Posts Tagged ‘Lighting’
Make Your Garden Dazzle With Garden Lighting
Only someone completely immune to beauty of an artfully lit garden will fail to appreciate how a small investment can light your evenings. Well-designed garden lights can turn your garden into a wonderland by night by adding ambience and beauty to it. There are great selections of garden lights ranging from low voltage and LED lighting to solar garden lighting. Right kind of lights can create magical scenery in your garden after sunset.
Why Should You Use Garden Lights
Garden lights do not only turn your garden into a magical fantasy, it also makes your house safer at the night time. If a higher electricity bill is your concern, then you should go for solar or low-voltage lights which are economical ways of keeping your landscape glowing. Some people also use decorative garden lighting which makes garden radiant along with making it safe and beautiful.
Spending evening in your garden after you come from work can help you relax. Instead of heading for the bar, you can simply invite your friends and have a small get together, right in your garden. Moreover, kids too will love to play in a fairy tale like garden and invent interesting storylines to go with the theme of your lighting. Spending evenings with family can also help in making stronger bonds. There are several similar reasons that support presence of lightning in your garden area. Because darkness can limit the amount of time you can spend in your garden, Garden lights can make the landscape wannabe and invite friends and family to spend some nice time.
Type Of Garden Lights
Garden lights of different types are available both in speciality stores and online. They come in the form of solar lights, candle lights, battery or kerosene fueled lights and lights that are operated with help of electricity. Using candle lights can create a glimmer in your garden such that there is not too much light and still the objects in your garden keep radiating. Candle lighting is appropriate for romantic gardens are full of green hostas and roses.
Solar garden lighting is perfect for marking pathways and walkways which lead from the garden back to your house. Solar lights give will give your house a warm, festive glow once the sun sets. This glow can be pastel or clear depending entirely on your preference. Electrical garden lighting is also available in form of staked lanterns or stringed lights. You can easily hang them from garden trellises.
Battery-operated lights are usually available in form of lanterns or statues that can be turned off and on as desired. Fuel-operated garden torches or tiki torches are also very light for outdoor activities and garden parties. For more colorful accents, you can use fiber optic lighting.
Benefits Of Using Garden Lights
Garden lighting does much more than accentuating your favorite statue of creating interesting shadows amongst trees. Yes, your garden ornaments will look several times more beautiful at night but a well lit garden will also offer additional protection against unsavory characters.
Garden Lighting Outlet also offers security so that they can prevent accidents and spot intruders. In fact motion-triggered security spotlights effectively protect your garden and home and deter impostors. It is important to consider different ways of lightening well-traveled areas of your garden. They’re different options that you can choose for lighting the garden and make it perfect.
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting For Mood Part V – Daypart Scene Designs
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood Part V – Daypart Scene Designs
In this series which I call “Lighting for Mood,” I draw on my experience working with some of London’s top interior design companies to describe current best practices in this exciting area of design.
In my previous article (Lighting for Mood Part IV), I described the basics of pre-set lighting design. In this article I talk about a new movement, in use today by certain prestigious interior design companies in London: “daypart scene” lighting design.
As mentioned in my previous article, the Interior Design Company will often present the client with a simple switch plate with just four buttons. In daypart scene lighting designs, an interior design company will designate each scene for use during a specific part of the day. Scene one is usually bright, to be used on a dull day to compensate for London’s often-overcast skies. The interior design company will have adjusted most of the lights to full brightness and some of the very discreet effects of feature lighting, which only work when light levels are low, may even be programmed to ‘off’. Early evening often starts at 4pm in London during the winter– and this daypart is ideal for scene two, which features a slightly lower level of light. Interior design companies will select low voltage halogen beams for this scene, to give a crisp and fresh look to a room. Scene two’s task lighting is left slightly higher, so that cooking can still take place in the kitchen, for example – perfect for London, as homeowners and staff often prepare for soiree guests to arrive at this time.
For entertaining, scene three is suitably atmospheric. The interior design company will have pre-programmed a dimmer general light setting and will have raised the level of feature lighting to increase the contrast. This can also be effective when the client’s brief requires the interior design company to create dual-purpose rooms. For example, sometimes the kitchen needs to be transformed into a dining area (often the case in some smaller London flats), and lighting scene three can allow pots and pans to disappear into the background. For special occasions or after dinner, scene four can be more moody still, introducing a sense of cinema. Interior design companies will sometimes double-label scene four as an economy setting, providing night lights in a hallway for example.
This completes my series on “Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood.” I hope these articles have helped you understand how interior design companies in London can tailor lighting effects to suit and enhance our favourite moods.
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting For Mood Part III – Dimmable Designs
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood Part III – Dimmable Designs
Interior Design Companies understand the term “mood” to mean a barely-definable, abstract quality that makes us feel “in tune” with our surroundings. In London, lighting is often a critical part of an interior design company’s toolbox in creating the perfect mood. In this series which I call “Lighting for Mood,” I will draw on my experience working with some of London’s top interior design companies to describe current best practices in this exciting area of design.
The principle way in which interior design companies will control lighting is by dimming the various levels in relation to each other. General lighting, whether in the form of table lamps, up-lights or down-lights, should be controlled separately from feature lighting – especially in older London residences where there is a danger of overloading electrical circuits. By day, relative contrasts are less marked, especially given London’s rainy weather patterns. When general lighting is at its maximum strength, interior design companies try to make sure it achieves a fairly even light throughout a room. By night, interior design companies will try to create atmosphere and mood by including a feature to dim general lighting to a low level and raise feature lighting. For maximum effect, interior design companies will make sure the contrast between different light sources is high. Alternatively, some London clients request a soft, inviting light, similar to that produced by candlelight; under these circumstances, the interior design company must ensure that the contrast between feature and general lighting is less marked.
Every interior design company knows that mood and atmosphere are very subjective and impact how we feel. After a hectic day in a brightly lit London office, coming home to a softly lit environment can have a very calming effect, helping us to relax and reducing stress. Alternatively, interior design companies may be asked to create an energetic and dynamic atmosphere – perhaps for a new London nightclub or classy restaurant. This requires lighting that is more dramatic, creating positive areas of brightness and darkness. While light is the key to changing mood, professional interior design companies know that the right levels of contrast are the means to success, achieved by controlling each lighting effect individually.
In the next article in this series on “Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood,” I will discuss pre-set scene lighting.
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood Part II – Fine-Tuning
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood Part II – Fine-Tuning
Interior design companies understand the term “mood” to mean a barely-definable, abstract quality that makes us feel “in tune” with our surroundings. In London, lighting is often a critical part of an interior design company’s toolbox in creating the perfect mood. In this series which I call “Lighting for Mood,” I will draw on my experience working with some of London’s Top Interior Design Companies to describe current best practices in this exciting area of design.
Mood and atmosphere are the ‘special effects’ of any lighting scheme, but the subtle levels required can only be determined at the fine-tuning stage. Once the various layers of lighting have been selected, interior design companies focus on creating a balance that can produce visual harmony. This is especially important in London, where outdoor gloom can often make indoor spaces appear flat or dull. The approach used by interior design companies is similar to that involved with layering textures and fabrics when decorating. Uplighting may need to be combined with down-lighting, or table light with spotlight, in just the right proportions. Some interior design companies will employ specialist lighting consultants to advise and guide the process.
The requirements will vary from room to room. For a living room, London interior design companies often recommend table lamps for general lighting and to ensure that guests are seen in a soft and flattering light. These can be combined with low-voltage feature lights to illuminate artwork or favourite antiques. In a kitchen, interior design companies realise that lamps are not practical for general lighting. In newer London residences, hygiene and cleanliness are key selling points, and kitchens require non-porous washable surfaces. As a result, interior design companies will generally prefer to select down-lighters, wall-washing the front of the kitchen units, or up-lighters, which provide a soft indirect light. These light sources can be combined with under-cabinet lighting for task light and – particularly popular in London today – perhaps a pin-spot over a kitchen island for added focus.
Interior design companies will often be asked to redesign bathrooms and bedrooms, since these rooms will often confer the most added value in London’s competitive property markets. Bathrooms require flexible lighting that is energizing in the morning and calming at night, with task lights for reading or around a mirror. In a bedroom, where there is less need for overall illumination, interior design companies love to make the bed itself the focus. One technique is to make the bed appear to float on a pool of light by installing rope-lights which can be subtly concealed under the bed platform.
In the next article in this series on “Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood,” I will reveal the secrets of dimmable lighting.
Garden Lighting -10 Great Ways To Illuminate Your Garden
For many people, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate amidst the beauty of plants and landscape of their garden is the ultimate bliss. But, without attractive garden lighting, you cannot capture that bliss. Lights arranged creatively and at the right spots make your garden a heavenly place to be after dusk.
Your garden gets grace through illumination. However, the trick is to use the right kind of lighting to transform your landscape into a dramatic place with dancing silhouettes and beautiful scenery. Things like glass oil lanterns add a dash of glitter to your garden during the day and make it shine radiantly during the night. The benefit of landscape lights is that it gives the pool, fountains, plants, and pathways a subtle glow, along with a shadowy charm.
Benefits
Garden lighting is one of the most important elements of your garden. And it not only enhances the beauty of your favorite place, but also makes it safer. A properly lit garden is easier to walk by, as you can clearly make out the pathways, steps, patios, and other elements of the garden during night. It also adds to the security of your home; thieves would not usually dare to enter a home that has a glowing garden. To make garden lighting absolute safe, you must use lights that are certified for outdoors use. This means that they are weather proof.
Ways To Light Up Your Garden
* Floodlighting involves a broad and bright light beam that illuminates a larger area. Although it is bright, it creates striking silhouettes that make your garden look inviting.
* Spotlighting is not used that commonly. Whenever used, it is used to light big plants, trees, large sculptures, and other architecture in the garden.
* Uplighting is a popular way to light up the garden trees, walls, and various statues.
* Downlighting is an imitation of natural light. The lightings are fixed overhead with the light falling directly from above.
* Moonlighting is used to render a dramatic effect to the garden. It is done by fixing lighting high above so that when the light falls, it produces a moonlit effect.
* Shadowing is a type of garden lighting that creates the most magical effect on a garden. It needs surfaces like lawns or walls or strong plants to place the fixtures.
* Accent lighting is done through small fixtures. They are fixed near the ground. They illuminate the garden in a subtle manner and are mostly used to decorate various garden spots.
* Spread lighting involves the use of wide beam angles. They illuminate big features of the garden such as the lawn, fountain area, flowerbeds, borders, patios, and others. Such lighting makes evening or night walks in the garden a pleasure.
* Cross lighting technique is used to highlight particular elements of a garden such as urn, statue, bonsai, archway, and others.
* Silhouette garden lighting outlines the trees, archways, and other elements creating a spectacular view.
So, gear up to light your garden. And yes, remember to use solar lights. They are the latest trend.
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting For Mood Part I – Introduction
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood Part I – Introduction
Interior design companies understand the term “mood” to mean a barely-definable, abstract quality that makes us feel “in tune” with our surroundings. In London, many interior design companies will focus on lighting, more than any other element, because it allows the design team to manipulate the way rooms look and feel. London has so many lighting boutiques and showrooms that it is often no problem to find exactly the right light fixture or effect to meet any interior design need. In this series which I call “Lighting for Mood,” I will draw on my experience working with some of London’s top interior design companies to describe some best practices in this exciting area of design.
Light is all-important. For example, if an interior design company has a brief to create a room in which guests will feel relaxed, light can achieve this. Alternatively, if the client desires a space that is exciting and stimulating, then light will make it happen. Light reflects the way we choose to live, and professional interior design companies can even use it to change a mood from morning to evening.
Most rooms today have several different functions, and this is especially true in some smaller and more modern London residences, which tend to tighter and more compact. Lighting can enable these types of spaces to meet multiple needs more effectively. For example, an Interior Design Company may be asked to turn a working kitchen, with practical task lighting for cooking, into an intimate super venue. Alternatively, a London client may request that a child-friendly play area be turned into a sophisticated living space by night. Light holds the key to these types of stunning transformations, and professional interior design companies have all sorts of tips and tricks on how to achieve the desired effects.
In the next article in my series on “Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood,” I will go into detail on different types of rooms and I’ll reveal how London’s top designers will fine-tune lighting approaches to achieve stunning results.