A-Z Home Centers

Ready to run out to the store and buy some LED deck lights?  Great, but remember that before you rush into a purchase, proper preparation and planning is the key to achieving satisfaction with the end result.

Stage 1- Survey, Planning and Budgeting

• Go outside onto your deck both during the daytime and at night time to see which specific spots will get the most benefit out of the lighting you intend to install.
• After determining which spots need to be lit, you now need to evaluate what kind of mounting will be used to install the lights for best results and for larger coverage. Decide whether you will embed them into the deck floor itself or whether you will use raised posts.
• Consider how the LED lighting will best complement your existing setup and make an installation plan either by yourself if you know how or with the help of a professional electrician.

At the end of this stage, you will be able to make up a comprehensive list out of which you can budget the cost of the solar patio lights themselves, mounting, any other alterations to your deck, and finally getting the entire setup to work.

If you will be getting a professional electrician to do the installation for you, you also need to put his fee into consideration when working up a budget.

Stage 2 – Shopping, Actual Purchase and  Installation

• The best way to start your shopping is online. The Internet has very many resources which will assist you to pick out affordable and quality LED deck lights while still giving you as much variety as possible. You can then move on to magazines and window shopping in brick and mortar stores.
• Whether shopping online or in an actual hardware store, consult an experienced electrician if you’re unsure of what to buy and how to install it.
• Follow your building and installation plan as per what you came up with in Stage 1 and voila! you have your deck lights up and running.

Read more of Planning, Buying and Installing LED Deck Lights…

If, like many homeowners, you plan to add lighting to your homes exterior now that the weather has improved, you might be wondering what types of outdoor lights are best for your home. Not only should you get lights that match your homes exterior decor, you should try to use unique lights that will make your home stand out in your neighborhood.

Here’s some easy outdoor lighting ideas that you can use to spruce up your homes exterior lighting:

• If you want to be creative you can make your own driveway lights so your guests and family members will easily be able to find your home at night. The easiest way to make your own driveway lights is to find (or buy)  a few aluminum gallon size buckets and punch holes in the sides of them in whatever pattern suits your fancy (swirls or circles patterns look best). You can paint them if you want, and then you just need to place either a small battery operated light in the bottom of it and either place them on the ground next to your driveway or hang them from small shepherds hooks.
• Outdoor party lights are fun to use as accent lighting on your homes deck or patio as well. Not only will they add a fun feel to your homes entrance, but since they are available in many different styles you will be able to find some that not only match your home but also are unique. A creative way to use party lights is to use outdoor string party lights and weave them through your patios fence railing to create a wall of light. Or you can wrap them around the exterior  edge of your patios flooring to accent your patio.

These lighting ideas should get you started and show that with just a little creativity you can easily make your outdoor lights unique and fun.

Read more of Easy Outdoor Lighting Ideas You Can Use at Home…

Whether outside lighting is for safety or to have fun in the dark, there are many different styles and various methods for powering it. Some fixtures need to be hard wired. Others run on solar power. Nearly every type of fixture available comes in both options.

It is not uncommon to see a series of low set bulbs lining either side of the driveway or walkway. The solar lamps are popular, because they do not rely on a power source from the home. Some people will want to be sure that bulbs will come on, so they will hard wire the entire series. This requires digging and quite a bit of labor.

For the porch,garage or corners of the home, spotlights are a good choice. Usually they are hard wired, though a few model are available in the solar option. There are the lamps that turn on automatically, after dark. Others come with a motion sensor and will switch on when they detect movement. Both options add an extra element of safety to the property.

Outside solar lights come in many varieties now. There are the typical lamps that are pushed into the ground. Lanterns and taller landscape lamps are also available, to cover a larger area. There are strands of lights with several small bulbs, that can be used for the deck or on the patio umbrella.

The umbrella lamps clip on and add a festive touch to the outdoor space. Today’s alternative power sources make use of newer technology, which can gather energy from the sun, even on a cloudy day. Using an alternative source like the sun is a great way to save on energy costs and does not require the expertise of an electrician.

Outside lighting fixtures for spaces around the home can be found in home improvement centers, hardware stores, retail stores and in some camping supply stores.

Read more of Outside Lighting For Every Need…

Most gooseneck lamps are adjustable in that the very nature of the lamp and its flexible neck makes it possible to turn the lampshade any angle. This is one of the main advantages of choosing a gooseneck lamp over others. They are perfect to use on a desk, beside the bed for night time reading and even in the living areas where you can use either a tabletop gooseneck lamp or a floor standing kind.

It is possible to buy adjustable gooseneck floor lamps that allow you to adjust the height of the lamp as well. These are usually set on a pole that can be adjusted up or down in much the same way that a portable floor standing fan will move up and down.  While not essential, it is helpful to have this option available. Some of these lamps have a straight pole all the way up to the top of the neck, with the top section of the pole sliding down inside the bottom section.  Others are actually hinged at the top so that the lamp can be stood up vertically or bent over at an angle.

Adjustable gooseneck floor lamps are useful for other things also, not just as a decorative lamp around the home.  Many photo studios use this type of lamp to provide additional lighting when preparing a setting for a photo shoot. Lighting is vitally important when framing a photo, thus the ability to be able to extend of lower the lamp is very useful for studios.

The medical profession also uses adjustable floor lamps. This allows health care providers to adjust the lamp so that it shines exactly where they want it very simply and quickly. There are also many others areas around the home where an adjustable lamp is useful.  They are often put to great use in the workshop area or in the garage, again illuminating whatever project the person is working on.

As you can see, adding the additional flexibility of being able to lower or raise the height of a floor standing gooseneck lamp adds to the lamps usefulness even more.

Read more of Adjustable Gooseneck Floor Lamps…

Having a garden is a wonderful way of reducing stress and relaxing. Being surrounded by your very own small piece of nature in the privacy of your home helps one forget the din and the frenzy of the world we live in. Enjoying the garden scene through your picture windows will give your home a kind of freshness and peace that is getting harder by the day to come by. To fully enjoy your garden, you will have to make sure that it is well lit, as well as maintained. This is especially true if you are the kind the leaves the house to work while it is still dark and arrives home when it is already dark. Lighting up your garden is also a great deterrent to burglars.

Nowadays, there are generally two kinds of ways to light up your garden. There is the solar kind and the electric. Solar garden spot lights usually stand alone and do not have to be connected to the electric grid of your home. They come with a solar collector, which collects sunlight into energy and stores them in batteries. They usually will automatically light up when dusk comes and turn off when dawn breaks. They are very easy to install, as they will not require any kind of wiring.

The second type of garden spot light is the electric kind. These will have to be wired to the electric grid of your home. This makes them a little more tedious to install, but they will be brighter and will afford you a more dramatic effect in your garden. You may train the spot light on a favorite part of the garden like a small fountain you created or your prized orchid collection.

Both the electric and solar types of lighting are available in several styles, the most popular being the stake kind. All you have to do is sink them into the soil and you are ready to use them. The more traditional type of lighting are those that are mounted on a pole or on your house and the light trained at a specific part of your garden.

You will also have the choice of using LED lights or small halogen lamps. The LED types of lights are generally used to give general lighting to the garden. The halogen types of bulbs are more for spot lighting and used for dramatic effect. When using the halogen bulbs you will have the choice from 10 watts to 75 watts. You also will be able to control the beam angles of the light with the reflector that they come with.

Lighting up your garden will add value to your home and it will give you the luxury of enjoying your very own piece of paradise. Your whole family will enjoy it.

Source: Vast Home & Garden

Read more of Lighting Up with Garden Spot Lights…

There’s really no trick to choosing chrome ceiling lighting, but just a few rules you should follow that apply specifically to chrome and a few others that apply to any type of light fixture. The first basic rule is that you want to keep all the metal finishes in a room very similar. A room that has finishes in copper, chrome, bronze, gold and silver is probably going to look a bit jumbled and overdone.

Instead, choose one metal finish and stick to it. If you choose chrome ceiling lighting, you do want to continue that theme in anything else that has a metallic finish. A chrome light in the bathroom, for instance, should be added when the plumbing fixtures in the bathtub and sink are chrome, as well. The same goes for the kitchen. And don’t forget to include things like drawer pulls and knobs. While these can be any substance and even be ceramic or novelty knobs, continuing the chrome theme will help pull the room together and make it look very stylish.

You also want your
chrome ceiling lights to be in balance with the other elements in the room. If the focal point of the room is going to be the fixture, such as a large chrome chandelier, then going very large is not a problem. But if the chrome light is really just an accent and you want the focal point to be something else, you’ll want to keep it in scale with other elements or perhaps even make it smaller than other things so it’s not quite as noticeable. Keep it in scale with plumbing fixtures or other lighting fixtures in the room if you want them to carry about equal weight as far as decorative elements go.

Also, make sure that the fixture is genuine chrome, which is electroplated over nickel. If it’s not real chrome, then you could deal with peeling, flaking or a tarnished surface in very little time. Real chrome is very long-lasting, so invest in a quality fixture to save yourself some disappointment later.

Read more of How to Choose Chrome Ceiling Lighting…

When you are trying to find outdoor string lights and do not have a lot of money to spend you will want to make sure that you find the cheapest place to buy them from. Although there are several different places that you can shop for lighting there is only one place that you will want to do your shopping if you want to be able to save as much money as you possibly can. By knowing where the best place to make your purchase is you will be able to find lights that will fit into your budget.

You will be able to find outdoor string lighting at your local hardware store, but this is not the best place to buy them from. The best place to buy them if you want to be able to save a lot of money and get quality service is on the internet. There are online lighting stores that will have several different types of string lights for you to choose from, and you will be able to get the lowest prices available because online stores do not have the same overhead costs as hardware stores and other stores in your area.

If you want to be able to purchase the outdoor string lightthat you need for the outdoor area of your home you will want to make sure that you look for them on the internet. There are some places that will not only offer you low prices but will also give you free shipping if your purchase is a certain amount. Make sure that you take the time to find a good online lights store to shop at so that you will be able to save the most amount of money you possibly can when you purchase the outdoor lights you need.

Read more of Where to Buy Outdoor String Lights For Cheap…

Besides being the smartest and most energy efficient method to power your home, solar lighting offers other multiple benefits as well. With the focus on climate change and solutions for renewable energy around the world, a large number of homeowners are switching to solar lights on the inside and outside of their home. Today, solar powered lights can provide lighting for just about any interior part of your home, as well as outdoor walkways or driveways, gardens, swimming pools, decks, and more. Solar deck lighting is an easy and low-priced outdoor lighting solution to accent and provide safety in and around your deck area.

Unlike other exterior lighting solutions, solar deck lights don’t need any electrical wiring because they are powered with direct sunlight, which is stored by solar cells (batteries) to provide sufficient light after sundown.

Many people do not realize that there is a line of solar-powered lights specifically made for decks, the most popular one being solar deck post lighting. Such lighting arrangements can accentuate the natural beauty of your deck. There are many different types of solar-powered deck lights, but before you go out to buy a solar deck post light, first consider what type of light fixtures will best fit the desired look and ambience you wish to achieve in the space.

There are a number of outdoor lighting fixtures to choose including recessed or rail fixtures which are perfect for the entryways or stairways of your deck.  Such fixtures are designed to add ambient lighting but most importantly, they also add safe access to and from your welcoming deck.   Most fixtures come in many options including different overall designs, colors, materials such as plastics and metals.  You should have no problem finding light sources that are suitable or match the decorative theme of your deck.

Considering the easy installation, long battery life, minimum maintenance needed, limitless natural electrical energy supply, and most significantly, the great amount of money saved by way of electricity bills, solar deck lighting is by far the smartest and most sensible way to light up your deck or other outdoor living spaces.

Read more of Brighten Up Your Deck with Solar Deck Lighting…

Many people are considering tripod lamps as important accessories at home. Tripod lamps make practical choices as home fixtures as they not only add lighting to the space but also enhance the overall design of the home. They are a great for a variety of different settings, and make interesting bedroom table lamps. They come in various styles and their prices vary accordingly. They can be easily found in local furniture stores, mall shops and online but if there are no suitable lamps that suit your home, you can even make your own personalized tripod lamp. To begin, all you need is a tripod, lamp kit and the shade material of your choice.

Several factors such as the budget, design and height have to be considered when purchasing a tripod lamp. It is true that many have attested to the tripod lamp’s great use in the house and to how it can enhance the beauty of any room. However, the experiences of other may not necessarily give you the same satisfaction. It is important that homeowners individually assess the various features and functions of the lamps. Another factor to take note is the size of the location where the lamp will be placed. Some places may be small or may already be filled with furniture. To accommodate these areas, homeowners can choose a tripod lamp that does not consume as much space as the other types of lamps. It is essential for the buyers to study the dimensions of the lamps. Prices of tripod lamps vary according to the size and design you choose. This ensures that buyers will certainly find one that is within their budget. There are available tripod lamps which are of high quality but are offered in really good prices.

One of the recommended places to purchase these lamps is through online stores. These stores offer competitive prices and they also provide the dimensions of the lamps to allow buyers to determine the sizes of the fixtures. In choosing tripod lamps, satisfaction can be increased by not only purchasing them at high quality but also at very low prices.

Read more of Buying A Tripod Lamp…

Before buying outdoor Christmas lights, you are going to want to read these simple tips for getting the best deal on outdoor lighting.

The best deals in Christmas lights can be made in the sales just after Christmas, when stores try to get rid of this year’s stock. Discounts can be as great as 70 to 80% and if you are not too worried about buying the newest and trendiest lights each season, post-holiday sales are the best places to find cheap lights for the next holiday season.

Yard sales can also be good places to get affordable holiday decorations and outdoor lights. If you like shopping in yard sales, keep an eye out for holiday garden lights even if you are visiting a yard sale in the middle of the summer. You can often pick up surprisingly good deals when it is not the pre-Christmas season when everyone is looking for seasonal products.

Before purchasing the lights, measure the width and the height of the area in your house you want to decorate, and take measures from the bushes and trees in the garden. Decorative holiday lights come in strings and the amount of individual light bulbs on the string can range from around 25 up to as many as 200. A good measure for bushes and trees in the garden is approximately 50 bulbs for each foot of height, if using normal size bulbs. For miniature bulbs, you can easily use twice as much to get a good effect.

Always check that the lights conform to all the necessary safety standards, especially when buying on the Internet or when looking at second hand lights. Test your lights before hanging them up on the roof or in the garden to make sure all bulbs work. You can also use an online outdoor Christmas lights finder and browse through a few websites for best deals.

Read more of How to Find Cheap Outdoor Christmas Lights…

A well lit garden or gazebo for late afternoon tea or an event at night would give a different kind of feel to your garden. Outdoor ceiling lights online provide great ideas on the hundreds of styles you can choose from for your garden. You can place your lights in strategic areas of your backyard.

There can be a light on the pathway to guide your guests. There could be spotlights showing a nice floral or plant arrangement. They could also be pointing towards the stone steps leading to the gazebo. The gazebo or the terrace, meanwhile, could be lit up with outdoor ceiling lights.

These lights are mainly categorized whether they are flush mount or semi flush mount. A flush mount is similar to a hanging light as they use pre-installed junction box on the ceiling. However, they do not use any wires or cables and so they appear to be simply dotted on the ceiling by itself.

You can also choose different styles to choose from like Asian, tropical, Victorian, old-world, art-deco, country, contemporary, traditional, rustic or lodge. Sometimes, the lighting fixtures set the theme for the gazebo and you revolve your other decorations on them. Or it can also be the finishing touches on your theme.

Some people prefer matching their outdoor furniture to their lighting as well and you can do that by selecting the finishing the frames encasing your lights. First it could be of the same color like black, white, golden, silver or brown, therefore you can choose painted ones.

Meanwhile, some people prefer natural finishing like the type of metal or hardware used. It can be razz, bronze, antique or vintage effect, copper, nickel, pewter, rust or stainless steel.

Other factors to consider are the vertical clearance, the type of light bulbs that you can use on them, energy conservation, and so on. It is essential that you look around for outdoor ceiling lights online first before shopping.

Read more of Sourcing for Outdoor Ceiling Lights Online…

Have you thought about adding some solar lighting to your home or garden, but are not sure what kind to get?  Maybe you want to add some lights to your walkway for safety, or your garden to add a touch of ambience to your landscaping.  No matter what you would like them for, if you are going to use solar lights, you need to know what kind to get.

Accent lights

Solar accent lights are usually used to emit a soft glow to “accent” an area, hence the name.  These lights are not very bright, but they can last a long time on a single charge.  Often these lights come with a separate solar panel, so that you can mount them where they are unseen, even in the shade, and route the panel to a location where it can get more sunlight.  You do not want to use these on pathways, though, as they are not really bright enough for that application.

Path lights

Solar path lights are quite a bit brighter than accent lights.  Though they do not give light for as long a time as a softer glowing light, they usually can stay on for at least 8-10 hours.  These lights usually have the solar panel build right into the fixture, which makes them the easiest to install.  Place these lights along walkways, driveways, or anywhere else that you need enough light to safely guide your way.

Spot lights

Solar spot lights are brighter than either of the two previous varieties and usually come with a remote panel.  Spot lights are usually used to focus on more distant targets, like trees and tall bushes.  These lights are usually placed well out of site and aimed at the area in which the light is needed.  Getting them aimed can take a little while to get right, but the effect is usually well worth the effort.

Flood lights

Photo by r_nechesSolar flood lights are the brightest of all.  They don’t shine for very long on a charge, but they are not meant to.  Usually, you see these types of lights used as security lights.  They most often have motion sensors built in to allow them, to turn on only when they detect nearby movement.  Since they are only on when needed, they can usually easily retain a charge until the morning.

Hopefully this has given you some idea of the different kinds of solar lights that are available.  This is, of course, only a small sample.  The important thing to remember is that before you begin your first solar lights project you should always keep in mind the application.  Then shop for the perfect light to meet that application.

Read more of Solar Lights Applications…

Many choices are available to consumers when they are shopping for exterior home lighting to add illumination to the outdoor areas of their property. One type of such exterior home lighting is path lighting. By illuminating pathways, consumers may help avoid accidental falls, in addition to complement the motif of their landscape. Indeed, many options in color, shape, and material, among other options, are available to consumers from which to choose when shopping for pathway lighting. However, one additional factor to consider when shopping for walkway lights is the power source used in the design of the outdoor pathway lighting. Is the power source the sun or electricity? Brief information about both types of pathway lights is presented.

Pathway lights that use the sun as their energy source are popular in some parts of the United States. These lights harness the sun’s energy during the day and use it at night. However, in order for these lights to work as designed, the solar panel component of the lighting must be installed where it receives abundant direct sunlight. Otherwise, these lights will not work as designed, with the current technology used. Nonetheless, given that pathway lights that use solar energy to illuminate are ecologically friendly since they do not use electricity in their design, these lights may be a good choice for consumers who plan to install them in sunny locations.

Photo by smohundroAnother eco-friendly choice for pathway lighting is the type that uses low voltage. Given that these lights use less voltage than pathway lights that use the standard home lighting voltage, low voltage path lights are also eco-friendly. Low voltage pathway lights are designed to reduce the voltage used in home lighting to low voltage, usually by the use of a transformer. Because the lights use low voltage, some consumers feel comfortable installing the low voltage pathway lights themselves, as opposed to hiring an electrician to do it for them.

Read more of Eco-Friendly Pathway Lighting…

Lighting the front of your home is a great thing to do, not only does it enhance the front of your home it also increases the security of it. With even a small amount of light in key area you are far less likely to become a victim of crime than those that do not have any front of home lighting. It used to be the case outdoor lighting was an extremely expensive thing to do but this really is a thing of the past. LED lighting really has revolutionised the outdoor lighting market as it’s low power requirements have allow them to be powered by multiple sources.

One of the main cost of outside lighting used to be the cost of installing it, you would  have to run cable underground between the lights and then in to your home. This was not just a costly thing to have done but it would also create a lot of disturbance to the front of your home. LED lights simpley do not require this level of efforr to install as many are solar powered or battery powered and this means that there will be no cables for you to dig in to the ground.

LED outdoor lighting comes in various and all are reasonably priced, here are examples of cheap LED lights for the outside of your home:

Post Lights
The majority of these are solar powered and come on posts that are simply pushed in to the ground, they are a great way to get some lighting at different lights.

Driveway Lights
LED driveway lights are a fantastic way of getting some interesting looking lighting outside the front of your home. You can drive and walk over them without damaging them so they are an ideal choices.

Decorative Lights
There are hundreds of decorative lights that you can get for lighting outside; porch string lights always look nice as do decorative paper lanterns. Most outdoor string lights will be either solar powered or battery powered.

Photo by Andrew|WThere is no reason why you couldn’t use a combination of all three of these lights outside the front of your home as they are all very different and would create a stunning visual effect.

Read more of LED Lighting: A Cheap Way to Light the Front of Your Home…

Today’s modern manufacturing practices have made buying chandeliers to be affordable to everyone, not just the fabulously wealthy. Historically, chandeliers were large, costly and elaborately ornate; however nowadays they come in all different shapes, sizes, materials, colors and designs that complement your unique décor.

When choosing a chandelier, it’s important to think about the dimensions of the chandelier in relation to the room you’ll be putting it in. As with most other kinds of lighting, it’s necessary to select the right size. One good rule is to match the size of the chandelier to the room. For instance, a very large room would not have only a couple chairs in it. It would need to have quite a few good-sized items of furniture in it, to balance the size of the room. The same is true of the lighting; you’ll need a large chandelier to create balance. Conversely, in a smaller room you’ll need a small chandelier or else the room will seem too crowded.

Photo by EurosvetIn a dining room, you need to allow at least 3 – 3 1/2 feet over the table so that your dinner guests won’t bump heads on the chandelier. The shape of the chandelier can be matched to the shape of the table as well: Use a pendant style for a rectangular table and a round chandelier for a round table. Lighting in a foyer is best hung at 7 feet off the floor.

Again, same as with furniture, the best chandelier lighting for you should match the overall décor of the room. For instance, if you have a modern contemporary design, then your chandelier should be the same. You’ll find lots of designs available when you start shopping; one is sure to work in whatever room you’re thinking of putting it in, whether it’s a foyer, dining room, bathroom, kitchen or study. If you go online and check out the many chandelier lights websites, you’ll quickly get an idea of what will work well in your house.

Read more of How to Select the Best Chandelier Lighting For Your House…

Choosing a ceiling light can be difficult because there is such a wide selection of styles available. It is worth giving careful thought to your choice of light fixture for your ceiling; they can be a real point of interest in the room.

Certain types of light are more suited to some rooms than others. Chandeliers, for example, are popular choices for foyers, dining rooms and living rooms where decoration is important. These rooms may be large spaces that can accommodate a large, intricate ceiling fixture. A more practical light for a ceiling is a track light rail, commonly used in kitchens and home offices where good illumination is important and function takes priority over appearance. Track lighting can be moved on flexible rails to direct the light where it is required, for example over a desk in an office or over a counter or table in a kitchen.

Pendant ceiling fixtures are available in a huge range of styles. Whether your taste is modern and minimalist, bright and funky, or classical and elegant, there is a pendant light to suit all interior design themes.

Sconces are light fixtures that are attached to the wall for support and direct the light upwards. This type of lighting is commonly used in foyers or corridors to maximize floor space (as there is no need for a floor base), provide a focal point and of course provide lighting. Normally a sconce light is attached to the wall around 3/4 of the way up (from floor to ceiling). The distance between the lights should equal the floor to light measurement to give a balanced layout.

When looking for the perfect light for your ceiling or wall, the Internet is a good place to start. There are many online retailers specializing in different light fixtures for the home; compare what each one offers in terms of style choices and price range.

Read more of Wall and Ceiling Light Options…

When it comes to having a successful indoor garden there are many things that it takes for this to happen, but one of the main ones is lighting more specifically grow lights. Using grow lights to facilitate your plants will indeed make your indoor garden grow to its full potential. Okay so now you know that using grow lights will make your garden better now all that you need to do is pick the right one, what is that you are not sure which one is right for your indoor garden? If this is the case then do  not worry because in today’s article we are going to be discussing different types of grow lights and the best places that they should be used. We are going to be talking about three major types of grow lights which are LED plant grow lights, HID grow lights and fluorescent grow lights.

If you are a new to the world of indoor gardening or have only a small area to put your garden in then LED grow lights are going to be your best option as they for the most part are maintenance free as you do not have to worry about changing out the bulbs or having them too close to your plants or having to turn them off because they are drawing too much power. These lights are also ideal for small garden set ups where you only are lighting up a couple of plants or a small area of a bunch of starter plants.

HID lights are for the more experienced indoor gardener or for the one who is planning on having a large setup that covers a large amount of space. These types of grow lights work great if you have a lot of time to adjust and watch over them. HID grow lights are great at producing light that helps both growth stages and flowering stages. There are some downsides to these lights as they can burn the plants if too close, they draw a lot of power and they can be somewhat expensive.

The last type of grow light that we are going to be talking about today is the fluorescent grow light. This type of light is good for medium set ups where the indoor gardener is on a budget. These grow lights put out the necessary lumens or light output needed to grow plants but are not as strong as other types of lights but they do work for the price.

Read more of How To Choose The Best LED Grow Lights For You…

Pretty much everyone who hasn’t been living in a cave lately is aware that traditional incandescent light bulbs are being phased out (this was news to you? go to your local store and try buying a regular 100w light bulb, oh and try to get out the cave a bit more). This is also starting to affect halogen spot lamps of the sort so popular in kitchens.

So what are the alternatives then? Well there are CFL lamps which replace regular light bulb shaped lamps, but these are way too bulky for spot light fittings and anyway they are limited to normal bayonet and screw type bases, whereas almost all halogen spots use GU10 (mains twist and lock) or GU5.3 (low voltage push fit bi-pin) bases.

But there are increasingly a range of LED lamps that look exactly the same as halogen lamps and thus fit into existing recesses and fittings. So how well does say a GU10 LED perform as a replacement for a normal halogen spot light?

Taking my own kitchen as an example, the ceiling has 10 recessed spots evenly spaced in 2 rows of 5 (it’s long and fairly narrow). Using halogens I found that 35 watts per lamp was considerably more than bright enough; in fact I installed a dimmer switch to bring the light level down to something a little more comfortable.

So that gives a maximum brightness of 350 watts all told, but realistically about 250 watts is what I would aim for to attain the amount of brightness I prefer. As an aside, I don’t rely on overhead kitchen lighting but, like many people, have additional lighting under cabinets, inside display cupboards and for specific task areas.

So we need to look at using 10 LED lamps that each has luminosity roughly equivalent to a 25W conventional light bulb. Using the rough and ready calculation that LEDs consume about 10 times less power than incandescent equivalents this means we need GU10 LEDs rated at about 3W.

LED spots of this power are now starting to become quite common in DIY and general stores, but for preference I still recommend finding reputable specialist suppliers (there are many online) in order to be sure of quality and also to specify characteristics such as color temperature and beam angle. Key to getting a good match with existing halogen lighting is using a similar angle (or preferably slightly wider) and picking a warm rather than cool white.

So in summary, yes, the latest LEDs are well suited to kitchen lighting and quite soon you may have little choice in the matter anyway!

Read more of Will LED Kitchen Lighting Work?…

The quality of any recipe is only going to be as good as the weakest ingredient that goes into it.  The same concept applies when you are designing a kitchen, regardless of the final design.  Modern kitchens, with their heavy emphasis on aesthetics on design, are particularly susceptible to problems related to one such component being of lesser quality.  People get excited about their kitchen tiles, the appliances, colors, and things like that, but one component tends to be forgotten more than any other – the quality of the lighting that goes into your kitchen.

If you ask a photographer about what is the most important component of any scene, lighting will almost always be the response.  Even the most beautiful scene can be ruined if there is a problem with the lighting that is used.  This is why so much time and effort is put into getting the lighting just right before the picture is taken.  Now, since you are remodeling your kitchen, you know that you are putting a good deal of money and effort into the job.  Don’t you want to do everything you can to show it off just as much as you can?  Of course you do.

A combination of artificial and natural lighting works best when it comes to modern kitchen design.  Wide open windows break down the psychological barriers between your kitchen and the world outside, making even a tiny kitchen seem much larger than it really is.  You are going to want to supplement this soft natural light with a hard artificial light to not only accentuate any particular part of your kitchen that you are looking to show off, but also to provide you with a solid source of work lighting so you can be sure to work safely.  The combination of these two light sources is what can take a beautiful kitchen and really put it over the top.

Read more of Light is Important In Modern Kitchens…

How many times have you been in the bathroom in a house other than yours and it either felt like a forgotten artifact or a design project gone wrong? It happens all of the time, and it’s usually because people don’t think to design their bathroom to fit the feel of the rest of the home. It might seem like a simple design rule, but many people figure that since it’s a different room it should have a different design. This is certainly not the case!

There’s no reason that entering a bathroom should feel like you’re walking out of one house and into another. Your home is the sum of all of it’s parts, and when those parts are similar it all fits together better! There are some things that fit only in a bathroom, like fluffy rugs, but those should at least be a similar color tone as the adjacent rooms. You don’t want everything to match perfectly, but there shouldn’t be a stark difference from one room to the next.

If you have modern lamps and chandeliers in your house, you should have modern bathroom light fixtures. If your home has a country theme, add some wood or homey accessories to the bathroom. If your home is minimalist, don’t clutter your bathroom up with a bunch of crap on the walls.

The best place to get started is with the bathroom lighting. Improving your bathroom lights is easy and can have a very dramatic impact on the home. Like I said above, don’t buy light fixtures that mimic the ones in the rest of your house, but buy ones that compliment them and would look good in the next room over.

Designing your bathroom is fun and a fairly easy project. Just be sure that you’re doing it in a way that you can live with for years to come, so you don’t have to do it again once you realize that it stands out like your home’s sore thumb!

Read more of Bathroom Light Fixtures To Compliment Your Home…

Designing outdoor garden lighting can be incredibly exciting.  You are like an artist with a brush that gets to use light to splash color all over your landscape.  If you’re planning on installing a new set of garden lights, or want to prove upon an old garden lighting system, you need to set up a design plan.  The design plan should include where you want the lights, what kind of lights and light fixtures you want, and how you’re going to spy them with power.  There’s several general tips you can use when you’re trying to design your lighting plan.

First, make sure that all of your outdoor areas are fully planted and furnished before you try to light them.  This will give you a better sense of the purpose of each spot on your property and where you will need more or less task lighting.  Newly better able to gauge the areas where people are likely to congregate and thus need more light.  It will also give you a sense of what’s plants you’re going to want to choose for accent like.  If you can, try to include a pond, fountain, or other water fixture on your property.  It adds a great element that you can light up late at night.

When you’re designing garden lighting, there’s one rule of thumb you should always keep in mind.  That role is, less garden light is always more.  You don’t want to wash out your landscape and harsh voice and light.  It will dole the different colors of the plants and architecture on your property, and could result in casting some nasty shadows over areas that you would normally want highlighted.  Besides, having too much light shows the same side of your yard that you’re used to seeing during the day.  Instead, and you’re designing your lights try to bring out a new unseen, unique aspect of your landscape that you otherwise would not be able to see.

Read more of Garden Lights Galore: Outdoor Lighting Design Tips…