SAHBA Home Hints
June 22, 2008
Lighting Adds Sparkle to Rooms
In studio photography, lighting makes even the most beautiful subject standout. The same can be said for the décor of a room. Great interior decorating is only as good as the fixtures that illuminate the design.
“Lighting is the sparkle in a room,” said Ida Rodriguez, Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery Showroom Manager.
Homeowners can add sparkle in innovative and functional ways. LED lights and art-inspired fixtures can highlight a room and become centerpieces.
Tech Light and LBL produce monorails that allow homeowners to get creative with the positioning fixtures. With a monorail track, the homeowner or designer is not limited by where the electrician puts the fixture junction. The track takes almost any shape and can be tailored to follow the forms such as a kitchen island, said Rodriguez.
Contemporary design and pendant fixtures also are growing in popularity.
“Lighting is the jewelry of the home,” said Rodriguez, a SAHBA member. “It finishes the design of a room and ties everything together.”
Pendants can provide a small source of light and quick bursts of color. These fixtures are often used on either side of bathroom mirrors like earrings. Rodriguez said many homeowners use pendant lighting as accents and install recessed lights instead of a generic strip of bulbs in bathrooms.
Little points of light are used by designers to splash highlights all over rooms. Even the light switch has its own glimmer. Lutron's Vierti single-touch switches have soft, blue LED lights instead of clicking buttons.
From small accents to grand fixtures, LED lights are in demand. The energy-efficient lights are now being incorporated into chandeliers. Fine Art Lamps has a selection of extravagant chandeliers that feature LED bulbs. Rodriguez said several of her customers favor Energy Star fixtures.
“Fixtures have become more than a way to light a room. Quality design and materials such as natural stones and glass have made fixtures centerpieces,” Rodriguez said.
Details: Rodriguez at (520) 575-7320.
SAHBA represents about 750 member businesses and 40,000 jobs serving the residential construction industry in Pima and Cochise counties.
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