Uplighters – lighting on the up

EDIT CASE PLASTER WALL LIGHT

Uplighters have become a more common feature of the modern home as more and more of us explore the space changing opportunities they provide. Uplighters as the name suggests are designed to reflect or throw light upwards to create a warm, inviting atmosphere in your living space. Not only that, but an upwards light can be used to make a room look and feel larger and by placing resultant shadows you can really set the mood of a room.

Uplighting effects

Using the various effects that uplighting has to offer can open up a world of possibilities. You can use coloured screens or bulbs to change the colour of the room or move uplighters around to give you complete and utter control over the room’s tone. Subtle placement of two uplighters in the recesses either side of a chimney, for instance, can subtly seem to flatten the wall and present more living space while a single bright floor uplighter can brighten a lost corner of your room or throw interesting shadows from plants or furniture to create interest for the eye as well as the heart. Take a look at some of the types of uplighters available from Lighting Direct and you’ll be sure to find the ideal uplighter to create your perfect environment.

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Indoor wall uplighters

Where normal wall lights are often positioned a distance out from a wall on an arm or fitting and surrounded by a shade, indoor uplighters fit snug to the wall and use the reflective qualities of their fittings to direct their light more effectively onto the surrounding surfaces, enhancing among other things the colour and texture of the wall surface itself. Take the Slice wall light – a wide scallop shaped uplighter with a curved profile that can spread subtle and warm light to suit your needs.

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Alternatively if you want to make the light more defined then the tighter focus provided by something like the Cleo wall light with it’s polished chrome finish can throw a more dramatic beam up and down a wall, especially useful in more enclosed areas.

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Outdoor Wall Uplighters

Uplighters are as versatile as any other light and can be used outside to just as good effect as they can indoors. The Riga Twin Wall Lights can make a dramatic statement that can really help set the tone for your house and decor from the outside in. They’re protected against dust and splashing water and come in a variety of colours and finishes.

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If you need something to blend in stylishly with a modern interior the  Trio Wall Light Chrome will be a tasteful choice. This will be a great accompaniment to a contemporary room with wooden floors and black leather furnishings.

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Floor uplighters

A floor uplighter is the perfect combination of form and function. A fine example is the Dar Montana Floor Lamp in Antique Brass, which works beautifully both as a source of light for reading and as a piece of attractive and stylish room furniture.  Our wide range of floor lamps includes both modern designs as well as those with a more traditional take.

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A floor uplighter like the Toronto Corner Uplighter can offer an altogether more dramatic light solution. Positioned closer to the floor they throw their light wider and offer you the opportunity to change and refresh the light in a room by simply moving them around or changing bulbs. You can develop a variety of effects by simply changing the wattage, the lustre or even the colour of the bulb to suit every décor imaginable.

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Ceiling uplighters

Possibly the easiest and most effective option for an uplighter is the most simple. A ceiling uplighter like the Swirl can transform the feel and tone of a room instantly. British made and available in a variety of finishes the Swirl from David Hunt lighting can be co-ordinated with a range of other lighting options to create your perfect room.

Dramatic lighting

So for basic but dramatic lighting look no further than our range of Uplighters, it could be the single most effective lighting choice you ever make!

 

Take a look at our full range of Wall Uplighters and Floor Lamp Uplighters .

 

Looking for more inspiration and advice? Try our Lighting Ideas section.

 

andrew author bio

Andrew Evangelidis Head of Buying

Andrew is an experienced buying professional who takes an entrepreneurial approach to identify new lighting solutions and ensure Lyco have first-to-market ranges for our customers. Having previously worked for well known brands such as Wickes, Carphone Warehouse and Toys R Us, Andrew has now turned his hand to sourcing commercial lighting and ensure our customers receive top brand quality products at marketing leading prices. He manages a team of commercial and decorative buyers who travel the world finding new products that our customers don’t even know they need yet.

A Guide to Lighting Coastal Locations

Coastal location lights face an environment more hostile than most when they are installed outdoors. All outdoor lighting in Britain has to cope with rain and snow, frequently driven by wind and considerable changes in temperature which can often be quite rapid. Coastal location lights have to contend with an additional hazard, namely airbourne salt.

Salt setback

Salt, as everyone knows, is present in sea water and is corrosive to many materials, particularly metals. When salt remains in contact with steel, as it does when damp or wet, a chemical action occurs between the steel and the salt which results in the steel being eaten away. Therefore, anything made of steel that is either submerged in sea water or exposed to being splashed by it will have a very limited life.

The trouble is, salt doesn’t stay in the sea! When you see foaming waves whipped into spray by the wind and by breaking on shore, what you are seeing is millions of droplets of salt water being picked up by the wind and remaining in the atmosphere to be carried by the wind anything up to ten miles or so inland. Everything in that coastal belt is therefore exposed to a salty atmosphere.

Electrical conductors and connections and a damp, salty environment do not sit well together. Ask any boat owner! It is important therefore that coastal location lights are not only made from corrosion resistant materials but have all their electrical components well protected from the atmosphere.

General misconceptions

One might be forgiven for thinking that stainless steel or brass would be ideal materials to use for coastal location lights but sadly it’s not as simple as that. Stainless steel is a generic term that covers a wide range of grades. Only certain high grades are suitable for the marine environment and these are prohibitively expensive and difficult to work, making them generally unsuitable for the manufacture of lamps. Similarly brass only has adequate corrosion resistance in grades very rich in bronze such as Admiralty brass. Lamps made from that would be priced out of the market!

So we are left with just two materials that are practicable to use for coastal location lights. Mild steel that is protected by galvanising and copper which when exposed to coastal conditions develops a protective coating of its own which tends to give it an antique look.

Preservation

If you already have external lights in a coastal location you can help to preserve them and extend their life by careful maintenance. If they are galvanised, make sure the galvanising does not get damaged in any way. If they are painted, keep them regularly painted so that the paint remains intact. In all cases you need to ensure that all openings are kept sealed against the ingress of damp salty air. The brass connectors will last longer if you keep them coated with non-conducting grease. As long as your coastal location lights are well sealed, a regular wash over with fresh water will help considerably. For safety, do this only when they are switched off!

Recommended lights for coastal locations

For new coastal location fittings Lighting Direct have quite a range to choose from. For wall mounted lamps there’s a Edit Stage wall lamp in galvanised steel or there is a very nice wall lantern in a stunning Matt Nickel finish. The Sail up & down wall light also comes in matt nickel, brass & oxidised black. The pick of the Post lights is the Vejers Standard Post – Galvanised.

Living within fifteen miles of the coast doesn’t mean that any outside lights you install will need unreasonably frequent replacement due to corrosion. It just means you have to take care when choosing your coastal location lights to specify either galvanised steel or copper construction and then look after them once installed. Even then, being situated in such conditions does mean that galvanised or copper fittings may discolour over time.

Take a look at our full coastal lighting range.

Need more lighting inspiration? Check out our Lighting Ideas section.

andrew author bio

Andrew Evangelidis Head of Buying

Andrew is an experienced buying professional who takes an entrepreneurial approach to identify new lighting solutions and ensure Lyco have first-to-market ranges for our customers. Having previously worked for well known brands such as Wickes, Carphone Warehouse and Toys R Us, Andrew has now turned his hand to sourcing commercial lighting and ensure our customers receive top brand quality products at marketing leading prices. He manages a team of commercial and decorative buyers who travel the world finding new products that our customers don’t even know they need yet.