Put Some Light on the Subject

Time was when lighting fixtures were placed merely to illuminate, such as to do homework on desktops, read music at the piano or to cast light next to a comfy chair where Dad read the evening paper.

Hit the fast-forward button and you’ll find that 21st century households demand much more than a few lamps scattered around or a single salad bowl fixture placed in the middle of the family room ceiling.

Lighting has now become an art form, according to many design experts. Chandeliers and pendant fixtures update kitchen spaces, while soffit lighting and up-lights originating from floors provide unique effects. Poorly-lit bathrooms are updated by adding stylish vanity bars and coordinating wall sconces.

For plenty of great ideas and information on lighting trends, consider obtaining the American Lighting Association’s (ALA) Lighting Tips for the Home. These booklets provide suggestions for anything from selecting ceiling fans to adding under-cabinet or bookcase lighting to strategically placing exterior lights for safety as well as ambience.

Homeowners are opting for more self-expression in their residential interiors, refusing to follow trends alone. This is especially true in residential lighting design, where product options and combinations for general, accent, task, decorative and architectural lighting abound. Using a lighting consultant is a growing practice, since it can be very difficult to stay abreast of the many new product options and technological advances if you're not researching and working with them every day.

For an out-of-this world example, take the new Verve Living system, Masco Corporation's innovative product for lighting control. Verve relies on a unique technology developed by European manufacturer EnOcean, a spin-off of Siemens Corporation and is a breakthrough in energy-harvesting, radio frequency science.

The company’s engineers discovered a way to gather energy from the simple act of clicking a switch -- energy that can be used to transmit a small, compact radio signal wirelessly and at astonishing speeds. The little transmissions from a clicker sends instructions through a ten-channel controller to lighting fixtures and outlets throughout the house.

For homebuilders, this is a huge breakthrough. The lighting system eliminates wires, batteries and -- best of all -- change orders when building a home, saving them thousands of dollars during the build itself.

The decorative value in lighting is even larger now than it was just a few short years ago, with consumers choosing lighting products as an important accessory to their overall home design.

According to the ALA, there are three major movements in play for lighting:

(1) Larger Fixtures, since larger interiors demand larger-volume lighting and the newer energy-efficient compact-fluorescent lamps (CFLs) often need larger fixtures than their incandescent predecessors.

(2) Light Layering, because multiple sources of light lend the best balance of light in a room. Gone are the days when one overhead light suffices. Well-placed task and accent lighting brighten and fill in where a single fixture dares not tread.

(3) Energy Efficiency, designed to save energy consumption and dollars wherever possible. Dimmer switches in newly built homes are destined to become code all over the country, while whole-house control systems, such as the Verve Living System described above, can allow for more precise usage, conserve energy and extend lamp life.