Expert Tips for Interior and Exterior Lighting

Karen Malanga: Well, welcome back to House Talk. Today, I’m super excited to have Kelly Kirkland. Kelly actually helped me with the lighting in my home. And she’s a design professional at Globe Lighting here in Bend.

And for those of you listening out there, I don’t know if you know, but Globe Lighting has 13 locations in the Pacific Northwest and over $12 million worth of inventory. And they can get everything almost next day to Bend. So they have 18,000 different items in stock as well.

What  I appreciate about you, Kelly, was you didn’t only just help me with my lighting fixtures, but you also helped me with the right bulbs and it was so much fun.

So anyway, Kelly, welcome to House Talk. And I was hoping maybe we could start on some exterior lightning because at COAR, we learn there’s  all kinds of new rules regarding lighting and what’s going on and what the city of Bend will allow.

Kelly Kirkland: Yes, thank you. I appreciate the invitation to be on your show again.

Karen: Yeah.

Kelly: Exterior has made a major swing with concerns of light pollution. They maybe think it’s affecting bird migration amongst other reasons. But now, lighting is expected to go downward, often called “dark sky shielding.” So you can select fixtures that are already designed that way with the socket element up inside a metal shroud, or you can take a lantern and attach a shroud to an existing fixture and put that over the socket, slip your bulb in and get the dark sky shielding.

Karen: So, the city of Bend, are there requirements basically on new construction, or are they going to be making us all be compliant with what they want to see which is a darker sky in Central Oregon?

Kelly: Right. Currently, it’s new construction. However, if a remodeler will be removing their exterior lighting for change out, then they will have to conform to the dark sky rules. So, existing homes that, say, have been built and have been in existence since the ‘40s, ’50s or ‘60s, they’re not required yet to make that change. The city, however, could revisit that matter and change the rules at some point.

You could be proactive by coming by our store and looking at the shields that you could install right away.

Karen: And just to go back over the reasons, what’s the deal,  do you know anything  about the bird migration? I mean, are the bright skies affecting bird migration or…?

Kelly: Well, I think that many of the scientists are thinking that it is affecting them. I don’t know all the specific study information, but I understand that is one issue, there’s so much light, it’s affecting their direction of travel.

Karen: So then, when I look at my exterior, I always wanted to light up one of those gigantic spruce trees out front. But the traditional landscape at the base of a tree goes up. Is that still allowable, or does that have to be changed out as well?

Kelly: Well, that is a good question. If this light will affect your neighbors and trickle over your property line, it could be an issue.

Karen: Oh, my goodness! Life gets more and more complicated, doesn’t it?

Kelly: I know! There are shrouds that’ll help control the light. And you could also get an egg crate diffuser and also help maintain that light beam. But I would suggest talking to your city or county officials before you put a lot of economic investment in changing your lighting.

Karen: Okay. Yeah, that’s so interesting. I never even thought that maybe my light beam can cross the property line. Oh, my goodness.

Kelly: That’s correct.

Karen: So, as life gets more and more complicated, we need more lighting designers like you to figure out what the heck we’re doing.

So, beyond the exterior lighting, then if we move inside, when I’m selling a home, I think one of the first things people look at when they walk into the home is the kitchen and the kitchen lighting. And so what are people wanting in kitchen lighting currently?

Kelly: Well, a lot of folks like to layer the lighting with pendants, decorative pendants, over the island, recess cans separately switched and controlled through the main portion of the kitchen.

Then under-cabinet lighting is a great idea because your body can cast shadow on your work surface.

And then, another popular method is to put lighting above the cabinets to create some ambiance.  That would give you a layering effect.

Karen: Okay. So it’s not just the traditional lighting of the work surface, but you’re looking at more of a softer glow at night or something with upper cabinet lighting?

Kelly: Yes.

Karen: Yeah, things like that, okay. Yeah, that makes sense to me. The pendants over the island never really threw off too much good lighting.

Kelly: Well, actually, there’s such a variable wattage rating on pendants for manufacturer. Some of them can be as much as 100 watts per socket. But with the new LED bulbs, you can get 100-watt equivalency by using 9 watts for example. They produce a lot of light.

So, pendants can produce a lot of light, especially if it’s a glass-style. A metal pendant would be more restrictive.

Karen: Okay. Well, Kelly, we’re going to take a break here. And we’ll be back with more on lighting with Kelly Kirkland from Globe Lighting.

Break: Stay with us! More House Talk is straight ahead on 104.5 FM, 1340 AM and KBNWTalk.com.

This is House Talk. Now, once again, here’s your host, Karen Malanga.

Karen: Welcome back to House Talk. This is Karen Malanga, principal broker at RE/MAX Key Properties. And we’ve been visiting with Kelly Kirkland from Globe Lighting. She’s my favorite lighting designer in Bend. And I’m really appreciative that she has the time to be with us today.

So, before we took a break, we were discussing current lighting options for kitchens. But also, Kelly, I think that lighting often affects the color of a home, and also just your whole attitude during the day.

So, can you talk to our listeners a little bit about maybe different bulbs or lights or how you can create a different color in your home.

Kelly: Yes. Lighting is measured in what we call Kelvins. And Kelvins is rated from warm to cool. Incandescent that many of us have used for years is 2700 Kelvins. It’s a warmer light, more yellows and reds and oranges in it. A white light is 3000K—which a halogen produces 3000K.

With current technology, we’re getting great color temperature in LEDs. So we can run the more economic, electric-consuming bulb and get the color temperatures we want. So if you have a house with warm tones, you may want to continue with the 2700K. If you have a lot of white and grays, we would want to step up to a 3000K to enhance those colors.

Karen: I know that when I used to use LED lighting, it seemed kind of cold, like a blue light—I mean, not a blue light, but you know what I mean. It was just a cooler feel.

Kelly: Yes. Originally, when they started coming out, the temperatures was either really, really warm or really, really blue. But the technology has advanced so much that the lighting in a 3000K is beautiful.

Karen: Oh, it’s great to know. And you carry those bulbs obviously at Globe Lighting for sure.

Kelly: Yes, we do.

Karen: So then we’ve kind of gone over tips on lighting your kitchen. What about the master bathroom? Is there anything kind of fun or special or new that’s available for the master bath or…?

Kelly: The master bathroom can be done in a traditional way or a more modern way. Again, we can put the LED lamps in any of the styles pertaining to your taste in your home.

Karen: Sure! I’ve always thought too, like when I go in for a listing, one way to really update a home that is fairly simple for the home owner would be to change the lightning fixtures. If they’re a dated lighting fixture, just maybe bringing in some more contemporary lights or a different feel can really change the whole feel of a home. Isn’t that correct?

Kelly: Yes, exactly. Yes.

Karen: So, if someone was getting ready to list a home, and their home was a little bit dated, maybe it was built in the 1990s and 1980s, do they come in and meet with you, and then you sit down and kind of go through room by room, or do you go out and visit the home? How do you do this?

Kelly: Yes, I’m available in the store or out in the field. I suggest that we meet in the field so I can look at the application, measure the counters or ceilings.

Karen: Sure!

Kelly: Make sure whatever we find to help update the house fits the space.

Karen: Yeah! Yeah, I think it makes a huge difference. And sometimes, you can pop a home just by putting new lights in.

Kelly: Yes, definitely.

Karen: So, we’ve gone through the kitchen and the master bath, kind of how lighting could affect color in your home. What other rooms in the home? Sometimes, I feel like people kind of neglect the family room. They could just do more.

Kelly: Yes, the living rooms are complex. With new construction, of course, we can put whatever we want in—let’s say cable, recess lighting, chandelier, a fan, sconces. A remodel is more complex because we got to look at what’s there and accessible. So, on-site visit in a remodel is suggested.

New construction being early in the preliminary before the electrician wires, it’s a good idea to have one of us consult with you.

Karen: Yes, so that you can get as many options as possible.

Kelly: Yes, and see what you’re comfortable with for style.

Karen: Uh-huh… yeah, style is really important. It kind of sets the tone for the whole room actually.

Kelly: Yes.

Karen: I find it pretty amazing.

So, what have you seen? What’s flying out the door these days at Globe Lighting? Is there any one particular hot lighting look that we could talk about or is it kind of mixed bag?

Kelly: Well, it’s still a mixed bag for sure depending on the style of the home. I’m seeing more contemporary lines often. What’s really become popular has been the clear-seeded glass fixtures. It’s very trendy. I can put clear LED nostalgic bulbs in them and give them a fantastic look.

Karen: Is that kind of like those Edison bulbs, is that what you’re talking about?

Kelly: Yes, an Edison bulb, nostlagic bulb. We can now provide those in an LED with that beautiful filament behind a clearer glass bulb.

Karen: Oh, that’s very cool. Yeah, I might have to come in and check some of that stuff out.

So, what other lighting tips do you have for our listeners today?

Kelly: If you have a chance to look in some magazines and just give your lighting consultant an idea what you like, that will help us get into our numerous manufacturers more quickly…

Karen: …all those catalogs that you have.

Kelly: …and find your style.

Karen: You have so many catalogs. I had to thumb through. Oh, my goodness! Everything starts to look the same to me after a while. It’s kind of interesting.

Break: Stay with us! More House Talk is straight ahead on 104.5 FM, 1340 AM and KBNWTalk.com.

This is House Talk. Now, once again, here’s your host, Karen Malanga.

Karen: Hi, we’re back with Kelly Kirkland. She’s a lighting designer with Globe Lighting here in Central Oregon. And Kelly, it’s great, we’ve been talking about lighting your master bath,  your kitchen, exterior lighting; we’ve touched on bulbs.

What if people are on a budget—because I know lighting fixtures can be very expensive—is there something that  they can do with their existing fixtures that can update the look without putting quite as much money into the project?

Kelly: Sure! We could examine the glass that’s on your current fixture and how it installs. We could probably switch up your glass to just a different glass.

Karen: Like if it’s an older home, it might be amber. You could change it to—what did you call it?

Kelly: Yes, change it to clear-seeded or opal or something.

Karen: …that clear-seeded, yeah.

Kelly: We could probably simply just change out the glass or lampshades, or we could also remove that fixture, and you could paint it.

Karen: So, do you powder coat lighting fixtures? How are they painted?

Kelly: Well, powder coating is the best way for that finish to stay on. But normally, that takes dismantling the fixture completely down and removing the electrical and having professional powder-coated.

Karen: That sounds like a headache.

Kelly: Or you could simply pick up a can of enamel paint and paint it outside on a hot day—like today.

Karen: Yeah, today, it would rather quickly, wouldn’t it, because it can feel like 100° out there.

So anyways, you could change the glass, you could pain the fixture, you can also obviously update the bulbs like we discussed earlier.

Kelly: Correct! Take your incandescent bulbs out and upgrade to an LED 3000K. That would emit a different light.

Karen: Sure! I’m also thinking about people that may be listening. Maybe they’re renting an apartment or a condo here in Central Oregon. They turn the lights on in those cans, and it’s just whatever the landlord or the owner put in there.

I know, a lot of times, when I’ll go visit friends, it’s like, “Oh, my gosh! That light is so bright. And they just don’t even turn them on, they just use a lamp. But a real simple solution to make their spaces more lovely and have more ambiance might be just to change out those bulbs. What do you think?

Kelly: Correct! You can change those out and perhaps ask the landlord about putting them on a dimmer switch.

Karen: A dimmer switch is a great idea. I always forget about dimmer switches.

Kelly: Yes, you could change the light, lower it with the dimmer and change your color temperature.

Karen: Yeah, make it more like it’s your own home. I think ambiance is so important. And that kind of blows into maybe the dining area. How do you create this nice ambiance for entertaining in a home. That could be a dimmer switch. What else would you recommend in a dining group that could make it just a little special. Sometimes, they turn on that chandelier, and it’s like, “Oh, my gosh!”

Kelly: Yes, again, visiting new glass or new shades and that dimming feature. It’s very hard to put additional lighting in say a wall sconce in an existing project,  but you could consider a torchiere lamp perhaps…

Karen: What’s that?

Kelly: …a floor lamp…

Karen: Oh, okay.

Kelly: …a floor lamp in a corner. You could look at a torchiere for some more layered lighting in that space.

Karen: That’s a great idea because you could just turn that on while you’re entertaining. It would add a soft light as opposed to all the overhead light. Or if you’re in a new home, and they just put cans above you, you could add that—how did you say that again?

Kelly: A torchiere floor lamp.

Karen: A torchiere floor lamp. It sounds like a French word and I don’t know French. So anyway…

So that’s some pretty cool ideas. And then, of course, you could do, if the dining room open to the patio, and you had a built-in barbecue, you could probably add some ambient light in that outdoor dining room as well.

Kelly: Yes, as long as the lighting doesn’t…

Karen: …go up.

Kelly: Right! We have to be careful with the lighting restrictions. We do have a manufacturer too that have lights that actually will attach to your barbecue with a flexible arm that you could direct lighting onto your barbecue if you’re barbecuing at night.

Karen: I need one of those. Do you carry those? Those are in stock?

Kelly: We don’t have those in stock, but I can access them in our manufacturer catalog.

Karen: And just get them in like a day or something?

Kelly: Get them in. We have to of course check availability within our stores or from the manufacturer itself.

Karen: Yeah. Well, as our days get shorter, that might be a pretty popular item.

Kelly: Sure, if you want to barbecue, and it’s dark, those are great.

Karen: And you just attach it on, and then you could put it away in winter or whatever.

Kelly: Yes, uh-huh.

Karen: That’s super cool.

Kelly: …clamp-on.

Karen: Yeah, what other neat lights do you have like that? Any other creative ideas?

Kelly: There are several manufacturers that are making table lamps and floor lamps that could actually go on your patio and could be rained on. And so a lot of folks like to create the feeling that they have inside the home outside the home. And so we can get lamps that could take on the weather.

Karen: Really?

Kelly: Light it up and you could read your book out there at night with the floor lamp.

Karen: That’s very cool! Completely Central Oregon weather-proof, correct?

Kelly: Yes, yes.

Karen: I want to thank you so much for being on House Talk today. And how can people find you and Globe Lighting? Like where are you?

Kelly: Yes, we’re in Bend. We’re at 63700 Clausen Drive, Suite 100 in Bend, Oregon. So that’s north of Bend, near the [unclear 19:37] Road intersection and near Standard Appliances.

Karen: Yeah, I know exactly where you are, right in that little strip on the west side of Highway 97 as you’re heading north.

Kelly: Yes! Yes, that’s correct.

Karen: Yeah. Well, thank you again so much. It’s been a pleasure having you.

Kelly: Thank you for the invitation. It’s been fun.

Karen: Look forward to having you back.

Kelly: Thank you.

Closing: Join us again at this time next week for more great information on the buying and selling of your home.

 House Talk with Karen Malanga is not a solicitation if your property is already listed.

All information on House Talk is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed. The proceeding was a paid commercial advertisement for Karen Malanga. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff and management of Horizon Broadcasting Group.

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