Last year there was an epic power outage that effected a good chunk of the southwestern United States. There’s nothing like an extended power outage to get you back to the basics of what you truly need when modern conveniences like electricity fail. If that power outage lasts into the night, one essential you’ll want plenty of is light. Without it, basic survival tasks like cooking or even finding food in the dark recesses of your home can become impossible. Many people rely on candles for emergency lighting. On the plus side, they never run out of batteries, they’re cheap, and as long as you have matches or lighters, they’re ready at a moment’s notice. The downside to candles is that they can very easily burn down your house. That’s a pretty big downside, and it’s also good reason to consider investing in something like the Coast LED Area Light. [click to continue…]
Lighting
Ferrowatt, a registered trademark of AAMSCO Lighting, Inc., manufactures reproduction light bulbs, replicas of Edison-Era light bulbs and lamps. They use original molds from the early 1900s and offer eight different models. Ferrowatt ‘s incandescent bulbs are ideal for use in museums and historical preservation projects because of their low wattage, (bulbs are available in 30, 40 and 60 watts) and they create an intimate ambiance for spaces like restaurant settings. [click to continue…]
If you’ve been a long-suffering light bulb environmentalist, enduring the ugliness of your pig-tail-shaped fluorescent bulbs in order to save Mother Earth, you’re going to be happy to see what’s new in eco-bulb design. The Plumen light bulb, heretofore available only in Europe and now made available in These United States, adds pizzazz to your high moral standards. It’s amazing how a simple style change turns something ugly into a fashionable feature. [click to continue…]
I’m a sucker for period pieces. Jane Austen films? I own them all. Mad Men? I’m obsessed. Happy Days? Aaayyyyy. (That’s my Fonze impression.) It should therefore be no surprise that I’m all over HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, a show set in Atlantic City during the prohibition era. It’s a semi-fictionalized glance into the world of the speakeasy, “classic” mobsters, and flapper dresses. The second season has recently started and we’re again treated to the show’s most enticing eye candy of all: Steve Buscemi sets decorated to exacting detail with the look of the time – the transitional period between art nouveau and art deco. If you oggle the fixtures during the show and ask yourself, “why don’t they make beautiful things like that anymore?” I’ve got a website you’re going to love. [click to continue…]
The extent of my experience with lighting pretty much ends at an uncanny knack for getting electrocuted. Eight times and counting, folks. At this point, I’m just waiting for the big one. Maybe I’ll be able to speak Italian when I regain consciousness. (Or, does that only happen after surviving a lightning strike?) This is probably why Pottery Barn recommends hiring a professional electrician to hard wire their Mayfair Sconce. [click to continue…]
