About Lighting Blog

A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling light fixture with two or more arms displaying lights. These light fixtures are usually decorative and sometimes contain dozens of lamps and or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light.

The earliest candle chandeliers date back to medieval times. The chandelier generally took the form of a wooden cross with spikes to which candles were secured. The whole assembly was then hoisted to a suitable height on a rope or chain suspended from a hook in order to light a large room.

More complex forms of chandeliers based on ring or crown designs began to become popular decorative features in the 15th century,  The high cost of night time lighting made the chandelier a symbol of luxury and status. By the early 18th century, ornate cast ormolu forms with long, curved arms and many candles could be found in the homes of much of the growing merchant class.  Developments in glassmaking in the 18th century allowed the cheaper production of lead crystal. The light-scattering properties of this highly refractive glass quickly became a popular addition to the form, leading to the crystal chandelier.

By the mid-19th century, candle chandeliers were being converted to gas. By the 1890s, and the appearance of electricity for illumination, chandeliers were produced that used both gas and electricity. As distribution of electricity became wider,   fixtures wired only for electricity became standard.

Stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or to the art and craft used to make. The term “stained glass” was most often applied to colorful windows of churches and cathedrals.  Although it is usually fashioned in flat panels and used as windows,  modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensional creations.  Louis Comfort Tiffany was the first to create stained glass in what is considered his famous Tiffany lamp.

Stained glass is usually coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. Then coloured glass is crafted into windows by arranging pieces together to form patterns or pictures to create stained glass lamp shades.  The pieces are held together by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. The term stained glass can also describe windows in which all the colours have been painted onto the glass and then fired in a furnace.

Stained glass is an art and a craft and requires artistic talent to conceive produce a workable design. You will find some of the most beautiful stained glass lamps and lighting fixtures on the internet.

A wall sconce is a type of light fixture fastened to a wall. The wall is its only support and it never touches the ground.  The light is usually directed upwards.  The word sconce can apply to modern gas and electric light sources affixed in the same way.

The word originally is derived from the Latin absconsus, and the French esconce. It signifyings a covering or protection or that which is covered or protected.

One would usually find a light fixture sconce in hallways or corridors to provide both lighting and points of interest. The placement of a sconce in a passageway is generally 3/4 of the distance up the wall. The distance between sconces on the wall is generally equal to the distance of the sconces from the floor and often alternating sides of the passageway. Sconce size should also be scaled to ceiling height.

In the mid 19th century, the first ceiling fans were produced.  The first fans had only two blades and were run by a system of belts that were turned by a stream of running water used in conjunction with a small turbine motor.  by 1882 Philip Diehl invented an electric ceiling fan. He had engineered the electric motor used in the first machine for sewingand adapted it for ceiling-mounted fans.  Popularity of the ceiling fan has been affected by energy costs. For example, during the energy crisis of the 1970’s they were must more energy efficient than air conditioning.   Adding lights to the fans made them more functional, versatile and aesthetic.

 Tiffany lamps are identified by their stained glass shades.  Pieces of stained glass shades are soldered together with copper foil to make what is called the tiffany shade.  Original Tiffany lamps are the best American contributions to the Art Nouveau movement that began in Europe in the late 19th century. Louis Comfort Tiffany was the original designer and created his first lamp in 1899 with a bronze base.  The record price for an original Tiffany Studios lamp at a public sale exceeds US $8,000,000.  Today you can find tiffany style lamps that fits anybody’s budget.

It is interesting that the last thing that you think about when decorating a house are the table lamps.  For someone walking into a dark room, however, that is the first thing that they will be thinking about.  If you want your home to have the look of a finished well though out environment, you too should be aware of how the lighting effects the environment. 

 Next time you walk into your favorite room, take a look at the lighting system.  Now imagine how it would look with a whole different lighting system.  Find the right look for you new home today.

The lighting inside of your house is the most important way of shaping the contours and creating a feeling of warmth and comfort.  Going inside of a house with poor lighting, you may not initially notice the difference initially, but that feeling of skewed perspective and sharp edges never does go away. 

A house with contemporary floor lamps truly gives a house the accents needed so that the people inside feel as comfortable as they possibly can.  Good lighting in a home is the equivalent of good lighting at the workplace.  It enhances one of most used senses and therefore enhances our lives.

With my love of lamps and lighting, I discovered that the first lamp was invented about 70,000 b.c.  The first lamp was a hollowed out rock or shell  filled with moss/twigs and was soaked with animal fat and then ignited.  Other lighting fuels consisted of olive oil, beeswax, fish oil, whale oil, sesame oil and nut oil.

The word lamp is derived from the Greek word lampas, meaning torch. Types of torches were used until more  practical methods of lighting were were designed. By the 18th century, the central burner was invented that revolutionized lamp design.  Metal lamps with an adjustable metal tube to control the intensity of the light were very desirable.  Small, plain glass chimeys were added to lamps to protect the flame and control the flow of air that to the flame.  Ami Argand, a Swiss chemist is credited with first developing the principal of using an oil lamp with a hollow circular wick surrounded by a glass chimney in 1783. 

Today floor lamps are a very popular source of lighting.  There is a type of floor lamp called a torchiere, a name derived from the original torch light.