Summer colors are abloom with table and floor lamps, wall lights, ceiling light fixtures and fabulous wall décor featuring the finest in stained glass and quality finishing from Meyda Lighting.

Choose from all new Meyda Tiffany designs or build your own craftsman style fixtures and customize decorative stained glass lamps; Meyda Lighting offers the finest in stained glass light fixtures, wall art and home décor.

For over 36 years, Meyda Tiffany has delivered top quality stained glass with a magnificent assortment of table and floor lamps, ceiling pendants, wall sconces and decorative accessories.

Named for its founders “Meyer” and “Ida,” Meyda Tiffany took root when Meyer Cohen built a stained glass window for his wife Ida.  What began as a hobby turned into America’s leading and oldest manufacturer of custom and decorative lighting.

Still a family-run business, Meyda remains committed to providing top quality Tiffany-style products, representing a wide range of fashions from traditional to eclectic.  Through a series of strong cooperative relationships with several small handicraft workshops overseas, Meyda’s designers work closely with quality stained glass studios to ensure a superb finished product.

Ever-expanding to offer luminous and brilliant lamps and decorative accessories, Meyda recently acquired Quality Bent Glass Company (QBG). The originator of many notable stained glass concepts, including the famous Coca-Cola chandeliers, QBG has been seamlessly incorporated into the Meyda Tiffany family.

Meyda utilizes QBG’s original tools, molds and techniques to create nostalgic lighting products much like those offered at Tiffany Studios in NYC in the early 1900’s.

With the purchase of Mecco Art, a metal art studio, Meyda Tiffany further expanded their range with state-of-the-art equipment and novel manufacturing techniques to produce spectacular custom crafted lighting and décor under the Meyda Custom Lighting brand.

Under Meyda Lighting Brand, thousands of decorative styles are offered throughout fine home lighting and home decor dealers in the United States and Canada.

The works of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Dirk Van Erp, Gustav Stickley and other outstanding masters inspires many of Meyda’s lighting designs.  Artistic compositions include Arts and Crafts light fixtures, as well as Rustic, Gothic, Revival and Contemporary lamps and decor.

Meyda’s extensive line encompasses outdoor lighting, too. Wall sconces, stained glass windows, fireplace screens, billiard/kitchen island fixtures, and novelty items are also featured in their repertoire of stylized lighting and home décor.

The creative energy at Meyda is astounding, as new styles and magnificent colors in hand-painted glass continue to enchant and illuminate with the utmost in elegance and sophistication. Meyda continues to implement one of the industry’s most extensive product development programs.

Whether you are searching for a bit of nature in sunflowers, wisteria and dragonflies or a hand-painted flush fixture reminiscent of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” Meyda Tiffany will delight your senses with eye-catching illumination.

Special order or choose from a grand selection of table lamps, floor lamps, ceiling pendants, flush fixtures, and wall lights.  Opt for a Tiffany-style table lamp or custom design your signature stained glass kitchen island light with Meyda Tiffany. Now available at 1800lighting.com, Meyda Tiffany is blooming with new summer colors.

Who doesn’t love recessed lighting? It is never out of style to have lighting subtly tucked into the ceiling, leading many homeowners to use recessed lighting in numerous rooms. We love recessed lighting at Electrical Gurus, and have installed plenty of them for Des Moines home and business owners over the years; however, there are instances when recessed lighting isn’t enough on its own or should be avoided altogether. Your local electricians are here to share when you should consider reining in your recessed lighting.

Providing a space with ambient lighting, as shown in our previous blog, is a crucial component when creating inviting, warm and properly illuminated spaces in your home. Too much of a good thing is definitely possible with recessed lighting, and it should never be used in place of all other light sources. Not only will your spaces lack task lighting, but you will be effectively illuminating your space from directly above, requiring far more light (and energy) to brighten the space; odds are, even with the lights cranked up, you’ll still have a dull, cavelike look to walls and corners with only directly downward light. Accent your recessed lighting with outward or upward ambient or accent lighting to create a more balanced lighting display.

Often, we see a single recessed light over a vanity, which can lead to a displeasing lighting effect. Just as with your home’s furniture, using only a direct overhead light creates unsightly shadows and does not properly illuminate the face. Using an overhead light on your vanity is great, but should always be accompanied by frontward facing lights to properly see your face.

Placing recessed lighting in tall ceilings is an odd concept. The primary benefit that recessed lighting provides is space efficiency, as the cans are placed above the ceiling, hiding the house wiring and electrical components. In a tall ceiling, not only is this unnecessary, but the light has to start from an even higher point. By the time the light reaches the room below, it is spread out and weaker, leading homeowners to use far more energy to brighten their rooms. Additionally, the shadows around the lighting cans will be especially prominent, leading to an ultimately darkened room. Instead, utilize hanging lights, fixtures, wall-mounted sconces, or even ground level lamps to brighten your taller rooms.

While it may sound like we’re beating up on recessed lighting, that is only because it is one of the most versatile lighting sources, which leads people to incorrectly believe that it is perfect in any room or as the only light source. As part of a comprehensive lighting strategy, recessed lighting is nearly unmatched in its widespread application and ease-of-use, just be sure to remember these helpful tips from your friendly, local Des Moines electricians at Electrical Gurus. Give us a call for help in planning out and installing your home’s ideal lighting solutions today!

Get in touch with our Des Moines electricians today!

Then, once you install the fixture, simply run it while you’re taking a bath or shower, and for about 30 minutes afterwards. It may also help to put the fan on a timer switch so you never forget. You should have separate switches for the light and the fan so you can operate them independently.

For The Bright Bathroom

We’ve all been there. A quick midnight trip to the bathroom. You need to be able to see, but it sure would be nice if you didn’t have to jolt yourself awake with every lumen of your bathroom lighting on at full power. You can solve this problem if you nab a lighted bathroom exhaust fan with a night light setting.

2. The Orleans Bathroom Exhaust Fan

4. The Ventura Bathroom Exhaust Fan

The little community of Victoria Park in central Florida is beating out Los Angeles when it comes to saving electricity on street lighting. Last November, I wrote a blog post about the street lighting program here in Los Angeles, which is currently yielding higher-than-expected energy savings — 60% compared to the expected 40%. Well, that’s something to crow about regardless of what they’re doing in Victoria Park.

The Nitty-Gritty in L.A.

Electricians are using LEDs to replace the conventional incandescent bulbs in 140,000 Los Angeles street lights. Maintenance costs for LEDs, though not as significant as electric bills, also take a smaller bite. Nothing to be sneezed at! LEDs are good for the City budget, good for climate change, and good for energy independence.

An LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a light created by the kind of tiny parts that are in a computer. LEDs are used, for example, in many kids’ light sabers. They’re brighter and use a lot less electricity than the incandescents that you and I screwed into sockets when we grew up. As for what Victoria Park is up to….

Electricians Retrofit Gas Lights in Victoria Park, Florida

Victoria Park is now upping the ante. Electricians are retrofitting its gas-burning street lights with special LEDs that will save the community 92% on its combined energy and maintenance bills.

Victoria Park is a planned community in central Florida. Residents enjoy the charm of real gas-lit street lights, but the expense is a concern. As the community builds out, the annual costs for gas and maintenance were being projected to top $1,000,000 a year, just for street lighting.

When residents formed a committee to look into alternatives, the committee hit upon low-voltage LEDs. While typical house current runs at 110 volts, low-voltage current can run at around 24 volts, reducing power needs.

Victoria Park is now retrofitting their existing street lights with low-voltage LEDs. The retrofits, an innovation by Solas Ray™ Lighting in Anderson Indiana, look, for all the world, like real gas lights. They mimic the look of a candle flame. The lights create charm and a warm glow, but also five times more light than each pole would create with gas. Not to mention the 92% energy and maintenance savings. In fact, the Mayor of the City of DeLand, where Victoria Park is located, awarded Solas Ray a proclamation of appreciation for saving Victoria Park residents nearly half a million dollars in 2010.

Fortunately for all of us, in the energy efficiency race, we all win as cities out-do each other to help out their budgets and help the environment.

Want to save energy in your home or business?

One of the specialties of my electrical contracting company, The Electric Connection, is energy-efficient lighting. Call us to discuss your lighting needs (800) 990-9490.

Kim Hopkins

CEO, The Electric Connection.

Visit our company profile.