Feng Shui Lighting – The Facts
To a certain extent because of the way that it is represented in the media, feng shui is often represented as a somewhat mystical or mysterious idea that is difficult to study or to prove. However, scientific research shows that some aspects of feng shui have a measrably positive effect on attitude and mood. Traditional feng shui practices attempt to create a harmonious environment that allows its occupants to remain happy and relaxed, and studies show that at least some feng shui techniques are definitely more science-fact than science fiction.
Some of the most effective feng shui rules with a scientific basis for their success have concern lighting, and there is every indication that using feng shui techniques as a method of lighting your home will prove to be a wise decision. If the illue alludes to whether lighting your home according to feng shui principles will improve your quality of life, the answer is an incontrovertible yes. According to the scientific body of knowledge we have accumulated on the subject of lighting and emotion, feng shui offers a reasonable and viable method for improving one’s mood by creating a calming atmosphere by means of light.
Feng shui aims to assist you in creating a balanced, harmonious atmosphere, and an important part of achieving that goal is finding lighting solutions that provide visibility without being garish or unpleasantly bright. Because of this, feng shui exponents often recommend including multiple sources of soft light rather than a single source of strong, bright light. Science supports this, showing us that having multiple light sources in a room allows the eye to see depth and contour more easily, which means optimum visibility. The lighting arrangements that feng shui suggest mimic the naturally multi-sourced light found in the outdoors, which is the kind of lighting situation that humans have evolved to see best in.
When we can see everything in our space, we are more likely to be calm and relaxed for a very simple reason that has its roots in out evolution. Although few people in the modern world are consciously afraid of being attacked by a lion or other fierce marauder, our brains are hard-wired to protect us by searching for predators. When there are no blind spots or dark areas nearby, we can be certain that there are no dangerous predators hidden in the vicinity. When you light a room according to the principles, you have the optimum lighting situation to lead to ease and therefore relaxation.
Traditional feng shui dictates that it is important to use a series of soft lights in different areas of the room in order to allow the unhampered flow of positive energy throughout the space. There is no way for science to evaluate whether this goal is achieved or not, but research can tell us that the lighting situation feng shui creates allows for maximum visibility, which in turn promotes relaxation, calm and happiness.
How can good feng shui affect your life? Click here to find out now!
LED Pond Lighting
Pond lighting extends the enjoyment of water features into all hours of the evening and night. Since landscapers are paying increasing attention to the importance of ponds themselves, it has become increasingly important in turn for those of us in the lighting industry to pay special attention to the proper and efficient lighting of these ponds. Most pond lighting has been traditionally done with a variety of low-voltage halogen lights that can be mounted in concealed locations above the water, near the water, and even under the water. When installed correctly, these pond lights add ambience and reflectivity to the pond, making the water appear like light itself.
At times, however, underwater lights fail, and the magic diminishes accordingly. At best, halogen lights last only for 5,000 lamp hours. When they fail, they have to be fished out of the water, or the pond has to be drained. It is never safe to go into the water to retrieve a burnt out pond light, because even if the fixture is dead, the wire may still be very much alive and capable of shocking a person. Along similar lines, it is unadvisable to leave a failed outdoor garden light in the water for very long, either. Electrified water can shock pets and wildlife, and also presents a safety hazard to children who may be playing near the water. Professionals who service landscape lighting and water feature lighting should be contacted as soon as possible to schedule a replacement of the failed fixture(s). Also, some consideration should be given at this time to the option of upgrading to superior LED technology. In certain outdoor lighting plans, LED underwater lights provide a far more viable and cost effective alternative to halogen. Whereas halogen provides ideal spotlighting on ponds from tree mounted lights, LED underwater fixtures can emanate a literal rainbow of colors from under the surface-making everything from the shoreline to central fountains and sculpted waterfalls glow with any number of color combinations, including white.
LED pond lighting has taken color back to the laws of Nature itself. By simply altering the amount of red, blue, and green in a pond lighting system, designers can now create up to 16 million different color combinations-including white light. In ponds where heavy emphasis is paid to koi and “feng shui” principles of harmony and balance, this unlimited diversity of color options frees the landscape lighting designer from technical constraints and affords exclusive focus on accenting individual features such as rocks, sculptures, carefully sculpted waterfalls, and various levels of the water itself. They can be hidden under rocks to make the rock itself look illuminated by a subterranean source of mystery. They can cause a waterfall to begin with all the colors of the rainbow and converge in a stream of light, or they can cause a fountain to sparkle with an equivalent brilliance that mimics moonlight and starlight dancing on the water.
LED lights are also the most economical fixtures to operate for residential landscape lighting. Once the initial investment is made in the installation of the equipment by a landscape lighting team, the fixtures will last 40,000 lamp hours on the average-which means that they are approximately reliable for a good 20 years. The investment one makes in the cost of an LED pond lighting retrofit is easily recovered in a relatively short period of time. Because these fixtures use only 20% the power of incandescent-based lights, they literally will pay for themselves.
When placed within the context of a larger landscape lighting system carefully planned and installed by Illuminations Lighting and Design, the pond can function as a hub for tranquility, harmony, aesthetics, and a curious, almost mystical blend of expansion and grounded simplicity. Effectively lighting a pond-even with safe and efficient LED technology-is not a job for the do-it-yourselfer. Even though LED fixtures are typically a lot smaller than halogen flood lights and incandescent lamps, they can still be seen underwater if not installed by a trained designer who knows how to mount them in concealed locations. It is also important to consult with such a professional who can properly bury the low-voltage transform that will power the pond lights and ensure that it too remains unseen and undisturbed.
illuminationslighting.com. For more information on LED Pond Lighting Fountain Lighting, and Landscape Lighting Design visit us online now.
Feng Shui II Conference, London UK, February 6, 2010 (7.8) – Alma Cardzic: Feng Shui Lighting. . .
Feng Shui Conference II, London UK, 6 Feb 2010 (7/8) – the Feng Shui Society Conference (www. fengshuisociety. org. uk Speaker: Alma Cardzic: Produce Amazing Feng Shui Atmospheres with Lighting
Make Your House Your Home ? How London Interior Design Companies Work with Lighting
Make Your House Your Home – How London Interior Design Companies Work with Lighting
Part II: Natural Lighting Effects
Natural light is responsible for everything we see in the world around us. At interior design companies, light informs the designers’ perception of colour, it determines how we read, shape and texture, and it animates our surroundings with patterns of light and shadow. Yet despite its importance, light is often taken for granted – even by some of London’s better-known interior design companies. An increasingly urban lifestyle does not lend itself to making the most of daylight and often many of our waking hours are spent indoors in semi-darkness. Interior Design Companies are out to change this, and in this second article of my two-part series on “How Interior Design Companies Work with Lighting” I will reveal the secrets of natural light and its influence on design, drawing from my experience in London working with some of the capital’s most prestigious interior design companies.
By observing natural light, we can start to appreciate how light actually works. Interior design companies often talk of principles such as downlighting, where afternoon sunshine grazes a wall of illuminated foliage; backlighting, where a leaf is revealed in silhouette during a fresh London dawn; crosslighting, where the surface texture of brickwork or gnarled wood is emphasised; and spotlighting where a narrow shaft of light catches an object in its path, perhaps as a train turns a corner in a London Underground tunnel. Interior design companies rely on their experience in harnessing the ability of shadows to conceal. Some of the most adventurous clients demand special effects – I have seen interior design companies being asked to recreate the “drama of a rainbow as it paints a coloured arc across the sky.” Definitely not a straightforward project! Nonetheless, each light effect has its own character and contributes to a harmonious balance.
I once saw top professionals from a famous London interior design company actually sitting down with graph paper to chart the passage of the sun during a twenty-four hour period for a prestigious residential project. The client was a feng shui practitioner, and he had asked the interior design company to guarantee a positive orientation for his living spaces. After plotting out the sun’s pathway, the interior design company used CAD to project how the sun would appear during different seasons – taking into account how little daylight there can be during London winters. The result was breathtaking and a stunning example of how natural lighting can be used to “make a house a home.”
Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Make Your House Your Home ? How London Interior Design Companies Work With Lighting Part Ii: Natural Lighting Effects
Natural light is responsible for everything we see in the world around us. At interior design companies, light informs the designers’ perception of colour, it determines how we read, shape and texture, and it animates our surroundings with patterns of light and shadow. Yet despite its importance, light is often taken for granted – even by some of London’s better-known interior design companies. An increasingly urban lifestyle does not lend itself to making the most of daylight and often many of our waking hours are spent indoors in semi-darkness. Interior design companies are out to change this, and in this second article of my two-part series on “How Interior Design Companies Work with Lighting” I will reveal the secrets of natural light and its influence on design, drawing from my experience in London working with some of the capital’s most prestigious interior design companies.
By observing natural light, we can start to appreciate how light actually works. Interior design companies often talk of principles such as downlighting, where afternoon sunshine grazes a wall of illuminated foliage; backlighting, where a leaf is revealed in silhouette during a fresh London dawn; crosslighting, where the surface texture of brickwork or gnarled wood is emphasised; and spotlighting where a narrow shaft of light catches an object in its path, perhaps as a train turns a corner in a London Underground tunnel. Interior design companies rely on their experience in harnessing the ability of shadows to conceal. Some of the most adventurous clients demand special effects – I have seen interior design companies being asked to recreate the “drama of a rainbow as it paints a coloured arc across the sky.” Definitely not a straightforward project! Nonetheless, each light effect has its own character and contributes to a harmonious balance.
I once saw top professionals from a famous London interior design company actually sitting down with graph paper to chart the passage of the sun during a twenty-four hour period for a prestigious residential project. The client was a feng shui practitioner, and he had asked the interior design company to guarantee a positive orientation for his living spaces. After plotting out the sun’s pathway, the interior design company used CAD to project how the sun would appear during different seasons – taking into account how little daylight there can be during London winters. The result was breathtaking and a stunning example of how natural lighting can be used to “make a house a home.”
Interior Design London – Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Feng Shui Dining Room Designs : Feng Shui Lighting for Wealth
Using a lamp, learn how to incorporate lighting into your feng shui design with this free video from a leading Feng Shui practitioner. Expert: Natalia Kaylin Bio: Natalia Kaylin is a leading feng shui practitioner in New England. She has presented at workshops, given lectures at universities, and published several articles. Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso