Exterior Lighting in Central Oregon with Bend Lighting expert Kelly Kirkland
Karen Malanga: Hi, this is Karen Malanga with another edition of House Talk. I am so excited to welcome Kelly Kirkland back from Bend Lighting. And I did check the website and I found out that she has a nickname at work and it’s called the Lighting Lady.
So we have the Lighting Lady here today. She has over 30 years of experience and I think today, Kelly, you wanted to discuss exterior lighting, correct?
Kelly Kirkland: Yes, ma’am. Thank you.
Karen: Alright! So Kelly, what do you think is the most important thing someone can accomplish with exterior lighting?
Kelly: Central Oregon seems to have a lot of people that enjoy the outdoor life. Outdoor lighting is very important. Many people barbecue. Today, there are outdoor proof chandeliers.
Karen: Really?
Kelly: You can put them over tables and create almost a feeling of being indoors outdoors. There are also paddle fans that are rated for exterior use. So exterior has gotten very glamorous.
Karen: I had no idea you have a chandelier outside. That would be so cool. And then what about lighting up all of our beautiful giant spruce trees and birch trees that we have throughout town?
Kelly: Yes, there’s numerous landscape designs that you can put out that could wash the wall of a house and show off the architecture, the brick. There’s strawberry lighting. You can hang lights from trees, adding accent that way.
Path lighting, it can be very interesting too. Well, you can have turtles, different figures.
Karen: Turtles?
Kelly: Yes, turtles.
Karen: Okay.
Kelly: There are numerous selections in landscape lighting today.
Karen: Sometimes you think, “Oh my gosh, I want to light up something,” but I am like, “I don’t have an exterior plug.” Is it easy to make your home ready to add exterior lighting? Is that something you can mount and consult on?
Kelly: Yes. And often electrician may have to be brought in to check the feasibility of getting wiring out there. Although there are a lot of solar products today that will collect electricity so you don’t have to try and mess up your yard and expensive electrician cost.
Karen: That makes sense too in Central Oregon with all of our sunshine.
Kelly: Yes, indeed.
Karen: So when someone comes to visit you at Bend Lighting, do you have a nice display of the exterior lighting and options maybe for outdoor kitchens or the landscaping that we were discussing?
Kelly: Yes, we do. We have many lantern styles to choose from for the wall of the house. There are hanging lanterns on a chain, several manufacturers of path light and landscape lighting in either 120 volt or 12 volt.
Karen: I’m excited. I might have to stop by Bend Lighting and take a look at one of those outdoor chandeliers.
Kelly: Yes.
Karen: So Kelly, in addition to the party lights, the kitchen lights, the specific landscaping lights, I understand that we do have some dark sky requirements throughout Central Oregon. Do some of your lighting fixtures accommodate or make those? I don’t even know what those regulations are, but do you have lighting fixtures that will work with those dark sky requirements?
Kelly: Yes, many subdivisions were required dark sky design in their lanterns. And that means that the light bulb is not exposed. It is up inside the body. There are traditional styles. There are modern styles. There are contemporary styles.
However, sometimes an existing house is not compliant with the new regulations. So we can provide a shield, what we call a dark sky shield, over the bulb and make the fixture compliant. So, existing homeowner would not have to purchase all new lighting to become compliant.
Karen: That’s very interesting. I had no idea. Every time I turn around, there’s something new here in Central Oregon, some new regulation or requirement.
So Kelly, thank you so much for joining us again today. You truly are the Lighting Lady.
Kelly: Thank you for inviting me again. We are at 615 Southeast Glenwood, Suite 100. That is across the street from Bend High School.
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