Lighting
Light Up Your Landscape with Exterior Lighting
By: Danielle McVicar
An easy and effective to way to enhance your landscaping is to incorporate some exterior lighting. Your home’s exterior should look just as interesting and beautiful at night as it does during the day; and different types of exterior lighting can help you achieve that goal.
Exterior lighting is not only eye-catching; it can make your yard safer and more enjoyable after the sun goes down. Lining walkways or driveways with pathway lights is a common use of exterior lighting, making your yard both safer and pleasing to the eye. Motion sensor lights are also good for nighttime safety. These kind of exterior lights are often placed in shadowy places around the home and light up when any motion is detected.
Simple exterior lighting can make your outdoors accessible both day and night. If you have a patio or porch, installing basic pole or surface-mounted lights can make these areas usable at night as well as during the day. Also, submersible lights can light up pools and hot tubs, making nighttime swimming and soaking an option.
Accent lighting is another form that exterior lighting can take. If you have a point of interest in your yard, such as a lawn ornament or tree, don’t let it go to waste at night because it can’t be seen! Using an accent light to draw attention to focal points of your landscape is a great way to beautify your yard at night. Floodlights are perfect for accent lighting; they light up large areas and don’t distract from the object that they are illuminating. Also, if they are placed strategically, floodlights can create unique effects, such as interesting shadows projected onto walls.
The most decorative type of exterior lighting comes in the form of specialty lighting. Specialty lighting ranges from lanterns to colorful holiday lights. Use specialty lighting sparingly; too much of this exterior lighting can result in a tacky, juvenile appearance.
Exterior lighting is relatively inexpensive and is a great way to boost your exterior décor. Most forms of lighting are easy to install yourself, but if you have any trouble you can always consult a professional landscaper for help.
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Get Turned On: Guide to Bedroom Lighting
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
As a place to relax, the bedroom needs to have adequate lighting that creates a peaceful glow over the room. Each room in your house requires a different lighting scheme. You wouldn’t use bright fluorescent lights from your kitchen in your den. For the bedroom, a unique mixture of ambient lighting and task lighting will create a room that is serene but functional.
Your bedroom should consist of multiple levels and types of lighting. If the only light you have comes from directly overhead there will be stark shadows and an unpleasant atmosphere. The ceiling light, which provides general lighting, does a good job of brightening up the entire room. However, don’t you hate it at the dentist when they shine that bright light directly in your eyes? Having only ceiling lighting creates a situation like that. Adding other forms will help disperse and even out the lighting in the room.
Bedside lamps are one of the most popular forms of additional bedroom lighting. For a couple’s bedroom each person should have their own end table and their own light. This way they can each control the amount of light they receive. These lamps should have a lower wattage and a screen which helps block direct and intense light. A good height is about 20” above the bed, which stops any glare the might be created from a high lamp. The lamp should also be positioned a little bit behind the reader otherwise shadows will result, which are unpleasant for reading.
Other areas that require task lighting, which is used in areas designed for a specific purpose, are by the vanity or dresser. These should provide direct light so the user gets the best perspective.
To highlight wall art or other specific pieces use track lighting. This is affixed to the ceiling and acts as a spotlight on your objects. If used on the bed it may be too bright, so limit the amount of use these receive.
Finally, use accent lighting. This can take the form of candles or floor lamps. Accent lighting really helps set the mood of a room. Here you can develop that ambiance and romantic feel.
Remember that using one bright light is hurtful on the eyes and no flattering in a bedroom. Use multiple lights with lower intensity to establish a dramatic atmosphere. Use dimmer switches to control the brightness.
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Lighting up your Bathroom
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
For women, the type of lighting in your bathroom can have a huge effect on your appearance. Remember when you would tell ghost stories and hold a flashlight up to your face, creating a scary shadow? Well done incorrectly, bathroom lighting can produce a similar effect. It is important to create a balance of light within your bathroom, which will help not only with the style and look of the room, but also with the functionality of it.
Bar Lights:
Bar lights are the most common form of bathroom lighting. These consist of a set of lights usually positioned above the sink. Although it may be a singular, long light, bar lights can also have four or five bulbs within them. 60 watt bulbs are good for this style of lighting, producing a bright glow. However, if this is your only form of lighting fixtures within your bathroom it will create significant shadows. When applying makeup this can be a problem. You will want to even out the light by using other forms of accent lighting.
Scone Lights:
These are also popular choices for bathrooms. Scone lights are essentially wall lamps – single bulbs with a shade attached that are affixed to the wall. These are best positioned at eye level and should be about 40 watts.
Globe Lights:
Think about all those movie star dressing rooms you see on television with mirrors outlined by big, round lights. Globe lighting is basically a bulb encased by a fishbowl style cover. These diffuse the light produced, which creates an even glow. This light is great for getting ready in the morning because of the light.
Recessed Lights:
Because bathrooms experience a lot of water and water vapor, hanging lights are often dangerous and can be subject to rust and corrosion. Recessed lighting provides a great alternative for lighting up the ceiling without the other hassles. Although difficult to install, they’re well worth it because they light up the entire room and do not accumulate dust. These also work great in the shower because the can be waterproofed as well with the proper material.
Skylights:
Natural light adds appeal to any room. With a bathroom it can be difficult to achieve this because of privacy concerns and the variety of locations that bathrooms are in within the house. Skylights allow in that sunlight yet still maintain a high level of privacy.
When designing the lighting scheme for your bathroom make the lights independent of each other, that way you can control which ones are on at any given time. When getting ready you will want to use different levels of lighting. When preparing for daytime activities use bright lights. For evening outings use softer lighting.
Keep your bathroom bright and uplifting. Have a well lit bathroom will boost your confidence and perk you up in the morning!
