Lighting Design Ideas For Kids' Rooms

Children's rooms hold a special place in the heart well into the adult years. Filled with all of the memories of childhood, the lighting in kids' rooms ought to reflect their unique personalities and interests. 

If you're planning on updating your kid's bedroom lighting, you're in for a fun project! There are more unique kids' lighting options available than ever before. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Wall Lamps. Wall lamps are wonderful task lighting options for children's rooms, particularly if you enjoy reading to your child at night (or your child likes to read before bed). The plug-in varieties are easy for the average parent to install, and hard for the average kid to knock over.

• Mini Chandeliers. Affordable mini chandeliers provide enough general lighting for most children's rooms, and are sure to transform any little girl's bedroom into a princess chamber! For an extra girly look, try a mini chandelier with crystal or floral accents. We love the Mary Kate & Ashley Rosavita mini chandelier.

• Kid-Themed Pendants. From soccer balls to airplanes, there are novelty pendant lights available for just about every kid's passion. For a truly personalized look, let your child choose a pendant to light his/her special place!

• Novelty Flush Mounts. Landmark Lighting has created a bevy of super-affordable Kidshine flush mounts in colorful designs to spur children's imaginations. These no-fuss ambient lighting options are always a solid choice for kids' rooms.

With these kids' room lighting ideas, you are sure to improve both the safety and visual appeal of your little one's room. 

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How To Use Ceiling Fans Correctly

Summer is here and many of us are trying to find ways to cool our living and work spaces effectively but affordably. Replacing an existing ceiling light with a ceiling fan could be the answer.  Ceiling fans are extremely energy efficient, using less energy than a 100 watt light bulb, and they can reduce the demands on both our air conditioners and furnaces.

In the summer the air movement created by a fan can make a 79 degree room feel like it’s  72 degrees, and by raising the thermostat you could save up to 30% on your air conditioning bills.   According to one energy company the average fan costs 1 cent an hour to operate in comparison to 16 cents for a room air conditioner.  Since heat rises in the winter reverse the blades direction to push warm air down which can also help you save on your heating bill. In addition to their economic benefits ceiling fans can add style and design to any room.  The design and finish’s they are currently available in are endless and can fit any décor.

Here is a list of tips to keep in mind when selecting a ceiling fan:

The pitch of the blade determines the amount of air that is moved, the greater the pitch the greater amount of air movement.  Typically you want the blade pitch to fall between 12-15 degrees.  A  14 degree blade pitch will move between 8,000 to 9,000 cubic feet of air per minute.  The higher the blade pitch the higher the quality of the motor needs to be.  If the motor is not sturdy enough to accommodate the blade pitch the life of the fan will be greatly reduced.

The blades of the fan should be anywhere between 7 to 10 feet above the floor.  For projects with high ceilings purchase an additional down rod to accommodate the additional length needed. The chart below gives down rod length suggestions.

Ceiling Height    8′     9′    10′    11′    12′    13′   14′   15′     16′+

Rod Length        3″   6″     12″   18″    24″   36″   48″   60″    72″

Always remember to keep recessed cans 6 inches to 1 foot away from the tip of the fan blades.  This will eliminate the strobe effect that not only can be annoying but also cause headaches.

When selecting a fan you what to keep in mind how the fan will look in relation to the size of the room. The size of the fan is more of an aesthetic question than that of performance.  A smaller 30”-42” high quality ceiling fan can move as much air if not more than a low quality 60” fan.  The larger the room the larger the fan.  If maximum air movement is the objective,  make sure the size and motor fit the room, and if the room size requires use multiple fans to achieve maximum air flow.

Room Size   6′x8′        8′x10′      10′x10′     12′x14′    16′x20′>

Fan Size     29″-42″     40′-50″    42″-52″    50″-60″    50″-60″

# of Fans         1                1                 2                 2                3

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A Great Start On Lighting Your Bathroom

When lighting a bathroom the first and most important focus should be on the vanity lighting.  Ideally a vertical fixture should be hung on either side of the mirror.  This allows for light to be evenly distributed across ones face.    The fixtures should be mounted approximately 5.5’ above the floor (eye level), and 36-40” apart.  This helps to eliminate shadows under the eyes and chin.

In situations where installing fixtures on either side of the mirror is not possible due to size and installation constraints the next best option is a light hung directly over the vanity.  It should be hung 75-80” above the floor.  In larger bathrooms the horizontal fixtures can be used in conjuncture with the vertical lights to give additional overall illumination to the space.  A bare minimum of 150 watts of light output should be used in lighting the vanity it is always safer to error on the side of too much wattage.  In cases where the home owner finds that there is too much light either lower wattage bulbs can be used or a dimmer installed.  It is always easier to reduce the wattage of a fixture once it’s installed that to figure out how to increase the amount of light if the fixture installed is inadequate.

For additional bathroom lighting, lighting in the shower and over the bath tub, recessed is the ideal option.  For the shower and tub make sure a wet rated model is selected.  The only place recessed is not ideal is over the vanity, It has a tendency to cast shadows onto the face making personal grooming tasks such  as shaving an make up application to be more difficult.

Some clients prefer a little more glamour over the tub and may request a hanging fixture such as a crystal chandelier, or pendant light.  Make sure any hanging fixture you choose is UL approved for a wet rating otherwise for safety and code reasons should not be used in that application.

There you go, you have a great start on lighting your bathroom!

www.desertlighting.com