Modernize your bathroom

Nowadays there is a new trend to increase the size of a bathroom. A big and beautiful bathroom can enhance the look of your home. A bathroom reflects lifestyle of a person. A larger washroom gives more space to add beautiful accessories and furniture. The most important elements without which your bathroom is not complete are showers and a bathtubs. A beautiful shower and a bathtub can make your washroom stylish. Beautiful furniture will create mood in your bathroom. The accessory you want to use in your bathroom should be stylish and useful. Modern elements which are being added to a bathroom are free standing baths, whirlpool tubs and copper basins.

RASSTB-14A

The most popular materials which are being used to manufacture accessories are chrome and glass. The reflective property of both the materials makes bathroom look spacious. Stainless steel is also being used for making beautiful cabinets. If you want to give an artistic look to your bathroom, you can use translucent bathroom tiles in your washroom. You can spend a lot of money while designing your new bathroom but every thing depends on your budget. A modern design can give a fresh and new look to your bathroom and home.

SAYING GOODBYE TO 2009 by Mindy Platt

When I think back on the past year a lot has happened! In January we made the big move from our Madera warehouse to our new Fresno warehouse, allowing us to shorten ship times! We also lowered our pricing on our Lu Previte Signature Lighting Collection, making it more affordable to display in showrooms across the country. In February we attended the Winter 2009 Las Vegas Market, where we met some truly remarkable people who we have since built great relationships with. In March we exhibited at the Hearth, Patio & Barbeque Association in Reno, Nevada where we unveiled our fantastic new Evolution Mantels – the feedback was terrific! In April we added over 50 new pieces of artwork to our Contemporary Collection, which customers took to immediately! In May we hosted Epicurean Delights, a spectacular event that showcased some of the finest local restaurants and helped raise money for the Fresno Fire Chief’s Foundation. The warm summer heat hit us mid-June along with a slue of birthdays to celebrate! This month also marked our launch of the Yosemite Home Décor Facebook Fan Page, as well as our beginning on Twitter! July brought us the newest member of our team, Lynae Edralin, who works as our Customer Specialist, assisting in all aspects of customer relations. August was full of trips to and from Las Vegas, preparing our showrooms. September brought the Fall 2009 Las Vegas Market where we worked tirelessly in all four of our showrooms, smashing records and building great customer relationships. In October we exhibited at the High Point Market, with Luckie Bogenschutz taking the lead roll! In November we said goodbye to a valued member of our team, Steve Previte, as he decided to retire to spend time with his family and travel. December brings the warmth of loved ones crowded around dining room tables, reminding each of us what we’re most thankful for – a perfect ending to an extraordinary year!

As we enjoy the final days of 2009, we look forward to the bright new future waiting just around the corner. Help us ring in the year 2010! We have a lot of surprises in store for you to launch us into the New Year, so be sure to keep an eye out!

MAPLE by Mindy Platt

This time of year, the Maple tree leaves throughout the Yosemite Valley have turned from green to fantastic shades of red, orange and yellow and have started falling, carpeting the Valley in their brilliantly warm colors. Outside of Yosemite National Park, maple trees are commonly harvested and used in veneer production for furniture, but is also known to be used for piano frames, guitar bodies and even salad bowls. The trees are also tapped for maple syrup that is bottled for household consumption. As saplings, maple trees are leafed through by deer, horses and other herbivores. Currently the largest maple tree is located in Oregon and measures a whopping 11’ 11” in diameter and 101’ tall with a top spread of over 90’! Maples are beautiful trees, changing with the seasons and providing much needed shade during the hot summer months. They are used widely as part of landscaping because of their great adaptability to different soils, as well as their natural beauty.

Similar to the maple tree, our Maple family of lights has a very natural look. Looking at what I consider the focal point of the family, the 2520DB chandelier, you can see how the frame whimsically curves down into an almost tear-drop shape. Arms protrude from all sides as branches extend from their trunk, curling back downwards to reveal nine gorgeous light shades made of a frosted alabaster glass. For versatility, the family is also available with a satin nickel frame.


Elegant and strong, both the tree, and the lighting family are full of beauty that you have to see to realize completely.

TEAM MEMBER HIGHLIGHT

Brian Peregrina

Mantel & Range Hood Specialist



To end the year, we wanted to thank Brian for all of his hard work and dedication to the Yosemite family. He has proven to be an invaluable asset to the team, diving into huge projects such as preparing our Mantel and Range Hood catalogs. Brian has gone above and beyond, spending days unboxing product, staging it, and photographing it for our catalogs. He then follows the catalog through each stage, working closely with the graphics team to ensure every detail is covered.


Something you may not know is that Brian is the one who named each piece of artwork in our line – which was not an easy task! His creativity, mixed with his love of a good challenge, has really helped him excel at every assignment thrown his way. We are very thankful to have him on our team, and can’t wait to see the new Range Hoods catalog he has been tirelessly working on!

Brian, thank you for being such a team player – we’re lucky to have you!

SHOWROOM OF THE MONTH by Lynae Edralin

ROYAL ENTERPRISE


We are pleased to highlight one of our long-standing partners opening their new location: Royal Enterprise of Mcallen, TX! Owner, Janeth Juajardo says she’s excited about their new 2,000 ft showroom. It’s given her the opportunity to do what she loves most; offering her clients with numerous options of lighting, including vanity, flush-mounts, pendants, and chandeliers. Loyal customers continue to consult with the fine, knowledgeable associates of Royal Enterprise, thanking them for their great advice and exceptional service! We have enjoyed a wonderful partnership with them and can’t wait to see what they bring next!

Thank you, Royal Enterprise, for your continued patronage! We wish you all the best with your new showroom, and look forward to continuing our joint venture for years to come!

Q & A with Lynae by Lynae Edralin

Have a question? Whether it’s technical, economical, or interior design, I’ll print it here. E-mail your question to Lynae@yosemitehomedecor.com to have it printed here in our next newsletter!



This month’s question comes from Robyn Soileau, General Manager at Eric’s of Metairie, LA. I responded to her question with the help of our Residential Mantels Expert, Brian Peregrina.


Hi Lynae,

I have a customer whose contractor wants to know about the fire resistance/proof information for the mantles. Do you have a certificate that I can copy for customers showing this information? Please email it to me so I may pass it on to the customers.

Thank you,

Robyn Soileau

Eric’s of Metairie

Good Morning Robyn,

I’ve asked our resident Mantels expert, Brian Peregrina, and he told me we have no certificate at this point – but rigorous in-house testing has proven the resistance. We placed a ½” thick Eco-Stone (what our Evolution Mantels are made of) tile over an open flame, 18,000K BTU burner, and placed a candle on top of it. 18K BTU can melt just about anything you put in front of it, but it couldn’t melt the candle through our tile. We’ve got a container of these on the market being used in homes already on vent free fireplaces (which are the hottest) and are doing wonderful.

We are in the process, however, of attaining certification from independent testing facilities, and will make this information available once completed. Please let me know if this helps, and let me know if you need anything else. I’m more than happy to assist you!

Best Regards,

Lynae Edralin

OF LETTERS AND NUMBERS by Laurence Mark J. Mansayon

“It’s just like riding a bike.”  Chances are, you have heard this assuring statement before, of course, and it is always a welcome thought.  It essentially means that once a skill is critically learned, you have it for life.  Sure, you may have to fumble a while when going at it again after some time of non-use, but it would not take long for you to be fully competent again—just like riding a bike.  One thing we cannot afford to neglect, though, is the fact that for you to come to that point, you must first learn to ride a bike.

In a peculiar sense, learning about lighting is somewhat similar.  I recall my first few months in training to handle the lighting product line of Yosemite Home Décor and remember feeling overwhelmed with the influx of technical information on items I never before paid close attention to.  I had to force myself to figure out how to match a set of specifications with an existing item number.  Needless to say I found it very difficult.  Each product type presented a unique set of challenges to learning, but I was never more perplexed than when I began tackling the light bulbs.

Rockie Bogenschutz and Steve Previte, my mentors, made it sound so easy.  Rockie would effortlessly talk about the A19 like he was describing his hands; Steve would give me instructions on the PAR30 as though it was the only thing he ever thought of his entire life.  As for me, I knew they spoke English, but they might as well have spoken Martian—it was difficult.  I resolved then that if I were to keep up, I needed to crack the light bulb code—its alpha-numeric naming system.  After all, T8, R20, PL13, E26, and MR16 had to mean something, right?

UNDERSTANDING THE ALPHA-NUMERIC CODE

So, what do the letters and numbers on the light bulbs mean?  In most cases, an alpha-numeric code is printed on the item.  When broken down, these letters and numbers correspond to certain aspects of a bulb’s description.  This is much easier understood with an example.  Let us take the most common bulb, the A19E26.  Here, “A” refers to the bulb’s shape, “19” refers to the bulb’s size (particularly, its diameter at its widest part measured in eighths of inches), “E” refers to the base type, and “26” refers to the base’s size (its diameter measured in millimeters).  Put it together and we have a standard pear-shaped bulb measuring 19/8 inches (2.37 inches) in diameter with a screw-type base measuring 26 millimeters in diameter.

Following are some letters and numbers in the lighting industry and their respective meanings:

Common Bulb Shapes and Sizes:

A15                :               Regular pear shape, 1.87 inches in diameter

B                     :               Torpedo shape

BR20              :               “Bulged Reflector”, 2.5 inches in diameter

C                     :               “Cone”

ER                  :               “Elliptical Reflector”

F                      :               “Flame”

G                     :               “Globular”

PAR30          :               “Parabolic Aluminized Reflector”, 3.75 inches in diameter

R20                                :               “Reflector”, 2.5 inches in diameter

S                      :               “Sign”

T8                   :               “Tubular”, one inch in diameter

Common Base Types and Sizes:

E12                 :               “Edison” screw-in type, 12 millimeters in diameter (candelabra)

E14                 :               “Edison” screw-in type, 14 millimeters in diameter (French candelabra)

E17                 :               “Edison” screw-in type, 17 millimeters in diameter (intermediate)

B15                :               “Bayonet” fit-and-lock-in type, 15 millimeters in diameter

E26                 :               “Edison” screw-in type, 26 millimeters in diameter (medium)

B22                 :               “Bayonet” fit-and-lock-in type, 22 millimeters in diameter

Mogul           :               Larger than the normal medium base bulb

UNDERSTANDING THE Y.H.D. ALPHA-NUMERIC CODE

We in Yosemite Home Décor have made an effort to personalize the light bulbs in our inventory  Our point is that we want our bulbs to immediately be identified with our Company.  As such, we did a little tinkering with the industry’s alpha-numeric numbering system and added a simple twist, YHD-style.  To help us better understand this, I have taken three item numbers to represent the incandescent, compact fluorescent, and tube-type fluorescent groups.  Here they are:

YA1926/100F

Y                     :               “Yosemite”, identifies the product with our brand

A                     :               Regular pear shape

19                   :               Diameter or the bulb at its widest part, 19/8 inches (2.37 inches)

26                   :               Diameter of the base, 26 millimeters (we dropped the “E”)

100                 :               Wattage, 100 watts

F                      :               Glass color, frosted

YFGU24/1327

Y                     :               “Yosemite”, identifies the product with our brand

F                      :               “Fluorescent”

GU24             :               Refers to the GU24 base type

13                   :               Wattage, 13 watts

27                   :               Color temperature, 2700 Kelvin

YFT832

Y                     :               “Yosemite”, identifies the product with our brand

F                      :               “Fluorescent”

T                     :               “Tubular” shape

8                      :               Diameter of the bulb, 8/8 inch (one inch)

32                   :               Wattage, 32 watts

JUST LIKE RIDING A BIKE

More than a year after that resolution to learn the light bulb’s alpha-numeric coding system I still speak occasionally with Rockie and Steve about them, but I am able to keep up now.  Sometimes I get drawn into the lighting section of department stores and stay there for a while.  I look at those letter-number combinations and immediately understand what they mean—or at least it takes me a short while to get reacquainted when I look at them again after not seeing them for some time.  Evidently, I have developed this familiarity because I have learned to “crack the code”.

So, if you are new to the lighting industry and find yourself frequently lost in a conversation about light bulbs, I can definitely relate to you.  Simply learn the basic meanings of those letters and numbers and you will soon enough find yourself illuminated (pun intended)!  When you have learned to crack the light bulb code, trust me, that skill will remain with you for a very long time—long enough for you to easy recall even after a lengthy period of non-use.  It will be just like riding a bike.