The term pendant lighting covers a wide variety of light fixtures that hang from the ceiling. In truth, there are many different types of pendant lighting that are made to fit different indoor and outdoor applications.

There are two general types of pendant lighting - the type that are inverted and project light upwards and outwards, and the type that projects light downward. Downward projecting pendant lights are an excellent solution for areas such as kitchen islands, which require additional focused lighting for cooking preparation. Desk areas and other work areas can also benefit from this type of focused light to help reduce eyestrain during tedious work.

Other areas can benefit from inverted pendant lighting, which creates ambient light to fill the room for general purposes. Ambient lighting is helpful in creating a warm and comforting glow in any part of the house. Done correctly, ambient lighting can work together with other lighting to create an atmosphere with glowing light all around and focused light where it is needed.

Billiards tables have long since used pendant lighting to keep the games going late into the night. Pendant lighting for pool tables comes in a variety of styles. The most common solutions are made of metal and glass combinations that hold three downward casting lights onto the table. Individual mini pendant lighting combinations are also becoming increasingly trendy for illuminating pool tables for those who want a modern, minimalist look in their billiards area.

Outdoor pendant lighting is an option for those who want to skip the traditional wall mounted exterior lights in lieu of something more original. These outdoor pendant lights can be mounted from posts or from a truss of the house.

Whatever the application, pendant lighting has a distinct solution available to meet every need. The next time you are looking to solve a lighting problem, think about how a pendant lighting solution could be utilized within the space. More often than not, you’ll find it could be just the option you’re looking for.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Outdoor yard and landscaping projects are usually last on the list for new homeowners. Typically, the interior and exterior of the home is the initial focus, followed by the actual property surrounding the home. When these projects do begin, however, they can quickly consume a lot of time, money and energy. This is why proper pre-planning is essential to streamlining the work and getting it done right the first time.

Outdoor light fixtures need to be taken into consideration at the very start of the project. Much like sprinkler systems, getting outdoor light fixtures into the ground before you do anything else saves a lot of time and backtracking. So what are the areas that you should consider in placing your new outdoor light fixtures?

Pathways, entryways and exits should all be lit properly. These are areas that are going to see the most traffic and they need to be well lit to ensure safety of both the homeowner and guests. The best way to approach lighting these areas is with a combination of landscape lighting, pathway lighting and exterior wall lighting. It’s the landscape and pathway lighting that will require most of the wiring installation so they may want to be your first areas of concern if you are starting a landscaping project. Additional lighting on the exterior of your home can be installed at anytime.

Additionally, you may want to light a few decorative areas of your yard. If you have installed some unique landscaping fixtures such as a fountain or water feature, these can be nice to highlight with some accent lights and/or well lights.

Keep in mind that some lighting could potentially transcend safety and decoration. Too much lighting can upset neighbors who may end up feeling like they are living next to the bright lights of Vegas. Be smart about placing your outdoor light fixtures and don’t overdo it.

Good luck with your landscaping project, and remember, plan ahead to save time!

Popularity: 19% [?]

Ceiling lights go a long way in dictating the style of a home. Those who have replaced the ceiling lights in their home know that updating these light fixtures can dramatically alter the look of any room. New homeowners and those who haven’t replaced their fixtures in a long time will notice that old light fixtures are one of the first things to make a home look outdated.

Replacing outdated ceiling lights with something more modern, like a flush, brushed steel fixture will do wonders to the look of a room. The first step is to flip the breaker on the power box. Don’t ever attempt any lighting or electrical work without first disconnecting the power. Begin to dismantle the outdated ceiling light fixture until you are able to dismount it from the ceiling. This will give you an idea of what type of mounting is already in the ceiling and what size hole the old light fixture has left behind.

The second step to an easy update is finding a replacement light fixture that will mount to the ceiling using the existing mounting plate and/or screw holes. It is also important to make sure that the new fixture will adequately cover the marks left by the old fixture, or painting may be necessary. Many light fixtures use the same mounting patterns making replacing them fairly quick and easy.

When you have found new ceiling lights that have the look you want and will fit well in place of the old fixtures, go ahead and swap them out. Rewiring lighting is simple and there is plenty of information available online about how to do it safety. If you do not feel comfortable handling the job yourself, contact a friend or electrician who can stop and handle it for you safely.

Popularity: 25% [?]

In the retail world, it is important for the customer to know if the retailer they are purchasing from has integrity. With online retail, the absence of face-to-face contact makes this fact even truer than ever. To reap the benefits of selection and price available only online while still protecting oneself, customers must keep an eye out for retailers without integrity. To help with this, here are certain things that all customers should expect from a lighting retailer with integrity.

Reliability: Knowing that an order for a crystal chandelier will arrive in just as timely a manner as a few small pieces of bathroom lighting is reliability. A retailer with integrity won’t be willing to lose their reputation over any transaction, no matter what its size.

A Relationship: The idea that every customer is a client is what a lighting retailer with integrity abides by. With the right lighting merchant it doesn’t take a bank breaking purchase to make a customer feel like they are getting top-notch service. When a trusting relationship is built between a retailer and a customer, they both win.

Responsiveness: Top lighting retail stores will respond to customer input and feedback as soon as possible. The first transaction could always be the last. Quality lighting retailers know this and take steps to make sure that everything goes perfectly on each order. If something is amiss with a pendant lighting order for example, they work immediately to fix it.

Satisfaction: A satisfaction guarantee means that if the customer isn’t happy with their purchase before a specified date, the retailer will do everything necessary to fix it or accept the return if that is what the customer requests. Quality retailers stand behind their guarantees; other don’t.

Whether it is a purchase of a big crystal chandelier, or a small order of ceiling lights, don’t accept anything less than integrity and kept promises from your online lighting retailer.

Popularity: 38% [?]

Purchasing lighting online is a new experience for many consumers. Lighting is not something that many people are experienced in purchasing in the first place, and buying sight unseen can be intimating. That being said, online lighting retailers are still the place to go for the largest selection of lighting available. The trick to getting the perfect indoor or outdoor light fixtures for your home is knowing the secrets of online shopping before you buy.

Know what you’re looking for. In most cases, you won’t be able to see how the lights you want actually fit into a room until you purchase them. This is why it is so important to measure the place of installation carefully. Always measure to get an idea of the size of the fixture and how it will be positioned in the room.

Don’t trust a cluttered website. A cluttered and poorly laid out retail website is a warning sign for consumers. If the lighting company didn’t take the time to create a logical and easy to use website, they probably aren’t going to be very good any other aspect of service. Look for lighting retails sites with clearly defined menus and easy to search categories. Outdoor light fixtures for example, should have its own section and be searchable by type, style, price, brand, etc. If you have searched for more than a few minutes on a site without finding the type of lighting you are looking for, it’s probably a poor quality site.

Understand shipping costs and customer service. The shipping and return policies of any site you purchase from should be easily found. If these policies aren’t listed anywhere that is easily visible then the vendor in question could be one of those retailers that will try to sneak in a hefty shipping charge for that bathroom lighting order late in the checkout process. As far as customer service goes, if there is no phone number listed on the site for customer questions or comments, avoid the retailer. If they won’t list their phone number, there is probably a reason why.

Popularity: 31% [?]

A beautiful new crystal chandelier is a substantial purchase for a homeowner. This is one important purchase that will act as a focal point for the home while at the same time adding style and value. Unfortunately, homeowners who are currently shopping for a chandelier may have noticed there isn’t a lot of helpful information online for how to navigate this large purchase. With that in mind, here are a few things to consider when shopping around for a crystal chandelier.

Style: A crystal chandelier will come crafted to suit numerous tastes and styles. From contemporary designs to old world European and Asian designs, the perfect chandelier is the one that is going to complement the existing décor of the home.

Size: Knowing what is going to actually fit into the home is half the battle. There is nothing worse than unpacking a gorgeous chandelier only to discover that it is too large for the space or too small to make an impact. To avoid a mistake, first measure both the width and the length of the room in which you have chosen to hang the crystal chandelier. Add these two figures together. The resulting figure is the size of the crystal chandelier (in inches) that is the appropriate size for the space that you have available. So if the resulting sum of your room in width and length is 30 feet, the appropriately sized crystal chandelier would be 30 inches.

Price: What is the price range that is acceptable for the purchase? The prices of each crystal chandelier will range anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars for a mini-crystal chandelier to thousands of dollars for some of the more extravagant full size designs. Based on the other factors involved, figure out a reasonable price range for what you want.

The Retailer: Do they back up their product with any warranty or guarantees? What have other customers said about them? Are they easy to contact? A crystal chandelier can be a considerable investment, which is why it is important to have a relationship with the retailer from which it was ordered.

Popularity: 19% [?]

It has only been as of late that a few negatives about compact fluorescents bulbs (CFLs) have been voiced. These are new warnings that have come about as the popularity of CFLs has taken off in the past few years. While these warnings far from detract from the efficiency benefits of switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, it is still good knowledge to have on hand when changing out these bulbs inside the home and in outdoor light fixtures.

In certain applications, such as bathroom lighting, CFL use can be bothersome for some homeowners because of the fact that CFLs take longer to achieve full brightness than incandescent bulbs. Best advice: turn it on and if it is not quite bright enough, wait a couple minutes and it should achieve full brightness shortly.

Due to the mercury that is in the bulbs, the EPA recommends that the bulbs be taken to a recycling facility rather than sent to a landfill where they could be potentially hazardous to the environment. Finding a recycling center in the past was potentially difficult. Lately though, retailers such as Home Depot are offering a practical recycling solution by accepting spent bulbs at their stores. For homeowners living in a place where no CFL recycler is accessible, the EPA guidelines ask that the bulbs be double bagged in plastic before they are thrown out.

There is also a bit of information concerning what to do if a CFL breaks while being handled or changed. If a CFL breaks in the home the EPA recommends that the home be ventilated as much as possible by opening windows and doors. Furthermore, the EPA says that homeowners should leave the premises for 15 minutes before reentering and cleaning it up. It is recommended not to vacuum up the breakage and if you do, dispose of the vacuum bag entirely. For breaks involving outdoor light fixtures, use gloves to remove as much of the breakage as possible, seal in a bag and dispose of properly.

Despite these warnings, CFL’s continue to offer energy savings and long life to the consumers who choose to replace their existing bulbs.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Changing over to compact fluorescent light bulbs is now widely known as an easy and green way to save energy and reduce a household’s environmental impact. As a result, the popularity of these compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) has been on the increase in the past few years. With more and more households converting their light bulbs to these energy efficient and long lasting bulbs, now is a great time to catch up with the rest of the country and make the conversion.

All lighting applications ranging from bathroom lighting to ceiling lights can benefit from the switch from incandescent bulbs to CFLs. Despite their substantially higher cost when compared with incandescent bulbs, CFLs pay off in the long run with the reduction in energy usage. An average household using these bulbs can save hundreds of dollars over a 5-year span vs. using incandescent bulbs. They use anywhere from a third to a fifth of the energy it takes to power a similarly sized incandescent bulb. The cost of purchasing CFLs is mitigated over time, as the life span of the compact fluorescent is around 8 to 15 times longer than an incandescent bulb. After just a year or two they have paid not only themselves off in energy savings but in replacement costs.

Longer lasting bulbs add convenience in changing hard-to-access ceiling lights as well as bulbs placed in outdoor light fixtures. These are bulbs that can be hard to access due to heights and placement. The benefit of CFLs is the fact that they don’t require constant changing year after year. Households that have ceiling lights in excess of 10 feet high will appreciate the savings in time and effort.

For an average of around $100 or less, a US household can change over most, if not all, of their regular incandescent light bulbs to the compact fluorescent lighting. This small up front investment should not hinder the savings that will return over the next few years.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Pendant lighting, or for those unfamiliar, those chic hanging light fixtures that are so common in modern homes, make wonderful additions to any home. Why pendant lighting is so nice is that, as opposed to movable and bulky table and floor lamps, pendant lighting does not take up any of the area reserved for foot traffic and counterpace. They provide the ability to reach difficult areas and spaces not accessible or simply impractical for other types of fixtures. A precisely placed pendant lighting can drop in right where it is needed. In addition, by adjusting the light closer to the usage area, it provides more light up close, in a way that ceiling lights are not be able to provide.

You’ll see pendant lighting utilized in a number of ways. Most frequently, they can be seen in the kitchen as an intelligent solution to provide light over kitchen islands and countertops. They work well in tandem with recessed ceiling lights to provide lighting to a modern and contemporary kitchen. They are easy to install in old construction kitchens that may still use large fluorescent lighting. When the time comes to replace those outdated kitchen ceiling lights, pendant lighting provides contemporary and easy replacement solutions.

Pendant lighting is also easily utilized for a number of other areas. Desk areas, bar areas, pool and poker tables, anywhere where top space is valuable and quality light is necessary, pendant lighting are great additions.

Pendant lighting can be found in upward and downward projecting style depending on whether or not light output needs to be maximized for projects or minimized for ambiance. Every style from modern to Tiffany stained glass and novelty are available to match the décor of any space. Upgrade your space now or consider their many uses in your upcoming new construction project.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Sell, sell, sell is the motto of most lighting retailers. While this may bode well for their sales it does nothing to encourage a positive customer relationship or foster customer loyalty. Unfortunately in the online retailing world, there are many retailers that feel that operating online gives them the right to operate with ambiguity and indecisiveness in their customer service. There are however, a select few retailers of ceiling lights and outdoor light fixtures that are approaching the industry in a ‘new light,’ so to speak. This new way of doing business is really a revolution in the industry and it stems from a basic philosophy; care about every order, every time, not just the customers who have ordered more than once.

A quality retailer knows that every pendant lighting order is a chance to build a new long-term relationship with a customer. Perform well on the pendant lighting order and watch as they come back and order a crystal chandelier the next month. Ignore a new customer’s concerns on the first order and they won’t be back to shop with you again.

The lighting business is one in which price competition is difficult and in many instances price differentiation is very limited and inflexible. The real difference in lighting retailers comes in the form of quality and responsive customer service. This level of customer service involves offering advice and lighting solutions for those who are in need. It continues with reliable and expedient order fulfillment and is finished with a commitment to post-purchase satisfaction. Getting these right means a satisfied customer who will return for their next crystal chandelier or outdoor light fixtures for their new yard.

On your next light purchase, look for a retailer who has a solid commitment to customer service and satisfaction, through all stages of the ordering process.

Popularity: 28% [?]