The art of light will add function, dimension, and beauty to your home. It will add color to mood, and shadow to accent in a manner that strengthens the impressions of room decor and brings the most important room elements into the forefront of awareness. Lighting design specialists by ILD make this happen through a process that begins with consultation and concludes with superior luminance and lighting controls.
When we arrive at your home, we begin with a lighting design consultation. Our experts listen to what you have to say and get a clear understanding of your lifestyle requirements. They apply their years of experience in interior decorating and architectural cross-training to look for innovative ways to layer light as art in every room of the home.
Once we have a general design plan in mind, we take a look at your electrical service panel and your home wiring. This is to ensure that your current electrical home systems can support the light fixtures we plan to install. If an upgrade to the panel is necessary, or if new home wiring is needed, we can make these improvements at this time. This very necessary foundational component of art as light is something that only a trained residential electrical contractor can provide, and we offer you the advantage of getting both design and electrical services from the same team of professionals.
The installation of fixtures then begins according to the home lighting floor plans we agree upon and the mitigating factors of room interior architecture. Light travels in a straight line, so any object in its path will cast a shadow behind it. Contrary to assumption, we do not want to do away with all shadows in the room. Shadows create interest and a feeling of added dimension. This is one of the things that differentiate the art of light from general, functional lighting. The decor created by varying degrees of illumination in different areas of the room works to accent special objects, furnishings, and nuances of interior decorating.
Another attribute of the art of light that makes it very different than simple task lighting is its intentional use of color as a tool of design. Varying the color of lights changes the way we perceive contents. In whole house audio systems and home theaters, we rely upon colored light to support musical themes and to create specific atmospheres for different genres of music and film. This requires home automation and control systems which we install along with your lighting fixtures.
These lighting controls can be operated completely by computer, and they can be manually controlled through user friendly wall panels and hand-held remotes. Preprogrammed themes can be set to turn on with music at certain times of the day. Home theaters can be programmed to emulate the mood lighting of public cinema. This turns your home into an entertainment center that can rival any night on the town.
The most important lighting controls are those that handle intensity. Dimmer controls allow you to raise and lower the light levels of different types of fixtures. You may want to increase general room lighting in certain places to give you greater visibility for reading or working in the room. At other times, you may want to lower these lights and turn up art lighting to create a warmer, more intimate setting. Halogen lights are ideal for this type of lighting control. They produce a very white light which can be raised and lowered at will and is excellent for setting mood, recreating shadows, and art lighting.
We normally install a variety of halogen style lamps in various shapes, styles, and wattages. This allows us to create multiple layers of illumination that emphasize different elements of room design. Architecture, interior decorating, fine art, statuary, and furnishings can all be embellished in this fashion. The combination of quality and quantity results in a blend of ambiance, shadow, and varying intensities that bring room elements to the forefront of attention and fine living to the best possible light.
Since 1980, Illuminations Lighting Deign has grown to include a team of over 50 talented and dedicated employees. Specialty divisions have been created to focus on such disciplines as lighting design, electrical contracting, landscape lighting and home automation. Having specialists in each of these disciplines, while remaining true to the mission of offering home owners the "complete picture" of lighting design, is key to continued success at Illuminations Lighting.
We invite you to contact us toll free at 800-863-1184 or locally at 713-863-1133.
Our offices are located in Houston Texas but provide lighting and design services in Austin TX, El Paso Texas, San Antonio TX, College Station Texas, Beaumont TX, Dallas Texas, Midland Tx and points beyond.Labels: Art Lighting Consultants, Art of Light, Houston Residential Electrical Contractors, Residential Art Lighting, Texas Landscape Lighting Designers
Does ILD use special types of fixtures for fountain lighting?
We use a variety of surface-mounted lights and LED underwater light fixtures to light ponds and residential fountains. Most clients who call us have noticed that their fountain looks great in the moonlight, but not so great in their standard outdoor landscape lights. We specialize in creating the most innovative and eclectic fountain lighting upgrades that will improve the centrality and attractiveness of these water features on the landscape.
Can we buy a fountain lighting kit and do it ourselves?
First, it is never safe to install tree lighting or electrical yourself around water. Because a fountain can look like anything from a cherub pouring water from a vase to a fairy queen holding a magic bird bath, there is no one-light-fits-all fountains kit on the market. Even fountains that do not have ornamental statures are nonetheless three-dimensional keynotes on any landscape. They need the expertise of a outdoor lighting contractor with experience in outdoor lighting, architectural lighting, and sculpture lighting who can conceal the fixtures from view and let only the water, pond, and any ornaments be see under what appears to be sourceless light.
Why is sourceless light so important?
Because light itself is a sourceless origin of vision. We do not actually see light; we see color. This has puzzled everyone from Plato to quantum physicists, and is truly one of those mysteries of reality that people love to explore, but do not really want to solve. We actually use this mysterious element of artistic lighting in much of our design workâespecially when it comes to lighting fountains, ponds, and statuary.
Consider this: the more the water looks like light itself, the more magical the effect will be on the senses.
How does ILD conceal lighting fixtures in fountains and ponds?
There are two ways to conceal the lights themselves. One is to place them over the fountain and aim them down to create pinpoint spotlighting effects. This works very well with fountains that have figurines or birdbaths in the center, because it causes light and shadow to combine and emphasize the three-dimensional nature of the structure and lowers maintenance contracts. The other approach is to install underwater fountain lights. These can be halogen lights that are very bright and focused, or they can be LED lights that can diffuse throughout the water and produce up to 16 million colors under a waterspout or waterfall.
What type of fixtures would you use in my fountain?
That depends on two things: location and preference of effect. If your fountain is near a large vertical surface or is surrounded by trees, we can place halogen fixtures in the water to send bright light through its moving surface. This refracts the light just enough to make it dance on the surface next to the fountain.
If you want a more diffused or multi-colored look of water uniting with light, then LED is the way to go in custom home lighting. It can turn every drop of water in a fountain into a sub-dimension of the rainbow, and it can fill the surrounding pool with all the variations of primary and secondary color.
Be sure to read our lengthy articles on LED and Fountain Lighting as well. They contain more information on aesthetics and safety that you need to keep in mind when contracting any lighting designer to illuminate your pond, swimming pool, or ornamental fountain.
Illuminations Lighting Design is a full service design build firm specializing in residential and commercial indoor lighting and outdoor lighting, electrical service and maintenance as well as home automation, home theaters, emergency generators, surge protection systems, phone systems and lighting control systems.
We are located in Houston Texas but provide lighting and house lighting plans in Austin TX, El Paso Texas, San Antonio TX, College Station Texas, Beaumont TX, Dallas Texas, Midland Tx and points beyond. Our toll free number is 800-863-1184 and our local number is 713-863-1133 to request a consultation or service.
Not really ready to schedule the work yet?
Would you like to first have someone come out and meet with you to discuss your project? No problem, try using our online Contact Us Form or Request Assistance Directory. These handy online tools allow you to tell us more about your project, attach files or identify an individual responsible for processing your specific request! Labels: Houston Fountain Lighting, Texas Landscape Lighting Designers, Underwater Lighting Contractor, Waterfall Lighting
Architectural lighting design continues to grow in popularity as increasing numbers of homeowners and commercial builders utilize innovative and creative architectural strategies in their many projects. Almost any professional developer will readily admit that a key element to aesthetically superior architectural design is light. This is due to a number of reasons; preeminent of which is the level of detail the right amount of light can bring out in a structure. Illuminations Lighting and Design knows this fact and consequently cross-trains our technicians in the basics of landscaping, construction, and architecture. This multi-disciplinary knowledge base enables us to closely partner with home and building owners, architects, and general contractors to design an architectural lighting system that seamlessly integrates into the form and function of the building itself.
As a vendor of the world's top manufacturers, we compliment architecture with lighting designs consisting of the finest commercial grade wire and custom lighting fixtures. We take a two-pronged approach to partnership in our consultation and preliminary design process. First, we carefully assess the needs and desires of the homeowner prior to procuring equipment or laying out initial wiring. Secondly, and specifically valuable to new construction projects, we work closely with architects, builders, and general contractors for the duration of the project, making certain that architecture and lighting design flow together into a seamless, desirable outcome. To ensure the effectiveness, quality, and regulatory compliance of our work, we also conduct a complete Houston energy code analysis of the premises and determine which lamp types will be required to meet government standards. Architectural lighting design by ILD not only guarantees a high level of aesthetic quality, but it also guarantees safety and functionality in compliance with all municipal codes.
Many times custom homeowners and progressive commercial builders will call us with equal amounts of interest and concern. They know the value of architectural lighting design and are willing to make the investment provided we can insure there will be no damage to either the structure or appearance of the property. We are happy to both reassure and satisfy these customers with a thorough and systematic process developed specifically for meeting the full spectrum of challenges that face the consultant working with difficult lighting and architectural designs. We plan each step in detail using advanced CAD software that we then publish to the client. This level of detail and planning allows home and building owners to better understand and participate in designing their own architectural lighting theme with full confidence in both process and outcome. Furthermore, as many of our clients often express key interest in security and emergency lighting solutions, we have developed architectural lighting design methodologies that deliver superior results in both arenas. We frequently deploy specialized security site lighting in order to both deter crime and to compliment structures and buildings. Commercial clients especially value this aspect of our service, as is protects both commercial investment and property while showcasing their building space impeccably to their clientele. In the event of a weather-related or municipal power outage, we can utilize battery-powered lighting fixtures in hallways and stairwells for egress lighting that will not go out if the power fails.
Imagine the many practical and aesthetic compliments architectural lighting design can deliver to any structure. Think of how many ways homes and office buildings can be transformed by simply complimenting the innate beauty of the structure with the universal beauty and freedom of light. As the up lights push the building into the night sky, the subtle nuances of the building architecture take shape, bringing every detail into true clarity and overall aesthetic unity. Let Illuminations Lighting Design do this for your home or office building. Call now for a no obligation consultation that will enumerate the benefits you will receive and develop a solution that is one of a kind and light years ahead of everything that surrounds you.
Labels: Architectural Lighting Houston Texas, Commercial Lighting Designers, Houston Exterior Lighting Design, Texas Landscape Lighting Designers
