understand.

I really liked this article that American Lighting passed on from James Broderick, Electrical Construction and Maintenance.

The LED Dimming Dilemma

Solid-state lighting (SSL) differs from conventional lighting in that it uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) instead of filaments, plasma, or gases. Although still relatively early in its development, SSL has become competitive in many markets and is expanding into others as the technology continues to improve. But in the process, it’s encountering a number of important issues that need to be addressed, one of which is dimming.

Many people think of SSL as being fully dimmable, an expectation that gets reinforced to varying degrees by manufacturer claims. In theory, LEDs are easily and fully dimmable, because — unlike some other kinds of light sources — there’s nothing inherent in their makeup that would impede the dimming process. On top of that, LEDs typically maintain their efficacy when they’re dimmed, and sometimes even increase it — whereas incandescent sources become less efficacious when dimmed.

Acting up instead of dimming down

However, as we all know, theory doesn’t always hold up out there in the real world — where the rubber meets the road. When installed, the actual dimming behavior of many LED lighting products (their reputation notwithstanding) leaves a lot to be desired. While dimming performance varies significantly across many types of commercially available LED sources, less-than-ideal behavior shows up most frequently when integral LED replacement lamps are installed on circuits controlled by phase-cut dimmers.

This misbehavior runs the gamut of quirkiness. Some products won’t dim at all — a limitation that may or may not be clearly disclosed on product packaging. Others may exhibit what’s known as “dropout,” where they only dim part of the way down to zero light output — say, to 60% of maximum — instead of all the way from 100% down to 1% or below, the way incandescent lamps do. Still others may dim in an abrupt or “staircase” fashion, instead of dimming smoothly and continuously as most of us are used to. In the worst case, users may experience the exasperating phenomenon known as “dead travel” — where the dimming slider or knob moves a certain distance without any noticeable change in light output at all.

And that’s not the end of the possible shenanigans. Some LED lighting products may also demonstrate a “pop-on” phenomenon, whereby a light source that’s been turned off in a dimmed state doesn’t “remember” the dimmed setting. Instead, it initially reverts to full light output when it’s turned back on or, worse yet, requires the user to raise the dimmer setting above some threshold before the light will “pop on.”

Then there are the distracting noises that can accompany the dimming of LED light sources, not to mention the perceptible flicker that can also occur. Even the most basic function a lighting control performs — turning the light source on and off — is not immune to unwanted effects. When some LED light sources are put in the “off” state by some phase-cut dimmers, they may exhibit a variety of unexpected and unwanted behaviors, including: “flashing,” where the light source flashes repetitively; “ghosting,” when the unwanted light is faint but steady; or even “popcorning,” in which different lights on the dimmed circuit flash randomly and asynchronously.

Believe it or not, there is method behind the seemingly random madness of these various dimming problems. Ghosting, for example, occurs mainly with more advanced phase-cut dimmers, where additional functions involve microprocessors or other energy-consuming elements that require a tiny but steady source of current flowing through the light source, even when the lamp is off. While that small amount of current isn’t enough to make a filament glow, it can “fool” some LED lamps into emitting light — an unwanted effect that’s much less likely to occur with dimmers that have a neutral third wire instead of just two live wires.

A question of compatibility

Can LEDs be dimmed?

Figure. Phase-cut dimming, which modifies the input voltage to a light source, was developed for incandescent lamps.

All of these dimming problems can be disconcerting, to say the least. Nevertheless, it’s important to keep in mind that they’re not caused by any shortcomings of SSL technology. Rather, they’re due to the fact that almost all of the existing dimmers in this country were designed for another kind of lighting rather than for LEDs. That is, nearly the entire installed base of traditional line-voltage (phase-cut) dimming controls was designed for incandescent light sources (Figure). Therein lies the rub — there can be compatibility issues between these controls and an LED light source’s “driver,” which converts AC power to low-voltage DC power and maintains a constant current in the LEDs to keep them emitting a steady level of light.

But LED sources are more complex than incandescent bulbs. Incandescent filaments vary only slightly from one product to another, which allows them to interact consistently with different dimmers, all the way down to very low light levels. What’s more, those filaments don’t cool down right away when a phase-cut dimmer removes part of the input AC voltage waveform. As a result, the light they emit doesn’t vary much over the 60-Hz cycle. LED drivers, on the other hand, show considerable variation from one product to the next. In addition, the LEDs themselves react very quickly to changes in current. So even a slight incompatibility with a dimmer — or, for low-voltage circuits, even slight incompatibility with the transformer as well — can significantly affect the light output.

So you can see why it’s so hard to make LED drivers compatible with a wide range of line-voltage dimmers. This difficulty is only compounded by a lack of industry-wide dimming standards. For example, even the term “dimmable” has no universally accepted definition. To fill the void, the industry has adopted “dims like an incandescent bulb” as a de-facto substitute.

The industry is very much aware of the problems associated with dimming LED light sources and is addressing them in a number of ways. For example, for the last four years, DOE has supported efforts led by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to develop manufacturer dimming guidance and standards for SSL. Most recently, this has focused on the development of NEMA SSL-7, a multi-part global standard for phase-cut dimming of LED lamps. Part A of SSL-7, which will cover compatibility requirements and associated test procedures, will pave the way for the development of Part B, which will cover performance requirements and their associated test procedures.

SSL manufacturers are also looking into the intriguing possibility of bypassing phase-cut dimmers by using alternative approaches to dimming, such as wireless communications networks. Dimming via wireless networks is already addressed by a new standard called the ZigBee Light Link, which was developed by an industry group called the ZigBee Alliance.

See for yourself

At this point in time, however, the most reliable way to tell how an LED light source will behave when dimmed is to actually test it. Otherwise, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise. But to be accurate, such testing should include the whole circuit, not just a single LED source with a single dimmer — because all dimmers have a minimum and a maximum number of LED sources they can effectively operate, and these limits can vary with the make and model of the LED source, the remote driver (where applicable), the dimmer, and (for low-voltage systems) the transformer. What’s more, variations in any part of the system can affect dimming performance, which means that substituting a different lamp, driver, transformer, or dimmer for what was originally specified can lead to dimming problems.

If extensive testing isn’t practical, you should at least test one or two LED light sources before you install more. While not infallible, this will give you a rough indication of how the products are likely to dim. Another option is to consult the database of DOE’s LED Lighting Facts® program, which recently began allowing manufacturers to provide optional links to dimming compatibility information for their products. A growing number of manufacturers are putting together dimming compatibility tables for their products, and including links on LED Lighting Facts will make that information easier to access. (See “Dimming LEDs: A Work in Progress.”)

Although this article focuses largely on what can go wrong, the truth is the outlook for dimming LED light sources is much better now than it was even a year ago — and it’s getting better all the time. For one thing, an increasing number of dimmable LED sources are finding their way onto the market, and manufacturers are also developing new dimmers that perform better with LED products. During this transition period, the best policy with regard to dimming LED lighting is to proceed with caution, ask lots of questions, and do as much testing and verification as you possibly can.

Brodrick, Ph.D., is the solid-state lighting portfolio manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. He can be reached at doe.ssl.updates@ee.doe.gov.

Just returned from another visit at the Ingo Maurer showroom in Munich. Such an inspiration!

The most intriguing new introduction was definitely the LED candle My New Flame.

The candle itself is a thin strip of circuit board. Beautiful in its industrial simplicity. The astonishing part is how life-like the flame flickers. Just like the real thing, just that this candle never burns down!

Your front entry is your chance for that great first impression.
Check out our tips, guidelines and ideas for your outdoor lighting design.

Most guests visit your home at night, so your entryway lighting is crucial for setting the mood and make an inviting entry.
Welcome guests to your home with the warm glow of outdoor lighting.

Contact us with your questions. We’d love to help you!

Garage Lights create a safe entry. Via CG&S Design Build


Outdoor lighting has a dual purpose: You want to create a welcoming entrance to your home as well as be able to walk safely up the steps and from the inside clearly identify who’s coming to visit.
Your front door is usually what most guests approach (Or so they say. For some reason all our guests find the kitchen door first – and then never leave the kitchen!)
So, theoretically at least, the front entrance door is THE place to choose to make a statement!

Lighting is one very important way to create a great first impression. 
A pair of wall sconces or lanterns flanking the entryway can complete the look you want, whether it’s grandiose, contemporary, rustic or artistic.

Safety is of course also an issue and the right lighting is key to reducing trip hazards around your home.
Wall lanterns create a warm welcome  and are very important for that exact reason. Aside from that they are primarily  supposed to be decorative.
Combine them with landscape, step  and path lights for ideal illumination.

A third, maybe unexpected,  benefit from outdoor lighting is the illumination it creates outside the windows. Keep the windows from becoming “black holes” when viewed from inside. Instead it visually extends the living areas to the outside.

The Troy Lighting Cameron outdoor light has a striking architectural design

Lighting the secondary entrances to your home, like patio and kitchen doors, follow the same requirements as the front door, but there the focus might be primarily on safety paired with a comfortable patio light for outdoor entertaining.
I’m not saying that you can ignore aesthetics and go ahead and install some of those glary security lights that will illuminate your neighbor’s back yard as well as yours. That is Light Pollution! (More about that later.)

Troy Lighting Old Town Outdoor Light

Choose lights that meet your needs for illumination as well as atmosphere and fit the style of your home.
You’ll find styles from sleek, minimal architectural fixtures to traditional lanterns or Craftsman style lights in all price ranges. The choice is yours!

Troy Lighting Dayton Wall Light features an LED light for energy efficiency

Wall lights, lanterns, ceiling lights or pendants?
Depending on the architecture of your home it might be possible to use wall sconces or lanterns flanking the doorway or lights mounted to or recessed into the ceiling – or a combination of both.

With some minimal, clean, contemporary home designs it might be tempting to choose only recessed overhead lights. But keep the “flashlight-under-the-chin” effect in mind: Illumination directly from above is almost as ghastly as from below – and it can be almost impossible to see the facial features of a visitor with this choice of lighting.

If this is still the lighting of choice, consider combining it with indirect illumination of landscape features or architectural details nearby.

The Aspen collection of outdoor lights by Troy Lighting includes wall sconces, pendants and post lights.

The same principle goes for the must-have decorative fixture that looks wonderful at the front door, but does not shed sufficient light. It just needs a little help and can work well if you augment it with other less visible light sources.
One of the most important considerations when choosing wall sconces to flank a doorway is size and proportions.

Size matters!
In our experience most home owners tend to choose entry lights that are too small for the scale of the door and the wall they are attached to.
With larger homes and taller ceilings, be bold!

As for size: look at the proportions of your front entryway.
Those Jelly-jar wall lights we all know all too well might look out of place next to the door in your new home, even if your parents also had them “and they worked just fine.”
By the same token, no matter how much you admire those wrought iron lanterns that would be suited for a grand entrance they might very well seem overwhelming flanking your cottage door.
The wall fixtures should be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3 the height of the door.

If you are using two sizes of sconces for your front door as well as your garage you’ll want to use the larger sconces at the front door, since this is where you want to create the focal point.   The smaller sconces that flank the garage door shouldn’t draw too much attention to this less attractive area of your home.

As a rule of thumb, outdoor sconces or lanterns should be mounted with the center of the light source about 5’6″ to 6′ from the ground and 8’ – 10’ apart.


Copper Mountain from Troy Lighting is inspired by the rugged slopes of the Colorado Rockies

Patio Lighting creates a mood for relaxing and entertaining.

Our decks and patios have become important extensions of our living rooms, kitchens and dining rooms.
As we add state-of-the-art barbecues, outdoor kitchens, comfortable dining areas we want to add the comforts and feel of home we have become used to indoors.
Whether enjoying a romantic al fresco meal for two or entertaining a crowd, we want to see the food on our plate, look good, maybe feel romantic and also be able to move around without danger of tripping.

The Access Lighting Ariel Outdoor Light puts the light exactly where it is needed

Create a safe environment with atmosphere.
One tip is to avoid glare and use as much indirect light as possible.
Inconspicuous step lights and small light fixtures positioned under a railing or a banister can help you put the light exactly where it is needed to safely negotiate stairs and dark areas on the patio.
Try to avoid the “runway-effect” of light sources lined up in a straight row unless. The trick is to illuminate an area without the light sources being the center of attention.

Patio lights don’t have to be fancy or expensive to be effective. Try a combination of wall sconces next to the entryway, some lights for areas that need special attention like changes in terrain and compliment these with twinkling strands of lights in nearby trees or indirect light sources that add atmosphere by accenting architectural features or parts of the surrounding landscape.

Patio String Lights

A little light goes a long way outdoors. 25W or 40W are sufficient in most exterior fixtures. In order to avoid glare and create atmosphere it is always preferable to use several light sources with a low wattage instead of a single one that will keep your neighbors awake.
With LED bulbs, look for some that are equivalent to 40W and 60W and choose a color temperature of around 2700K or lower, since they feel more like incandescent bulbs.

Compact Fluorescent bulbs Outdoors? YES!
Outdoor lights tend to be on for longer periods of time and are sometimes hard to reach. Both good reasons for switching to compact fluorescent lamps.
Since not all compact fluorescents are suitable for cold temperatures check the description on the package to make sure that you choose CFLs rated for outdoors.

Take Control!
It might be practical for a variety of reasons to have the flexibility to choose the levels of light, so plan on installing dimmers to control the light levels of your outdoor lights!
This way you can go from security lights to mood lighting at the touch of a switch.
Just keep in might that dimming incandescent lights cause them to shift to a warmer, more yellow tone. I love this effect around my deck because it adds warmth and the feel of flickering candles.
Plants, however, take on a sickly look in yellow light, so dimming is not for landscape lighting!

Some manufacturers like Kichler Lighting have come out with chandeliers as well as floor and table lamps rated for exterior use. This makes it possible to bring a feeling of “home” outdoors and extend the hours you can enjoy your patio or deck.

Kichler Lighting Alameda Chandelier

Form + Function represents the outdoor lights by a large number of manufacturers. We offer choices from cutting-edge Contemporary to Craftsman style or Traditional. Our criteria for choosing the fixtures is quality, integrity and form as well as function.

Motion Sensors are great! -If you aim the sensor right, so the lights turn on from a sufficient distance.
(I am embarrassed to confess that I am speaking from painful experience: for way too long I have dealt with a hard-to-reach garage light that doesn’t turns on until I am directly under it after having stumbled my way through the dark. I’ll fix it next weekend. I think.)
Again, please don’t even think about blinding your innocent guests with a spotlight with a motion detector! It is cruel!
Motion detectors can be used in combination with regular wall lights, not only as part of a security light system.

Landscape and path lighting looks the best if the light source is is not glaring in your eyes, blinding you. That translates to: No runway lights flanking the driveway, but subtle illumination of rocks, bushes and other natural features along the way. Works just as well, but what a difference!

Corbett Spellbound Chandelier

Contemporary living room via Coates Design Architect

Unlike the kitchen and bathroom, where the position of the light fixtures is pretty much determined by the built-in furniture and appliances, the living room often has a more flexible lighting plan.

Tech Lighting Monorail via Applegate Tran Interiors

In new construction you generally see recessed lights.

“Downlights place the most brightness on furniture and floor surfaces.
Three-dimensional forms stand out; the lighting blends into the ceiling.

Space downlights 4′-6′ apart for even illumination.
Arrange the pattern so it relates to doorways and windows. You do not have to keep downlights in a single grid pattern; they can be clustered over conversation areas and spread out in between.”

- American Lighting Association

Kichler Lighting Palla Chandelier

How does one know how much light is needed for a room?
Kichler Lighting has a helpful formula:

Multiply the length times the width of the room.  Then, multiply that number times 1.5.  That gives you the amount of wattage you need to light the room properly for general illumination.

Example:  A room is 12 ft. x 16 ft. (12 x 16 = 192).   Then multiply 192 x 1.5 = 288 watts.
That means an 8-light chandelier using 40-watt bulbs would give 320 watts, which is even more light than needed.

Striking Vintage Style Fixture, via TruLinea Architects

For specific task lighting in areas where stronger light is needed, multiply the area’s square footage by 2.5 rather than 1.5 to find the needed wattage.
A kitchen work island or a desk area where schoolwork is done are examples of task areas in your home.
Theoretically a large living room could according to this calculation get away with one large multi-arm chandelier, but the result would not be that pleasing.

Try to incorporate at least four layers of light in a room , so that you can smoothly transition the space from high energy to relaxing by the touch of a few dimmers.

Tech Lighting Monorail

Sometimes the living room only has one single box in the ceiling that was intended for a flush mounted ceiling light or a chandelier.
In many remodels the ceiling lights were replaced by track lights that are just sitting there in the middle of the room asked to do a task they were not intended for. The result: glare and discomfort.
Use spot lights to highlight artwork while allowing light to bounce back into the room. Great way of getting ambient light without glare.

Here the Tech Lighting MonoRail spots do a great job of creating drama as well as allowing ambient light to reach into the room.

Track Lighting used artfully by Joie Wilson Interior Design

Track lights are great for illuminating artwork, interesting architectural details, bookcases, anything you would like to show off.
By illuminating these focal points you will get the benefit of extra ambient light that doesn’t shine directly into anyone’s eyes.

Tech Lighting Display Lights via Webber and Studio Architects

Start by illuminating points of interest in the room.
Find architectural details like artwork on the walls, a bookcase, heavy beams or a natural stone fireplace.

Once they are illuminated this alone will add a considerate amount of accent light to the room.
Track lighting with wall washers, individual spot lights or recessed lights with adjustable trims are ideal for this task.

In a smaller living area this might do it for the ambient layer of light.  In larger spaces you can add wall sconces or ceiling lights.
Torchieres that light the ceiling can help expand the space visually.

Luceplan Costanza

Once you have lit your focal points, look for your task areas: Your favorite reading chair, a game table, sitting area.  You want “pools of light” to give these areas atmosphere. It’s all about creating a feeling of comfort well being.
Portable lamps have the advantage of being  very flexible.
You can move them around and change the shade color to fit the season.

Remember to layer the light and control the layers independently so the room can adapt to different functions as needed.
Dimmers are a good way to help the change the mood of the room.
As an added benefit, dimmers extend the life of incandescent bulbs considerably.

Cozy Reading Chair, via Rebekkah Davies Interiors + Design

Table and floor lamps with fabric shades add a warm and friendly ambience to the room.
The warm circle of light invites you to sit down, relax, read a good book or engage in an intimate conversation.

Don’t be afraid of being eclectic in your lighting choices.
Got an old lamp base from your grandmother that has sentimental value – pair it with a fresh shade and feel good about setting it on your modern side table.
It’s all about being creative!

Eclectic and inviting living room via 6thstreetdesignschool

Colorful Living Area via Kristen Rivoli Interior Design

Magnificent Living Room via Applegate Tran Interiors

Last week I did a house consultation in a home where there was no overhead lighting in the living room except for two rows of track lights aiming towards the sofa “for reading”.  Horrendous glare, no matter where you were sitting or standing in the room.

Simple fix:  By moving the track close to two opposite walls and aiming the track heads at a beautiful painting,  a huge rough-hewn beam and a colorful wall with family photos the room received enough general light bouncing off the walls. The rest was then filled in with table- and floor lamps. We changed a ratty looking shade for a new one in a neutral tone.

Result: An inviting space with warmth and focus on what matters to this couple.

Cost: a few hundred dollars.

Lifestyles change over time, and furniture gets moved around. That’s the reason portable lamps work so well in a living area.
It’s amazing, how  good lighting can change a space. And it doesn’t even have to be expensive.
A few tricks make a huge difference in making the living room feel comfortable and inviting.

I do so many home consultations where all I do is to haul a few floor and table lamps out from various nooks and crannies throughout the house and demonstrate how creating “pools of Light” creates atmosphere.
We also try to find just the right “wow” pieces to make an instant impact in your room.
At Form + Function we are all about finding good lighting solutions for every budget.

You can create ambient light by placing a $25 floor can light behind a potted plant or by using it to highlight a sculpture.
We have lots of tricks up our sleeves for getting you the most for your money.

Rules of Thumb for Track Lighting
This is one of the most frequent questions we encounter when we do lighting consultations: How far away from the wall do I position my track?

Here are a few guidelines:

For lighting objects on a wall, the wall itself, or any vertical surface, position the track and the fixtures as shown above

1. Generally, fixtures should be aimed at a 30 degree angle from the vertical to prevent light from shining in anyone’s eyes and to avoid disturbing reflections on the surface of the object. Usually, one fixture is required for each object being accented.
2. Measure the distance (“B” to “C”) from wall, on ceiling as shown in the tablebelow.
3. Mount track at “Location” (“A” to “B”) from wall, on ceiling, as shown in the table.

Mounting Distance for Track Lighting

Track lighting is ideal for artwork, bookcases, interesting architectural features. Try grazing a stone fireplace with spot lights positioned close to the wall  making the interesting texture stand out. Or highlight a beautiful wood ceiling so that it glows with the warmth of the materials.

Wall grazing is such an easy and relatively inexpensive technique that  can become an important feature in itself.

The effect entirely depends on the texture of the wall, the light source and angle of the beam. A wall graze creates dramatic high and low levels of light on irregular surfaces,such as brick or stucco.

The aim  is to get an even spread of light across the entire wall from an acute overhead angle (between six and twelve inches from the wall depending on the ceiling height), to make the texture  stand out.
You can use a track positioned close to the wall to create this effect or recessed lights as shown in this stunning home by Lacroux and Streeb.of Basalt, Colorado.

Wall washing is another technique that can be used to add light to a room. It is different from wall grazing, which creates more shadows to emphasize texture.
A wall wash will make a wall look smooth and minimize its texture due to the even illumination. To create this effect the lights are positioned further away from the wall.

The rule of thumb for wall washing is for your mounting distance (the distance between your lights and the wall) to equal your spacing distance (the distance between your lights).

1/3 of your ceiling height is a good guideline for determining this.

• Mounting and spacing distance : 2-3 feet for ceilings up to 9′ high.
• Mounting and spacing distance:e 3-4 feet for ceilings between 9 and 11′ high, etc.

In addition to the aesthetic effects of wall grazing and wall washing, it is amazing how much you can illuminate a space using light reflected off walls.

Last word: when using light to bounce off and showcase architectural features, always keep one thing in mind: Only illuminate what you actually want to highlight!
Sounds so simple, yet I am tempted to repeat the phrase.
Don’t shine a light up to a spot where you primarily highlight a fire alarm and a faulty patch job, but move the beam so that it hits the beautiful arch and stucco ceiling and leave what you don’t want highlighted in the shadows. That is what shadows are for!

Extend your living space to the outdoors!

Outdoor Lighting and Fireplace via CG&S Design Build

Outdoor living areas have become a huge trend and it’s easy to see why. This is where we spend a lot of time. Why not  extend the personality and comfort of our decor and personal style to the outdoors?

Outdoor Lights add warmth to this outdoor space via Home Envy

Gone are the days of a small cement porch with a single gas barbeque and a few rickety lawn chairs.  Outdoor living is in!

Since a lot of activities take part after dark it is important to make sure that the lighting is perfect, first of course, so we can see , second for aesthetic reasons.

Stunning outdoor lighting via Home Envy

It’s a good idea to actually create a  lighting plan for your outdoor living space, just like you would do it for your living room or kitchen. Think of all the different activities the space is used for and plan with that in mind: Grilling and cooking, reading in your favorite deck chair, enjoying a romantic meal al fresco or having everyone over for a neighborhood party.
All these activities require different kinds of outdoor lights.

Inspiring outdoor lighting design via House and Home

Just like an interior room outdoor spaces profit from the use of multiple smaller light sources instead of a few powerful ones. The same “layers of light” we are talking about indoors.

An overhead outdoor light can be complemented by a few sconces and a table or floor lamp for task lighting in the seating area.

Outdoor Reading Lamps via siamhousedesign.com

Limit bright lights to high activity areas such as the entrance and your outdoor kitchen and use softer decorative overhead lighting in your outdoor dining and living area.

Keep in mind that great contrasts in lighting, especially outdoors can be trip hazard.  As we age, the eye’s ability to adjust from dark to light surroundings slows, which makes it harder to move quickly from a well lit to a darker area. So, if you are a baby-boomer or older, just plan your outdoor lights accordingly: Avoid sharp contrasts by using multiple light sources.
Use soft ambient lights to fill the completely dark areas with a touch of light, especially at the perimeter of brightly lit areas around doorways and stairs.

Outdoor Path Lights via erco.com

A little light goes a long way outdoors

Please, please (did I say it pretty enough?) limit the use of flood/spotlights!! Sure they are cheap and functional, but they are also also extremely glary,  a nuisance to your neighbors and  a source of light pollution.
Of course they have their place: for safety, like at the garage with a motion sensor and at the barn, so you can check that all the critters are safe and tucked in.

Extend your interior design plan to the outdoors

Evenings on the porch are for relaxing.
Fire pits are immensely popular these days.
One of the many reasons is the warm, amber glow of the light (and then of course the fragrance of the burning wood – and the marshmallows!)

A fire pit doesn’t throw a lot of light, but it creates a very unique atmosphere of intimacy and warmth.
You can create this feel with the right patio and landscape lighting.

Outdoor Firepit via Doug Burch

We spend most of the time at home in summer outside. We eat all our meals outside and sit and read or visit with friends on the deck every night. We had the dilemma that it was easy to illuminate the deck close to the house under the portal (we live in New Mexico where houses have portals), but further out on our big deck it was pitch black – and we do love to sit and read and that is our favorite spot. Solution: a commercial light string with regular bulbs in the tree branches above reading/dining area. 25W bulbs on a dimmer. Works like a charm and looks so nice, for parties, too!
String lights are ideal for small outdoor spaces, too.

Lighting small outdoor spaces

String lights add charm and a festive touch to your outdoor areas

If all this seems overwhelming, keep in mind that it’s not necessary to illuminate everything in your yard.  Just decide which areas are the highest priorities for you and your family.  Begin closest to the house, since that is where most activities take place.
A few well-placed, low-voltage path or accent lights can have a huge impact on your landscape. Again, follow the principles of indoor lighting: illuminate only what you want to highlight and create focal points.

Outdoor Step Lights add safety and general illumination

Looking at the lights at my own walkway down to the horse barn I cringe, since our wonderfully creative and rambunctious dogs have destroyed every single one of them. My project to keep me busy for a weekend, I guess.

After this experience, I can’t stress it enough, how important it is to buy the quality that can stand up to the (ab)use your yard gets.
In my quest to find affordable high quality fixtures I chose some that obviously didn’t stand the test and now have to do the job over.
Should have looked for bollards like these I saw in the Swedish magazine Hus o Hem. They look indestructible!

I also need this T-shirt from www.teddythedog.com!!!

Outdoor kitchens have gained popularity. I definitely have one on my wish list! Just stumbled across this great outdoor kitchen that uses industrial warehouse lights. Looks so much better than the typical barbecue light and of course illuminates the space so that you can really see what you are doing.

Outdoor Kitchen with Barn Lights

Spruce up your kitchen for the Holidays with new Tech Lighting fixtures that will make your beautiful counters stand out even more. Finally get the lighting right in your bathroom. Now is the time! All Tech Lighting fixtures are at 25% below list for our Black Friday sale AND we are including a modern tabletop gift with your purchase.
Choose between the charming Hug salt and pepper shakers or the beautiful oil and vinegar cruets both from Mint, Inc. Or choose the serene stacked river stones that hide their purpose as salt, pepper shakers with a holder for soy sauce.
If you want it we will gift wrap your gift and send it to a special person of your choice.
Check off your Holiday gift list and relax!