LED Tips for Your Home -Part 3

Bedroom

Photo Courtesy of Tech Lighting

Your bedroom needs very little light most of the time. However, practical light levels are needed for cleaning and tasks, and this can be obtained by combining wall lights and discreet overhead lighting that can always be dimmed for ambience.

Good bedside reading lights are essential. This means installing a specific reading light such as a wall-mounted flexible LED as well as a substantial lamp on bedside table.

Keep in mind that LED-powered lamps draw just a few watts but produce lumens of up to 400 while lasting about 50,000 hours – 50 times as long as incandescent lights.

Bathroom

Photo Courtesy of Lightology

Bathrooms are becoming more of a place of relaxation, so having lights in niches help to create a mood ambiance.

• A good way to start lighting your bathroom is to connect bathroom lights with a dimmer switch so that you can regulate the level of lights.

• Recessed and overhead lighting has become very popular, especially for bathroom with low ceilings.

• Having a bathroom mirror with dimmable LED lights is another valuable lighting idea since the lights illuminate and help in tasks like brushing the teeth, putting make-up, shaving, etc and since they are dimmable, you can adjust the level of light as your needs.

• Also, you can add colored lighting to your bathroom; it is very effective and creates a sharp contrast. You can do this by inserting colored linear LED (known as RGB, or red, green, blue) behind cantilevered Plexiglas or glass shelves.

Installing LED lighting is definitely a wise idea to help the environment, while saving you money. Visit one of our showrooms and ask our experts to help you incorporate LED in the room of your choice.

Simple to Install Bathroom Plumbing

Working in sales I often have the challenge of communicating product installation to contractors or plumbers. As a salesperson it’s my job to help my customer achieve their vision for their bathroom project. So when I learned about the Axor Starck Shower Collection created by Philippe Starck, I knew I had a product I could sell without worries. So what’s great about it? It works by interlocking solid brass rough-in channels that can be installed vertically, horizontally or asymmetrically.

What does that mean to a homeowner? The system allows for ease of installation while preventing water leakage. This means the installer uses fewer raw materials and installation happens in less time.

How does it all come together in the end? Once all the plumbing is set in place and walls are tiled, all the exterior trim lines up perfectly. All shower components: thermostatic mixer, volume controls, hand shower and shower-head are all based on a 5” square. Axor likes to refer to this system as haute couture or high fashion. That’s because at the center of this modular approach is the use of geometric shapes. The evenness of size in the shower trim and the use of first-class quality materials help create a modern bath sanctuary.

So how can you create the perfect bathroom? A homeowner does not need to have a large master bathroom to benefit from this Axor product. Since all the pieces are sold individually the consumer can order the full package or just the basic components. For a customer I recently created a shower system using the Stark Shower Collection. By supplying her with only a handful of items her small bath project was converted into a one of a kind shower oasis. The perfect bath may not exist, but one designed for your personal needs can be heaven.

Humberto Delgado
Decorative Bath & Hardware Consultant
Farrey's Lighting & Bath
http://www.farreys.com/

How to choose an Overall Look for your Bathroom

Traditional, transitional, contemporary or modern… What is your style? Still don’t know…

Courtesy of Dornbracht

When you are planning on renovating your bathroom, you have to think what style best fits your lifestyle. For example, if you have a family, your needs would be so much different than the needs from a couple. The style of the rest of your house also influences the decision of the look of your bathroom.

If the house has contemporary features, then a bathroom with a contemporary style will be the best choice to make since it will compliment the rest of the décor of your home.

It is very trendy now seeing older houses with a contemporary look. Renovating your old bathroom with contemporary fixtures gives you the ability to enjoy the commodities of the new technology maintaining the overall traditional glance of your home.

Our best advice here is to go with a bathroom look that is durable and won’t become out-of-date quickly. A popular look this year can be out of fashion in the next year or so. Simple lines and classic styles will last a lot longer.

Choose Your Bathroom Sink Faucet First

Courtesy of THG

Another good way to determine the style of your bathroom is by choosing the right bathroom sink faucet. Picking the right faucet is the key for the overall look and functionality of your new bathroom.

The number of choices of bathroom faucets will depend on whether you are just replacing your bathroom faucet or remodeling completely your whole bathroom.

There are several faucets’ types available; you can find faucets with widespread, centerset, wall-mount, countertop and single hole configurations.

Widespread – these sink faucets have separate handles for cold and hot water installed in either side of a central sprout. On the other hand, a centerset lavatory faucet usually has 4” of distance between the handles. It can be used with smaller sinks, maintaining a simple classic look that a wide set does.

Wall-Mounted - this type of lavatory faucet offer a very dramatic look; therefore, it is very popular in contemporary and minimalist style spaces. It can be combined with vessel sinks, wall-mounted sinks and under counter sinks without hole drillings.

Single Hole - Very simple style, it has a single mixing handle that works perfectly in small bathrooms and/or powder rooms.

Also, bathroom sink faucets can be found in different shapes, sizes, materials, and finishes. You can find basic finishes such as chrome, brass and nickel; but also you will find brushed copper, oil rubber bronze, matte black, satin gold, etc.

Match your faucet with your Sink

Courtesy of Graff

Obviously faucet and sink work together, but keep in mind that if you are replacing just the lavatory faucet, the sink will dictate the configuration of your faucet since you have to choose a faucet based on the number of holes in the sink. On the other hand, make sure that your lavatory faucet will actually work with your favorite sink.

Whatever style of bathroom you decide for will ultimately come down to your taste, preference and budget.

Visit Farrey’s showrooms for inspiration and guide with our professional consultants. A bathroom style that suits your needs will offer many years of satisfaction.