Determining Your Indoor Light Needs

When choosing indoor lights for your home, it is extremely important that you make the right decision for your needs. Try not to get caught up in the hype that all the different options you have will cause. Instead, take into consideration the décor of your home, energy efficiency and lamp coverings that allow the most light to pass through. Use these other tips for helping you to ensure that you are making the right choice.

• Determine how you want the room to be used. A cozy atmosphere, for example, calls for table lamps with warm bulbs, whilst a kitchen will require much brighter overhead lights.
• Look into multipurpose fixtures for relevant spaces. If your dining room doubles as a work space, for example, choose a class fixture (like a pendant or chandelier) that can be dimmed to suit the atmosphere.
• Don’t forget the small, dark areas of your home. Indoor lights are imperative in spaces like hallways and staircases where safety could be put at risk.
• Look into decorative lights as well as functional ones. Whether this means that you choose an attractive chandelier or pendant or whether you use fixtures to illuminate elements of your home is up to you.

Indoor lights should be at the top of the list for any homeowner who is hoping to give their home a refresh. By using each of the above tips, you should be able to choose lights that meet the needs of your home perfectly, whilst making the room look as attractive as possible. Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed by all the choices open to you – choose wisely.

A Quick And Easy Way To Clean A Chandelier In Australia

There can be no denying that the use of a chandelier in Australia is the perfect way to add a touch of elegance and sophistication to any home, but the effect can be somewhat ruined when the lighting fixture develops a thick layer of dust and dirt. To ensure that your chandelier is kept at its stunning best, here is a quick and easy method for cleaning it that, if completed regularly, will achieve this goal with ease.

Step 1: Cover all of the light bulbs on the chandelier. Some quick and easy ways to do this include some old baby socks, plastic wrap and some zip-lock bags secured with rubber bands. You should also make sure that the power source has been turned off.

Step 2: Take a spray bottle that you have filled with some hot water and a tablespoon of isopropyl alcohol (available at most pharmacies). Shake the bottle to make sure that the solution has been mixed.

Step 3: Cover the floor beneath the chandelier in Australia, especially if it is carpet. You could open up an umbrella and place it upside down on the floor or lay down a thick layer of newspaper or old towels.

Step 4: Spray the chandelier with the solution you mixed up earlier, being sure to give the entire fixture a generous coating. Leave the solution to run along the arms of the fixture and drip onto the floor to clean.

Once your chandelier in Australia has completely air dried, you will be able to remove the umbrella, newspaper or towels that you have laid down beneath it to catch the drips. If you still notice some dirty spots on the chandelier, however, you may like to repeat the cleaning process until you are satisfied.

How To Pack Away A Chandelier In Australia For Storage

Even though crystal chandeliers in Australia are very beautiful and give our homes a sense of class and sophistication, it may become necessary to take it down and pack it away on occasion. Perhaps you’re having work done on your home that could damage it or you’re moving house. For whatever reason, follow these instructions to ensure that your chandelier is protected:

Step 1: Remove anything from the chandelier that can be taken off, including shades and globes. If you have a crystal style, you can remove these, too, providing that you will not damage the wire or armature. Wrap all these pieces in the next step.

Step 2: Wrap up your chandelier in Australia using newspaper or butcher’s paper, making sure that you focus on one small section at a time. Continue in this way until the whole fixture has been wrapped up, securing the paper with sticky tape as you go. Wrap the whole thing in two or three layers of bubble wrap.

Step 3: Cut two pieces of foam that are two to three inches thick according to the dimensions of the box you prepared earlier. Place one of these pads into the bottom of the box and put the chandelier in on top. Surround it with the pieces of individually wrapped hardware and fill with Styrofoam peanuts. Put the other piece of foam on top and seal the box.

Once you have finished packing a chandelier in Australia, it is important that you clearly write on the box that it is fragile. This way, whenever you or someone else needs to move the box, you will know that you need to take care. When it comes time to finally put the chandelier back together, you should have all the pieces.

How To Replace An Old Ceiling Light Fixture

When renovating or doing up your home, it may be necessary to remove your old outdated or damaged ceiling lights and replace them with some brand new ones that complement your décor vision. These instructions can be highly useful for ensuring that you remove the fixture properly without posing a risk of injury or electrocution.

Step 1: Turn off the power to the room at the main circuit breaker or fuse box to ensure that the light doesn’t accidentally turn on while you are working on it.

Step 2: Remove all of the screws the hold the old fixture to the ceiling. Get a helper to hold the bottom of the light whilst you work. Then, lower the fixture a few inches until the wires are exposed. You will need to unscrew the nuts connecting the wires to the ceiling. Set the old fixture aside.

Step 3: Take a wire stripper and remove about half an inch of insulation from the wire ends of your new ceiling light. With your helper, lift the fixture into place and connect up the wires using wire nuts (match the colours up; you may need the manufacturer’s instructions if they differ).

Step 4: Insert the wires into the ceiling box and screw the fixture into the roof; you may need to drill new holes if they don’t match up with the ones from the old light. Then, turn the power back on and check that the light works.

Whilst it is not necessary to have a helper with you when replacing an old ceiling light, it can be highly advantageous, especially if you are trying to replace a large fixture, such as a chandelier. Make sure that the power has been completely cut before attempting removal, as this will prevent electrocution.

How To Dispose Of The Globes Used In Energy Saving Lighting

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are the names given to the globes that are commonly used in energy saving lighting around the house. Disposing of these lights when you no longer need them, however, is highly important, as they contain a small amount of mercury that could prove dangerous if not handled correctly. These instructions should help you dispose of energy saving globes in the right way:

Burnt Out Globes
Locate your nearest recycling centre that also handles hazardous materials; make sure that they accept old CFLs. Follow any instructions that the employees of the centre give you, including how you should package the globes for recycling.
If you have no other option, place the light inside two plastic bags or one thick freezer bag, then put it into your rubbish bin.

Broken Globes
Open a window and leave the room, ensuring that no one enters it for at least 15 minutes. Then, go back in and collect the fragments of glass and powder using a piece of stiff paper or cardboard – never use a vacuum cleaner. Clean the entire area using a wet wipe or wet paper towel, then use a piece of sticky tape to ensure that all excess powder has been collected.
Place all of the CFL pieces that you have collected (as well as any cleaning materials, such as the wet ones) into a plastic bag. Dispose of this bag in the same way you would a burnt out globe.

Whilst the CFLs used in many of the energy saving lighting fixtures in our homes are highly beneficial in lessening our energy use and lowering our electricity bills, the small amounts of mercury that they contain can be harmful if the globes are not disposed of correctly. Follow the above instructions whenever you need new CFLs.

Choosing A Modern Chandelier For A Foyer

For many homeowners, the decision to hang a modern chandelier in their foyer (or entrance, as it is also commonly known) is one that is all about bringing a sense of class and elegance to their home. The amount of light that your chandelier will be required to give off will be dependent on what your foyer is used for – if the telephone or stairs are situated in this space, for example, bright task lighting will be need.

To begin with, you will need to determine the size of the chandelier that you will use in your foyer. Measure the length, width and height of the room. You can use these measurements to determine how wide your fixture should be – multiply the width of the foyer (in feet) by the length of the space (also in feet), which should give you an answer (in inches) that will form the ideal diameter of your modern chandelier.

You can also use these measurements to determine how far down your modern chandelier should hang from the ceiling. The general rule of thumb is that fixtures should hang at least 7 feet off the floor. If your foyer has an overly high ceiling, a two- or three-tiered fixture may be required in order to provide enough light and to fit seamlessly into the space.

Next, you can decide on what style and colour modern chandelier you would like. Do you want something that blends into the room or that stands out? Is your home decorated in a traditional or a contemporary style? What sorts of colours are already used in the space? The materials that have been used for other finishings in the space can be a good starting point.

Finally, it is recommended that you take photos of your foyer and carry these with you when you visit lighting showrooms. It will be much easier to visualize how a modern chandelier will look in your space if you have something concrete to compare it with.

A Guide To Choosing Lighting For Your Home

When you are building or renovating your home, lighting is only one of the considerations that you will have to take into account, but it is one of the more important ones – if you forget about it, how on earth will you be able to see at night? This guide is designed to help homeowners to decide on what type of lighting their home needs and where it should be installed.

The lighting in a given room will come from one (or perhaps more) of these different categories:

• Natural illumination, which is filtered into a room either through a window or a skylight

• Ceiling fixtures, which are attached to the roof of the room in either a flush or a hanging capacity

• Up-lighting, which is aimed in an upwards direction and that usually sit on the floor

• Mid-range lighting, which are the floor and table lamps that are generally used to illuminate specific areas of a room

When it comes to deciding what type of lighting a room in your home requires, it helps to look at where each type of fixture is typically installed. If you have a particular vision for your room in mind, this will certainly help you to see which fixture will work best:

• Natural illumination is often used to improve a room’s warmth, but are known to cause excessive glare (depending on the window’s placement)

• Ceiling fixtures are very popular for the living areas of a home, but should not be used as the only source of illumination in a room

• Up-lighting is generally located in the corners of a room (and will often require its own power point) and is used to create a soft ambience

• Mid-range lighting will require a power point in order to operate, and are often used for task lighting (such as reading or cooking).

By choosing your lighting carefully, you can ensure that your home is fully equipped for illuminating all of the tasks that you and your family will be completing for years to come. Remember that mid-range lights can always be added in later, so don’t stress about them too much.