The Art of Lighting Your Gallery

Picture Perfect:

The Art of Lighting Your Gallery

When entering someone’s home, your eyes are immediately drawn to the elements that stand out. Any individual with a unique style or interest in having an aesthetically-pleasing home means that they need to wow their guests and showcase their best decor and furniture pieces. These are the essentials of creating successful interior design. However, stunning interior design does not always need to involve elaborate decorations and bright colors; the simple placement of appropriate lighting can make a decoration into a showcase piece. A fantastic way to display your artwork and framed pictures is considering the purchase of a picture light. There are a few key elements, however, in choosing the correct art light to bring attention to your hanging pictures.

The integrated LED lights used in the picture lights Cocoweb has to offer are energy efficient. No replacement bulbs are needed for over 50,000 hours of use. They do not generate any heat, preventing the painting from cracking or fading which can be caused by traditional bulbs, such as incandescent or CFL light bulbs. The voltage required to power these LED bulbs also is much lower than traditional lighting, resulting in lower energy consumption, and therefore reducing your electric bill.

Cocoweb has a vast selection of gallery lighting specific to your available space, artwork size, style, and even electrical options. It is important in taking the following guidelines into consideration when choosing the picture lighting that will bring out the most illuminative qualities of your picture art.

WHY DO I NEED A PICTURE LIGHT?

Picture lights are an excellent solution for bringing out the details of your personal artwork pieces or gallery collection and truly making it come to life. Many types of buyers may consider this decorative lighting option because it can be used for a vast variety of decor types. Posters, paintings, tapestries, murals, both framed and unframed hanging items, work well with creating a dramatic ambience in your home’s interior when used with picture lighting. These lights can be used in rooms with little light sources to give a homey and classic vibe. Even a romantic feel can be achieved when a picture light is placed in a dimly-lit room.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PICTURE LIGHTS?

Plug-In Standard Picture Lights

This type of gallery lighting is most commonly used as the standard option for most buyers. The method for which this light is powered uses a standard 3-prong electrical outlet. It is the most direct and simple choice for installation, however it is important to consider the distance from the wall space you plan to place your picture light, comparably to the location of the electrical outlet. You must take measurements of the distance between the nearest outlet and your chosen spot for the picture and picture light placement to determine the cord length. If having a corded light does not seem like it will work for you, Cocoweb has several other options for lighting pictures that either do not require an outlet and use batteries for a power source, and some lights can even be hard-wired to hide the cords.

Battery-Operated Picture Lamps

Another option for placing a light above your art is a battery-operated picture light. These are considered “lamps” in most cases, due to the fact that they operate on batteries, instead of electricity. Where quality meets convenience, these art lights are extremely popular due to their portable nature. Portability allows your picture to be hung and lit by the picture light, without cords being exposed. This also has many positive features including the ability to not be distracted by bulky cords or plugs, so the viewer can focus on looking at the artwork features themself. There are several options including either a 4-battery pack or an 8-battery pack to power your light. Over 140 hours of usage is output by these battery packs. However, if you are interested so far, but have a deeper desire to install your picture lighting permanently, there are hardwire options as well!

Hardwire Art Lights

With many opinions on the extent of the battery life for picture lights versus the actual visibility of the cords to an outlet, Cocoweb has devised a solution to both - hardwire picture lights! This solution allows you to direct your power source in your gallery, home, office, or retail space for the art light directly to an outlet, without ever exposing the wires! Many Cocoweb customers can hide the direct wire pack box in a recessed media box, or with the assistance of an electrician or electrical professional, drill a small hole through the wall to feed the wire through to the media box hidden in the wall. Another option is to have a hole driven directly behind the hardwired picture light, fed through the wall, and another hole drilled directly next to the power outlet. We do recommend this work being done by a professional with electrical knowledge. Hiding your picture light cords can create a cleaner, more professional, and less distracting presentation for displaying your artwork.

Track Lighting

Track lighting, or spotlights, can create an extremely illuminating and magical experience for its viewers. It can bring out the highlights and most appealing elements of a photo when displayed on the center of the picture. Track lighting is an excellent resource for those who have larger pictures and displays they want to bring light to. The lights are on tracks, so they are able to move horizontally along the track to light different parts of the room when turned on. They also swivel at 360 degrees, which also allows more movement to position the lighting. If you do not have the ability to hardwire a picture, do not want a corded picture light, or perhaps want to illuminate larger or multiple hanging elements, Cocoweb’s track lighting is a great solution for you.