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Transform Your Home with Light

 

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 I hope you are enjoying the guest experts who have come on board with My Design Secrets over the past few weeks.  I know you guys love listening to me :-) but the wonderful thing about interior design is that every expert brings  a unique point of view.  One of my goals for 2009 is to bring you information from experts that specialize in certain areas and styles so you can get the inside tips and trick on how to achieve these designer looks on your own.  So if you are intersted in a topic we have not covered yet, please contact me at questions@mydesignsecrets.com and let me know.  I will be happy to share my expertise with you.  And if I don’t have the answer, I will find someone who does!

Enjoy this next article on light control by Larry Bem, a lighting expert here in West Palm Beach, Florida.

~Lorrie

Transform Your Home with Light
By Larry Bem
Larry Bem is a lighting expert from the Home Theater Specialists of America, an association of electronic system integration experts.  Larry works out of Audio Advisors, a West Palm Beach based firm and member of HTSA.
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Homeowners looking to change the look and feel of their home without spending a fortune should consider exploring the world of light control. Many people don’t realize how much the application of light will change the colors and shapes in a room. The secret is working with what you already have, enhancing the little details that can go unnoticed. Lower the light level in a room to enhance each facet of a in a marble countertop, make the pattern in a Persian rug pop, and give the illusion of a new coat of paint.

There are options for every budget, whether you want to spend under $100, have several hundred set aside, or are willing to invest more than $1,000.

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The Most Bang for your Buck

Installing a dimmer is one of the most impressive and cost effective ways to use light. If you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, this is it. The Lutron Maestro IR® preset dimmer, which is controlled by an integral micro-processor and can be programmed to recall a favorite brightness is a great solution for the do-it-yourselfer looking for a fast, dramatic effect. The product is easy to find (Home Depot, Lowes, online) and easy on the budget, at $47.50 MSRP. As an added bonus, dimmers like this reduce energy consumption of the light source.  

Take It Up a Notch
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You want to change your life with light? A scene controller can make it happen.  The wall mounted master Spacer System® is a dimming product that replaces switches one for one, and lets you create up to five combinations of light levels, called scenes. Scenes create a specific mood and brightness in a room and are recreated easily. Recall and adjust a scene’s brightness by remote control or by touch.
This is a great investment if you’re looking for more control than you’d find with a basic dimmer. You might have a zone controlling a single chandelier, overhead lights, standing lamps, art lighting, and wall sconces. The scene is created by programming a button to control the intensity of light at each zone. Design scenes for different activities like watching a movie, reading, working, entertaining and so on.
The 5-scene master control wall mounted system starts at $165 MSRP, and it will cost an additional $99 to install more dimmers. For $665 you get six zones of dimming capability.
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A Touch of Luxury

For the next level of programmable dimmers, try the Lutron GRAFIK Eye QS®, a more advanced lighting control system that allows you to manipulate light from six zones or sources to create four scenes. As an added bonus, this system can integrate light control with the control of up to three groups of Lutron’s Sivoia QS® precision controllable shades, and with the RS232/Ethernet interface which taps into audio/video and building management systems.

For this level of control and customization, you’ll need the help of an electronics integrator. The equipment itself will cost $1,360 for control of 6 zones, $1,120 for control of 3 zones. Bem says, “If you combined the power of three of these systems, you’d get a whole house makeover. An investment in GRAFIK Eye QS provides the level of lighting control you’d see in a more expensive lighting system i.e. microprocessor control, astronomical clock, and QED shade integration.” The system comes with a four button panel for control. You can add multiple remote keypads at each entry to the room.

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Total Light Control
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If you’re serious about light control you must consider Lutron’s Sivoia QEDTM or Sivoia QS shading. ‘Total Light Control’ combines the use of solar filtering or blackout shade fabrics that work with your dimming solutions to harvest or limit light from the sun. These solutions allow you to reduce glare and thermal heat gain while preserving the view. Lutron offers shading solutions that can be integrated with the GRAFIK Eye QS including roller shades, drapery and more elegant roman shades.  
Most importantly, when tackling a lighting project that goes beyond a simple dimmer, be sure to use an experienced and qualified lighting designer. Years of training go into honing the skills needed to master these systems.
 
 

 

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under guest blogger, lighting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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