How does an interior designer use barn lighting to transform a smoothie shop into a trendy, yet casually inviting vegetarian restaurant? Sasha Lanka of Sasha Lanka Design, who recently took the reins of this remodel project in Asheville, North Carolina, tells us how.

Q: What was your design direction for plant?
A: This was an extensive remodel. The building needed a lot of work, but it’s in a great location. I wanted to do something a little New York-inspired but also casual and comfortable.

Q: How important was the lighting for this project?
A: One of my goals was for the lighting to be a key design feature of the project. Choosing great lighting can make such an impact.

Q: Why did you choose to use barn lights for plant?
A: I thought barn lights fit the building and the space. They are stylish and modern but not overly formal. In addition to the exterior goosenecks that I used on the sign, I used smaller gooseneck barn lights in the bathrooms. Along with antique mirrors purchased from local shops, the lights add style to the bathrooms, and the dark green finish adds a punch of color. It was a good combination of style with the architecture.

Q: Why did you purchase your lights from Barn Light Electric?
A: Barn Light Electric offers so many options in sizes, shapes, and finishes which is ideal for designers. For example, on the exterior, it would have been complicated to move the junction box on the brick wall so I chose the appropriate size light to fit the space and the wiring. Having a variety of sizing options was very helpful. Also, buying from Europe is more complicated with the extra shipping costs and rewiring that must be done. Barn Light Electric is budget friendly too. I’m always asked by people who visit plant where the lighting came from.

Photos Courtesy of Sasha Lanka Design

You may or may not have heard the big news yet! If you haven’t, we’re not going to withhold anything from you – that would fall under the category of cruel and unusual punishment, right? Can’t take the suspense anymore? Drum roll please….

We have launched our biggest Barn Light Electric Giveaway yet! You’ll probably even find it on a few of your favorite blogs too over the next couple of weeks. To enter yourself, all you have to do is browse around BarnLightElectric.com and pick out your favorite lights. In a blog post on your website, show your friends and followers what you’d love to get if you won the contest. Repost our 5 easy rules at the bottom of your post and submit your link to contest@barnlightelectric.com. You have until Wednesday, October 12, 2011 to enter. Not sure exactly what to post? We’ve put together a little sample post for you. Check it out:

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So yesterday morning I was browsing around my favorite blogs (like I do every day with a cup of coffee), and I stumbled upon something so very exciting! Barn Light Electric is hosting a HUGE giveaway that I just couldn’t resist entering.

Here’s the deal – they’re giving away one $1,000 Grand Prize and one $500 Second Place Prize to two lucky people out there. These come in the form of gift certificates to get new lighting for their home. They’ve even got a perfect line of vintage industrial furniture that would complete our new family room – love those side tables!

My job is simple. All I have to do is go through their website (which I did here) and pick out my absolute favorites to be showcased on my blog. As you know, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect pendant light to hang in my foyer, not to mention the kitchen we’re about to tackle. The Evolver Pendant really has that post modern, industrial look I’ve been trying to get my hands on and I’d love it in galvanized.

So here goes nothing, I’m sending my link in right away and you should too. The rest of the rules are pretty simple, I posted them below which is one of the requirements. Who wouldn’t love winning new lights for their home?

How to Enter:

1. Look around online at Barn Light Electric and pick lights you’d love to own
2. Feature your lighting picks on your personal blog, and link to the lights if you can!
3. Copy/Paste these rules at the bottom of your blog article so others can enter
4. Once your personal article is up, you must email your blog link to: contest@barnlightelectric.com to be qualified to win. The contest ends Wednesday, October 12, 2011
5. Don’t have a blog? Find out how you can enter by visiting our homepage

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Simple enough, huh? Start gathering your design files, we can’t wait to hear from you!

There’s an old saying: “Necessity is the mother of invention” and at Dusty Deco Design in Stockholm, Sweden, the owners follow a similar adage: “A limited budget leads to greater creativity.”

Within Dusty Deco’s interior, you’ll find a variety of salvaged finds grouped together – including two pieces we recognize very well -  industrial table carts and a deep bowl pendant in the center of the area.

The glossy deep bowl pendant has a central placement within the display – a piece worthy of being the center of attention! This allows it to showcase books and decor found on the vintage industrial furniture below as well. The culmination of the pendant light and carts near the rag rug and yellow molded school chair completes the desired throwback effect. This theme is clearly evident in each room of the studio!

At a starting price of only $169, the Ivanhoe™ Wilcox is one of the most stylish porcelain pendants you’ll find for your home. A 14″ shade is the perfect mid-size light for either large or smaller areas. Plus, additional finishes are also available to tailor the pendant’s neutral style with your home’s unique interior. Porcelain lights can last for years – just like all of the vintage items shown in Dusty Deco. They have a timeless appearance that somehow always seem to transcend generations.

Staying true to its rustic roots, Dusty Deco’s studio and furniture showroom is located within a renovated garage. Regardless of the goal or scope of their project, Dusty Deco’s designers always implement a touch of personality into their designs.

“Home styling has become a household word in Sweden and today there are very many who engage in this phenomenon. The end customer currently has a better eye than ever on the interior, and they almost require that a home or office has a classic design...” – Dusty Deco

With us, we’re always up for trying great food – so naturally, we’ve been looking forward to Cinco de Mayo for awhile! We had a big fiesta planned – invitations, maracas, decorations and even a Spanish themed photo booth for later in the day!

Our office employees signed up for a buffet style lunch of great Mexican eats for the big fiesta. As you can tell from the photos, we had SO many delicious foods. Can you smell the spices? Our taco bar included both pork, beef AND chicken tacos piled with all of the usual toppings! You can’t forget the chips and salsa either – and my favorite…desserts!

There wasn’t too much left at the end, but it was back to work – no siesta for us!

Today is April 5th and while that may not mean a lot to some, it’s a day for kicking off your shoes and going barefoot.

You may have noticed us mentioning TOMS throughout last week and yesterday. If you’re not familiar with TOMS Shoes, let us fill you in. TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. ‘One for One’ is their motto. How great is that concept?

Children all over the world are living their day to day lives without shoes. Whether playing, walking to school, or doing chores, hundreds of millions of children are at risk of general injury or even infection from soil transmitted diseases every year. It’s not something that we often think about; most of us take putting something on our feet every morning for granted, but not today. Today, TOMS has declared One Day Without Shoes – a day where participating fans around the world carry on their day to day lives without their shoes. You’ll probably get a few looks if you’re running errands or walking around the office, but just by sparking someone’s curiosity, you’ll be bringing awareness to the issue.

Do you have kids? Can you imagine what it would be like for them to not have even one pair as they’re growing up? The sharing of TOMS has taken place all over the world – over 23 different countries. The amazing part is as of September 2010, over one million pairs of shoes have been donated to children!

We have a great young team at Barn Light Electric, many to whom are big fans of TOMS themselves! Take a look at the photos below – our very own employees caught in the act this morning (and hard at work too)!

After a weekend full of upsets, the Final Four teams are set to play off for the 2011 NCAA Basketball Championship! In the Southeast conference Saturday, #8 ranked Butler knocked off the #2 Florida Gators in a 74-71 win, while in the West, #3 UConn pulled off a close 65-63 win against #5 Arizona. Sunday, for anyone that watched the game, #11 VCU pulled off an amazing upset against the #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks – 71-61, and the #4 University of Kentucky made it past the #2 University of North Carolina, 76-69.

That’s both good news and bad news for our bracket. Those who stuck with the top ranked favorites are officially out, while those who took a chance or a total shot in the dark, are moving along quite nicely! We even have a small match up between our porcelain lights! The Aero is going head to head with the Dino; two bestselling favorites, both an underdog in size compared to models like the Sky Chief, yet oh so powerful and durable. These two styles really have what it takes and are reliable in the final minutes when you need them the most!

Congrats to the following teams and participants below. We’ll keep you updated next weekend when #3 UConn plays #4 Kentucky at 6:00 PM (ET) and #8 Butler plays #11 VCU at 8:45 PM (ET) Saturday evening. Good luck to our remaining entries!

#3 UConn/Goodrich™ Aero – Michael McLean
#4 Kentucky/Ivanhoe™ Dino – Ben Lawrence & Jim Cromwell

#8 Butler/Goodrich™ Dino – Brent Lohaus
#11 VCU/Benjamin™ Aero -  0 Votes!

Ever wonder what it’s like to work at Barn Light Electric? It’s pretty fantastic. We’ve got a great crew, top notch in fact. So what’s a company to do with such a random holiday like International Waffle Day on March 25th? Um, celebrate!

We have Sweden to thank for this delicious holiday idea as this day traditionally marks the first day of Spring in Europe. Over there it’s called Våffeldagen – please don’t ask us to pronounce that. The original waffle dates back to the 1300′s in Greece, where Greeks topped theirs with cheeses and herbs.

Webster’s Dictionary describes a waffle as: ¹waf·fle noun \ˈwä-fəl : a crisp cake of baked in a waffle iron. Our definition looks more like: ¹waf·fle awesome \ˈwä-fəl : warm spongy goodness smothered in fresh fruits and syrup, topped with chocolate, sprinkles and whipped cream. 100% fat free and low calorie.

There wasn’t much waffling over whether or not we should celebrate this occasion. The team was greeted at 9 am with the aroma of a hot, fresh breakfast and were encouraged to load up their plates with toppings like fresh fruits and syrup chocolate chips, powdered sugar, chocolate syrup, sprinkles and whipped cream – something that would make even Buddy the Elf proud to eat.

Sunday, March 6th marked the first ever Inaugural Game Day 5k Run/Walk, held in Viera, Florida. The 5k race was benefiting the local Melbourne High baseball team, so it was only fitting that the race was held at Viera’s own Space Coast Stadium. Not only was the exterior part of the 3.1 mile race course, but runners also completed the race by crossing home plate (sliding was optional). And as part of the Game Day 5k registration fee, runners were given free admission to that afternoon’s preseason baseball game between the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves.

Taking part in this special event was myself (Stephanie) and our graphic designer, Lauren. It was an early morning, that’s for sure, but boy was it worth it! Needless to say, as the sun came up over central Florida, it was a perfect morning for a run. Hundreds of runners showed up, ranging in ages of 4 to 70!

With our iPods armed full of Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, we headed out into the unknown. It could have been the music, or just sheer adrenalin, but in no time, the race was over. I myself finished at 24:35, taking 3rd place for the 18-30 group, shortly followed by Lauren with a time of 35:55, respectively – not bad for her first race ever, don’t you think? This may be the start of a new Barn Light running team….or maybe just a duo.

Be sure to check out the additional photos and video below provided by WildSide Online and Island Strides Sports – note the video is in slow motion. Could you find us?

Charles Petersheim is an extremely successful builder and developer in Sullivan County, New York. After the September 11th tragedies, he picked up and left New York City and worked by fixing up a few old barns in the Sullivan County area. Eventually, Charles began designing and building homes that focused on the prevailing “new old” concept. By using local materials within the building process, like creating a driveway from stone that has been grated out of the ground, the homes that Charles and his crew build have become increasingly popular among urbanites wishing to have an escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

With all of the closings, sales, and new constructions, the Catskill Farms team often asks the question, “What recession?” The homes built by the Catskill Farms are ideal for those looking for that dreamy, old American home without having to deal with the renovations and updates required when purchasing typical old country houses. The “new old” homes allow for customization so the intended owners can truly make their Sullivan County home into their dream country home.

And where better to find lighting to match the industrial farmhouse feel? Fortunately, Barn Light Electric is able to supply more than enough options for these new homeowners to choose from. Combined with the salvaged red wood siding and the stained birch countertop in the kitchen, the Barn Light Outback Warehouse Pendant as well as the Barn Light Aztec Sconce provide the ideal ambiance for this country cottage. The wall sconce is mounted on salvaged red barn wood hung over the eight-panel window and farmhouse sink, while the two warehouse pendants linger over the wide plank wood floors. Even if your home isn’t located in the woods of upstate New York, by bringing barn lighting into your home, your home could feel like one of the spacious homes in the Catskill Farms.

Today is “National Salesperson Day,” in which we recognize the true value of our professional sales team! At Barn Light Electric, our small but remarkable group of sales associates treat every customer with the professional and friendly service you would find at an old fashioned mom and pop store.

When you call us, you won’t be transferred around the world; instead, you’ll be connected with Jon, Drew, Tyler or Chris. Together, they work right along side the rest of the all star staff in our main Titusville, Florida location.

They’re devoted to making your shopping experience as friendly and easy as possible – which is why we offer several ways to contact us. During our daytime hours, any one of our sales staff can be reached by calling our 800 number, both within the United States, and Internationally. Another easy option is our Live Help in which you can connect to us in an secure, online chat room. Lastly, you can always drop us an email, or if you’re local, stop in to see us!

In addition to their wealth of knowledge about our products, each sales associate can assist you with any questions that arise before, during, or after your purchase. They can assist you with general wattage and finish questions, finding the best shade size for your setting or if you’re wondering about the final projection of light, they can help you with that too!

Our loyal customers keep coming back because they know they can count on first-class, friendly service. Here are just a few of the Customer Testimonials our sales team has received:

“Let me start by saying I’m very impressed and pleased that you phoned last evening after you had closed. I appreciate it as, like me, the day is never really over when it comes to business. Thank you for that. Thank you so very much. Top notch service. Thank you.” – Brian, Canada

“I made a mistake when ordering two warehouse pendants — I specified two different finishes instead of one. Your service rep called to check before filling the order, and saved me much distress and travail. Thank you for the attention to detail and for taking the trouble. Also — the lamps look great.” – Sheryl, Texas

“I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say THANK YOU! The fixtures that I ordered are so wonderful. I cannot wait until I can order my next batch from you. Keep up the great work! I should also add that a wonderful customer service person from your company called me to clarify my order. He also asked me some good questions and really helped me make sure that my order was exactly what I wanted.” – Betsy, Wisconsin

“This person not only answered my questions precisely, they anticipated one of my questions and answered it while I was still typing it. Nice job.” – Dar, Online Chat

To learn more about our devoted sales team and the rest of our staff at Barn Light Electric, visit Our Employees page.