Timber & Textiles » Lighting

Lighting Universe: The Name Says It All

Mitch Gimber — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:54:18 +0000

When you’re looking for light fixtures for your home, it’s best to look at a large selection, so you know what’s out there, and make an educated decision when choosing what you want. Lighting Universe acts as a liaison between the light manufacturers and the seller, bringing many options and prices together for you on the same page.

If you’re looking to buy a new chandelier for your dining room, you probably have a general picture in mind of what you want; you just have to find the perfect one. You can spend a lot of time and energy, running from store to store to find what you’re looking for, or you can do the serious shopping from the comfort of your home. With the simple click of the mouse, you can have all of the options neatly laid out for you, including their prices. In the Lighting Universe website, everything is divided into categories, so you can easily find what you’re looking for. If your personal taste is traditional or contemporary and modern, Lighting Universe has a large selection of each kind.

Whether you’re looking for lights for the interior of your home or exterior, Lighting Universe has a big selection of both. For the indoors, you can find lights for your bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, etc. The site will introduce you to new and different styles and designs and give you ideas on how to light up your home. For the outdoors, the Lighting Universe offers decorative, security, and flood lights, among a host of other options. In short, just about any kind of light you’ll need, you can find on their website.

Another perk about this site is that they offer free shipping. This means that you pay for the cost of the lights only. They also carry many of the name brands, so you know you’re getting quality merchandise. The website is easy to navigate thereby making the selection process as easy as possible. If you read the Lighting Universe reviews, you will see that most customers are very satisfied with their selection, prices, and prompt service, but some complain that if the actual product is not to their liking, returning it is not a simple process.

No matter if you are looking to light up a small closet or an entire landscape, Lighting Universe will offer what you are looking for. Assuming that you make sure you are going to like what you order, you will be pleased and satisfied when you find the perfect fixture with minimal effort and expense involved.

Patio Lights: What Are The Options?

Phil Riklis — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:44:08 +0000

Outdoor living space is becoming very popular and more customized than before. Outdoor patios can be beautifully decorated with simple pop up gazebo, rattan garden furniture and patio lights to highlight special outdoor event. Patio lighting makes the yard and patio a safer place to be at night. There are different types of patio lighting such as deck lighting, step lighting, fountain lighting, moon lighting, silhouetting, and shadowing.

Deck lighting is a good option to highlight or spotlight any elevations, edges of the deck, or drop-offs. This way deck is decorated beautifully as well as made safe. The light fixtures can be concealed on vertical posts, beneath railings, and beneath benches. Step lighting allows the guests to navigate through yard or steps in safety. The lights can be placed beneath railings, recessed into steps, or on posts.

Different patio light fixtures can be used to highlight fountains. Underwater lighting gives great appeal while colored lights add more fun to the fountain. Mirror effect can also be created on the fountain by placing lights behind the shining or reflecting side of water. Moon lighting is another effect created by placing lights on a tree and illuminating them downwards. The light gets filtered through branches and looks like moon shining down.

Shadowing is a technique, where lights are used to highlight interesting shapes in the garden such as sculptures and structures. In this method, light fixtures is placed in front of the shapes or planted below the shapes to create shadows of the shapes. Different arrangements create different sizes of shadows. Silhouetting is a technique used to highlight the shape of the structures or items. Here, lights are placed behind the structures and shined against the vertical surface like walls.

Before selecting the patio lighting, the lighting goals of the chosen area should be reviewed. Patio lights must be safe and should also create a beautiful environment. The lighting needs of the area should be evaluated and tripping hazards and traffic patterns need to be analyzed. Chosen patio lights must enhance and match the color scheme of the patio. There are different types of patio lights such as patio string lights, patio party lights, patio umbrella lights, and patio solar lights.

String lights are the cheapest option and they are very easy to install. Party lights are available in different design such as cherry blossom paper lantern and bamboo paper lantern. These lights can be fixed temporarily or permanently. Solar lights use solar power and these lights give minimum light. You can find a wide selection of patio lighting and other light fixtures for around the home at Lighting Universe.

LED GU10 Saves Money, Hassle, and the Environment

Phil Riklis — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:25:06 +0000

One popular way to save money on utility bills is grandma’s demand to “turn off the lights!” And so a lamp that uses only 5% of the power of a conventional type has us dreaming about dramatic reductions in electric bills. The LED GU10 is one such light bulb. So how much actual cash will you save by using this new technology?

If you burn a 25-watt night light 24 hours a day, and use two 60-watt traditional lamps for 6 hours every evening, the average cost to power these is ten cents per day, or about three dollars per month. So switching to lamps which only use 5% of the power will lower that cost to about fifteen cents per month. Of course, many people use more than two or three lights. And if you use constant light for security, landscaping or spotlighting art works within your home, you may enjoy substantially higher power savings by switching to LED GU10 bulbs.

Furthermore, these new led lamps are built to last, with many having a life expectancy of over 20 years. How many regular types would you use in 20 years? How many are unusable when you bring them home from the store because the filament has broken from vibration during transport?

The longevity of GU10 LED lighting can be very attractive in fixtures that are hard to access, like track lighting on a high ceiling. It’s no fun to change high lamps every few months. This is especially true if a bulb should become cross-threaded and stuck in the fixture. There you are, teetering precariously on a high ladder and can’t get the lamp out of the socket. And if you put too much pressure on it, the bulb shatters and you have to deal with tiny shards of extremely sharp glass as you continue to try to remove the bulb from the socket. This innovative new type is designed to eliminate this potential problem in several ways. First, the gu10 socket is not threaded, so it can’t cross-thread and become stuck. Second, it isn’t as fragile as the conventional glass bulb. And finally, the long life of this type means you may only have to replace it once every twenty years or so.

Finally, this new lighting technology offers several environmental advantages. Besides lower power consumption—and every little bit does help—the long life and sturdy design significantly reduce solid waste from broken and burnt out bulbs.

So while you may not see a dramatic reduction in your overall power bill, you will enjoy significant advantages by switching to these innovative new bulbs. You can find them in online stores such as Lighting Universe, as well as your local hardware shop.

The Truth About LED Grow Lights

GuestPoster — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:15:04 +0000

Grow lights have been used for some years now to improve plant growth by mimicking natural sunlight. Over the past couple of years though, LED technology has been getting in on the act and seems to have caused a certain amount of controversy and confusion, with assorted claims and counter claims about how good “LED grow lights really are.

One thing is certain however, and that is the fact that LED lighting is without question the most efficient form of lighting ever invented. Conventional incandescent type lights, such as high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, generate vastly more heat than light per unit of electricity consumed. LED lights lose very little energy as heat and in fact remain only very slightly warm to the touch even during continuous use.

However, what really marks out LED lamps from all other kinds of grow lighting is the ability to very precisely target quite specific wavelengths in the visible light spectrum. Conventional grow lights, by contrast, spread light fairly uniformly over the entire spectrum instead.

This means that not only do traditional grow lights waste electricity (and thus also money and precious resources) generating more heat than light, but most of the actual light they do produce also goes to waste. How so? Because plants absorb the vast majority of the light they need for photosynthesis from just two zones – one in the red part of the spectrum and one in the blue. They neither need, nor benefit from, most of the rest.

These specific features – accurately targeting specific wavelengths of light and using/wasting very little power – quite understandably caught many plant growers attention. Improved performance combined with reduced costs is always going to represent the Holy Grail in any field.

But the good news doesn’t end there. An interesting corollary to giving off virtually no heat is that the lights can be placed much nearer to the plants. Why is this a good thing? In a nutshell, because of the Inverse Square Law of light which states that each time the distance from a light source is cut in half, the amount of light received increases by a factor of four. In other words you can wring even more performance from LED grow lights simply by moving them much closer – not something that is possible with HID lamps since the heat would damage the plants.

LED lighting continues to tick boxes when you consider longevity and maintenance. You should expect to get over 50,000 hours useful life from LED lights – that’s about 10 years continuous (18 hours a day) use. HID bulbs will last maybe a year and you also need to be physically replacing two sets – metal halide to create blue light and high pressure sodium for red.

So one has to wonder why there should be any kind of dispute at all. Surely LED grow lights represent a great step forward in this field? Well, yes actually, they do; but that’s not the problem. The issue is one of perception, or put another way, comparing apples with oranges.

All new technologies attract bootleggers and predators capitalizing on the naive. The fact is that modern, well made units using individual LEDs rated above 1w each will match any HID light – such a device using say 100 LEDs and thus with a total consumption of 100 watts is a good replacement for a 600w HID.

Compare this with a typical “low cost” panel using 225 LEDs but drawing just 14 watts. Sounds great doesn’t it – all those LEDs with very low energy consumption. A quick tap on the calculator however tells you that each LED must therefore be rated at 0.06 of a watt. A so-called “LED grow light” such as this will absolutely not work.

So do LED grow lights really work as well as claimed? Yes and no – it depends what you call an LED grow light. Real ones do, cheap imitations don’t. To make sure that you’re getting a high quality bulb, make sure to shop at a reputable retailer, such as the Lighting Universe.

Buying A White Floor Lamp

GuestPoster — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:10:10 +0000

A white floor lamp brings not only light but a bright feeling to a room. Floor lamps are effective fixture items in the house because they add light to any room and make a practical choice for small apartments that do not have overhead lighting. Aside from their lighting purposes, they also add beauty to homes. In these modern times, floor lamps have become common elements of home décor.

Floor lamps are available in different styles and shapes. There are so many of them in the market and you will never run out of choices. A white floor lamp is the kind of lamp that is flexible enough to be put in any room whatever the theme may be.

As there is great demand for white lamps, the number of manufacturers and sellers has also increased. With many sellers in the market, the price of these furniture pieces is becoming competitive. There are many places where you can buy white floor lamps. You can shop at online stores, such as Lighting Universe or Amazon, or in a local lighting shop. It is important to check all available options before a purchase is made so that you can buy the items of your choice at the lowest possible price.

First, you must decide whether you want a new lamp or you can settle for second-hand items. If you have decided to go for a brand new lamp, you can personally check out the available offerings at home furniture shops and malls nearest you. One constraint is that furniture shops may keep limited number of lamps because they also have to accommodate other furniture items.

You do not have to leave your house for you to check out what other options you have. Read magazines and websites to be aware of the different types of white floor lamps which are available in the market today. You can also look at newspapers for advertisements on these lamps.

Compare the products in terms of design, quality and price. There are risks that are inherent when you purchase white floor lamps from online shops. The item that is delivered may not be the exact one that you expect. Therefore, it is important to look carefully at pictures, read the reviews and communicate with retailers, if necessary. Buy from reputable online shops.

If you decide to go for second-hand lamps, scout for garage sales in your area. You can also go to thrift shops as well as antique stores. You may be able to find cheap items which are still of high quality.

Make your selection and purchase of white floor lamps an enjoyable experience. The satisfaction that you will gain is greater if you know that you worked hard in order to get the best lamps for your home.

Driveway Lighting Design

Phil Riklis — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:06:01 +0000

Some people think that driveway lighting is not necessary to install around their homes because of practicality or vanity reasons. They’ve missed the fact that driveway lights are not just for the purpose of creating a more secure home environment, but also very important is that it helps with the aesthetic value of the house. Any person would agree that their lawn, their garden and especially their driveway will all look magical with a touch of lights shining over them. This doesn’t only give light to the area – but it also transforms ordinary houses into warm homes that are welcoming guests to guests.

There are many ways to install driveway lights depending on what type of driveway you have. When you have a long parallel wall along your driveway, you might best accentuate it with wall mounted spotlights and down lights. Moreover, when you have a low-height wall, you may make use of wall-recessed step lights that are installed a few inches above the ground and provide lighting horizontally along the driveway. These days bollards are the most in demand way of installing driveway lighting. These lights project the light beams downward and horizontally in order to illuminate the areas around it. Make sure you coordinate them well with your other outdoor lighting around your house, like any outdoor pendants or sconces.

When your driveway is surrounded by a garden, using bollards on a mounted spike can turn your driveway into a cozy and romantic view. For surfaces such as concrete, brick or paving, you may want to install the flange mounted versions. You must remember to keep the spacing carefully planned to avoid overlapping of light beams. The illumination should give you a fantastic triangular pattern on the surface of the driveway.

Another thing to consider is that you should use bollards that are made up of solid copper, if you live in a rural area, because these materials can blend with the theme of the house, giving a more natural design and look.

Another factor that you should consider is the underlying lighting technology itself. You may need transformers that reduce voltage. When using halogen lighting, use transformers that can adjust voltage up to 12 volts. There are many transformers these days that are compact and lightweight and can be buried underground should you want to hide it from the sight. Some households include illuminating the trees with their driveway lighting. These lights however should be custom made to endure heavy vehicles passing over them without being crushed or damaged.

You can find a wide selection of different driveway lights at Lighting Universe, Amazon, and a number of other online retailers.

Candle Chandeliers For Every Occasions

GuestPoster — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:28:05 +0000

There are many aspects to consider when choosing candle chandeliers. First thing is on where you want to put your candles; it can be indoor or outdoor since candle chandeliers can be placed in both places. There are a number of designs, styles, materials and shapes to choose from depending on your preference. Such material is the glass which makes the crystal look fabulous, there are also other types of materials like bronze, copper and iron and more to pick from. A small room might look quite odd with a large multi-armed candle chandelier that is why you have to choose the proper size of your chandelier in regards to your room size. You also might consider on how much you are willing to spend on these beautiful lighting ideas apart from learning on how to maintain them.

These candle chandelier’s elegance and pleasant appearance makes it gorgeous especially the crystal variety on it. It features multiple pendants that reflect different facets of lights especially when they twinkle off the light from your fireplace or other lightings. These attributes that the candle chandeliers have make it more impressive. Candle chandeliers have the ability to bring a beautiful glow with ethereal beauty around them and are very relaxing and pleasant to the eye. This is why candlelight is considered more soothing compared to the electrical lights that we used to have nowadays. Whether the occasion is romantic or relaxing, the radiance and ambience of these candle chandeliers is very wonderful.

You can opt for small chandeliers if there is a space constraint, there are several of them that also create beautiful effects aside from those huge pieces with multiple arms. Simple cylindrical designs are also good for modern home decors while intricate crystal chandeliers would look good in a formal setting. Some chandeliers also use colored glass for a bohemian look. For large spaces, an ornate and elaborated chandelier can be good. Various styles are available such as the modern and contemporary look which many people prefer and also the Victorian type which is a traditional look that is the result of a medley of influences, including classical, Oriental, Gothic and Italian.

Apart from taking consideration the size and space of your room, you might also think about amount of light you want and also the design element. The best chandeliers do not only add a gorgeous look in your room but also be discreet enough in regards to your need. Most people these days choose those dimmer switches with which you can adjust the light according to your preference. Another important thing you need to consider with candle chandelier is the fixture. You have to make sure that your ceiling can carry the weight of a certain chandelier. Electrical connections must also be arranged accordingly if you intend to have those electrical chandeliers.

Candle chandeliers are a great way to add style and atmosphere to any living space. No matter what your budget, you can get a chandelier to suit your style, preference and budget quite easily; looking for those that appeals to you and your style is just a matter of choice. With the various designs that are available, both on online retailers like Lighting Universe, Amazon, and Ebay, and in local shops as well, you can enjoy a charm of a timeless work of art while you get the benefit of modern convenience.

How To Moderate Your Garden Lighting Plan

Phil Riklis — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:37:03 +0000

Garden lighting can be awfully addictive. You get started with one light and the next thing you know, you’ve got more garden lights than plants, flowers and shrubs. Get hooked, in other words, and you might just forget to know when to stop. Because let’s face it – isn’t there always another rose bush that needs a little more illumination? Or a garden path that needs a few solar powered ground lights?

And it doesn’t necessarily end with the lighting, either. You head to the Lighting Universe or Amazon and start to look at gazing balls. You find yourself purchasing some garden wind spinners. And then you are stringing a dozen Japanese lanterns between the dwarf apple trees.

And then you realize that you have given up on the classy look in favor of something that’s a little more . . . well, let’s just call it busy.

The truth is, when it comes to expanding on or adding to your garden, all those decorative pieces can start to overwhelm your outdoor landscape. Because the truth is, garden lighting and garden design décor often boils down to one key fact. Less is often more.

So when you start getting a hankering to add some more exterior lighting, look hard at your garden space. What is the natural play of light and shadow? Does it look best when the morning sun is on it or the afternoon? Or perhaps you’ve got a garden that is at its best at twilight.

Heck, why not take a look at your garden under the light of a full moon?

When it comes to exterior garden lights, you want to imitate natural lighting. In fact, you may want to aim for nothing more than a subtle enhancement.

You need to pay careful attention to your garden at night. Why? Because that is when your lighting system is going to be working. So look at what you’ve got before the lights go in. Use a flashlight – or several, preferably with beams of varying brightness and hues – and see how they work when played across the garden.

How does everything look?

Be sure that you are aware of other sources of light that might affect your lighting plans. For example, there might be a street light or two nearby. Or maybe your neighbor up the street has a floodlight on the garage that hits your garden.

Isolate and identify every light that’s going to impact the garden lighting scheme.

Finally, you want to remember the basic rule – less is more. Don’t go and drown your garden in lights. Take it slow and easy and try to moderately boost the garden’s natural beauty and presence.

Antique Chandelier Lighting

Phil Riklis — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:43:03 +0000

There is something so elegant about an antique chandelier. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about antler chandeliers or an antique crystal chandelier. At both extremes, the result is an elegant addition to your home. Of course you need lighting inside your home and why settle for utilitarian lighting when you can add a touch of class to your dining room, bedroom or living room with chandeliers lighting? Not every room will need a chandelier and restraint is an often missed quality when it comes to home decorating. Be mindful about how all the elements will work together. You want to invite your guests, not overwhelm them.

There are many kinds of contemporary and frankly, inexpensive chandeliers on the market now. Varieties like an antique brass chandelier can add a distinctive accent to your home. The chandelier light you choose should say something about who you are, while fitting with the surrounding decor.

This means that not every home will be able to accommodate an antique chandelier, but if it can, you are in for a treat. Antique chandeliers are among the most classic lighting choices. The traditional tear-drop antique crystal chandelier is an amazing accent to the dining room table. It can take a mundane space and turn it into something elegant. As you begin to shop for the right fixture for your space, the most important thing is size. How big is your space and how big is the chandelier that you want? Too small, and the effect is lost. Too large, and the effect is comical.

Depending on your budget and inclination, you can buy authentic antique chandeliers or look for well done replicates. While the real thing can be a treasure, finding an antique chandelier and getting it up to modern electrical code can be its own journey. Unless you live for the thrill of the hunt or are handy with wiring, you may want to opt for the antique look without the extra work of using the real thing. Most home lighting superstores such as Lighting Universe will have an adequate selection of chandeliers. You can also check specialty places like Rejuvenation for excellent reproductions of those classic chandeliers.

Whatever you decide — authentic or reproduction — the most important point is that you love the design. The chandelier will grace your home for the next 30 or 40 years so don’t be hasty in deciding which one is right for your taste and decor. It is not a race. Decorate your home as your pocketbook, calendar and energy level allow. If you spend too much, make a hasty decision or think you are going to replace all the major light fixtures in one weekend, you will end up with lots of regrets. Relax and enjoy the adventure of adding antique chandelier lighting to your home.

Finding The Best Outdoor Candle Chandelier

GuestPoster — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:28:05 +0000

When a friend of ours had a local general contractor build the family a wide deck on the back of their home lots of fun and excitement floated around the home. A built in outdoor kitchen was added, padded patio furniture was selected, and the white PVC railing was added around the edge. Decks are a super way to enjoy the outdoors while still having the convenience of being close to the house itself. One downfall for our friends was the exclusion of lighting. Wiring was on incorporated into the original plans. Believing that the family would only want to spend daylight hours on the deck, due to the cool evenings, made them over look the architect’s recommendation to install exterior wiring, outlets, and outdoor boxes. Soon after the covered deck was completed it became apparent that everyone enjoyed staying outside into the hours after sunset. So the question became, “What lighting options do we have without electricity?” The answer came in the form of solar outdoor lighting and outdoor candle chandeliers.

Chandeliers, many times only thought about for the inside of a home are also very good for the outside. For electricity powered units the chandeliers are specially approved by the UL rating system for outdoor wet or dam locations. Features are added to the fixture to help insure safety outside. Sealed circuitry and rubber covered switches are just to of the safety features built into them. But in the absence of electricity, eyes turn towards the candle variety.

Candle chandeliers range in weight, number of candles, shapes, and metal. Wrought iron metal chandeliers are very heavy. Some have a square appearance with decorative metal ‘threads’ of metal winding around them, mimicking the lights which hung from carriages in the yesteryear. Others are very light weight and can even be suspended from the center of a portable yard canopy or gazebo. Lighter weight ones typically have three or four candle holders.

So an outdoor candle chandelier was the light that was chosen to hang aloft over the covered deck. Weighing in at about 15 pounds, light but durable fixture was just what was needed to finish the deck. The family actually found it fun to light the candle and watch them as they flickered and the flame slowly made it’s journey to the end of the candle sticks.