Indoor lighting takes up about one sixth of our total electricity use - a massive quantity of energy directed into light bulbs and tubes to light our way indoors. By 2012, however, light bulbs could be a thing of the past! Light emitting wallpaper and paint will come on the market in 2012 and could potentially be 2.5 times more efficient than the more energy efficient bulbs already on the market. You can install this new lighting as a chemically coated light emitting wallpaper or apply the special paint directly to walls. Reports are still a little vague as to how this lighting will actually function; for example, reports do not mention what chemicals will actually be used but indicates it will be light emitting diode (LED) technology (it is said that walls will be safe to touch...

I talked in a recent blog post about light emitting wallpaper as one of the future lighting options for homes. Another lighting alternative I recently heard of is the tubular skylight. The tubular skylight consists of a clear plastic dome that is installed on the roof and attached to a highly reflective tube, in effect a sun tunnel, that takes the light absorbed by the dome and transfers it to a ceiling or roof window with a diffuser, which emits it into your home. Voila! You've got full spectrum sunlight indoors instead of the yellow bulb light or blue fluorescent light, even if your windows aren't doing much (or there aren't any in the room!). Manufacturers claim that tubular skylights will light up to 900 square feet and that they'll do it more effectively than the traditional...

Looking to start a landscape lighting project but not sure where to begin? Don't worry, you aren't alone. With all the different types of outdoor lighting available, it can be hard to decide what kind of lights to put where, or even how many you need. Picking a porch light is one thing, but designing a whole back yard is something else entirely. Especially if you've opted out of hiring a professional designer and electrician to do the work for you and go the DIY landscape lighting route, the blank slate of a new project can be pretty intimidating. But whether you're looking to illuminate your whole house or just a few key features in your yard, there are a few basic lighting techniques that should shed some light on your plans and help you get you off the ground. Uplighting Uplig...

Been putting off the annual climb on rickety ladders in the snow to prove your holiday spirit? (But not enough that you leave the lights up all year, risking broken bulbs.) Here, have some Christmas lights ideas and Christmas lights house decorating tips. A little inspiration never hurt anybody. That I'm aware of. Tip 1: To keep the decorations more environmentally friendly, and unique looking, use LEDs for your Chrismas lights displays. Tip 2: You can ignore Tip 1. Go ahead, go crazy if that suits you better. Charlie Brown doesn't have to be right. People with holiday spirit can have lots of Christmas lights, too. Just ask this article in The Telegraph about the owner of this house. Seems like a really nice, eccentric guy. How many lights does it take to make a Christm...

Confession: I'm a room re-arranger. There's nothing wrong with most of the furniture in my bedroom, but I've been re-arranging it every few weeks to cut down on cabin fever. (It's a small room, with a crazy slanted ceiling). This has also been my desperate attempt to find a magic solution to my lighting crisis. What I should really do with that time and energy, of course, is suck it up and buy a lamp that will actually accommodate my unique architectural quirks and avid reader needs. My requirements for the perfect floor lamp or desk lamp: 1. More options than a Mercedes. I want all the little parts to bend, slide, swivel, rotate, and put off fireworks. 2. Doesn't look like the $10 ones for college kids at Walmart. 3. Doesn't break like the ones at Walmart. From the Floor Floor L...

When you're doing a kitchen remodel, always budget cash and space for your major appliances. You'll need a fair amount of both, but then without appliances like a kitchen range, oven hood, dishwasher, and microwave,  it wouldn't be much of a kitchen. You're also gonna hurt yourself cooking in the dark and squinting at recipes, so plan for the perfect lighting. Now, remember this? French Country kitchen design? I've been obsessing over it all week. Read here, for the design basics. Here, for my shopping guide for sinks and faucets in the style. And here, to check out backsplash, tile, countertops, and flooring to complete the rustic charm.  I've got you all set up. Pick the right Kitchen Ranges and Ovens You say kitchen range, I say stove, he says oven. The names are pretty ...

Look up. Most people forget about ceiling design. They'll stuff a room with furniture and change the curtains twice a year, but the ceiling is lucky if it gets a fresh coat of paint now and then. White paint. I say reach for the sky. Get Architectural Some of us are blessed with sloping cathedral ceilings or amazing architectural detail. The rest of us who aren't willing to pony up for massive structural changes can fake it with decorative ceilings or ceiling tiles that add dimension.  See how they did it. Or, we can accept the facts and move on. Accents If structural ceiling design and ceiling tiles are too much, go for smaller accents.       Dangling Fixtures Anyone who has seen a chandelier or a good pendant knows. The right ce...

Skip garden gnomes and pink flamingoes. Those are predictable, even if they were kinda cute lawn decorations when someone first thought of them. But there is something about backyard landscaping that brings out the fairy tale in all of us. Maybe it's because we use our yards and gardens to escape, but it's one of those rare places that you can get really playful with home decor, without it seeming girly or overly trendy. You can bring in your favorite statues and fantasy creatures, and if you choose statues that come with lighting, you can also indulge your practical side at the same time. One brand that really seems to master light-hearted landscape lighting is Kichler Lighting. I've picked a few of my favorites, from their collection, to show how a single piece of whimsy can transfor...

I've been watching a lot of film noir, which isn't the best idea when you're alone in a big house at night. So I'm a little suspicious of dark places right now, and I keep peering outside the windows in my door, afraid of sneaky characters but unable to see anything. So, it seems like a good time to look into outdoor lighting.  Okay, that's a little dramatic. Outdoor lighting can help with security, but it's also just a nice thing to have. Even in small towns, the moon and stars just aren't bright enough to fully enjoy eating, playing, or talking outdoors after dark. Luckily, there are a lot of options like floodlights, outdoor wall lighting, post and pier mount lighting, and outdoor chandeliers that are super bright.  Whatever you have in your backyard, we've found a way for you to mak...

Having the right lighting in your kitchen is incredibly important. Especially in a larger kitchen, or one where you do a lot of entertaining, just your standard bank of fluorescent lights probably isn't going to cut it. Good kitchen lighting comes in layers - that means different types of light different quantities of light, and light in a lot of different areas, not just in the center of your kitchen. Adding more light to your kitchen makes it feel warm, open, and inviting. One of my personal favorite ways to pull this off is by using a lot of pendant lights. Why pendant lights, you might ask? Simple, glass-shade pendant lights like this Arco Baleno are simple and unpretentious, but cast a warm, inviting light. Where a florescent light won't quite do, but even a simple chandelier i...