LED Tips for Your Home - Part 1

Every room needs a good light, but the function of a room dictates what type of lighting will be the most suitable.

Farrey’s experts want to share with you how to make the most of different rooms.

First of all, you have to start thinking carefully about the use for which the room is intended. Is the room going to be used for work, or is the room mainly a space for relaxation and social interaction?

Let’s begin with lighting tips for the entrance of your home as well as your living room

Foyer

A foyer should always feel welcoming. It conveys the first impression of your home’s interior. Chandeliers, contemporary pendants, or transitional close-to-ceiling fixtures provide that ambience.

There are a couple of ways to integrate LED lights into your entryway:

Consider LED accent lights, they’re long-lasting and extremely efficient, and the bright white light makes wall or artwork color look natural.

Do you know you can have a spectacular living room by just adding some LED lights?

A living room works best with layered lighting that accommodates diverse uses at different times of the day. Recessed lights in the ceiling may be used to illuminate focal points and draw the eye around the space, it will boost the sense of room and illuminate mirrors and artwork.

Photo courtesy of Edge Lighting

Cove lighting, if done well, can be a huge addition to a living room’s design. Like recessed lighting, cove lights can be installed within a false ceiling. The LED lights snap discreetly into coves, creating accent lighting with exceptionally long life. Cove lighting also makes a space feel large and grand.

Also, artwork can be accented with LED track lighting or picture lights.

Another great idea is to install LED lights inside the top of a bookcase. This will show off your books nicely and at the same time you will obtain lovely background lighting in the rest of the room. Another great idea to illuminate your living room is to add some LED on individual shelves to get a similar effect.

Tips for lighting your kitchen and dining room are coming soon... Stay tuned!

Pendants Provide Perfect Task Lighting



Photo courtesy of Hinkley


Make the overhead lighting in a workroom more functional and pleasing by replacing outdated overhead lights with pendants.

Two pendants will balance the illumination by evenly distributing light across a desk or counter. The more focused light from multiple pendants generates fewer shadows and less glare, resulting in a more productive work space.



For more ideas about task lighting, visit any of our two showrooms, our experts will be more than happy to assist you with your project.

Spring Trends in Lighting

Who's ready for spring? After a long and dull winter, there's nothing better than welcoming spring -- both indoors and out! It’s a season that means new life, a new beginning and new aspirations. And as life begins to bloom outside, why not bring that feeling of revival and rejuvenation into your home with lighting fixtures and accessories that will uplift your mood.

We have been talking about lighting tips for your bedroom, lighting tips for your dining room, but are you wondering what spring decorating trends are hot this season? Are you ready to welcome this colorful season indoors?

Keep reading and find out what trends you can expect to see this springtime:

Photo courtesy of Eurofase

LED’s are in! LED’s now take center stage. Now, fixtures with new shapes, sizes and configurations are more popular, breaking old restrictions in design and bringing a refreshed look to your home.
Another great decorative idea is to renew your breakfast nook, bathroom, kids bedroom or foyer by placing a beautiful chandelette.



Photo courtesy of Savoy House

 Chandelettes may also go by the term, 'mini chandelier'. A chandellete is a smaller version of the chandelier. It is typically 9 to 12 inches in diameter but no bigger, as the bigger version is of course, the chandelier. Aside from the smaller size, chandeliers and chandelettes share many similarities.

Chandeliers have recently gained popularity and they can be found in unexpected rooms, such as the bathroom, a walk-in closet, a bedroom or a home office.

You can also add a tranquil atmosphere to your home during springtime by choosing home accessories and lighting fixtures made of bronze, copper and gold; their warm tonalities are perfect to bring a welcoming mood.

Photo courtesy of George Kovacs

Help the earth by decorating your home with eco-friendly fixtures and accessories. Choose renewable sources such as woods, stones, and crystals and add a sustainability touch to your home.

If you are looking to brighten your home, office or business with a trendy or timeless fixture, browse the Farrey’s Lighting & Bath website or come by to any of our showrooms, our experts will help you spring into spring!

Kitchen Lighting Ideas

Photo Courtesy of ELK Lighting

Now that February is here and Valentine's Day is around the corner. Many of you are probably thinking of preparing a romantic dinner to impress your loved one. So, this is the perfect moment to check the lighting in your kitchen, do you have enough light? Do you have dimmers installed?

While the kitchen is primarily a work area, it may also be used for dining or as a gathering place for family and friends. That's why it is very important to have a perfect lighting.

When we think about lighting our kitchen, we immediately think about recessed cans, but do we actually know how many recessed lights can be use to have the proper lighting?

Recessed fixtures flood a room with a lively glow that helps eliminate shadows.

Photo Courtesy of Tech Lighting

Today's recessed fixtures are available with a variety of trims, including metallic, so you can add a bit of flair as well as function. Plus, not all recessed fixtures are round! Square downlights have gained popularity with homeowners searching for a unique design look.

Did you know that the wrong color of light in your kitchen can make skin tones look gray and food look discolored?

 

Photo Courtesy of Kichler Lighting

But…what about pendants? Pendants are so popular nowadays, especially if they are placed above a counter with bar stools, but do you know how high pendants should be installed?



Generally, the bottom of the pendants should not be lower than 30-36 inches above the counter. This allows for a clear view across the room from both a seating and standing position.

While pendants are decorative, task light can help by adding an extra source under cabinets.

Place undercabinet fixtures at the front of your cabinet – not against the wall – so the light will be dispersed equally over the area below.

Also, it is a very good idea to install your undercabinet lighting on a dimmer separate from other lighting in your kitchen. The different levels of light can add intensity and a dramatic impact to your space, and dimming is an easy way to save energy.

Now... are you ready to light up your kitchen and turn up the romance in your house!

Get Ready, Get Set, Get Efficient

Courtesy of Hubbardton Forge

Don't waste energy or time by working in a dim space. A task area, whether for cooking, office work or laundry, is more efficient when illuminated properly. Prepare your work space by providing three main layers of light:

· Portable: When working on a detailed task or at a desk, a portable lamp usually provides the main source of light.

· Overhead: While usually providing a secondary source of light, overhead lighting - such as a chandelier, pendant or ceiling fan - is essential at night or other dark time of day.

· Ambient: Create a cozy, comfortable feel in a work area by utilizing ambient lighting to light bookshelves or accent artwork.

Visit any of our two showrooms to see the latest lighting products for your home.

Lighting Ideas for Your Bedroom

It’s time to refresh, especially if your entire bedroom is illuminated by a single light fixture.

Courtesy of Tech Lighting

Today, our bedrooms have more use than simply sleep. This space is typically used as a television room, as a reading or study room, and most usually as a dressing room. The lighting in this room ranges from essential to daring; dimmed to dramatic.

But…the question is: what’s the proper lighting for the bedroom?

This week, Farrey’s experts will share with you great lighting tips for this special space. Keep reading!!

Lighting your bedroom is very essential because you want to create a space of relaxation while providing illumination in specific areas for reading and other activities.

Before purchasing any bedroom lighting it is very important to measure the room and know the outlet locations. It is also crucial to know the height of the ceiling. Typically bedrooms have 8 or 9 ft ceilings, so it is a good idea to choose flush-mounted fixtures or semi-flush-mount fixtures since you will be able to install it closer to the ceiling surface to interfere less on the room.

Courtesy of Lutron

Location is very important when you are talking about lighting your bedroom. Chandeliers, fan lights, recessed downlights or wall sconces can provide a great illumination to dress and see into drawers and closets.

Keep in mind that too much light in one place is unpleasant. It’s better to use more light sources of lower wattage.

A bedroom with a great dose of ambience is vital. Installing dimmers gives you the flexibility to fluctuate the light to suit different moods and activities.

Lights placed directly over the bed are not a good idea because you will have a tendency to look up at them while you are laying in bed. Instead, choose to have a soft light that is less disturbing and can be obtained by lighting your artwork located on top of the bed.

Courtesy of Sea Gull

There is nothing more frustrating than a dark closet. Closets need good light. Recessed or close to the ceiling fixtures give you good general lighting without taking up a lot of space. Installing in your closet an occupancy/vacancy sensor can be very convenient since this sensor automatically turn on and off the lights every time you enter or exit your closet. This sensor is also very useful inside kid’s closets since they always forget to turn off the lights.

Portable lamps can provide you plenty of light for reading. Replace your bedside portable lamps with a set of hanging pendants or swing-arm wall lamps. You will help draw the eye upward and free up table space.

When you are buying reading lamps make sure that they are well-shielded so you don’t see the bulb and you are able to read without bothering your sleeping partner.

Courtesy of Lutron

Wireless control systems are a brilliant plan. They will allow you to control all the room’s light fixtures from the comfort of your bed. They also help you reduce energy costs while creating a comfortable living space.

Now, get ready and use these ideas for the most relaxing, romantic and practical lighting scheme. But… if you need more ideas, visit any of our two showrooms, our experts will show you all the options available according to your lifestyle and needs.

Lighting Tips for Your Dining Room

Courtesy of Quoizel

A dining room is one of the most important areas of the house because it is used for many activities such as eating, reading and entertaining. That’s why it is essential to have beautiful and functional lighting.

Today, we are going to give some quick lighting tips on how you can renovate this space and create an immediate impact.

Having various layers of lighting is essential since it offers multiple lighting options to the room. This can be done by mixing ambient, task and accent lighting.

Having a chandelier is essential since it often becomes the central point of your dining room. A chandelier serves as a decorative element providing task lighting for the table and accent lighting for a centerpiece.

When we are talking about chandeliers, size matters a lot.

Choose a chandelier that is 12' narrower than the width of the table it's hanging over. Your chandelier should hang about 30" from the table surface in an 8' ceiling.

You also can add a visual interest and drama to your dining room with lighting fixtures that include shades.

Courtesy of Crystorama

But…if you are looking for a clean contemporary look, a few pendants over the dining table can work perfectly. Mixing pendants shades with different colors of glass or different shapes of glass in the same color can also add a touch of creativity and beauty to your dining room.

Dimmers are very useful in this area of the house because the mood often flows between intimate and animated. If you have an intimate dinner, then dim the lights; but if your children are working on their homework or you are doing some type of work, then bring up the wattage. Dimmers also give you the option of having full brightness, especially at the moment of cleaning up.

Courtesy of ALA

Adding LED recessed lights is an excellent way to accent the illumination, color rendering, texture and depth of your dining room. Choosing higher lumens per watt, offers brighter light but consumes fewer kilowatts. This is an excellent way to reduce energy consumption and be more eco-friendly.

Recessed lights, wall sconces, and picture lights are very useful because they can complement the style of your chandelier, highlighting displayed pieces located inside your china cabinet or on the wall.

If you want more bright ideas to light up your home, visit any of our showrooms; Farrey’s experts can walk you through the options to create a dining room just for you!

Celebrate Election Day with a Light Touch

Today is Election Day and Farrey’s experts want to celebrate this day by sharing our favorite red, white and blue pendant lighting fixtures. These beautiful fixtures will create a colorful and unique environment, preparing the home for the holiday season.

Pendant lights can be found in different forms and shades becoming an important part of your room decoration.

Get inspired with some of our red, white, and blue favorite pendant lighting fixtures in tribute of this special day; and if you are already inspired, come to one of our showrooms and check the rest of our lighting collection, you will be completely amazed and ready to begin decorating your space!

RED

BLUE

WHITE

Creating a Beautiful Ambient Room with Lighting Ideas

Farrey's N. Miami Showroom

When we are decorating a room, we pay attention to the colors, the furniture, the type of floor, the style of the windows, but do we pay attention to the lights? Do we really choose the right lighting?

In this post, we will go over the main types of lighting. We will share with you the different styles of lighting fixtures and their functions, as well as the special places they can be located to create a unique living space.

Lets’ get started…

1. General Lighting (Ambient Lighting) generates light from corner-to-corner and can be found in almost every room of your home. Ceiling-mounted fixtures, pendants , recessed or track lighting, and chandeliers can be classified within this category. Generally speaking it is best to choose a light fixture based on the décor style.

Ceiling-mounted fixtures can be found almost in any room of the house; especially in the bedrooms, foyers and halls.

What does it happen if we have high ceilings? The best recommendation here is to choose pendant fixtures to create a better ambient lighting result. Usually these areas are: foyers, stairways, dining rooms, and sometimes kitchens.

But, if what we want is to add a unique touch, chandeliers are the perfect option since they incorporate the style and functionality in one piece. Today, the trend has become more eclectic, being able to find chandeliers placed over the bathtub, creating an elegant and inviting atmosphere.

Photo Courtesy of Murray Feiss



2. Task Lighting – The intention of task lighting is to make easy lighting in a special area assisting you to perform specific tasks such as reading, cooking, working, etc.


For example, if you have an office area in a room, it would be a very appropriate to have a table lamp placed on top of the desk with the correct bulb wattage. This way you and anybody else will be able to read joyfully for hours.

Also floor lamps, track lighting, recessed lighting, table and desk lamps, pendants, and under cabinet lighting can be considered task lighting fixtures.

Floor lamps are a perfect solution for small spaces because they don’t take a lot of space, and with its three adjustable bulbs makes it a very flexible lighting alternative.

3. Accent Lighting is a perfect solution for enhancing indoor spaces in a creative way. Its main goal is to create a visual interest. Usually it is used to enhance paintings, sculptures, plants, and other accessories that through illumination can boost the beauty of the room. Recessed and tracking lighting as well as wall-mounted lights are the most used to accomplish these goals.

After going through all these types of lighting, we can conclude that lighting a space is not as easy as we thought but that doesn’t mean that is impossible; it just requires attention to the space, to the details and also to the needs of each individual using this space.

Big Lighting Ideas for Small Spaces

Do you have a small room and you would like to make it bigger, but you don’t know how... Guess what? With just simply choosing the right type of lighting and coordinating the placement, can transform this small space into a big room full of bright ideas.

The American Lighting Association (ALA) have shared with us some bright tips on how to the make a small place look larger, and here at Farrey’s we would like to share it with you.

Photo Courtesy of Murray Feiss

Integrate accent lighting with functional lighting – A bedroom or living room can instantly look larger by placing table lamps and small accent lamps all over. By avoiding one point of light and incorporating several focal lighting points significantly increases the perception of the space. The ALA suggests adding torchieres, which direct light upward, and can add a dramatic ambient lighting to smaller spaces with vaulted ceilings.

Pay special attention to the wattage when using portables, since these lights should not be bright. The use of dimmers is an excellent idea in these types of lamps. In case that your lamps do not have a built-in dimmer, a table top dimmer is a great solution.

For a space without a lot of floor or area for portables, wall sconces are a great idea. This type of fixture offers functional and ambient light at the same time.

Photo Courtesy of Maxim Lighting

There is an effective and useful technique called “wall washing” which is excellent in making spaces look larger. It consists of arranging one or more sconces in one wall so the light feed the wall, creating a dramatic effect transforming the room’s size by taking the attention outward.

Lighting a space can be challenging, especially if the space is very small, but keep in mind that there is a variety of lighting solutions that can become your space full of life. That’s why it is important to use the natural light in combination with the artificial light. Avoid using heavy curtains and open up the windows to invite the light into your room.

Now there is no excuse for small rooms to look dark and boring. Start using these tips and make your small space a real heaven.

Creative Ideas to Light Up Your Workroom

Make life’s mundane tasks effortless with light-filled spaces.

Today more and more people are turning spare bedrooms into home offices. As the economy becomes more questionable every day, entrepreneurs are opting to bring their work home instead of leasing rental space. Other homeowners just wish to have a space where they can pay bills, organize their personal files, and work independently and quietly. Whatever the reason behind creating a home office, lighting is an integral part of the design to achieve a productive and comfortable place to work.

So...Want to make your work spaces work even harder- and smarter? Try these easy ideas to freshen your room’s lighting:

Place your desk by a Window so that you can take advantage of the light during daytime hours. This is the first ambient light that you should consider.

Replace a chandelier with a series of mini pendants. You’ll cast light across more of the work surface and eliminate dark shadows. Two streamlined pendants light evenly across a long desk surface, balancing the illumination in a workroom. The result? Reduced shadows and glare, and a more energizing office space. And pendants are a great replacement not only for overhead fixtures, but for outdated light sources such as torchiere lamps. Just because this is an office, don’t be afraid to add a personal touch with a decorative fixture or even a fan with a pretty light kit.

Install downlights in place of overhead fixtures as well as a dimmer for their control. Often used as overhead fixtures, downlights can be key in the task lighting layer. Direct one at a computer or at a counter space. This works well in both small and large rooms, and adding accent lighting can be very easily accomplished from this point.

Place one or more floor lamps around the room. This type of lamp is an indispensable tool, especially if you will have clients visit your office. A floor lamp behind a chair is ideal for those times when you have clients in to review work or if you just want to escape for a while to read a book. Make sure that the height of the lamp you choose is approximately 20” above the top of the chair for optimum comfort.

Accent lights can be chosen with your particular style in mind. They can be added to create drama or to add dimension and character to the home office. Miniature desktop lamps are always in style and look great. If your office is more formal, a classic bankers lamp is a nice statement on your desk. If you want to get a bit cheeky, add a novelty accent lamp.

Accent lighting is not just for the desk. If you have bookshelves, you can highlight them with accent lights installed into the shelving. The key word is accent!

The right lighting can truly boost your home office, providing you with an environment that is welcoming and task-oriented. Adequate lighting can help ease eye strain and help with your productivity. No matter if your home office is just a place to escape and wind down with a good book, to pay and organize bills, or it is your livelihood, the proper lighting will go a long way toward your productivity and happiness.