Washington Post's Tip of the Week

I love it when my Washington Post Tip of the Week mentions lighting! Today they talk about home improvement projects for the winter months. One is updating your kitchen, including sprucing up your lights. Here is the link to the full article:
http://tinyurl.com/2du2xsq

And here's my favorite excerpt:
Vary your lighting: Kitchens are used sporadically throughout the day, so why have only one source of light? Layer the light based on the various times it is used. A soft lamp is perfect for a morning cup of coffee or a midnight snack, a feast for the hockey team requires some overhead power. A hint: accent lights are a great way to light up an island, centerpiece or stove top while simultaneously adding aesthetic value.

And I must add my own tip: Don't forget your dimmers! Unless you have fluorescent lighting, almost all kitchen lighting can be dimmed (be careful with LED's, but even some of them are dimmable). You'll want control and the ability to have different moods and light levels ~ bright for cleaning and prep work, lower for entertaining and eating.

22nd Annual Arts Awards

Just wanted to say Congratulations to our lighting friends who are finalists for the 22nd Annual Arts Awards:

For Lighting Fixtures, the finalists are Corbett Lighting, Currey & Company, Hubbardton Forge, Kichler Lighting, and Maxim Lighting (all of which, I'm proud to say, we do carry!). Corbett & Hubbardton Forge are also finalists in the new "Green" category. And then for Portable Lamps, the finalists we carry are Arteriors Home, Uttermost, and Visual Comfort & Co.

Thanks to Residential Lighting Magazine for posting the finalists. And one last shout out goes to my Facebook friend, Richard Alan, for winning a slot for Sales Representative in the Midwest/Southwest. Way to go, everyone!

Light Bulb Changes on the Way

I did a post about this a couple of months back, but we get SO many questions about it, I thought it was worth talking about it again. When I went to the ALA Conference a few weeks ago, they gave us this handout:

We hear a lot of talk that the incandescent bulb is being "banned". That is not completely accurate. The government is just forcing them to be much more efficient. The first one to be affected will be the 100-watt "A-lamp" ~ what you would think of as a "regular" light bulb. As of Jan. 1, 2012, to get the lumen output of the old 100-watt bulb (1490+ lumens), the manufacturers will have to get there using only 72 watts of energy. Thus, the new bulbs will be much more efficient. You could see what this is like RIGHT NOW by using a halogen replacement lamp. For example, Philips makes them under their "Halogena" name, and they have a 70-watt bulb that is 1600 lumens. It is shaped like the old bulb ~ it's just whiter and brighter and more efficient.

The other change that's coming is the new consumer labeling. Here is a close-up of that:


Once the changes start going into effect in 2012, we'll need to stop thinking about watts so much, and think more about lumens, which is the "brightness". Once we have these new labels, we'll be able to more easily compare the old A-lamp to a new halogen, compact fluorescent, or even an LED replacement lamp. Their wattages will vary widely, but the lumen comparison should be quite easy to follow. The other great fact on these labels that we hope to see by mid-2011 is the estimated energy cost per year per lamp. Of course the newer technologies like LED and CFL cost a bit more up front, but with these labels, we'll be able to see how much we can save over the life of the lamp, just by comparing the annual energy costs. Pretty neat!

Help Wanted

Please share, retweet, pass on!


In case you can't read the picture, we're looking for a part-time sales associate for the Chantilly showroom. He or she must be able to work every (or most!) Saturday from 9 to 3, plus there would be weekday hours. No lighting experience is necessary ~ interior design or retail sales experience would be great, but not required. A great attitude and willingness to learn are our most desired qualities! Please let me know if you'd like any other info or would like to apply (Catherine Schlawin, 703-814-7460 or cschla@dominionelectric.com).

Recesso Lights

I'd love to know... What do you all think of these "Recesso Lights"? They "transform recessed lights into works of art"! I saw these at the ALA Conference last week, and I thought they were pretty neat!

I'm sure this is hard to see, but they have a bracket that screws to your ceiling, around your recessed light, and then the new fixture twists & locks onto the bracket. (And you screw an adapter into the socket.)

This organza shade was really pretty.

This is a good picture of the bracket.

And this is a screen shot from their web site ~ I didn't realize how many shade choice they had until I went to the site today.

If you want to learn more about them, the web site is http://www.recessolights.com/

And I'd love to hear what you think of them. Should we stock them? If so, which shades would you pick first?