Design Tips For Lighting Your Kitchen

Lighting your kitchen doesn't need to be a complex matter, but it is layered. The most common mistake people make is trying to light their entire kitchen with one fixture centered in the ceiling.It ends up being what we call a 'glare bomb,' visually overpowering everything in the space, including family and friends.

The most effective lighting for the kitchen involves four layers blended together: task, ambient, accent and decorative lighting. The end result: a warm and inviting environment that works with your other design elements to create a practical workspace and lively entertainment area.

Task Lighting
Task lighting is what people think of first when designing a lighting system in the kitchen because it's integral to preparing food. However, if task lighting is misplaced it can actually hinder your ability to work efficiently, throwing shadows on your work space. 

Key locations for task lighting include underneath the overhead cabinets and over the island — anywhere you'll be chopping, slicing and reading recipes. The pantry is another place where you'll want bright, focused lighting.

Under-cabinet lights can be a hidden asset in any kitchen, providing task lighting as well as soft ambient lighting to give the room a warm glow with the touch of a dimmer switch. Strip lights are a popular choice, long linear bulbs or a string of lights contained in a single fixture. Another popular option is a puck light system, made up of a series of hockey-puck shaped halogen lights.

Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is an important layer that is often overlooked in the kitchen. This indirect lighting is what I like to call the humanizing ingredient to any lighting design. It softens the lines and shadows on people's faces and creates a warm inviting glow in the room.

The kitchen used to be strictly for food preparation and children who were not to be seen or heard. Now, floor plans are more open and parties often flow from the living room through the dining room and into the kitchen. Ambient lighting will attract people into the kitchen and make them feel welcome while eating appetizers and sipping wine at the island. Ambient lighting fixtures may include flush-mounted ceiling fixtures, a pendant hanging over the island and adjustable track lighting.

Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is the least common layer in the kitchen, but it is becoming more common as people spend more time in the kitchen for casual entertaining. You may want to hang a piece of artwork on the wall behind the breakfast table, or a tile splashback over the sink may be a decorative focal point. Occasionally, we install lighting inside glass cabinets to illuminate collections of china and glassware.

Decorative Lighting
Decorative lighting should be considered in direct proportion to the size of your kitchen — the larger the space, the greater importance chandeliers, hanging pendants and other eye-catching fixtures play. There are two major considerations when it comes to decorative lighting. You want to make sure that the scale of the fixtures is right for the space, and that the shade material has enough opacity to effectively hide the light bulb.

Decorative lighting is the most expensive element of your lighting design scheme. If you're on a tight budget, you can install the infrastructure for decorative lighting — the junction box and/or recessed box in the ceiling — then, purchasing the actual fixture down the road.

Making the Layers Work Together
The idea behind a layered lighting design is to have a variety of light levels available at your fingertips. Dimmers and switches are the most economical way to coordinate lighting levels. For about $20 per layer, you're able to do most anything to modulate the mood and environment. Implement zones, wherein each layer of lighting is on a different dimmer for easy adjustability.

The drawback of dimmers and switches is that while it's easy for you to enter a room and tinker with the light levels, it's equally easy for children, grandparents and guests to take the same liberties. If your budget allows, you may want to consider a "scene" integration system that allows you to preset, typically, four different lighting levels. (For example, daytime, food preparation, dinner and evening entertaining.)

Smart homes are here. You can preset and administer lighting in all rooms of the house through one centralized computer network, all through a computerized keypad. The biggest advantage of smart systems is the high level of control. You can preset a large number of scenes and turn on lights in any room of the house from your car or your bedroom.

Just as the layers of lighting are combined in a variety of ways, so are the methods of controlling them. Homeowners are typically use four-scene presets in all of main rooms, including the living room, dining room, kitchen and master bedroom. Standard switchers and dimmers are usually used in the secondary rooms, such as children's bedrooms, bathrooms, the basement playroom and the office. The best part is that your lighting options just keep expanding.

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Lighting Control Strategies To Save Money At Your Place Of Business

Business owners can significantly reduce lighting expenses through flexible, scalable retrofits with a payback time frame of a few years.

Depending on the investment, business owners can expect to shave 20 to 60 percent from lighting costs. Additionally, lowering lighting costs translates directly to lower HVAC costs. With less heat from the lights, there is less need for air conditioning. The rule of thumb is that for every three watts of lighting cut, a facility manager can reduce HVAC needs by one watt.

Lighting control systems employ a variety of strategies to save electricity use. The strategies and the resulting cost savings compound as each strategy is added to the overall lighting control system. That allows businesses to build a total lighting control system gradually by employing one strategy at a time to suit any space and any budget.

Dimming is the easiest way to cut lighting costs. Dimmers can easily reduce electricity use from 15 to 20 percent through high-end trim, light-level tuning and personal light control.

High-end trimming sets the maximum light level for each space. For example, the human eye can barely distinguish between a light level of 100 percent and a light level of 80 percent. Dimming lights to 80 percent reduces energy use by about 20 percent while keeping light levels comfortable for the human eye.

Light-level tuning sets the appropriate light level for each space. Typical lighting levels in office spaces are much higher than necessary, which is often because of large, outdated banks of overhead lights that were installed before the widespread adoption of computers. Using high-end trim in addition to dimming lights in office spaces, for example, minimizes glare from computer screens and creates a more comfortable lighting environment for the human eye. Even when high-end trim is used, many offices choose to dim the lights even further to minimize glare on computer screens.

Personal light control gives individuals remote-control units to control the lights in certain areas of the office. Studies show that giving people direct control over their own lights can reduce electricity use by at least 10 percent.

Occupancy/vacancy sensing automatically turns off lights after occupants leave a room or space. On average, occupancy/vacancy sensors can reduce lighting electricity use by 15 percent. Depending on the use and size of a space, sensors can save electricity use by as much as 60 percent.

Daylight harvesting automatically dims electric lights when enough daylight is present. Daylight harvesting can save an additional 15 percent in lighting electricity costs in buildings with many windows or skylights. To ensure maximum savings, daylight harvesting lighting controls should be used with continuous dimming ballasts so the light can be gradually and continuously adjusted to maintain the internal lighting level as the availability of daylight externally changes. With continuous dimming ballasts, daylight sensors start to dim the lights as soon as daylight is sensed in the space, thereby immediately saving energy.

Controllable window shades serve a dual purpose to let daylight in and keep excess heat and cold out. For total control of the visual environment, shades can open and close automatically at different times of the day to harvest daylight and reduce HVAC costs by as much as 30 percent.

Demand response/load shedding reduces the overall lighting load at times when electricity costs are the highest. Many utility companies offer incentives to customers who are willing to reduce their electricity use during peak demand periods, i.e., during normal office hours when residents are at work, overnight hours or holiday hours. Lighting control systems are uniquely better suited to load shedding than other energy-saving technologies because they can respond quickly to changing conditions and operate safely at a wide range of power levels.

Scheduling will automatically dim or turn lights off at certain times of the day. Although some large facilities with many occupants operate on 24-hour schedules, most of the common areas are thinly populated during normal office hours, overnight hours and holiday hours. With scheduling, a facility manager does not have to depend on the last person that leaves a common area of the building to turn off the lights. A business owner can use scheduling to automatically dim or turn off lights at appropriate times. Scheduling can reduce lighting costs by an additional 10 percent.

If you would like a personalized energy evaluation of your business, please contact our office.

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Tips For Lighting Your Living Room

Living rooms are used for many different purposes and having the appropriate living room lighting is very important. Some rooms used purely for entertaining, others for watching television and many for a whole host of other activities. It's important to have appropriate living room lighting that not only looks great in the space, but also accommodates all of the events that take place there. 

Table Lamps 

Table lamps are important for providing task lighting. It's a good idea to have a few scattered throughout the room. For a formal look place a pair of matching lamps at either end of a console table or on end tables. If you don't like things to be quite so symmetrical it's perfectly fine to split up a pair and use them in different spots in the room, and if you prefer a less pulled together look use lamps that don't match. 

Floor Lamps 

Floor lamps are great for adding light where there's no table surface (they're often used in corners). They don't take up very much space and are great for distributing light in awkward spaces.

Wall Sconces 

Wall sconces are great for adding a little ambient light to the living room. They look lovely when placed on either side of a mirror or piece of art and act as terrific decorative accents. That said, when it comes to providing light they likely won't be enough. You'll want to use other sources of light as well. 

Hanging Fixtures 

Chandeliers and pendent lamps can be a fun decorative touch in living rooms. They provide a nice overall glow to the space and draw the eye upward. What's great about them is that they tend to be unexpected in living rooms and can add some real depth. Just make sure that your ceilings are high enough (about 9') so that no one hits their head. 

Living Room Lighting Tips 

Ideally you want to use different types of lighting to provide a nice mix. While pot lights and track lighting can be practical and provide a lot of overhead light, they're not really the best choice for living room lighting. Ultimately you want a mix of task and ambient light so try mixing floor lamps, table lamps, and maybe an overhead light and/or sconces. Make sure there's enough light near reading or work areas and also use light to call attention to unexpected or special places. 

One of the best things you can do is to add a dimmer switch to every single light in the room (do this with every light in the house if you can). The ability to soften or brighten the light allows you to totally change the mood in the room. They're not very expensive and it makes a huge difference.

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Matching The Right Outdoor Lighting Fixture To Your Home's Architecture

Outdoor lighting fixtures come in a wide line-up of designs, finishes, historic classifications, dimensions and glass selections. There are fundamentals in your home’s exterior décor that can safely help you choose the best possible outdoor light fixture to add beauty, as well as, safety and security to your home. It is best to illuminate your entrance to your home first, thus establishing a design or theme for the rest of the house. But first, it is wise to look for common design characteristics in your home to select the perfect outdoor light fixture. The following styles of outdoor lights should be helpful in identifying those specific features of your home that you wish to emphasize.

Traditional Architecture

This style of architecture calls for a lighting fixture that is classic, elegant and without being excessively detailed. Outdoor light fixtures of this classification often have linear lines, some curves and are often reflecting those characteristics of either European or Victorian stylings. Outdoor lighting in this vein offers a rather broad category of influence without being too avant-garde.

Mediterranean Architecture

Outdoor light fixtures that showcase this design style often get their direction from Italian or Middle Eastern ornamentation. Elaborate curves and shapes are often intricately showcased in exterior lanterns of this style, made of heavy brass, bronze or copper. Hand moldings detail the intricate castings of a particular design element or period for this type of outdoor light fixture.

Leading Edge, Contemporary Architecture

A functional outdoor light fixture in this form usually follows a simple design, devoid of embellishment or unnecessary structure. Often exterior lanterns of this nature vaunt an emphasis on linear lines, light frames and smooth textured finishes.

Bungalow, Craftsman, Mission Style Architecture

Outdoor light fixtures that enhance this type of structural design have a definite Asian influence. Exterior lanterns often have a square, rectangular or boxy feel to the overall effect, with an accent on rustication and durability. Often referred to as an Arts and Crafts style of architecture, the exterior lanterns will often showcase brass, copper or bronze overlays that are achieved by using laser cut or hand-turned detailing. These outdoor lights may look simple but really exemplify expert artisanship.

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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!

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