Electricians are often looked upon as professionals that have to be called in only when something isn’t working. However, the fact is that a great, reliable and experienced electrician would also be able to provide you advice on the type of fittings and fixtures or electrical installations that would look good and add functionality to your home.

Regardless of how beautifully designed your home is, if it doesn’t have the right type of lighting that can only make the rest of the features and elements look dull and drab. But you can add accent lighting to various areas of your home to add to its aesthetics and functionality. It’s important to plan the lighting well as it helps create enjoyable and beautiful spaces on your property.

Some light fixtures are used only in areas where specific tasks are going to be carried out such as kitchens, study and home office spaces etc. But in addition to this task lighting, your home also needs lighting features that help accentuate the look of various installations in your home; this is referred to as accent lighting. This lighting includes fixtures such as subtle spotlights, or miniature pot lights.

Accent lights aren’t meant to throw bright light and fill the entire room with light; they are used instead to highlight features such as artwork, paintings, pieces of décor or some interesting architectural feature in your home etc.

These lights are soft and add a very comfortable and elegant look to the space. In fact you can use accent lighting to enhance the appearance of the outdoor areas of your property as well. They can be switched on to create a party mood or lend a more casual look to the common living spaces or alfresco areas of your home.

There are a number of benefits to getting accent lighting installed, such as:

While you can use these lights by themselves to maintain a very casual look in a room, they can also be used in tandem with other lighting installations such as track lighting, recessed lighting, under counter lights, floor level lights as well as spot lights etc.

Since accent lights aren’t meant to be very bright, they use less energy; in fact, you can add to their efficiency by using LED bulbs in them – this can make them up to 80% more energy-efficient that standard bulbs.

There are always some areas in a home that don’t get sufficient natural light; you can install accent lights in these areas, and these fixtures look great in basement entertainment rooms as well. You can choose outdoor-grade accent lighting fixtures to add to the beauty of your patio, deck or outdoor kitchen as well. The light that these installations throw lends a very luxurious and relaxing look to these spaces.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911). Her bio is beyond the scope of this entry, but I encourage you to follow the link and check her out. Get a little perspective on life today by reading a paragraph about this amazing human being and poet.

Harper’s poem, “Let the Light Enter,” depicts light in an interesting and fresh way, fresh still, even 100 years after her death. Poetry, generally speaking, is like a vast collection of opportunities to learn about yourself and the world in which you live. I invite you to take a minute to read “Let the Light Enter.”

The Dying Words of Goethe

He just urgently wants to watch the “balmy sunshine/ Play around” his deathbed. He just wants to experience the sensation of light doing it’s thing. “More light!” he demands. It strongly suggests that appreciating and enjoying the beauty of light is what Goethe, a lifelong thinker and poet who lived from 1749 to 1832, finds most worthy of his final precious minutes. That’s a big deal. In choosing between the pleasure of thoughts and the pleasure of the material world, he chooses the latter. It’s like all the things that seem to separate us from the natural world are shown to be false in the final moments. Think of a dog lying on a rock in the sun. Maybe that’s the purest state of being, just lying there, not thinking much, and enjoying the pleasure of the light, the sound of a brook. And maybe that’s why Goethe wants to pass away in such a state.

Solar energy may seem like the fuel of the future, but in many ways it’s already here. The sun currently powers a wide range of devices, including satellites and traffic lights, but that doesn’t mean it’s out of reach for the typical person. Mr. Electric is here to help you power your tomorrow with some practical and affordable solar solutions for your home.

If you’re looking to start small, there are many simple solar-powered inventions that can make your life easier. XD Design’s solar powered phone charger sticks to a car, home, or office window and can charge your electronic devices anywhere there’s sunlight.

Some companies have gone even further and incorporated solar panels into everyday objects, making them self-sufficient energy savers. BirkSun’s solar powered backpack can charge phones, laptops, and other small electronics when you are camping or hiking, or even if you just don’t have access to an outlet.

Every day, companies are coming up with new innovations to help bring this promising renewable energy source closer to the reach of the general public. While a lot of the smaller solar inventions are useful, more experimental projects, like the world’s largest solar powered boat, are showing that solar power isn’t just limited to smaller devices. These innovations making it more obvious that solar power is a viable energy source for the future. If you’re looking to decrease your carbon footprint, there are many ways to do it without making the commitment to power your whole home with solar energy. Consider installing a solar powered water heater or air conditioner, which can decrease the amount of energy your family uses daily. If you are interested in relying completely on solar power, do your research. While it is true that solar cells require a significant upfront payment, they also have great benefits and will decrease your electricity bill in the long run. The government also offers tax breaks for homeowners who use solar power, which can make the switch even more profitable for you. Contact your local Mr. Electric about to see what kind of solar initiatives they are taking and the types of solar energy systems available to install in your home.

Restrained ornamentation and a refined decorative look is the order of the day for Crystal lighting. Fixtures in this class usually have a smaller scale compared to the more Baroque-era grandiose fixtures with more excessive design elements.

Often times; Crystal lighting styles will have distressed tones that resemble their vintage-style lighting counterparts, but with heavier design elements and more intricate detail while using crystal as an accent to project the light in a visually pleasing pattern. An intricate pattern in an antique bronze finish with crystal inlays without invoking the more flared styling that is typical of earlier period lighting is a great example of Crystal lighting.