TheDesignFile

IKEA will sell only LED bulbs by 2016

IKEA was the first major retailer to stop selling incandescent bulbs – the ones that provide beautiful light but eat up electricity – in favor of those controversial compact fluorescent bulbs and LEDs.

That was 2010 and it seemed that so-called CFLs (the ones at right in the middle) were the future, much to the chagrin of my mom and millions of others who don’t like the way their nicely decorated houses look in what is generally an ugly, yellow-tinged light.

And who wants to look in the mirror in the morning underneath one of those fluorescent bulbs? Yuck.

Now, though, IKEA has pledged to get rid of the CFLs too in favor of only LED bulbs (above far right), which the company says last longer and are therefore more energy efficient. LED stands for light-emitting diodes.

The full conversion to LEDs will be complete in 2016, IKEA says.

“LED is a light revolution,” said IKEA’s chief sustainability officer, Steve Howard, in a statement released by the company.

Chip It! is great way to find your color palette

Choosing paint colors can be so difficult, especially when you’ve got a look in mind that you’re trying to achieve.

Sherwin-Williams now has an online tool that might be able to help.

Chip It! is a website that lets you take a photo you like and turn it into a color palette you can use in a room. What I like about this tool is that it takes a lot of guess work not only out of paint choices but even furniture and accessory colors.

And I’m surprised how well it really works.

I used the photo below – part of the flooring at the magical West Baden Springs Hotel – to create a gorgeous color palette (which is surprisingly similar to my living room).

The photo you use with Chip It! has to be online. Once you find a photo, you have two options for creating the palette.

You can simply paste in the URL of the photo. Or you can drag the Chip It! bookmarklet to your toolbar and use it to create a palette from any web page.

That’s how I made the palette below, based on a pretty living room from Better Homes and Gardens.

Sherwin-Williams will also let you create a profile at www.letschipit.com so you can save your palettes.

“We know that finding the right color is often one of the biggest challenges when tackling the painting aspect of a project,” said Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams. “Our customers seek inspiration from a wide range of places. We want to help them take that inspiration and turn it into a reality. CHIP IT! delivers perfectly.”

Try it out and let me know what you think.

Tips for choosing LED and florescent bulbs

If you’re like me – and I know plenty of you who aren’t in this area – you love the idea of conserving energy by using LED or compact florescent bulbs but can get a little frustrated by their higher prices and inconsistency.

I’ve purchased florescent bulbs expecting them to last for years, only to have them burn out quickly. Then you have to look for a place to dispose of the CFLs because they contain mercury. Plus, they have to warm up.

LEDs are expensive and some of them don’t seem to put out much light.

But according to Consumer Reports – a magazine I love and trust – some of these problems may be in the past.

“Contrary to what you might have heard, you can still buy most incandescent light bulbs,” the magazine said. “But we've found few reasons you should.

“Our tests of 26 compact fluorescents and 10 light-emitting diodes found that though the newest bulbs might not be perfect, they last longer and use less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs, and many of the problems of earlier versions have been overcome.”

The magazine’s report on CFL and LED bulbs reveals “that many problems of the earlier versions have been overcome and that these new efficient bulbs last longer and use far less electricity than the traditional incandescent bulbs.”

What’s new? A Lamps Plus app & lamps

When I learned about the new Lamps Plus app for iPhones and iPads, you know I had to go check it out. So far, it’s been a lot of fun. The app lets you browse the company’s new catalogs, which I love, and gives you some design tips.

So I thought I’d pull today’s “What’s new?” picks from one of the new Lamps Plus catalogs. Here’s what I found:

My favorite of this group is the Color Squares Customizable Chandelier for $199. What’s cool is that the customer gets to arrange the red, blue, black, gold, silver and and frosted glass pieces any order you want. You have to love something so interactive and fun!

I also really like the Chrome and Crystal Flushmount ceiling light in the upper right corner.

Let’s face it…a lot of flush-mount lights are pretty boring. But the little crystals on this one – just enough but not too much – give it a glamorous style while still giving you plenty of vertical space in the hallway or bathroom or wherever you’d hang this little beauty. It’s also $199.

Here are the details on the other three cool new lights:

• The Blue Swirl Glass Table Lamp (shown in the collage and in the room above) is only $89.99.
• The White Cloud 15-inch Wide Pendant Chandelier is $129.99.
• The Possini Euro Design Oval Arch nightlight Lamp is $179.99.

DWR offers new online room tool

If you’re like me, you love web-based tools that make decorating your home easier. So when I learned about the new three-dimensional room planner at Design Within Reach, I knew I had to share it with you right away.

First, if you’re not familiar with Design Within Reach, the site itself will be a treat. It’s the go-to place for modern design.

Now, DWR has joined with interiors website MyDeco to create a room planner that is easy to use and highly effective.

According to DWR, customers can upload their floor plan or customize a room template by moving walls to the correct size and shape. The tool also provides an assortment of drag-and-drop windows and doors and hundreds of wall paint colors, wallpapers and floor coverings so users can fine-tune their space.

After saving the design, users receive a photo-realistic, high-quality 3D rendering in about two hours. They can then print their design and share it via email, Facebook and Twitter or with account executives at their local DWR Studio to get comments and ideas or to purchase items featured in their creation.

“Our residential clients and members of the interior design trade will find this free tool infinitely useful for functional space planning and for aspirational designs,” said Design Within Reach CEO John Edelman.

Want to learn more? Watch this video:

Paint apps let you match color to inspiration

Since I got an iPad, I’ve been paying more attention to the apps that might help all of us improve our homes.

So when I got an email from Olympic Paints announcing its new ColorClix app, I thought I’d check it out.

The app is one of several free offerings from paint companies that help you choose paint colors.

With ColorClix, you can use your phone to snap a photo and then use the app to select a hue in the image and match it to one of more than 1,200 Olympic paint colors. The app also lets users select paint colors, order samples and find retail locations across the country.  

"Our ColorClix app transforms how consumers take their daily color inspirations – colors in anything from furniture to a floral arrangement or an art pattern – and turn them into a design reality in their homes," said Jennifer Dodson, senior marketing manager for Olympic Paints.

"The app brings an element of fun and spontaneity to the color process because anything can be an inspiration. By simply snapping a picture on a mobile device, homeowners can quickly find a matching shade of Olympic paint."

But ColorClix is not the only paint color app that’s available. Here are some other options: