Valley Lighting CT

Have you been wondering what is missing from a certain room in your home? You might just be missing the perfect accent lighting in each room. We are here to help you decorate your home with style and elegance by choosing the most stylish and affordable lighting for each room. We also have listed the first five our our ten favorite affordable and stylish lighting below – in no particular order!

10. Island Lighting – Island lighting is a great way to elegantly light up your kitchen. Whether it be over an actual kitchen island or just over the kitchen sink this lighting is a great way to add the perfect amount of light to any kitchen space.
Example: Maxim 11669LTLG

9. Vanity Lighting – Light up your vanity or the whole bathroom with chic vanity lighting. Add an extra flush ceiling light for extra some extra lighting. Example: Trump Home Regency Vanity Bar

8. Chandelier Lighting – Chandeliers give a statement about your home. You can hang the chandelier in the foyer or in the dining room. If you have a foyer this may be the first thing your guests will see upon entering your home.
Example: Designers Fountain

7. Wall Sconces – Don’t let your family or guests walk down long dark hallways. Light them up with wall sconces. Wall sconces give the wall a decorative touch while keeping the path to the bedroom well lit.
Example: Maxim 11669LTLG

6. Semi Flush Lighting – Semi flush lighting works best in the kitchen or family room. It gives the room a nice calm and warm feeling with its dim lighting.
Example: Maxim 11669LTLG

Check back next time for the final five of our stylish list!

Lighting and home decor trends change from year to year and season to season. Ringing in the New Year is all about changing, updating and evolving. This year, as you make your New Year’s Resolutions, resolve to redecorate with these stylish lighting and home decor trends of 2012.

This year’s lighting trends are all about comfortable and elegant designs, luxurious materials and bright colors. People are becoming creative with their lighting and home decorating accents. As you shop for new lights for your home, look for shining fabrics, surfaces that are glossed over, bright lively colors, and chic classical colors, such as gray, white, gold and silver.

Here are some of the things to look for when you’re shopping this year’s home decor trends:

• Wool, velvet, brick, stainless steel, and wood fabrics and surfaces.
• Mirrors, and home decor accessories that include mirrored glass.
• Modern, wallpapers and paint inspired by the environment.
• Small pieces of furniture that are easily moveable.
• Materials and designs that are mixed, creating a unique home decor style.
• Lights with Swarovski crystals that sparkle and reflect light.

Go back to the age old saying, out with the old and in with the new, and visit Valley Lighting & Home Decor at ValleyLighting-CT.com Our selection of lighting and home decor options will keep your home stylish and up-to-date with the latest trends.

Lighting your home is a must, but sometimes it can be dangerous. Light bulbs, outlets and electrical cords can cause electrical fires, but if you follow these safety tips you can avoid many dangerous electrical situations.

• Check the electrical cords on table lamps, floor lamps and other lighting fixtures for frays, cracks or kinks.
• Use light bulbs that have the correct wattage requirements for each specific lighting fixture in your home. If you use a higher wattage than what the fixture allows for, you can cause the fixture to overheat and create a fire hazard.
• Insert childproof caps in unused electrical outlets.
• Never overload outlets with power strips and adapters.
• Electrical cords should always fit firmly inside outlets. If the plug can be pulled out easily, or it’s falling out, choose a different outlet.
• Outlets should always be covered with a plate that covers wiring.
• Switching to compact fluorescent bulbs that provide the same level of light using a lower amount of watts is safer and can save you money.
• Always turn off the light fixture completel before changing its light bulbs.
• Loose light bulbs can cause sparks or electrical shortages.
• Never unplug a cord by pulling on the cord itself. You should always pull on the cord at the outlet.
• Covering an electrical cord with a rug is dangerous because it doesn’t allow the cord to cool properly.

Keep these electrical and lighting safety tips in mind the next time you’re plugging in a lamp, changing a light bulb or doing anything that involves electricity.

Tis the season for giving, and Valley Lighting & Home Decor has a variety of gifts that will make everyone’s Christmas merry and bright. In fact, we have something for everyone on your holiday shopping list!

Ideas for Women:

• Mom will love to curl up on the coach and read a book under our chocolate blues throw. This soft chenille throw has a blue background decorated with an elegant brown floral pattern.
• Light up her life with a set of our Uttermost Caden candle sconces. Each of these lovely sconces feature mirrors surrounded by heavily antiqued gold frames, and accented with off-white candles.
• What little girl doesn’t love the ocean- Whether she’s young or old, every girl or woman will enjoy a piece of our coral art. Available in blue or white, these beautiful ocean pieces are wonderful decorations for a bedside table, dresser, mantle or any other place she can think of!
• Our beautiful porcelain nightlights make the perfect presents for girls and women of all ages. Choose from an assortment of designs and scenes including, a fairy, man in the moon, a shell, dragonfly, ballet dancer and many more.

Ideas for Men:

• Whether it’s set next to the living room fireplace or he uses it as a home decor accent, Dad will treasure one of our recycled winemaster’s stave benches. Constructed of recycled white oak wine barrels, and hand done metal work, no two of these unique benches are alike!
• If your father is a hunter he’ll be sure to love one of our Deer Valley antler lamps. These Wrangler poly antler table lamps feature antler twin lights with a light brown suede shade, featuring braided trim and antler finial.
• Whether they’re used to decorate a desk or a mantle piece, we have an assortment of knick knacks for men. Choose from a nautical sun dial accent piece, an assortment of candle lit lanterns and horse figurines.
• Give him something to hang his coat on with a set of four hooks shaped and decorated to look like playing cards. These resin and metal hooks are perfect for gamblers and card game lovers.

You can see all of our lighting and home decor options at ValleyLighting-CT.com. Happy holidays from everyone at Valley Lighting & Home Decor!

With the end of the Thanksgiving season, it’s time to start decorating for the next holiday on its way. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, Valley Lighting & Home Decor has ideas for decking your home’s halls for the holiday.

• Glass bulb ornaments are commonly used to decorate trees, but you can also use these brightly colored glass bulbs to make a creative centerpiece for your holiday table. Simply layer a few small pine tree branches on a festive dish or platter, and arrange a few brightly colored bulbs on top.
• Light up a dark corner, by filling a large floor vase with some of our lighted flower branches. Decorate a chandelier by hanging a few glass bulb ornaments from it.
• Green imitation pine garland creates a woodsy atmosphere inside any home. Wrap some of this beautiful garland around the railing of a staircase or drape it over doorways. Poinsettias are a holiday classic. Use these traditional holiday flowers to create a cherry atmosphere all around your home.
• Jingle bells are another holiday classic. Hang a few around your home, on doors or from the staircase.
• Setting a few dreidels on the living room coffee table will create a fun and inviting atmosphere for family and friends.
• Create a one of a kind menorah for your home by sticking candles in decorative glasses filled with colorful beads.

You can find an assortment of home decor options online at ValleyLighting-CT.com. Do you have any unique holiday decorating ideas? Let us know with a comment.

Light bulbs are coming under strict scrutiny, from how brightly they shine and how much energy is used to even the packaging. As of January 1, 2012, thanks to the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), we will be seeing some big changes when we purchase light bulbs. Here are a few of the energy saving, eco-friendly changes to look forward to.

All incandescent light bulbs throughout the United States will be made to shine as brightly, using the same amount of lumens as they do now, while using less energy or watts. Right now, a 100-watt light bulb has a lumen range of 1490 to 2600. After the New Year, that same lumen range should be produced by a 72-watt bulb. Instead of buying light bulbs based on the amount of watts they use, we’ll have to choose our bulbs based on the amount of lumens.

In addition to the way we choose our light bulbs, each package of bulbs will feature a ‘Lighting Facts’ label on the back. Similar to the nutritional facts label on our foods, the light facts labels will include information about the bulbs brightness, energy cost, life expectancy, light appearance, wattage and the mercury content. Unfortunately, these beneficial energy saving changes come with a price tag. Right now, you can buy a 100-watt incandescent light bulb for as little at sixty cents. After the New Year a 26-watt CFL will cost three dollars, a 72-watt incandescent halogen light bulb will cost three dollars, and a 12.5-watt LED bulb will cost forty dollars.

Valley Lighting & Home Decor has an assortment of affordable eco-friendly light bulbs including torpedo, globe, halogen, tube bulbs and many more! To learn more about our eco-friendly lighting options, which are compliant with the new EISA light bulb standards, visit ValleyLighting-CT.com.

Paintings and other beautiful works of wall art should be set apart from other home decor accents. Why would anyone spend their hard-earned money on a painting they love if they’re not going to display it in the proper manner? There are certain ways to light different types of wall art so their best features are highlighted.

• Never hang artwork in the path of direct sunlight. The sun’s ultraviolet rays can damage it.
• Fluorescent lighting can also damage artwork because it too gives off ultraviolet rays.
• Track lighting fixtures are often used to highlight wall art because they’re flexible. You can adjust the lights to face whichever direction suits the artwork best.
• Another type of wall art lighting is picture lights. Our House of Troy lighting collection has picture lights that attach directly to the wall art or to the wall above it.
• You should hang wall art at eye level. If the room where the wall art is displayed is a kitchen or dining room, hang it at the eye level of someone sitting.

Try to choose accent lights that blend in, instead of standing out and taking attention away from the wall art. These accent lighting tips will draw attention to the artwork displayed in your home. You can browse all of our accent lighting options online at ValleyLighting-CT.com.

Instead of turning on the porch lights for trick-or-treaters, this Halloween light up the inside and outside of your home with creatively decorated pumpkins. Here are a few ideas for pumpkin decorating.

• Tap into your maternal side with these cute pumpkins. Carve a happy face into a large pumpkin, and similar smaller faces into several small pumpkins. Wrap a blanket around the tiny carved pumpkins, and set them in a basket.
• This sick pumpkin, with pumpkin seeds and gook coming out of it’s mouth, will show kids what happens after eating to much candy. Get the look by carving an oval shaped mouth and strewing the pumpkin’s insides out of it.
• If you’re not a fan of the mess that comes with carving a pumpkin you can paint a face or design, or create one using Mr. Potato-like facial pieces. You can find facial features for pumpkin decorating in your local retail or Halloween store.
• Greet trick-or-treaters with a Halloween message, but put a unique twist on the message by using a group of pumpkins to spell it out. Buy one pumpkin for each letter of your message, plus one or two extra just in case you make a mistake. You can carve the letters in a bubble letter design, or use the easier method of carving tiny holes and stacking and shaping them into a letter.
• Turn off the pathway lights! The walk to your front door will be extra spooky when it’s lit up by the smiling ghostly faces of dozens of pumpkins.
• Make your pumpkin come alive with straw hair, an old floppy hat and a plaid scarf. You can even stick a piece of straw in his mouth!
• Mystify visitors with a pumpkin carved with stars and moons.
• Most people avoid the deformed weirdly shaped pumpkins, but they’re great for creating scary jack-o-lanterns. Next time you see an odd shaped pumpkin imagine it with spooky eyes, big pointy teeth and an erie grin!

Don’t rush into carving your pumpkin! First, draw the design you have in mind on the pumpkin using a marker. This will ensure that your pumpkin turns out just the way you wanted it to. What are some of your favorite ways to carve a pumpkin?

The cool fall weather makes it a great time for doing things outdoors. It’s not too hot and not too cold, which makes it perfect weather for completing some of the outdoor projects you’ve been putting off. Here are some outdoor fall projects that you may need to work on at your home.

• It’s no fun to watch the leaves change colors through dirty windows! Grab a ladder, window wash and paper toweling, and start cleaning the outside of the house’s windows. You can work your way indoors and clean the insides of the windows the same day or save the project for a colder fall day.
• Check your outdoor landscape lights and pathway lights, and make sure they’re working properly. Replace any burnt out bulbs in the ceiling lights now so you don’t have to do it when the snow is falling.
• Before the snow arrives, rake all the leaves in your yard.
• Organize and store your gardening tools, hoses, sprinklers and other yard accessories in your shed or garage so they’re safe throughout winter and making them easy to find in the summer.
• Clean all of your yard accessories before you organize them in storage for the winter.
• Maintain your landscaping over the winter by planting a tree, dividing perennials and planting flower bulbs.
• Clean dirt, leaves, and other debris out of your home’s gutters.
• Reduce drafts in your home and install your storm windows.
• Go around your home and check the weather stripping on all of your doors and windows.

Other outdoor fall projects include cleaning your dryer vent, repairing any damages to your sidewalks and driveway, and repairing any other damages to your home. What are some of the ways you and your family prepare your home for colder weather?

October is here and it’s time to begin decorating your home for the most spooky holiday of the year, Halloween! Valley Lighting & Home Decor has some spooktacular ideas that will have trick-or-treaters running from your house in fright.

• Install a dimmer switch on the chandelier and other lights in your foyer, and decorate the chandelier and lights with fake spider webs and plastic spiders. On Halloween night, turn the lights down low to give trick-or-treaters an extra special scary delight.
• Place spooky bats or blackbirds on a bookshelf, and highlight the Halloween scene using under cabinet lights.
• Make your living room look like it hasn’t been lived in for years. Cover your living room furniture with white sheets, stretch fake spider webs across random surfaces and scatter a few autumn colored silk leaves across the floor.
• Place several brooms next to the front door, and hang an old, worn wooden board above each broom. Each board should have the name of someone living in your house.
• If you really want to cause a fright for the neighborhood children, dress up in a witch’s costume, and sit in a rock chair on the porch. Make sure you?re very still, and whenever someone walks by jump up behind them!
• Instead of dressing up like a witch, disguise yourself as a zombie, and lay in a coffin on the porch until someone walks by.
• Flickering candlelight is always spooky, especially when coming from black Cover your outdoor pathway lights with lanterns lining the way up your sidewalk. If you want a spookier type of pathway light, use candles instead of lanterns.
• Make the outside of your house look dilapidated and rundown by stringing fake spider webs throughout the front of your house. If you want to be dramatic with your outdoor decorations, you can even string webs from the cars in your driveway!

Every one at Valley Lighting & Home Decor would like to wish you and your family a terrifying, bloodcurdling, happy Halloween!