Lighting

Driveway Lighting Ideas: From the Road to the Front Door

Since the entrance of your house is the first thing you or others see, it is crazy important to take some design notes and apply them to your own house. Imagine coming home to a well lit, and inviting home. Not only will it look and feel good, but you’ll add to your curb appeal increasing the value of your home.

Another benefit is safety – safety of the people walking around at night (you, your family, pedestrians crossing the pavement). A well lit home is also a big deterrent to wannabe thieves. Just having one light on at night makes a huge difference. Below I’m going to give you driveway lighting ideas that go beyond the one light bulb, ideas that light up everything from your driveway and footpath all the way to your front door.

The Driveway Entrance

Let’s start at the entrance of your driveway, were it meets the road. This is an important area to light up, especially if there is a lack of streetlights. Lighting up this area makes it easier to drive into, and helps you see if there are any pedestrians crossing when you are backing out.

Driveway Entrance Lighting Ideas: A simple lighting idea is to place some stake lights on both sides of the entrance. Another idea would be to have stone pillars that mark the entrance, and have lights fitted on top of them like in pictures (1) and (3).

If you have gates, you can have uplights shining up onto the pillars. Or have lanterns sit on top of the pillars

Driving Down

Next up is the driveway itself. The amount of lighting you’ll need will depend on the length of your driveway. Really short driveways can usually get away with just having wall lights attached to the house. Longer driveways will need specific lights that light up the entire distance.

Some ideas for lighting up the driveway include lining it with stake/post lights seen in pictures (2) and (5). Solar powered stake lights, like the ones below (available here) are easy and quick to install:

Other ideas include down lights (which shine a soft glow onto the floor only), and then there are recessed lights that can be embedded into the side of the driveway (4). A security light attached to the wall of the house can also light up the driveway, and will only turn on when it senses movement (doubles as a security light). Another way to light up the driveway is indirectly, through accent lighting, which I’ll go over below.

If there any changes in direction of the driveway, like a corner or a turning, you’ll want to place a light close to that spot. Another thing to keep in mind is the runway effect. This happens when you place lights on both sides facing each other all the way down the driveway. You want to avoid this by alternating the sides you put the lights on.

The Garage Entrance

If you have a garage then you’ll want to have lighting that lights up the entrance, making it easier to drive into and back out of. The popular way of lighting up the entrance is to have a wall light on both sides of the garage door as seen in picture (6).

The Walk to the Welcome Mat

For a lot of homes there isn’t much need for lights dedicated to the walk to the front door. Homes that will need lights are ones that have longer paths, lack lighting around the rest of the front yard, or have steps or paths that wind and have corners.

Some ways to light up the path to the front door include stake/post lights lining the path, recessed lights embedded into the side of the path, or wall lights on the house shining down onto the path.

The Front Door

It is always good to having lighting around the front door. It makes entering the house at night (fumbling around for the right key) a lot easier, and deters away possible intruders. Having a wall light on both sides of the door is ideal if you have a large doorway (side by side doors, or a door with side panels). While a single wall light on one side of the door is enough for a stand-alone door. A ceiling light will also work.

Welcome Home: Front Door Ideas and Designs

A Nighttime Landscape

Once you’ve got the main areas sorted out, you can then move on to more decorative lighting ideas. Not only will these make your front yard look better, but these lights can spill over and add light to the main areas talked about above.

If you have any trees in your front yard, this would be a great place to add some accent lighting. Hanging string lights from the branches, or having uprights at the base of the tree, will elegantly light up the tree. You can also hang string lights over any bushes. While rope lights can be bent to outline any flowerbeds you have (7).

If you want to create a grand looking house, then look to light up your facade. This is done by placing some uplights along the base of the house.

Solar Powered vs. Low Voltage

When you are out shopping for your driveway lighting fixtures, you’ll have the choice of solar or low voltage lights. Here are the pros and cons of both types:

Solar Powered Lights: Are easier to install as there is no wiring needed – this makes arranging them how you want a lot simpler. They are much cheaper than low voltage lights. They will automatically come on at night. But they can be less effective during the winter months if you have less sunlight.

Low Voltage Light Fixtures: Are more effective and shine brighter than solar powered lights. You can always hook them up to a timer so they will turn on automatically. You do have to deal with the hassle of wiring the lights. The light fixtures themselves are more expensive than solar powered lights BUT they will add much more value to your home. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

June 10, 2013 in Lighting, Outdoors

Home Garage Lighting Ideas: From Fixtures to Space Design

Lighting up The Garage

The number one tip when it comes to lighting up your garage is to not just use one ceiling light. A garage is a large space, and will feel dark and dull if it is under lit. Aim to light up the whole space, even if you don’t use it that much. A well-lit garage will add value to your home, add to the safety of the space, and with proper lighting you can create a multifunctional room. Look to create a lighting layout that spreads and lights up the whole space – I’ll show you how with the garage lighting ideas below.

Types of Lights

The go to choice when it comes to garage lighting are florescent lights just like in picture (1). Here’s why:

They easily light up large spaces
They are energy efficient
With the right ballast they will work in cold climates
Florescent lights show the true colors of things (paints, wood stains, etc.) which is ideal if you use your garage as a workspace

When it comes to florescent light strips you’ll have the choice of the T4, T5, T8, and T12 fixtures. The numbers represent the diameter and amount of light the strips produce. The one to go for will depend on the size of your garage and the type of ballast/socket you have. If you live in cold climates you will want to go with the T8s using an electronic ballast, not an electromagnetic one.

If you want an easy to customize garage lighting design system, then check out LumaLinks. You can easily expand your lighting layout by linking up additional lights, without the need of extra wiring.

Or check out Lithonia Lighting’s fixtures below, available on Amazon here:

White florescent lights can make the space feel a bit sterile, but there are a few ways to solve this which I’ll go over below.

Natural Home Garage Lighting

A garage is usually closed off. This means in the daytime, the space can be a dark place. Your options are to turn on the lights, open the garage door, or the best way to light the garage during the day is to have windows fitted to let in natural lighting. Some ideas of using windows include fitting them into the walls (5), using a garage door that has windows fitted along the top (for privacy), or have a skylight installed.

Why Not To Use Windows:

If you live somewhere that gets really cold or really hot, take note that windows have poor insulation. Also, you have to be careful of direct sunlight if you store any special paint, chemicals or cleaners in your garage.

A Workspace Garage

If you plan on using your garage as a workspace or workshop, you’ll want to add in some task lighting. Ceiling lights do well filling up the garage with ambient light, but they usually wont reach work counters/desks, or there will be shadows in the way.

Have some lights that are focused onto counters, tables, and tooling areas. One way of doing this is to have florescent ceiling lights that hang down like these (available here):

Pendant and down lights will also work just like in pictures (2) and (3). Another idea is to fit under cabinet lighting that shines down onto work counters (4). Adjustable wall lights and magnifying lamps are another way to go (like the one below – available here).

An Inviting Garage

If you want to create a more relaxing, leisurely garage then you’ll want to soften the decor. Florescent lights and bare walls will make the space feel dull and sterile. Some ideas and solutions on how to combat this include:

Paint: White walls will make the space feel brighter and more spacious. While a warm color like cream or off white will create a more inviting space.

Decorative Lighting: Avoid just using the ceiling lights. Instead layer the lighting by using a mix of different lights: like ceiling lights along with floor and table lamps. Or hang up some string lights if you want to create a more whimsical feel.

Fabric: Adding some fabric into the decor of the garage will also soften up the space. Drapes can be used as dividers, to break up the garage into different sections. Fabric can be used to close off shelves or how about adding an area rug? 1/2/3/4/5/6

June 7, 2013 in Lighting, Outdoors

A Design Guide for Dining Room Lighting Ideas

When it comes to dining room lighting ideas, the most important area to focus on is the table. People want to see what they are eating, and you can change the mood of the room with the right lights.

The lights fixtures to go for in this area will depend on the kind of dining table you have. Whatever table style you have, long/short/round, you’ll want to have lighting that comes down from the ceiling, and brings the light closer to the table. If you have a long table, then you’ll want to have multiple pendant lights going across the table just like in pictures (1) and (2). For smaller tables, like a round one, an elegant single pendant light will work best. Some great styles include the ones in pictures (3) and (4), along with drum lights. Another option would be a mini chandelier (5). Picture (6) shows a dining room that is using multiple types of lighting fixtures (pendant and wall lights). Using different types of lights is always a good choice when it comes to lighting design because you create different layers and lighting effects – making for a better lit space.

A good idea would be to have the lights above the table hooked up to a dimmer switch (7). This way you can instantly change the setting from a bright normal dinner to a more romantic and intimate one.

When it comes to more general ambient lighting in the dining room some ideas include: wall lights, cove lighting which can be seen at the top of picture (8), and modern recessed lights (9). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

May 29, 2013 in Dining Room, Lighting

Vintage Outdoor Lighting Ideas Mood Board

The best place to find hard wired, vintage styled, outdoor lighting is in the barn lighting section. With their flat pancake (shallow bowl) designs, gooseneck lamps, and muted pastel or rustic colors they are the perfect light fixtures – just like the one in picture (1). Barn Light Electric is a great place for these types of lights. Another style of light fixtures to look into is nautical (2) and wrought iron.

For simpler lighting ideas let’s look at lanterns. Mason jars or any vintage style bottles and jars can be turned into candle lanterns (3) (4), and they can even be turned into solar powered light fixtures. These vintage style lanterns can be hung up (5) or they can be used as table lighting. Using vintage or shabby chic style candle holders is another idea for table lighting along with vintage oil lamps (6). Moroccan lanterns are quite decorative pieces. To turn these into a more vintage style lantern spray paint them white – like the lanterns in picture (7).

For more decorative vintage outdoor lighting ideas have a look at the string lights with the Edison light bulbs from Restoration Hardware (8). Pastel colored paper lanterns will also work as vintage styled lighting (9) – just fit some normal string lights in them to light them up. Metallic tiki torches with the brass/copper tops look great too. And for the icing, an elegant outdoor chandelier will be a great focal piece (10).

One thing to remember when it comes to lighting is to layer different light fixtures. What this means is that you want to avoid using just one type of light fixture – say wall light. You want to mix things up: use a ceiling light, along with a table lantern, wall light, etc. to create different lighting effects. This creates a cozier and well lit space. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10