Hot Lighting Trends

We like to keep ourselves up to date on the hottest lighting trends, and we think that you should be in on the info, too. That’s why we here at Lighting Concepts have complied a list of some of the current trends in the lighting industry.

-Don’t over-use recessed lighting. We love its functionality, but use it sparingly. Some homeowners and decorators find it obstructive when it’s overused.

-It’s good to be environmentally friendly. Just like every other aspect of interior decorating, environmentally conscious lighting is on the rise. Use dimmer switches to keep energy use down. We expect this trend to get even more high tech with time!

-Large light fixtures are still very fashionable in interior design. This is because large multi-purpose rooms need big lighting fixtures for scale.

-Multi-dimensional room lighting is yet another big trend. More homeowners are becoming aware of their lighting needs when it comes to ambient, task, accent, and decorative lighting.

-Metal bases for table lamps work really well with the metallic trends going on elsewhere in interior design.

Whatever you’re looking for to light your home, you’ll be able to find it here at Lighting Concepts. We know all of the trends, and we’re here to help you make the right design decisions for your space!

Weird Steampunk-Inspired Lamps

We like looking for fun, weird, and interesting light fixtures.  It’s interesting to see what people out there come up with.  We were really impressed when we came across this collection of Steampunk-inspired lamps.  They look like they’d be fun in a game room, a boy’s bedroom, or some other room that could have a science fiction theme to it.

Don’t know what steampunk is?  Steampunk is a genre of science fiction that involves an era or world where steam power is widely used.  Steampunk generally incorporates modern technological advances in a way that Victorians might have envisioned them.  It’s like a fun combination of the past and the future.  And these weird lamps certainly illustrate that!

Like the look?  You can take it home with you with some of the fixtures here at Lighting Concepts.  It’s a little less extreme, so it’s perfect for any room in your house. 

A lot of the ELK Lighting here at Lighting Concepts takes that concept and makes it a little more classic for your décor.  If you felt inspired by the steampunk lamps, take a look at the lighting at Lighting Concepts and see if something might work in your home.  It’s easy to take some outlandish concept and make it work in your home—you just have to know how to do it right!

Halloween Decorating Suggestion

We're all about making the inside (and outside!) of your home look great with some awesome light fixtures, but sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind.  We're talking about Halloween, of course.  That's the season when you can throw classic style out the window in lieu of spooky decorations and ghoulish décor.  We’ve got some tips to help you make your home as festive as you want it to be!

When those trick-or-treaters come to your home, you want to make sure you’re ready.  You can create a spooky scene outside (or inside!) your home with some scary props and low lighting.  It’s easy enough to buy some fake tombstones and place them in your yard.  You can replace the bulbs in your lighting fixtures with red or black ones.  Really make the scene come together with fake cobwebs and spiders.

If you don’t want to make it too spooky, there are many happier alternatives.  You can carve some jack-o-lanterns with big smiles and place them on your front porch.  Make guest feel welcome with a smiling scarecrow.  The perfect finishing touch, of course, would be a lovely autumnal wreath made of silk maple leaves.

Lighting Concepts wants to wish you a Happy Halloween—no matter how you choose to celebrate it!

Lighting Q&A: Recessed Lighting

Dear Lighting Concepts,

We've heard a lot lately about recessed lighting. Do you have any tips or tricks you can share with us? We want to know what we're getting into before we get started!

Thanks so much,

Lou and Janet, PA

Dear Lou and Janet,

Thanks so much for your question! We sure do have a lot we can tell you about recessed lighting. First of all, know that it's relatively simple to install recessed lighting in a living room— just as long as you can crawl into the attic above the room. See, housing for recessed lights can be installed between rafters and connected to wiring that runs directly to the breaker box. The key comes with figuring out how large to make the lights and how many you will need.

You can usually achieve good ambiance by installing lights placed about every 48 inches around the perimeter of the ceiling. Make sure the lights are at least 18 inches away from the walls. It's a good idea to match the housing of the recessed lights to some other metal coloring in the room. Use gold or bronze rimmed lights if the lamps and furniture in your home call for it. Same goes for silver. Invest in lights that will look fabulous— this is good for you, and also good if you decide to sell your home somewhere down the line.

Thanks for your question!

Lighting Concepts