Category Archives: Trends

Trends in Student Housing

If you associate dingy, shared rooms with student housing, you’re probably not a Millennial. Contemporary campus housing isn’t merely a place to catch up on pillow time. Private bedrooms, stylish residence halls, and en suite bathrooms are quickly becoming the norm.

The New University Lifestyle

The University of Houston’s Calhoun Lofts have more in common with apartments than residence halls. Open plan kitchens, an in-house retail centre, and exercise rooms provide a plush standard of living. Florida’s Ivy House and Windsor Hall have sun decks and Jacuzzis. If that’s not luxurious enough for you, The Callaway House will do your cleaning for you while you pass the time in the attached theater room.

The Benefits of Competition

Good, old-fashioned capitalism is partially responsible for today’s lush campus lifestyle, but directors have also focused on building facilities that encourage learning. Internet connectivity and online distance studies via comprehensive online courses give students more freedom to grow than yesterday’s campuses could hope to offer.

University officials are more concerned with the social aspect of dormitories than you might imagine. A sense of community is critical to education, so luxurious amenities are used to inspire it. Entertainment areas are socially oriented, offering the same common sense motivation that’s behind corporate Googleplex-like facilities. By giving students an escape from their studies, they encourage hard work and creativity.

Style Matters

Today’s housing complexes could pass for Houzz featured homes, from their exquisite floor treatments to their layered lighting. The power of ambient LEDs and dimmed evening task lights encourage a sense of wellbeing and a good night’s sleep.

The décor world ended its obsession with aesthetics over function years ago. Form should follow function, and in student housing, that means bright eyes, clear minds, and active lifestyles. Student living has finally joined the 21st century.
Want to illuminate your dorm room? Visit Premier Lighting.

Benefits of Tunable White Light

In the world of LED, there is no such thing as a single shade of white. Even if you’re lighting your home without an obvious palette, you’ll need to consider the warmth and brightness you choose.
White lighting you can tune has performed well in several studies, controlling biological clocks and enhancing health. Cool whites make you alert, while warm ones encourage restfulness and serenity.
Fluorescent lighting has been well studied in the past, but LEDs have outperformed them, partly because they achieve a more diverse gradient.

Intensity

Lighting intensity affects alertness drastically, so it has important applications in institutions. Teachers can control light to support variations in learning styles, and nurses can control dimness to improve patient comfort. Dynamic lighting systems also offer circadian support, using red whites after noon and blue hues in the morning to suppress.

Hue

A Manchester CIE study found that women respond to warm whites and men to slightly cooler light. Tunable light can adapt itself to these preferences. Those who are ill or struggling with sleep disorders can benefit from red whites. Family members who spend most of their day under artificial light can minimize strain and discomfort through ergonomically dimmed lighting. The precise tunable white lighting system you choose has an impact, too. Not all LED luminaires offer enough range, and they all perform differently. Some are only tunable from dim to warm, while others are full-color tunable. Multi-chip technology seems to perform better than other forms of dynamic lighting.
White output hasn’t yet reached its zenith. Specific color ranges are difficult to achieve with traditional products, so three discrete lighting channels can offer a more tailored experience to those who need it.

Interested in seeing how light can impact your daily life? Visit Premier Lighting and check out their specialty lights.

Architecture of the Night

The title may sound like a landscaping superhero movie, but don’t dismiss it for its melodramatic name. Call it “illuminated architecture” if it helps you to see at as a legitimate form of design.

Architecture of the night is one of architecture’s most enchanting elements. It typically refers to skyscrapers that are designed around their architectural floodlighting, and its history is a short one. The first illuminated architecture only appeared in the Twenties, so it’s barely been explored as a design component.

When Raymond Hood coined the term “architecture of the night,” he intended his readers to take day lighting just as seriously. To Hood, light exists to add dimension to flat forms, an element that is needed throughout the day.

Lighting Boldly

One of the most exciting aspects of illuminated architecture is that elements other than light can be used to carry hue across a scene in magical ways. Steam, water, and even wind are permanent parts of your palette, regardless of whether you want them to be. Ignoring them is dismissing your most radiant tool for carrying light.

Controlling Light

Contemporary architects like Richard Kelly and Cline Bernstein use LED to incorporate their buildings’ surroundings into the scene. However, more pioneering techniques are emerging. 666 Fifth Avenue is an icon of innovation. Instead of drawing its surroundings in, the lighting makes the building retreat into its landscape.

Zaha Hadid is one of the most inventive architects in the industry, particularly in terms of her use of light. When she’s not subtly painting her buildings onto the night sky, she’s using LED color to transform entire cityscapes. To Hadid, light is just one more way to apply hue and shape. That philosophy lets her give her illuminated architecture the inventiveness it deserves.

You may not have an entire city to light, but your home deserves just as much love. Contact Premier Lighting to illuminate your home with style.

Where to Use Pendant Lighting

Pendant lighting allows a homeowner to get creative when it comes to style and ambience. Pendants are a great way to illuminate task areas or showcase certain elements in your home by enhancing a particular space. If you have an open floor plan, pendants can be used to break up the feel and create a layout that is more separated.

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of home décor. With so many different styles and sizes to choose from, deciding on what works best can become an overwhelming task. Before you choose your style and size, you will need to know where the best places to use pendant lighting are. Pendant lighting works best in conversation areas like family rooms, living rooms, and dining rooms. They are also typically used in task areas such as the kitchen, reading areas, or a workspace.

In the kitchen: If you have an island in your kitchen, pendants are a great way to draw attention to this feature and add task lighting. The same goes for other unique features such as a breakfast nook or a bar, making it more distinct and highlighting it as a conversation or gathering area.

TIP: If you’re looking to upgrade your kitchen without breaking the bank by remodeling, consider replacing older fixtures with a pendant fixture, or a row of pendants to give your kitchen a more modern look.

Dining areas: Get rid of that outdated lighting fixture and replace it with a unique pendant fixture. If you have a larger dining area, use 3 or more fixtures in a row to highlight your dining space.

TIP: Be sure to use a dimmer switch so you can brighten the area up for a dinner party, or set the mood when it is time for a romantic dinner for two.

Open floor plan: Pendant lighting can be used to break up a large open floor plan, giving the space a more separated feel and creating “zones” within it. If your living room and kitchen are adjoined, consider positioning your couch so the back is towards the kitchen. Hang a row of pendants above the couch and another row in the kitchen. This will separate the two areas and showcase your décor.

TIP: If you have a large living room, consider breaking it up into smaller areas. Create a focal point around a fireplace or entertainment center and hang a pendant fixture above this area. Use a chair or two, and a table in the corner with a single pendant fixture to create a reading nook.

The bedroom: Looking to make that master bedroom more romantic? Consider hanging a pendant fixture above the bed, or a row of pendants above your headboard. Install a dimmer switch to create a more inviting ambience.

TIP: Pendants can also be used above a dresser or vanity to create an extra layer of light or give your room a fresher look.

Dress Up Any Space With a Dramatic Chandelier

Chandeliers can take any room from simple and casual to being the most dramatic room in the house! Whether you want to take an already decorated room and add some pizzazz to it, or are starting from scratch and decorating a room in efforts to make it dramatic, chandeliers are the way to go.

Not only are chandeliers beautiful and dramatic statement pieces but they are also functional, adding necessary light to any space. A lot of people have a hard time deciding what room to put a chandelier in. Gone are the days where the only room that can have a chandelier is the dining room. With the wide variety of shapes, styles and sizes of chandeliers, the answer is simple – any room! Below is a list of some of the most common and uncommon spaces to put a chandelier:

• Kitchen – A fun chandelier in your kitchen’s style placed over the kitchen table is perfect for style and lighting.

• Bathroom – Add a small chandelier that fits the space (no matter how small) but also pumps up the drama! Think bright, sparkly or quirky. The bathroom is a great space to have fun and go for something outside the box.

• Dining Room – The dining room is the most common room to install a chandelier because it is typically the most formal room in a home. Stick with your home’s style when choosing your dining room chandelier, but remember to go bold and pick something that will make a statement.

• Bedroom – A chandelier can be installed over the bed, or over any reading/desk area your bedroom may have. A chandelier will take any ordinary reading/desk area to the next level by increasing the drama and adding some useful lighting as well.

• Laundry room – Not the most common space to add a chandelier, but the laundry room is often forgotten; by adding a small chandelier you can create drama in a room where drama is most likely lacking.

By adding an unexpected chandelier into a typically casual space such as the bedroom or laundry room, you can ensure that guests will be impressed by your home’s style and décor! On the other hand, by adding a spectacular chandelier into formal yet drab room such as the dining room, you can up the style of both that room, and the surrounding rooms! Chandeliers are one of the best additions for any homeowner that is looking to make an impact change without making tons of little changes around their living space.

How to Light Your Bedroom and Create Visual Interest

Because the possibilities are endless, bedrooms can be problematic to light. The bedroom is one room in which you can do just about anything to light up the space, whether you want to light from up above with overhead lighting, the side with wall scones or from the surface with table lamps. Our suggestion? Light from all over to give your room as much depth, detail and light as possible. Options are key, and the more lighting your space has, the more options you will have down the road.

Where to start: Overhead lighting. Overhead lighting is usually the most complicated to install and the most dramatic, so start there and work your way out. Of course, there are many overhead lighting options, ranging from recessed lighting to ceiling fans and chandeliers. This choice all depends on your specific wants and needs, though in Arizona ceiling fans tend to be the obvious choice.

Once you have your overhead lighting taken care of, work your way to the bed. Balance and symmetry are the most appealing to the human eye, so think of adding a pair of matching table lamps or sconces to either side of the bed. This will draw the eye to the focal point of any bedroom, the bed, and then bring the eye out towards the lamps or sconces.

If there are any spaces left in your bedroom that are not properly lit, light them. A lot of people have a chair in their bedrooms used for reading or watching TV. A floor lamp is a perfect choice for these smaller spaces; not only will it add light, it will also add depth to the room by creating even more interest with lines and heights.

If you followed these tips, your bedroom now has overhead lighting from up above, lighting at eye level on either side of the bed, and a tall floor lamp with long lines which will bring the eye up and down again. By lighting your bedroom from varying heights rather than a stagnant height throughout, you will create visual interest and depth in your space.

Vanities – Learn the Ins and Outs of Bathroom Lighting

Bathrooms tend to be ignored when it comes to lighting because they are often misconstrued as being difficult to light. Sure they are typically smaller and more cluttered than other rooms, but that should not stop you from properly lighting your bathroom. Homeowners tend to leave up whatever fixtures the builders installed into their home years ago, even if that lighting has become outdated or doesn’t properly light up the space.

Because the bathroom is where the majority of us get ready each morning, lighting is extremely important. There are a lot of lighting options when it comes to bathrooms, but the easiest, most practical, and by far the most popular choice, is vanity lighting.

Vanities are unique in the sense that they are designed specifically for bathrooms. Sure, vanities can be used elsewhere, but their unique design is what makes them the perfect choice for bathrooms.

If you’re considering a new vanity or vanity makeover, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Measure – Vanity lighting comes in many sizes, so measuring your mirror (a few times) is key to ensure that your vanity fits perfectly.

2. Style – Keep the style of your vanity consistent with the style you have throughout the rest of your home.

3. Brightness – Choose a light fixture that will produce the right amount of light for you. To do this, pay special attention to the shade covering the light, as that is where the dimming will come from. For instance, a cream or white shade will produce more light than a tan shade.

As long as you pick a vanity light fixture that is the appropriate size for your bathroom, the right style and produces the right amount of light for your liking, you will be happy with the results. Once you achieve the three tips above, have fun with the project and pick something you are drawn to!