Home & Design Sourcebook

Dominion Electric Supply is featured so nicely in the new Sourcebook from Home & Design Magazine! First, our expert Giorgina Schnurr is quoted in this article "Ask the Pros ~ Experts shed light on illuminating your home":

Her question is: "Why is a lighting plan important in a custom building or remodeling project?" Her answer is: "I cannot imagine starting a building project without a lighting plan. It would be like starting a project without a building plan. We are the ones who can educate and consult with the customer on the latest technology and design. We know what works and what does not work in a room. There are thousands of lighting possibilities; why not consult someone who has all of the lighting information at their fingertips? Why not take advantage of their expertise?

Indeed, why not?!

Next, one of our chandeliers is featured on their "9 to Note" page ~ ours is #1 ~ a Riviera chandelier from Corbett Lighting. We just hung this series in at least 2 of our showrooms, and it is absolutely stunning!

And then of course we have an ad, which you can print from the blog or Facebook and bring on in for 10% off your order of in-stock decorative lighting. We have showrooms in Arlington & Chantilly, VA + Laurel, MD.

And last, I wanted to point out this Q & A with one of my builders, Gulick Group ~ Jamie Gulick is quoted as one of these experts:
His question is "What are some of the "green" building features that homeowners are requesting?" And part of his answer is "Central lighting control systems, which are now fairly affordable but save energy and simplify daily life, are also in demand." So true, Jamie! And he speaks from experience, because we just installed a Lutron RadioRA2 dimming system in Gulick's model at Brambleton!

Gulick Group's new model home preview

Today I wanted to give you a sneak peak at Gulick Group's newest model home for which I just ordered light fixtures. Susan Gulick & Emily Ryan of Susan Gulick Interiors worked with me on all of the selections, and I'm so excited about them! The model is called Autumn Wood, and it's in Great Falls, VA ~ here is the link to Gulick's site if you'd like more information:
http://gulickgroup.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=35/

This one is going to be a show-stopper! It's from Cyan Designs, in a Murano-style glass called Indigo Smoke, for the Dining Room.

This one is from Currey and Company and will go in the Conservatory.

Troy's lantern will hang in the foyer.

Love this drum from Framburg for the breakfast room.

And these sconces from Murray Feiss will light the Master Bath.

I can't wait to see all these gorgeous pieces hanging in their model! Gulick Group builds a fantastic house, so it's sure to be a spectacular home!

A Recipe for Great Kitchen Lighting

Thanks to Linda Longo for quoting me so nicely in this article for the ALA (American Lighting Association)!

A Recipe for Great Kitchen Lighting

Interesting Articles to Share

Today I wanted to share several articles that I found interesting, in my various newspaper & web reading this week! The first one is from today's front page of the Washington Post, talking about one LED lighting company based out of Florida:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/15/AR2010091507173.html?hpid=topnews/

I especially liked the photo gallery, with behind-the-scenes shots of the makings of these LED lamps. There really ARE little computer boards inside these things, and they have a couple of great pictures illustrating that fact.


Next, I saw a link on Twitter to this Better Homes & Gardens post about kitchen lighting, so I thought I should share the link here:

http://tinyurl.com/35w5bzk/

Anyone who talks about the importance of dimming is an expert in my book!

Here are some of their kitchen application shots:

Monorail continues to be so popluar ~ who doesn't love the flexibility of a rail system paired with cheerful glass?!

This is one of our favorite styles ~ multiple small chandeliers over an island.

And it's hard to beat the simplicity of clean pendants over an island.

Next, some tips for bedroom lighting from a fellow blogger:

http://blog.builddirect.com/lighting-style-guide-2-bedroom//
Another nice suggestion for dimmers here!

That's it for today. Next week I'll be away at the ALA Conference in Vegas, so I hope to post some pictures from there onto our Facebook and Twitter pages. Stay tuned!

Lutron Experience Center DC

Just got back from a great vist to the new Lutron Experience Center in Washington, DC. We are trying to figure out how we can use this fabulous facility! We're sure we'd like to take customers down there and maybe host a designer ASID CEU seminar. So if you are interested in any of those things, please let us know! It's also inspired us to train more of our electrician customers to be Radio RA2 installers, but we think we'll do those trainings here in Chantilly in Dominion's conference room, and also at our rep's offices in Columbia, MD.

This is their conference room. That's not a checkerboard! It's how they show us all their shade options and the differences between light & dark shades, with different degrees of how much you can see through them.

Another shot in the conference room. There are more shades on the right, and then some of their products on the credenza in the center.

Shaun Taylor of Lutron was showing Marcia Hussey from our Laurel store their new pleated, motorized shades

The entire experience center is lit only with fluorescent and LED sources ~ even their refrigerator! Very impressive!

This is a shot of what their software can tell you about how much energy you are using and saving. The technology is unbelievable!


Then we got to go up on the roof! Can you see the Washinton Monument out there?

Can't you picture a nice wine & cheese party up there?

And there's the Capitol ~ a gorgeous view!

They tell us we can bring clients to see the center any time we care to ~ we just need to make an appointment. So please let us know if you'd like us to take you there to see it all for yourself!

ALA Bright Ideas

Here is a link to the September Issue of ALA's Bright Ideas: http://www.americanlightingassoc.com/newsletter/brightideas-september2010.html/
This month's features include:
~ Pendant Lighting Must-dos
~ EXPERT ADVICE: Get Answers to Your Questions
~ BRIGHT TIPS: Enter to Win the $5,000 Home Lighting Sweepstakes

ALA is the American Lighting Association, of which we are proud members. Eleven of our full-time staff members in our 3 showrooms are ALA Certified Lighting Specialists or Consultants. We attend ALA's monthly webinars to be sure we are current on all of the latest trends, technologies, and ideas. And 3 of us (Marcia Hussey from Laurel, Giorgina Schnurr from Arlington, and myself from Chantilly) are heading to Las Vegas next week for the annual ALA Conference. We'll be so motivated and energized with great new ideas when we return!

Washington Post Sep. 8, 2010

Did you see the front page of the Washington Post today? The demise of a local incandescent lamp factory, thanks to the Energy Act of 2007 which is forcing manufacturers to create more efficient sources of light. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/2ahx3om/

I can't help but wonder if this is why: "Jobs at the plant have been prized locally for years: They pay about $30 an hour." I would think it's pretty hard to be competitive compared to Chinese wages with that kind of average.

They have a wonderful chart that shows the legislated changes:
http://tinyurl.com/2c4h2ho/

I know I don't know a whole lot about the business side of things, but it sure would be great to see the U.S. companies try to make some of the great new LED products here in the U.S. I personally believe that LED holds the most promise for a nice, acceptable energy-efficient light source. Every month or so we see a new brand or an updated product from an existing brand that blows away the previous generation of LED light bulbs. I don't think it's going to be too much longer until those bulbs get affordable enough and bright enough for the general population to begin accepting them and switching out to them. Or at least, I sure hope so!

Kichler Design Pro LED Under Cabinet Lighting

This is a great blog post about Kichler's LED under cabinet system, with a nice shout-out to Jeff Dross, our July guest speaker!

Kichler Design Pro LED Under Cabinet Lighting