The band has:

The DMB also launched the Green Music Group, a high-profile environmental coalition of musicians, industry leaders and music fans using their power to bring about widespread environmental change in the music industry. Other members of this environmentally- conscious coalition of musicians include Maroon 5, Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow.

Hear the Band and Get in Tune!  Go Green and Sustain your Home and Community with Positive Change…

*Energy SMART tm refers to items that use less energy and conserve natural resources as compared to similar products that serve the same purpose.  Energy Smart also refers to the ways in which we consume electricity that are less costly energy-wise and generally more efficient.

** Energy Startmis a United States government program created in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the purpose of reducing energy consumption and green house gas emissions by power plants.  This voluntary labeling program has grown worldwide to include increasingly more consumer products. ENERGY STARtm ratings are given to products that meet a set a strict regulation standards for energy-efficiency and cost-savings.

***Revere the Dark Sky: Certain municipalities throughout the United States have passed laws and ordinances requiring outdoor lighting fixtures on newly constructed homes be “Dark Sky” compliant.

Lighting plans with “dark sky compliancy” provide for an unobstructed view of the stars and planets, protect biorhythms of life and prevent light pollution.  Be sure to incorporate shielded fixtures into your outdoor lighting scheme and position fixtures to avoid glare and superfluous light from interfering with your view of the nighttime sky or shedding unwanted light toward your neighbors’ property.

Continually searching for ways to protect the natural beauty of the universe, the lighting industry and modern technology go hand in hand.  Splendid illumination and thoughtful lighting plans are essential to this quest.

Enjoy the best in outdoor and landscape lighting, as well as fabulous lighting for kitchen and bath.  Visit a Capitol Lighting showroom or shop 1800lighting.com to view outstanding green arrivals to renew your home for sustainability and a cleaner America.

Most people have decor and artwork in their homes. While they do know how they want the rest of the lighting in their house to be, they are sometimes at sea as to how they can showcase their art pieces. Most just end up placing picture lights or spot lights above these pieces; however, that doesn’t always flatter the artwork. In fact, sometimes it also takes away from the beauty of it.

Just as you have different type of lighting for different areas in your home, art lighting is a specialised task and needs a certain amount of planning, an eye for detail and creativity. The best way a novice can learn how to get the right kind of lighting for the artwork and decorative pieces in their home is to learn from art galleries.

You must have noticed how impressive the paintings and artwork displayed there look. Light affects different types of artwork in different ways; if you want to bring out its beauty, it’s important that it be lit correctly.

Here are some tips to get you going; you can then mix-and-match and use your own creativity to achieve the look you want in your home:

While these are the basic lighting tips, you would also need to choose the right type of bulbs while planning lighting for artwork in your home:

For more lighting ideas and the best electrical solutions, call Allround Electrical at 1300 169 263. You can also drop us a line via email.

Thanks for reading,1300 169 263

Lately, I have been coming across lots of photos of cool applications of kitchen track lighting. So this week I thought I would share some of my favorites with you. I hope you find some inspiration below. Or, if not, I hope you at least enjoy seeing how relevant via Pinterest (Marcia Moore)

It’s not a huge, luxurious kitchen. It is something better: Real. Track lighting functions to illuminate kitchen tasks while accenting the wall. All is taken care of with one fixture. It’s the perfect solution in this kitchen full of well-used space.

2. For Gigantic Kitchens, Too

The lighting design pictured above calls attention to the right angles in the kitchen. It’s a metropolitan look that gives the room a sense of cohesion. Track lighting like this can also be used in kitchens with exposed beams. Using tracks to cross gaps or grades in the ceiling can be really cool.

4. Pendants and Spots, Spots and Pendants

Another new trend in kitchen track lighting is the flexible track. While this kind of track is generally not malleable by hand, a special track bending tool allows you to create a custom shape. I’m not sure who bent the track above into that nice curve, but it sure looks good in this real-life kitchen, which is complete with baby pictures on the fridge.

6. Wire Track Lighting

Kitchens like the one above make you see the brilliance of modern design. To put it simply, this kitchen is beautiful work of art, from the brushed metal ceiling to the glass tile to the granite to the smooth top range. To the track lighting! Can I hang out in here? FOREVER?! Muah ha ha. Ahem. Moving on.

7. Very High Ceiling

These very bright track lights look great with their blue glass shades. And they are task-oriented lights, a clear choice for the chef of the house. The aesthetic and functional dualism embodied by kitchen track lighting echoes the aesthetic/functional dualism of the culinary arts. It provides something you need and looks good while it does it.

9. Pendants Done Right

And here we have a lovely kitchen island situation. Notice that the island is dynamic. There’s a gas range for the chef and chairs for the kids. Quite a lot going on. So they had to be very deliberate and smart about the lighting. These white pendants are perfect. What was once utilitarian is now elegant – even graceful.

10. Kitchen Track Lighting Mash Up

Here we have a kitchen doing it all with track lighting. There are spot lights, pendants, and it’s even on a curved monorail. These contribute warm light to a comfortable environment, and they go well with the chandelier. Win.

11. Stunningly Wrong

I have a great deal of interest in digital photography, but my life is as crazy as anyone else’s. My son, family, and work keep me busy from dawn to midnight every day. I’ve never had time to cultivate any photography skills, even though I’ve always been very interested, sitting on the edge of my seat, if you will, for a chance to take some digital photos in order to learn a little about how capturing light can create astonishing works of art.

My interview with Matthew Danser had given me my long sought “excuse” to try out some photography techniques. But it also required that I put in an honest effort. The thought in the back of my head: These photos are going to suck. Probably a lot. And they will most likely be seen by the thousands of people who visit this blog monthly. Second gulp.

But I’m the kind of person so riddled with ADHD that even my paranoia about being judged on a mass scale can only last about three minutes before the audacity to try anything resurfaces and action is taken. So here’s what happens when a total amateur who has no idea what he is doing tries to “Paint with Light.”

A one-dollar flashlight from – you guessed it – the Dollar General. One dollar. Even. Gotta love it. Especially since it’s all I could afford, seeing as how I’m still paying off the aforementioned Nikon that I bought to take photos of our baby son. (True, a million pictures have been taken of him during his first year-and-a-half on Earth. However, 999,999 of those photos were taken with an iPhone. Go figya.)

THE PLAN, STAN:

The plan was to wait until it was dark in the apartment and do some light painting. I knew that I could use the Shutter mode on my camera to set it to take exposures of up to thirty seconds. I saw that my camera also had an option for bulb release, so, invoking Danser, who recalls how his girlfriend had to hold down the button on his camera for a full thirteen minutes, I determined that if I asked really nicely, I might be able to persuade my wife to hold down the trigger to get exposures longer than thirty seconds. Otherwise, thirty seconds was my window of time to do all the light painting I could.

I started off pretty timidly. I had seen photos online in which people used long exposures to create squiggly lines. The most popular examples are pictures of traffic at night, headlights and tail lights streaming, giving you a sense of the fluid motion of busy intersections. You’ve also seen those nature pics in which streams and rivers and clouds and stars become gauzy with movement because of long exposures.

But what I really like about Danser’s work is the use of color. The effect of running inside the hut and popping off red-gelled flashes shown at the beginning of this blog post (Matthew Danser! And happy lightpainting, everyone!

Power failures are frustrating and difficult in ways people don't always understand. Being used to having a steady power source, you don't always think of the full effects of a power outage. If the power outage is short, it can be fun to have a cookout on a grill and a family dinner by candlelight. The TV doesn't work, so you might find a movie to watch on your computer, until you realize you don't have enough battery life and there is no way to recharge it. You want to call the power company to find out what is going on, but they put you on hold and again, there's no way to charge your phone battery. You might decide to go out to eat or even stay with friends, but you, your spouse, and your children need to bathe first and there's no hot water.

Today: Backup Power Source