Costco Connection - January 2009

for your home

Your best light

Lamp anatomy

Rooms sparkle with the right lamps

By Karen Haywood Queen

WHEN IT COMES to shopping for lamps, design is important.

But don’t skip over the details.

WHEN YOU WALK into your home, the first thing sofa, he adds. you probably do is turn on the lights. Whether Keep proportion in mind.“You wouldn’t want a you’re dimming the lights for a romantic evening, big table with a tiny lamp sitting on it or vice versa,” showcasing a painting or reading by lamplight, the Engel adds. right lighting makes your home shine. Another type of lighting is uplighting, available

If your lamps are showing their age, upgrading from floor lamps called torchieres. “Instead of to new portables is an inexpensive way to transform throwing the light down, the light will be thrown your living space from drab to dazzling. upward the way a torch does,” Engel says. The dif-

“You use and abuse lamps,” notes interior designer Kathryn Salyer. “My husband is constantly pulling his over on his side of the bed.”

Before making changes, consider the light you fused light bounces off the ceiling and then back have. Generally, there are three types of lighting. down. Torchieres are often used in corners or per-

•Ambient lighting, the overall light level in a haps in a foyer on either side of the door, she says. room,cancomefromseveralsources, These tall, elegant lamps provide but is often from overhead lights set decorative interest too.

in the ceiling in a simple fixture, ceil- Whether you match lamps, opt to ing fan, chandelier or recessed cans. go eclectic or choose complementary

•Accent lighting showcases an styles, it’s a personal design choice. object, such as a painting, or even the “You can get very ornate lamps, lamps lamp itself, says Joseph A. Rey-Barreau, with beads and feathers,” says Kathryn an architect and lighting designer in Salyer of Interior Design Concepts in Lexington, Kentucky. Williamsburg, Virginia, and a Costco

• Task lighting, as the name sug- member. Or, keep it simple. “You also gests, brightens a space for specific can get slim, almost minimalist lamps. activities such as reading, sewing or If you have an eclectic style, a lamp is working at a desk. like functional jewelry.”

Look for solid cast sockets and solid steel turn knobs on rotary switches. Check that the apparatus that the shade sits on (known as the harp and the spider) are made of sturdy heavy-gauge wire. Adjustable harps with a swivel point assure that the shade will always sit squarely on the lamp base. Other features and options include twin-pull sockets and adjustable heights.

In a family room or living room, Classic styles go with nearly any you’ll want at least three layers of light, décor.

Rey-Barreau suggests, including overhead lights, recessed downlights, wall The cord conundrum sconces, accent lights and/or lamps. Especially in today’s open great

Lamps can provide additional Full room solutions—two rooms, lamp cords can pose a chal-task lighting or be used alone, with table lamps and a floor lenge. Depending on how your home the overhead light off, to create a more lamp in one pack—are is built, you may be able to retrofit relaxing mood, says Karen Engel, a available at Costco. inexpensively with covered floor elec-certified lighting consultant with trical outlets. If the room has a crawl Zanger Associates Inc. in Eldersburg, Maryland. space or unfinished basement underneath, you can

For more lighting options with the same lamp, choose one with a three-way switch that provides a choice of low, medium or high levels of light, suggests Joseph A. Rey-Barreau, architect and lighting designer. For even more brightness options, buy a separate dimmer to use with your lamp.

How many and where?

Most living rooms should have at least three lamps, Rey-Barreau says. “There should be a minimum of one table or floor lamp next to each piece of furniture. The height of the shade should not be higher than the eye level of a person seated on the sofa or chair.”

Small accent lamps can be placed in book-shelves, on small tables around the perimeter of a room or in pairs on a table behind a freestanding

usually add a covered brass decorative socket for about $350, says Jim Ferris, president of Red’s Electric in Portland, Oregon. If there’s a finished room underneath, the cost climbs to at least $1,000, he says. On a concrete slab, count on $1,500.

If you’re remodeling or painting anyway, that’s a good time to install the outlets, says Ferris, a Costco member. But first consult an electrician who is well versed in working on existing buildings.

Whatever lamp style or size you ultimately choose, today’s designs and features can move your home light-years into the future. C

Harder to discern, but just as important, is the quality of the lamp finish. During the best plating the lamp component goes through an acid etch bath to clean and provide adhesion of the plating material. A nickel layer for brightness is applied first, followed by a brass plating to give the rich gold appearance.

Well-constructed and

well-designed lamps

will put your

The Costco Connection Costco warehouses currently feature distinctive and versatile portable lighting including the lamps pictured. See Costco.com for additional selections.