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Lighting: Natural & Artificial

Lighting is a vital element in our homes and in our daily lives and our primary source of illumination. Proper balance of illumination can enhance an interior space producing distinct visual effects. 

There are many different types to select from to include lamps, rope, track lighting, deck, chandeliers, recessed, neon, solar lamps, and decorative home lighting.  Each of these serve a different purpose… to produce a desired effect for your interior and exterior, and landscaping needs. Great interior design companies like Brenda Lee know the best about these details.

Not only that, but you will find lighting fixtures will vary in the type of bulbs used. This can range from halogen and incandescent, to low voltage fluorescent tubes which are energy efficient. Dimmer switches are used in many lamps to vary the intensity of illumination and are most commonly used with track and recessed lamp fixtures. 

Outdoor lighting used for landscaping can also enhance the value of your property, and create a distinct visual effect. For instance the use of rope lighting along the curb or leading into the driveway, not only illuminates a safe pathway, but looks really good. 

Landscape lighting typically comes on mounted posts where the wiring is routed underground. This type of lighting is usually installed by a licensed and experienced professional.   

When planning for home lighting, you should decide first, how the space will be used. Will it be for reading or entertainment? Or an area to casually unwind. Your decision here will help you decide on the best kind of lamps and light bulbs to use whether halogen, fluorescent, or incandescent. You may opt for Tiffany lamps, to add a decorative touch, or other table lamps to suit your needs. Chandeliers will be used in most dining areas. Track can sometimes be used for universal purposes.

Keep in mind that lighting fixtures, whether natural or artificial, are emitted from a source in straight lines and spread out over an increasingly large area as it travels. When it comes in contact with a surface it is either absorbed or reflected and so textures and finishes will affect the way lighting responds. A smooth shiny surface, for example, provides a certain amount of reflection, whereas a rough or textured surface causes more of the light to be absorbed.  Colors have the same effect; light colors will reflect, and dark colors, especially black, absorb. 

General indoor lighting is used to cover a large area, the most common form is a central fitting fixture that hangs from the ceiling in the center of the room such as a chandelier, spotlight.  

Choosing the right bulb is also essential for achieving the appropriate strength and balance of your lighting.  Halogen bulbs produce a bright, white light suitable for tasks. Tungsten is the most common light bulb and gives a warm, yellowish light.  

Fluorescent lights vary in color, but tend to be used most commonly in strip or track lighting. 

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Flameless Candles Flicker like Real Candles

Flameless candles are real wax candles that contain a ‘flame’ that flickers and sways as if in a breeze just like the real wax candles. These candles include a small battery that allows you to turn the candle on and off so that the ‘flame’ will light up the candle just as a real flame does when lit by fire.

The flameless candles are great to use when you have children and pets in the house and they are very decorative, coming in all shapes and sizes that normal flammable candles come in. These flameless candles make great additions to dorm rooms and apartments where younger people live because candles are often the culprit of fires because they have been left unattended. These flameless candles can be left alone because they don’t get hot; some of them may become warm after several hours but no more so than a cell phone or some other electronic device might when the battery is in constant use.

The flameless candles make great centerpieces at banquet halls for weddings and bridal or baby showers where there are a lot of things happening and no one to watch the candles. When the person of honor is opening her gifts, paper is flying everywhere and one could have a potentially dangerous and hazardous situation with a lit candle in the room, however, with a flameless candle there is no need to worry about the fire of a real flame. Even when a flameless candle is knocked over, there is nothing to worry about because there is no flame to catch anything on fire.

Flameless candles are made of the exact same beeswax and/or Paraffin that the regular wax candles with a wick are made of, only there is no wick to light, there is a tiny battery on the bottom and you simply flip a small switch and the light inside goes on and you have a ‘flame’ in your candle. This flame acts like a regular flame and will fool anyone into thinking you have a real candle where you have a flameless candle.

Flameless candles are great for putting up on a shelf with garland or other decorative paper or holiday greenery because there is no flame to worry about. The flameless candles add just the right touch of sparkle and glow to any occasion. They are great to use in the bags on the walkway in both the winter and the summer when the wind is blowing there will be no need to keep running away from your guest to keep lighting the tea lights or candles because the flameless candles will stay ‘lit’ for hours and hours.

Decorating with flameless candles can be a fun and exciting way to reinvent your home without having to spend a lot of money. Candles always brighten up a room and the flameless candles can be placed anywhere, even where there are plants or paper lanterns so there is no need to worry about a flame when it comes to decorating and where to place your new candles. If you are a big fan of candles in general, you might like to check The Damn Good Company’s large variety of options.