Today’s lighting styles could very well take permanent hold for the future – mainly, focusing on sustainable and energy-efficient options that are becoming increasingly important even in vintage-inspired styles. Added to this are fun trends that are taking off in the moment.

Be ahead of the game by knowing 7 major lighting trends to look for in 2015:

1. Making the Switch to LEDs

This will come to no one’s surprise. Even those clinging desperately to their beloved incandescents (if there be such folks) know that LED lighting is here to stay. Remember, these oldies are being phased out as of 2014, meaning the U.S. will no longer import or manufacture these bulbs. Significantly, LED lighting is both practical and affordable as compared to other alternatives.

The demand for LED lighting, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom has grown exponentially according to residential architects. Costs for customers are also going steadily downward as their use becomes more ubiquitous. LED cabinet lighting is in especially strong demand, along with LED cove lighting.

Outdoor LED lighting is also on an upswing. Many consumers are enhancing their patios, pathways, porches, and gardens with additional lighting.

2. Clustering Glass Pendants

Pendant lighting is a hot item at the moment. Artisan glass pendants and bowls are important silhouettes that stand out for the next year.

Glass pendants are extremely versatile and transcend several décor styles. Glass pendant lights can be used to offer a direct source of light to a particular task area or can be a decorative accessory use to bring mood and color into a room. Clustering single-light pendants or hanging multi-light fixtures in gathering spaces like the living room or dining room, is another growing trend, with many consumers attracted to the sleek and timeless figures of these types of lights.

3. Chandeliers In New Places

Chandeliers are another item that used to be relegated to the dining room, weddings or a dramatic ball room. They were often seen as a glamorous object suited for only equally opulent surroundings. Now, these beauties are turning up in unexpected places; from kitchens and baths to laundry rooms.

Also, chandeliers aren’t just for the super-wealthy anymore. There are plenty of stunning, affordable options on the market today that will not sacrifice style.

Mini chandeliers fit into this category. With their small scale, they are just right for limited-size spaces such as bathrooms, attic bedrooms and small suites.

And, if you can easily afford it, the demand for traditional crystal chandeliers is coming into play once again. Many manufacturers are also willing to customize chandelier details which sees customers now willing spend extra for personalization.

4. Lighting Inside Drawers and Cabinets

Using a flashlight or turning on an overhead light to peer into a dimly-lit space is a thing of the past. There are simple and elegant solutions to this problem: they’re adding lighting inside those formerly-dark spaces.

You can use LED strip lights, motion detecting lights that use AAA batteries, or unlike  battery operated units, you can also use a strip system that turns on and off and is controlled by the contact between two magnetic switches. This model would need to be plugged into a power supply.

5. LED Lighting In the Shower

Rainshower heads with changing LED lights are a fun fashion in bathroom lighting that will be sure to take off in the next year. These heads are constructed of stainless steel and possess temperature sensitive LED lights, that will treat you to a dazzling display of color when you wash.

Everything seems fine, then POOF–your power goes out. Chances are, you tripped a circuit breaker. Electrical problems are one of those things that tend to make a homeowner’s stress level skyrocket. You’re not sure what’s wrong, but suddenly you’ve lost access to the power you depend on in your DC area home! 

A breaker can trip for many reasons. Below are the tops 5 causes of an electrical breaker tripping in your home.

Looking for electrical repair in Washington, DC? Contact Kolb today!

A breaker trip comes as a result of a circuit tied to your circuit breaker exceeding its safe parameters. They can be identified by a sudden loss of power to specific appliances (those that used a dedicated circuit, like a fridge or microwave), or a loss of power in your home that is limited to a specific area.

There are a lot of issues that can result in breaker trips, but there are the ones our DC electricians address most often during electrical repairs in Washington, DC:

Looking for superior service and quality from your electrician? Contact Kolb Electric for electrical repair in Washington, DC!

Luxurious lighting styles are in the eye of the beholder. It can be an over-the-top glamorous chandelier with ornate details to a simple and clean glass globe lighting pendant with a singular, classic antique bulb. Whatever luxury lighting means to you, it can be attained without breaking the bank if you carefully shop and compare.

Traditional Luxury

The foyer might be a best place to start your luxury lighting quest, as it’s where you greet your guests. Consider large-in-scale pendants, which make a statement in what could otherwise be a plain space.

The Socorro lighting collection by Sea Gull Lighting is influenced by a classic, barbed Quatrefoil shape. Its rustic look is created by both Cerused Oak and Stardust finishes. Pictured here is the six-light foyer pendant.

Modern Luxury

As many homeowners use their kitchen as a central gathering place, here, too, presents an opportunity to showcase your idea of luxury lighting. Imagine family and friends clustered around a kitchen island, where a carefully placed pendant—or two or three—could become a conversation piece. Here, these stunning, modern Lexi three-light pendants from Feiss draw the eye upward to its textured crystals floating within a laser cut frame. A White Shantung silk shade sits within the crystal drum while a glass diffuser softens the light.

Contemporary Luxury

You might think an opulent chandelier or a cluster of colorful pendants are expensive, but there are many affordable versions that will still add a “wow” factor.  If your dining room is used for special occasions, you might consider something bold. The Carondelet four-light chandelier from Sea Gull Lighting features a cascade of faceted, linear glass crystals delivering the ultimate sparkle. Hanging them in a pair is an affordable way to make a luxurious and indelible impact.

Glamorous Luxury

With the eggplant color paint, plush silver rug and other modern furnishings, this living room is the perfect backdrop for the Marquise Collection by Feiss. Designed to follow the cut of a marquise diamond, the lighting collection has a delicate, exposed metal frame adorned with a silver leaf application—then it’s finished with a string of hand-applied beading to capture the light. Shown here are the Marquise three-light pendant and one-light wall sconce.

Hollywood Regency Luxury

The Hollywood Regency style is very popular, as it harkens back to era when heroes such as Greta Garbo and Douglas Fairbanks graced the Silver Screen, and the nation’s total wealth more than doubled. Note how the Burdeen sconces by Feiss flanking the window and soaking tub enhance this spa-like look with their glass etched backplates and three candelabra lights. There’s also a one-light Burdeen sconce that’s even more affordable.

Mountain Luxe

Mountain Luxe design could be easily defined as mountain lodge meets high rise penthouse—creating a perfect place to nestle by the fireplace while sipping a hot toddy. The unusual coupling of dark and light fashioned into a lovely round silhouette in this six-light Colorado Springs semi-flush ceiling fixture by Feiss embodies Mountain Luxe with its clear glass crystals floating in metal rings, which are then threaded onto a chain and strung into its drum shade.

PRO TIP: Be it traditional to transitional or contemporary to modern, to achieve the luxury look you want in your home seek out affordably-priced, high quality looks that emulate more expensive designs. Think “Get the Look” feature stories that run in magazines such as Glamour where high priced clothing is compared to low priced clothing with the same aesthetic. It works!

This weekend many people around the country set their clocks back to adhere to daylight savings time (DST).     How did this tradition start, and why do we follow daylight savings time?

Although daylight savings has only been used for about 100 years, ancient civilizations had been known to use a similar system.  Ancient people would adjust their daily schedules to the sun’s schedule.  Benjamin Franklin is often credited with bringing daylight savings time into the modern limelight.  He suggested, in a essay, although jokingly, that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of the natural morning light instead.

Both George Vernon Hudson and William Willett had also suggested a system similar to daylight savings.  Both men suggested setting clocks either forward or back to coincide with daylight hours.  Willet actually suggested eight time changes a year moving clocks in 20 minute increments.  This plan was introduced to the British House of Commons in February 1908, with the first bill drafted in 1909, however, the idea was never made into a law.

Daylight Savings in Europe

Germany was the first country to implement DST in 1916 in an effort to save fuel for the war.  The innovative idea caught on and countries around the world used DST during the war, but many reverted back to standard time after WWI.  U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST in the United States, called “War Time” during World War II from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945.

Modern DST in the U.S.

In the United States, DST caused widespread confusion from 1945 to because states and localities were free to choose when and if they would observe DST.  In 1966 Congress passed into law the Uniform Time Act which stated DST would begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. However, states still had the ability to be exempt from DST by passing a local ordinance.

Daylight Saving today