Home & Garden Blog » Lighting

Hopefully you really decked out the house for Halloween. Jack-o’-lanterns, spooky cobwebs, maybe even a few lanterns hanging from the porch to light the ghosts and ghouls way in Old Hallow’s Eve. Children must have loved it, but now it’s time to switch gears and think about more mature, warm, inviting holiday lighting. Think candles in the windowsill, lights around the bare-boned trees, maybe a holiday wreath on the door with some glittering tinsel. When the temperature begins to drop, the cosiness and warmth of your home needs to rise! And that involves exterior lighting.

Some of the top hits for holiday lighting:

Electric Windowsill Candle from Piperclassics.com: $15.99

Cute design with a warm glow, this candle has an antique finish to make your home look even warmer.

Net LED lights from SaveOnCrafts.com: $11.29/sheet

This is perfect to drape evenly on trees, bushes, and shrubbery. Decorate without all the hassle!

Since we’re in the throes of the Tour de France, I thought it only proper to take a look at how one of the greatest cyclists the world has ever seen chooses to live his life when he’s not barreling down grueling hills, climbing the Alps, or exercising himself silly on a daily basis.  With some much strain in his life, something has to be a luxury, and for Lance, it’s all about creating the perfect, relaxing home environment.  Calling Austin, Texas his home, let’s see what we can learn from Mr. Armstrong’s decorative choices and how we can implement them for our own homes!  Thanks to Architectural Digest.com, let’s take a critical look at Lance Armstrong’s home and see what we can learn!

Lance’s bungalow style home can best be described as an estate, not just a house.  Why?  Open porches, paths through gardens, tons of greenery all add to the effect of an expansive property, not just a house.  Make your home feel more like a property by adding on porches and gardens for yourself!

If the home is to die for, take a look at the pool!

To gain a house that looks like this, you have to think about ambiance and night time lighting.  What’s the most important factor?  Weather!  For us New Englanders, an outdoor pool can only be used for about 3 months out of the year.  If you’re in the south, though, an outdoor pool is a beautiful and almost necessary addition to the home!  To make a pool this beautiful and ambient at your home, think about tiki torches and underwater lighting, and even maybe some interesting tropical plant life.  It’s all about the greenery and the lighting, and indoor it’s all about the lighting.  Lance knows how to make his place restive and beautiful, gauge your own price range and see if creating an earthy, ambient architectural estate is within your price range.  If not, easy simple solutions would be investing in some potted plants for the kitchen or living room, and some tiki torches or low lighting for the porches or backyard; the plants will make your house feel fresher, and the lighting will save on electricity and create more family friendly spaces in your home to enjoy during the warmer months.

The best advice I can give, though, for emulating Lance’s lifestyle, is to take up biking.  Biking is not just for the rural-dwellers, city-rats benefit more from biking than anyone else.  I’ve been switching between four New England cities for the past 3 years, and cannot stress more the necessity of clean, money-saving, exercise-inducing transportation like biking.  It’s fast, it’s relatively painless (so long as your not in the Tour de France) and you get to see parts of the city that you would never experience underground in the subways or cursing your way through traffic.  So sit back, relax and invest in a stable bicycle; the restful lifestyle is only a pedal away!

Nothing is more romantic than sitting on your porch (if you’re lucky, right on the beach) right after the sun sets while gazing into each others eyes by candlelight.  Ahhh.  Relaxing and romantic.  You can achieve this effect on your patio, balcony, or porch by purchasing a set of lanterns like the two below on sale at PotteryBarn.com.

These are awesome for the beach.

Bristol Lanterns: $39-$79 Now: $29-$59 on sale!

These would work at the beach, or at your cabin in the mountains by the lake.

Grayson Lanterns: $19.50-$179 Now: $15.00-$139 on sale!

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more lanterns.
Discounts on outdoor lighting.

These green ideas are truly bright!  I didn’t realize being green can be so chic and even quirky.  Check out these ingenious lamps I found at Inhabitat.com :

These beach ball lamps are so much fun to look at!

Perfect for an eco-friendly, urban space, the eggcrate lamp.

I’ve always wondered what I can do with old, non-functioning light bulbs.

I’ve thrown one too many Tupperware pieces, but the makers of these lamps found a fascinating way to reuse them.

I hope this lamp is for outdoor use.

This looks vintage & I love it!

These lamps definitely fascinates me. It takes being green to the next level!

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for energy saving light bulbs.

Who said eco-friendly things are boring?  Many people think that getting energy saving products is foolish.  What do you think about it?  Let me tell you: I’m not a real ecologist, but I do try to find cool ways to help this world a little, or at least not to hurt it that much.  That is why I want to show you these amazing lamps, that not only have cool design, but save a lot of energy!

Pictured: Contemporary Giclee Shade Energy Saving Table Lamp - $149.99

When I first saw these lamps I thought, “Oh my God! they look so great!  I want one… no wait, I want them all!!”  Their design is so simple but great, and in my opinion the most attractive thing about them is that they are very modern but a little retro at the same time, and that is so stylish!

I love versatile things, (you must have already realized that). Try to picture one of this lamps in different rooms, for instance in a desk, in a bedroom, in a play room or even in a living room.  It would definitely look good.  Moreover, some furnishing accessories can only be used in one part of the house and that is totally boring.  It’s like clothes.  Girls, when you buy pants for example, don’t you think “Oh, I can wear this to go to work, and to go out at night too”?  Yeah!  We do that all the time! Because it would be a pity to get some pants that can be used only for one thing, like getting a lamp that can be used only in one place.

Now, the colors.  Let me ask you something, could you pick one of the 5 colors I selected and place it in some part of your house where it would fit perfectly?  I guess the answer is “Yes!” Always remember: The more variety you have, the easier it will be to decide what to do with your new lighting.

I always want to give you more than one option, so that you can decide what you like the most.  This was my second choice for energy saving lamps, and just like the other one it looks amazing.

The decorating style of this piece it’s a little bit more defined, its cylindrical shape and its simpleness make me say it is minimalist.

I guess the light of this lamp must be really interesting.  It surely is ideal to create a cool and relaxed atmosphere, and besides it looks really youthful and sophisticated at the same time.

Pictured: Contemporary George Kovacs Energy Saving Glossy Red Cylinder Table Lamp -$54.91

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more energy saving lamps.

Any good host knows when throwing the perfect Holiday party, it’s all about the details baby!

Check out this Small Tiffany Christmas Lamp from AffordableLamps.com!

Meyda’s small Christmas tree is trimmed with bells and ribbons and shelters the children’s toys. Crowned with the Eastern Star, it adds Christmas cheer to any room.

Originally Priced at $162.00

Now on SALE for $135.00 + Free Shipping

If you are interested in the Tiffany Small Christmas Tree Accent Lamp - Click here!

No more stumbling around in the dark, fumbling in the twilight through sharp rusty tools and garden equipment! The Solar Shed Light installs in minutes without the need for running electric power. Simply attach the swivel-mounted solar panel outside and the bright LED light inside. Weatherproof design mounts anywhere, and includes two rechargeable batteries. Which saves you tons of money as well as saves the Earth from excessive waste. It’s a win-win.

Three stores offer the Solar Light Shed, prices range from (low-high) $39.95 - $50.00

If you are interested in checking out the details or purchasing the Solar Light Shed - Click here! 

Shop for more discount Outdoor Lighting options, click here. 

Love Las Vegas? Can’t get enough of the debauchery and “live in the moment” ambiance? Well now you can take a piece of Sin City home; perhaps to grace your game room, or to highlight your home wet bar or to shine brightly above your pool table.

Personally my heart always perks up as soon as I see the shining beam of light from the Luxor hotel on the strip! Alot of my guys friends have a fixation with Old Las Vegas mystique and many of them think they are a modern day “Rat Pack” members. Oh silly men.

Well for all you Viva Las Vegas lovers check out the “Las Vegas Neon Sign” from Bellacor! The sign is multicolored and weighs about 34 lbs, the dimensions are 38w x 33h x 6.5d.

Best part is the Las Vegas sign is on Sale for $335 was originally $393 (you save $58)

If you are interested in purchasing the Las Vegas Neon Sign from Bellacor, click here.  

So to be clear the actual floor lamp that is on sale at Lamp Plus is the tall, rectangular column one featured above. This floor lamp sparkles with Asian style and comes from the acclaimed George Kovacs lighting collection. I dig it.

But I will say this, in moderation for pete’s sake! Would I go with the whole “Karate Kid” theme for my entire living room, NO! But I think mixing and matching unique pieces is always posh. The George Kovacs Column Lamp was originally $299.99 but is now offered at $199.99!!

Plus click here to save $5 -$20 -$30 dollars off your Lamps Plus Purchases!

If you are interested in purchasing the Rectangle Column Silver Floor Lamp, click here.

It’s hard enough finding one decent table lamp with style, more less a set of FOUR!

Check out the 4 piece handpainted accent lamps from HomeAnnex. The individual accent lamps will surely fit into a wide assortment of interior design styles.

I personally like individual pieces that are original looking and add a touch of quirkiness slash charachter to an otherwise blah room. Plus the beauty part of this particular set is that they are unique enough individually, yet the colors and themes are harmonic enough to be viewed in the same large room.

List Price $239.80 Sale Price $125.90 (you save 47.5%)

Interested in shopping or buying this 4 Piece Accent Lamp Set? - Click here!