Turned On

Photo courtesy of LBL.

You can illuminate a room with a bare, 60-watt light bulb, if you don’t mind the cold, white glare. Most of us prefer to warm it up with a light fixture, while adding style to the room. Fixtures made of glass, metal, natural materials and plastics in modern designs do more than cover up unsightly light bulbs. The next few pages feature just a glint of what’s new at our local lighting showrooms.

Good-Looking Glass

From hand-blown pendants to art-deco-inspired fixtures, glass has evolved to fit many styles. “Although glass is not a new material, the advances within the glass industry consistently introduce new innovations,” says Rhett Garon, of Pacific Ceiling Fans Inc. He notes that the glass pendant, an inverted shade covering a suspended bulb, is a popular choice due to the huge variety of glass colors, shapes and styles.

Kyle Kamakura, of Dial Lighting, concurs that modern glass in funky shapes and designs are best-sellers. “We have drizzled glass, glass that looks sugar coated and many other pieces with texture,” he says.

While there are plenty of new glass designs, Faye Ross, of Honolulu Stained Glass Studio, says that the traditional Tiffany stained glass lamp is still a favorite. The studio’s limited-edition floor, sconce and pendant Dale Tiffany lamps replicate original Tiffany lamp designs. She says, “When turned on, these lamps fill your room with color.”

local lighting shops show off some of their sparkling glass
From left to right: Hanging pendant lamp, $170 by Dale Tiffany, from Honolulu Stained Glass Studio. Kalco chandelier, $374, from Dial Lighting Gallery. Fused black and white art glass, by W.A.C. Lighting, $95, from Pacific Ceiling Fans. (Photo courtesy of W.A.C. Lighting.) Forma by Rae Lighting, $1,500, from Lighting Concepts. (Photo by Tomas Del Amo.) Paola Grande Fixture, by LBL, $272, from Pacific Ceiling Fans. (Photo courtesy of LBL.) Seaglass table lamp, $185, from Pacific Home. (Photo by Stan Cox.)

Breaking the Mold

Landscape artists Greg and Terri Lee, of 1st Look Exteriors, have hands-on experience with contemporary indoor and outdoor glass lighting. In fact, the husband-and-wife team custom designs and creates fixtures in a private studio. “Glass is king,” says Greg. “When you light it up, people are drawn to it like a magnet.”

1st Look Exteriors began with ornate landscape lighting to highlight its outdoor projects. Customers began to ask for the beautiful pieces for interior uses as well. The Lees expanded their line of glasswork by experimenting, researching and developing different techniques. Now, homeowners can call on 1st Look Exteriors to create one-of-a-kind pieces specifically for them.

“We get an idea of the type of space the customer is trying to fill, the mood they are trying to set. Then, we create a digital representation so they can actually see what we are making.” The final step is the production, done by Greg and Terri personally.

To find out more about 1st Look Exteriors, check out the company’s Web site at www.1stlookexteriors.com. Glass lamps by 1st Look Exteriors start at $225.

Photo by Greg Lee, of 1st Look Exteriors.

Nature’s got lighting covered. “Surrounded by all of this natural beauty in Hawaii, it makes perfect sense to bring it indoors,” says Lighting Concepts’ Tom Ogawa. The company’s showroom prominently features earthy lamps and lanterns, with shades made of bamboo stalks, banana leaves and rough paper.

Outdoor-in designs can also be found at Pacific Ceiling Fans’ showroom. Garon notes, “We are certainly seeing an influx of natural materials. Natural fixtures complement other materials being used in the home, such as concrete and granite.”

Light up your room naturally with these environment-inspired designs.

(Left to right) Maru 26-inch paper lantern, $12.99, from City Mill. (Photo by Stan Cox.) Boudoir table lamp, $65, from Pacific Home. (Photo by Stan Cox) Banana Leaf pendant, by World Imports, $240, from Lighting Concepts. (Photo courtesy of World Imports.) Bamboo lamps, by House of Asia, $195 and $240, from Lighting Concepts.

“Hawaii is a contemporary market,” says Kamakura, of Dial Lighting. Homeowners are turning to metal fixtures for their clean, modern lines. Garon, of Pacific Ceiling Fans, agrees. He notes that homeowners are choosing warmer metal tones. “Bronze is the ‘new black’ in lighting. It conveys a warm feel, which contributes to a more welcoming environment,” he says. However, Kamakura warns that, due to our Island climate, many metal fixtures are prone to rusting. He advises homeowners to hang metal lights in appropriate areas of the house.

Ogawa, of Lighting Concepts, offers another solution to the rusty metal problem. “Solid brass fixtures do really well in our Islands, because they don’t rust,” he says. Choose brass for outdoors, as well as for interior lighting in homes that are exposed to salty ocean breezes.

These metal fixtures, for indoor and out, offer clean lines and rustless living.

Left to Right: From left: Silver donut table lamp, $272.50, from Pacific Home. (Photo by Stan Cox.) Grok metal uplight nickel wall sconce, $184. Flare 20, by LBL, $1,672, from Pacific Ceiling Fans. (Photo courtesy of LBL.) Olde Iron pendant, from Dial Lighting Gallery, $350, from Pacific Ceiling Fans. Photo courtesy of Hinkley. Grok floor lamp, $1054, from Dial Lighting Gallery.

Let the Sunshine In

The highest watt bulb on the market is definitely the sun. Skylights of Hawaii helps homeowners harness the Earth’s greatest light source, says company president, David Kaahaaina.

Photo courtesy of Skylights of Hawaii

“When sunlight falls through a skylight, we call it daylighting. The idea is to let natural light fall into the space while removing the harmful rays,” Kaahaaina says. The bad stuff, ultraviolet and infrared rays, degrades fabrics, paints and adhesives while heating up the room.

Skylights of Hawaii makes its skylights from three materials, which filter sunlight to varying degrees. While acrylic is the most common skylight material, it only reflects about 50 percent of the sun’s energy. Glass skylights are better, as they can be coated or tinted. However, Kaahaaina says a homeowner’s best option is translucent fiber glass. “It lets a lot of natural light fall through, but filters out all of the damaging rays.” It also diffuses sunlight, scattering it like a conventional light fixture.

Kaahaaina advises installing skylights during a home’s construction. During this phase, skylights are seamlessly integrated into the structure and roofing materials. However, existing homes can welcome in the sun with the company’s newest option, Solutube. It’s a tubular skylight, with a 10- or 14-inch diameter. It guides light from a lens on the roof through a stainless steel tube. The inside of the tube has a reflective coating that allows as much as 99 percent of the natural light hitting the roof to radiate down to the ceiling. At the ceiling level, the lens caps off the end of the duct, giving it the appearance of a normal lighting fixture. Recently, the Solatube has been fitted with an innovative light kit and a butterfly-wing-shaped mechanism that functions as a light dimmer. Plus, incandescent lights can be added to the ceiling fixture to make it useful at night.

Wrapped in Plastic

New light fixtures made of plastic and acrylic are stretching the imagination. These materials have come a long way. They look much more refined,” says Jamie Jackson, interior designer and co-owner of Pacific Home. Fun shapes are just one advantage of pliable materials, such as this Sedra pendant (below), Hampstead Sedra 5 acrylic light, $679, from Dial Lighting Gallery. Photo courtesy of Hampstead Lighting.

For those looking for innovative, creative lighting techniques, Hawaii Fiber Optic Lighting may be the answer. Fiber-optic lighting is made up of hundreds of individual fiber strands contained within a plastic cable. A light source sends changing, colored light (not electricity) along the fibers. Because plastic does not conduct electricity, the owner of Hawaii Fiber Optic Lighting, Clarence Nishimoto, can illuminate water features and rock gardens with shimmering, colored light patterns.

Nishimoto traveled to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York to learn more about fiber optics. Now, from his Mililani workshop, he creates custom lighting features. “Fiber optics is really about the imagination,” he says. To bring Hawaii Fiber Optics into your home, as pictured here in Nishimoto’s indoor galaxy, check out his Web site at www.hawaiifiberopticlighting.com.

Before You Light Up

Before you blow a fuse, our experts offer advice on how to make lighting your home simple.

First, decide on your lighting concept at the beginning of a remodel, says Danyal Correia, of Mr. Electric. In this stage, installing the electrical work is easier and less costly. Correia advises asking yourself two questions: “What are your needs? What is the room used for?” she asks. The answers will guide you in your lighting decisions.

Compact fluorescent, from City Mill.

While thinking about your lighting concept, Derrick Fonoda, of Hawaiian Electric Co., says utilizing the correct type of light is important. “Don’t confuse accent and general lighting,” he says. Accent lighting requires energy-consuming halogen or incandescent lights. Instead, use just a few accents to make the room glow, and rely on bright, compact fluorescents for general lighting. “Compact fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. And, they last up to 10 times longer,” says Fonoda.

For existing fixtures, switch out old, incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescents. Incandescent bulbs actually produce more heat than light. “They should be called heaters because light is a small byproduct,” Fonoda says.

Rhett Garon of Pacific Ceiling Fans recommends Energy Star-rated fixtures. These utilize compact fluorescent bulbs. Plus, outdoor fixtures feature photocell technology. “Photocells activate and deactivate the light based on the existing level of daylight,” Garon says.

When you are ready to choose fixtures, Kamakura advises homeowners to consider the scale of the fixture compared to the room. “Make sure your fixture isn’t too large or too small,” he says. Fixtures will look larger in the showroom, with many other objects around. But, when installed alone on a wall, a too-small fixture could disappear.