Birch & Willow has compiled three glossaries: Lamp and Luminary Design Glossary; Light Bulb Glossary; and Eco-Glossary. Our lighting business is an interdisciplinary undertaking. We hope the information provided in these glossaries will help you better understand the intersecting worlds of lighting design, technology and environmental responsibility where the development and creation of Birch & Willow products takes place. The glossaries include information from many sources as well as some of our own. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions
| Term |
| Definition |
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| Accent Lighting |
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A type of lighting used to accentuate a given locality or object in the home or office, for example; an entryway, sculpture or painting.
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| ADA (Americans Disability Act) Compliance |
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The ADA regulations cover a broad range of building issues. As applied to public area lighting (i.e., sconces installed in public hallways), fixtures cannot project from the finished wall surface more than 4”. |
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| Ambient Lighting |
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General lighting excluding accent or task lighting and including natural light. This is the all around, soft and uniform indirect illumination that fills a room or space with a warm glow. Sconces can be a source of ambient light. |
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| Architectural Lighting |
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A broad generic term for built-in light fixtures, such as valance lighting, or recessed lighting in ceilings, or in bookshelves or ledges high or low on walls. |
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| ASID |
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American Society of Interior Designers (Add to link page) |
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| Base |
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The bottom portion of a lamp, or foot that the lamp rests. |
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| Bell Lampshade |
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A style of lampshade that is curved and adds a dressy look. This lampshade design is best suited to use with fabrics. |
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| Bottom Ring |
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The wire ring that forms the bottom of a lampshade. |
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| Bulb Clip Adaptor |
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A clip-on device that can be used to adapt a washer top ring for use without a harp. Typically, the adaptor has a threaded top that slips through the opening of the washer top ring and is secured with a screw-on finial. |
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| Candelabra Clip-on |
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Top ring of a lampshade that has a long narrow clip and clamps onto a candelabra or torpedo shaped light bulb. |
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| Canopy |
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A part of a light fixture that conceals an outlet box and is mounted to the junction box. |
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| Ceiling Fixtures |
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Suspended from the ceiling and installed close to the ceiling. An ambient light source often used in spaces with low clearance or in entryways, hallways and workspaces. |
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| Chimney Top Wire |
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Top ring of a lampshade with an inner wire ring that slides down over a glass hurricane chimney. The opening of the inner ring comes in several diameter openings. |
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| Clip-on |
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Top ring of a lampshade that clips directly onto the light bulb. Clip-on top rings are designed to either fit a candelabra, torpedo or standard medium base bulbs. |
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| Coolie Shade (or Flare Shades) |
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A style of lampshade with a dramatic flare. It is suitable for wide bases and or creating a dramatic look. |
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| Diffuse Lighting |
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Light which has been scattered or dispersed. It is a lighting design device meant to pull attention away from the source of the light and or to create shadows. |
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| Direct Lighting |
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A form of lighting where a minimum of 90% of the light produced is cast in a downward direction. |
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| Drop of Pendant |
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The distance from the ceiling to either the top of bottom of the pendant. A measurement that indicates how low the pendant hangs below the ceiling or above a table or work surface. |
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| Drum Shade |
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A style of lampshade with a cylindrical shape that works well with narrow lamp bases and or on a lamp placed in a narrow space. A drum shade creates a contemporary or classical look. The shorter the drum shade the more dramatic the look. |
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| Empire Shade |
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A style of lampshade with a slight flair (not as extreme as a collie shade) that suits most bases. An empire shade can be used create either a traditional or contemporary look. |
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| Finial |
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An ornamental attachment that screws on to the harp at the top of lamp to secure the lampshade. Typically, the final is a decoration that compliments the lamp base and adds to the sense of height. |
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| Final Washer |
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Small washer that is placed between the lampshade top wire and finial. The washer prevents the lampshade and finial loosing up. |
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| Hard wire |
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A method of installing a luminary using a junction or “j” box. |
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| Harp |
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A brass or nickel-plated harp-shaped bracket that is clamped into a harp bottom. The lampshade site on top of the harp and is secured with a screw-on finial. |
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| Harp Bottom |
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A piece of brass or nickel-plated hardware that is mounted below the lamp socket. The harp is installed into the u-shaped hardware. |
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| Island Pendant |
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A pendant that is designed for use above kitchen islands. |
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| Junction Box |
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An enclosure that houses electric wires or cables that are joined together and protects the connections. A junction box is recessed behind a finished wall surface or above a finished ceiling surface. |
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| Lampshade |
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A fixture that covers the light bulb on a lamp to diffuse, lessen and or direct the light it emits. Lampshades are created in a variety of shapes for use with table lamps, floor lamps as well as suspended lamps. Lampshades are made in a wide range of materials including paper, fabric and weaving. Lampshades are either opaque or translucent. Beyond its practical purpose, significant emphasis is also usually given to the lampshade’s decorative and aesthetic features. |
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| Lampshade Measurement |
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The lampshade measurements are always written in the same order: diameter of the top opening or top ring x diameter of the bottom opening or bottom ring x length of the slope of the side. Please visit our lampshade page for more information. |
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| Leaf & Pod Shade |
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A Birch & Willow lampshade design. Please visit our lampshade page for more information. |
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| LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) |
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Developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED rating system is the most widely known and accepted green building certification program. www.usgbc.org/leed |
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| Luminaries |
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Any fixture that contains all of the parts needed for mounting to a junction box and connecting to a power source. A luminary is a hardwired fixture. |
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| Measuring the drop |
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Please visit our: www.birchandwillow.com/newpages/dropmeasurement.htm page for more information. |
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| Oval lampshades |
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An oval lampshade is most suited for use with ovular shaped lamp bases. An oval lampshade that is wider from side-to-side and narrower from front to back works very well when placed on a shallow piece of furniture and or in a corner. |
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| Pendant |
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A fixture suspended from the ceiling and dropped closer to a table or work surface than a ceiling fixture. A pendant typically creates a much softer light than a ceiling fixture. |
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| Recessed Fixture |
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A light fixture mounted into the ceiling above the finished surface of the ceiling. The opening for the light is the only part of the fixture visible from below when the fixture is illuminated. |
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| Sconce |
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A wall-mounted fixture. |
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| Task Lighting |
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Lighting that is designed for a specific task. An example of task lighting is a reading light. Task lighting can also be used in food preparation areas of kitchens. |
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| Top Wire (or Top Fitter) |
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The ring at the top of a lampshade. Top wires are manufactured in a range of shapes (including round, oval and square), designs (washer, uno, clip-on) and sizes to accommodate the lamp style. |
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| UL (Underwriters Laboratory) |
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An independent organization that applies strict tests to electrical manufacturer’s products. When and if they pass these tests, the makers can designate them as ‘UL Listed’. UL is the trusted source across the globe for product compliance. |
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| Uno or Uno Bridge Top Ring |
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The uno top ring threads directly onto the outer edge of the light socket. The lampshade is then secured to the socket and can hang down from the lamp. It is most often used with lampshades designed for floor lamps with adjustable arms and light bulbs that point downward for task lighting. |
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| Urn Sconce |
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A wall bracket fixture shaped liked an urn for sending light upwards. |
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| Valance Lighting |
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This is where the fixture or fixtures are installed behind a horizontal shielding running along a wall or above a window. It is a form of Architectural Lighting. |
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| Wall Grazing |
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A method of lighting where light is aimed down a wall to produce dramatic shadowing. |
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| Wall Lighting |
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A lighting method where light is ‘bounced’ off walls to give the appearance of more spacious rooms. |
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| Wall Washing |
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A technique used to bathe a wall in light to give it added emphasis. |
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| Washer Top Ring (or Spider Top Ring) |
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The washer top is the most common top ring design. It is used with a harp. Washer tops are manufacturer as flush rings (no recess) and with recesses from ½” (most common) to 4” or more. The recess raises the lampshade up above the top ring. It can be utilized to position the light bulb in relation to the lampshade. The washer top ring is placed on top of the harp and is secured with a screw-on finial. |
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