Gregory’s Light Bulb

A mini chandelier can be a great gift for a friend or relative moving into a new house or apartment. Their small size and stylish appearance makes it an easy way to enhance the appearance of any space with strong elegance. But in this recession, housewarming gifts need to be cool on the wallet. So that’s why we’ve put together a list of 10 mini chandeliers for under $75! Here are a few examples from our list!

The Golden Lighting Centennial 4-light mini chandelier in a pewter finish is on clearance for only $60 and makes a great addition to any interior decor - traditional or contemporary!

This AF Lighting mini chandelier in an Old Brass finish is simply stunning in terms of beauty and price! Get it for only $70 and add priceless beauty to any space. Perfect for traditional households.

The Minka Lavery “Lyric” mini chandelier is a stealthily cool chandelier that enhances any contemporary setting. It’ll hard to find smoother style at a lower price: only $75!

Be sure to check out the rest of our fantastic mini chandeliers for under $75 and get give the gift of elegance this holiday season!

For the third installment of our Recession Holiday Gift Guide, we show that you can give the gift of style while sticking to your budget! And there are few things better than Eurofase wall sconces to be style conscious as well as budget conscious.

First on the list of Eurofase wall sconces is the Eurofase Alma Wall Sconce priced for around $70.

As you can see, the Alma sconce is a very unique fixture with three beautiful bulbs shaped like techno-like tulips. The shape of this sconce gives the illusion that the tulips are flapping in a gentle breeze and who wouldn’t want such a dreamy image in their living space. The Eurofase Alma wall sconce is perfect for the flower-child on your gift list.

Next on the list is the Eurofase Chrome Dana Wall Sconce.

This dual light sconce gives off a soft, diffused illumination that is perfect for bedrooms and contemporary living rooms and hallways. The smooth design also allows it to blend effortlessly into almost any decor while adding subtle but stunning style. Priced at a mere $40, the Eurofase Chrome Dana wall sconce is an unbeatable deal and a fantastic holiday gift.

And last but definitely not least on our list is the Eurofase Chrome Fluid Wall Sconce.

The Fluid wall sconce has a sleek and shiny design that goes well with almost any room in the house, especially the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. The amber and frost glass helps gives off a soothing illumination. Priced at only $66, the Eurofase Chrome Fluid wall sconce will be a great low-cost gift for anyone who likes contemporary style and warm colors.

Be sure to check out more Eurofase Lighting for more budget-friendly gift ideas!

In part 2 of our Recession Holiday Gift Idea list, we bring you the timeless elegance of the 3 light hanging lantern from World Imports available at under $100.

Lanterns have that special ability to add a touch of charm and warmth to any space. Maybe it’s the candle-like bulbs inside or maybe it’s the image of early Disney cartoons walking through cobblestone streets in the night. Whatever it is, a lantern can really enhance the look of forays, patios, and more.

This particlular 3 light lanterns from World imports is form the Classical Simplicity Collection and made of fine iron with a beautiful rust finish. The 3 light lantern from World Iports makes the perfect gift for those who appreciate the classics. And at less than $100, it’s definitely an old-fashioned price!

This holiday season we get a lot of questions about what would make the perfect gift. And given the current financial crisis, it’s needless to say that people are looking to get the best possible gift while spending the least possible amount of money. So that’s why we’re going to start a blog series about great lighting gifts that won’t darken your wallet.

The LIL BIG WONDER from TECH LIGHTING

The Lil Big Wonder from Tech Lighting is quite simply one of the handiest lights we’ve ever come across. Perfect for the person on your gift list who likes variety and appreciates usefulness, the smart and compact design (only 4.75 inches tall!) of the Lil Big Wonder can be used as a reading/task light while sitting on a desk or screwed into a wall, an accent light placed on the floor next to plants, fireplace mantle or wherever else you can think of.

The Lil Big Wonder is designed to be easily screwed into a wall if you would prefer a wall mounted light and a special feature that automatically shuts the light off when tipped over. At under $70, you simply can’t get a better bang for your buck than the Lil Big Wonder!

The adjustable wall lamp is one of our favorite types of light fixtures because they allow you the perfect task lighting in almost any circumstance. For example, take a look at these Sonneman adjustable wall lamps.

The Feather Boom Arm Wall Lamp is shaped like a boom mic and allows for the same pinpoint perfect positioning. The long arm and convenient handle makes it easy to adjust. Sit back, relax, and let this lamp take over the show. The cool design for a subtly stylish addition to any space and is available in black and silver.

The Sonneman Orbiter wall lamp (shown below) is also a clever design that makes for a stylish and highly adjustable fixture.

Like the Feather Boom lamp, the Orbiter has a large handle that is able to be adjusted to a large number of angles so you can create the perfect lighting positioning. It is available in polished chrome and satin nickel.

Sonneman Lighting makes some of the most elegant wall lamps. Be sure to check out all their adjustable wall lamps as well as their many shaded wall lamps!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, winter is most definitely on its way and all that icy, snowy weather has got us dreaming of camping in warm deserts.

So what better place to go camping in warm deserts than the Burning Man Festival? Of course, the actual festival isn’t for a while, but we can internet-daydream by visiting their site, right? Luckily, our internet daydreaming became quite productive because the Burning Man site has an excellent page about green-friendly camping lights.

When out camping, good lighting is a necessity. The Burning Man website has an interesting list of lighting fixtures for camping. Among the recommended lights are: LEDs, tube fluorescents, and lanterns if you have a generator as well as battery-powered lanterns if you do not. Among the lights you should NOT use: your car’s headlights. Makes sense as you wouldn’t want to have to rely on Wile E. Coyote for a jump.

Here are some helpful lighting tips from the people at Burning Man:

When choosing lights to make your camp or art project dazzle at night, choose LED’s & EL wire. They’ll suck less juice from your generator or solar system and last year after year. Look for lots of LED light ropes and other LED lighting products on the internet.

A solar-powered rechargeable battery charger is an excellent way to keep things powered up and ready for nightfall. It beats the cigarette lighter in your car, and the cost is relatively cheap.

Always keep a small flashlight or head-strapped-light with you, as even the best lit camp will still have dark spots and can be dangerous when stumbling to your tent late at night. Even those small book lights can be amazingly bright and useful.

And lastly, at Burning Man, even the light shows are green-friendly. Check out this cool LED light show from the Burning Man festival: Burning Man LED light show

For a lot of Thanksgiving hosts, the cooking isn’t really the hard part - it’s the decorations that really create the stress. And nothing is really so “foreign” as the holiday centerpiece. It’s something we do only once or twice a year and creating one that is both meaningful and beautiful is easier said than done. Here’s a few quick ideas to help you make a fine holiday centerpiece:

Candle Holders

Candles are a quick and easy way to add a bit of drama and elegance to your table. Candle holders can either clash or blend with the rest of your home’s interior decor, depending on the effect you’re trying to achieve. The Kala Candle Holders from Uttermost offer an exotic flair that could bode well if you’re looking to achieve something a little different. You can have some fun here by mixing styles. Just arrange the candles in a convenient way across the table, putting the largest ones in the middle. By doing this, you create a blanket of warm candle glow for everyone at the table, enhancing the comfort level for everyone.

Tiffany Bowls

Vases are a wonderful way to easily add a beautiful piece to your table and some of the best and most stylish choices come from Dale Tiffany’s collection of Tiffany Bowls. Putting artificial plants or real ferns inside a Dale Tiffany bowl as well as a few flowers makes for a beautiful centerpiece that is easy to create. With many warm colors to choose from, Dale Tiffany bowls will blend in nicely with the pleasant food arrangement you’ll no doubt have on your table.

We often get questions from customers about quick and affordable ways to enhance under cabinet lighting without having to redo the entire kitchen. It’s a question asked with more than a little timidity as the words “under cabinet lighting” conjures up images of two or three electricians with screwdrivers and endless wires. But that’s unnecessary. For those who want a quick fix or are just not ready to commit to a whole new under  cabinet lighting system, the puck light from CSL (Creative Lighting Systems) is a fantastic way to get what you want without the hassle.

The CSL puck light is a small and inexpensive fixture that acts kind of like a “put anywhere” light. Puck lights are easy to install and they’re excellent for using as undercabinet lights. Also, they have a sleek design that looks good while blending in subtly with its surroundings.

We highly recommend getting a few puck lights for under cabinet lighting if you’re unprepared to do a mass lighting overhaul. You can also use them for step lights, garage lights, and anywhere else you need a small, easy-to-install light. Check them out!

It’s true.  Thomas Little, a computer engineer at Boston University, is working on ways to use LED lights as router points in order to create faster internet connection.

The idea is that by using energy-conserving LED lights as a way to access internet signals, thus bypassing  the crowded field of radio signals currently in operation and allowing faster internet connections. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

However, the most common wireless network technologies today rely on radio frequencies. Those frequencies can get crowded and slow browsing speed to a crawl as more Internet users and devices occupy the same bandwidth.

“It’s like being in a cocktail party,” Little told LiveScience, noting that the “conversation gets louder and louder” as more people try to talk.

We’re all for the possibility of getting internet access from a floor lamp. They’re definitely cooler looking than routers.

New York City has, quite possible, the most iconic skyline in the world. With world-famous buildings and a plethora of illuminated skyscrapers, the NYC skyline is a powerful example of the innovation and energy of the world’s most famous city. But NYC’s skyline uses a lot of energy to maintain its visual impact, and with rising energy costs as well as the surging “green” movement, many building owners are beginning to turn out the lights, making the NYC skyline a little less bright.

An article in the NY Times describes the sudden change of philosophy. Building owners are becoming less concerned with drawing attention to their edifice and more concerned in taking advantage of government rebates and tax credits by spending money on green-friendly building designs. So while it does cost more money to make a building green-friendly, that money is usually earned back in a couple years with the savings in energy costs as well as the government incentives. Furthermore, given that being “green” is a popular trend, creating green-friendly lighting systems in buildings is an excellent PR move.

The article discusses a number of ways companies all over New York are utilizing technology to make their spaces more energy-efficient. It’s definitely worth a read so check it out! If you’re a business owner, you may find some great ways to reduce energy costs for your business.