Lighting

Leave No Space Dark: Hallway Lighting Ideas

Let’s not forget to light up the hallways in our homes. You’ll want to have at least one light every 5-10 feet so there are no dark spots. One light in the middle of the hallway won’t cut it. Just take a look at the picture below from Wit and Whistle and you’ll see why.

So here are all of the hallway lighting ideas you’ll need to brighten up your hallways.

The Modern Look

For a modern looking hallway design, go with recessed lighting – just like in pictures (1) and (2). These lights are fitted into the ceiling, so all of the fixtures are hidden away creating a sleek minimalist, and modern look. They will also make your hallway feel taller. Recessed lights can be used along side other lighting fixtures too – like pendant lights, wall lights, cove lighting design, or side table lighting if you want to create different lighting effects in the space, for a grander look.

There are also down lights or recessed spotlights which are similar to recessed lights. Except these are fitted closer to the walls, to light up a walls texture, or paintings hanging on them.

Something Fancy

Cove lighting can line a hallway’s ceiling and add a nice soft glow to the room. Cove lighting is when lights are hidden away, but softly bounce light off of the walls and ceiling back into the room (3). There are two ways to do this A) have a drop down ceiling fitted and a cutaway where the lights can sit. Or B) fit crown molding a few inches below the ceiling so there is space for lights to sit on top – you can read more about it and see more pictures in my post here (The Beauty of Using Cove Lighting: Ideas and Designs).

Lighting Your Way

Directional spotlights and track lighting are lights that can be pointed to different areas of the hallway. If you have a long hallway use track lighting (4). If you have more of a box shaped hallway look for directional spotlights which are usually 3 lights grouped closely together in a circle (seen in the picture below). The good thing about these kinds of light fixtures is that you only need one electrical outlet to install a number of lights.

Bringing The Light Down

If you are lucky enough to have a tall hallway, you’ll want to use lights that bring the light closer down. So use hanging lights like pendants (5) (6) (7) (8), mini chandeliers, or lanterns.

Wall Lighting

If you have a wide hallway, then you have the option of using wall lights – as seen in picture (9). You could also hang up gallery lights above any paintings.

Another option for wide hallways is to add a side table just like in picture (10). This side table can be used to display decor items, have a clutter tray, and have a lamp on it – adding to the lighting in the hallway.

Designer Tip: If you want to make your hallway feel larger and wider, hang up a mirror.

Going Natural

For the hallways on the top floor, look to use natural lighting. One way to do this is to fit solar tubes. These are tubes that go all the way from the roof to inside the house, bringing light down. You can even find solar tubes that have a ring light around them so you can turn them on at night. Or how about fitting a skylight (11) for some majestic hall lighting? 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11

The Beauty of Using Cove Lighting: Design and Ideas

Cove lighting adds a special touch to a room. It works by there being a space, usually a false ceiling, where light fixtures can be hidden away. The lights bounce off of the ceiling and softly glow in the room. This kind of lighting makes a room feel relaxing, yet larger, taller, grander and more luxurious.

The Different Types of Cove Lighting Designs

The standard cove lighting design is when you have a drop ceiling, and hide the lights in a cutaway just like in picture (1). But there are a ton of other design styles that can be done. Like, instead of having the entire ceiling drop down, you could reverse it and have only a section of the ceiling drop down. This is called reversed cove lighting.

How about being ambitious and doing a multi level design? Also the drop down ceiling doesn’t have to be in a rectangle or square shape. It could be curved, or shaped how you’d like. Or for something even more majestic, take a look at the dome cove lighting in picture (3).

The simplest and cheapest way of adding cove lighting to a room is to forget about the drop down ceiling and instead go with cove molding lighting seen in pictures (4) (5) (6). If you fit crown molding a few inches below the ceiling, you’ll have space for rope lights to sit on top. They’ll be hidden away and will softly bounce light off of the ceiling and into the room.

Mixing It Up

Remember, the key to great lighting design is to layer the lighting, aka mix it up. A room that only uses ceiling lights will feel a lot duller than a room that makes use of ceiling lights, a wall lamp and a table light. By using a mixture of light fixtures you create different lighting effects and layer the lighting. The same should be done with cove lighting.

Cove lighting is generally used as an accent piece in the room. It isn’t used for functionality. So you’re going to need lights that are brighter. Recessed lights are good, so are pendant lights. For a dome ceiling you could have a chandelier hang down in the middle. The soft glow of the cove lighting will show off the dome ceiling while the chandelier lights up the room.

Cove Lighting Else Where

The cove lighting technique can be used in other areas of the room. Like in the walls. In picture (7), lights softly glow around a bathroom shelf. This can also be done for closets, living room cabinets, or even above kitchen cabinets (8). The idea is to hide the light fixtures, and just let the light softly glow indirectly.

Technical Tip

There are a few light fixtures you could use for cove lighting. Everything from florescent strips to halogen bulbs. The down side to using these lights is that if you don’t do it right there could be gaps in the lighting. A better, cheaper, and more energy efficient option would be to use LED lights, like rope lights seen in picture (9). The lighting will be uninterrupted and you can even choosing the color of the light. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

December 17, 2013 in Lighting

Relaxing and Cozy Living Room Lighting Ideas

So here are some ideas and pictures on how to light up a family styled living room. Not those huge living rooms, or the ones that are never used. These ideas are for rooms you always use – to watch tv, read, and relax in.

Let’s talk first about the more interesting living room lighting ideas, and then get into the more functional ones later. First up are some accent lighting design ideas (or what I like to call “style lighting”). If you want a well designed space, you need to layer the lighting in the room. Just using ceiling lights doesn’t cut it. You need to mix it up a bit, a ceiling light along with a floor or table lamp. Here are some other style lighting ideas that will help mix it up and layer the lighting in the room.

Style Lighting Ideas

Display Lighting: As the name suggest, this is used to showcase items around the living room. For example book case lighting. Or how about cabinet lights shining onto media players and their controls. These lights do make it easier to find the right book and use the media players – but they are mostly for design and style.

How about shining a light onto shelves to highlight family pictures. Or if you have art work – use a gallery light (hung onto the wall above the art piece) or just a side table light pointing up onto the art will work.

If you have an accent wall, one wall that is painted a different color or wallpapered differently than all the others to create a focal piece in the room, then this can be lit up too. The best way to do this would be with ceiling lights – like down lights that can be angled towards the wall, just like in picture (1).

A simple way of adding some accent lighting to your living room is to back light your TV, just like in picture (2). Adding this soft glow creates a relaxing ambiance in the room – and it also reduces eyestrain if you like watching TV in the dark. Another way to add a nice soft glow in the room is to put lights behind your couch, shining up onto the wall.

Mood Lighting: A great way to be in complete control of your living room lighting is to hook up your ceiling lights to a dimmer switch. This way you can instantly switch from a brightly lit living room to a more romantic one. Another way of adding mood lighting is to use a mood light, like the one in picture (3) (which can be bought here). If you want to create a romantic setting, then turn the mood light to a dark blue or purple. Or if it is a dark and dull day, with little sunshine outside, set the mood light to a bright green or yellow.

If you want to create a cozy vibe in the living room, avoid lighting the ceiling. Turn off your ceiling lights and use your table lamps and display lighting. Here are some other cozy inducing lighting ideas for a living room:

Floor lamps work well to create that cozy feel, but they can be placed next to the couch and also be used as reading lights
Use string and rope lights if you want to create a more enchanting feel – just like in picture (4)
A DIY idea would be to find a bunch of long branches, spray paint them, and then wrap string lights around them to create a soft glowing floor lamp (5)
Or for a more bohemian vibe, place some lanterns on the coffee table (6) and on the floor (these can be candle or battery powered)

Standard Lighting Ideas

When it comes to the standard light fixtures in your living room, a popular choice would be recessed lighting. These lighting fixtures are fitted into your ceiling, so everything is hidden creating a clean and modern looking living room. If you have a high ceiling, then pendant or track lighting will work best. Track lights are a great option because they only use one electrical outlet in the ceiling but you’ll have a number of lights. These individual lights can be pointed to different areas of the living room.

For a more creative ceiling lighting idea, have a look at cove lighting. Cove lighting is when you have a drop down ceiling, and lights are hidden away in a cutaway section. The light softly bounces off of the ceiling and walls and into the room. Another version of cove lighting is when you fit crown molding a few inches below the ceiling – lights sit on top of the molding, creating a soft glow in the room just like in picture (7).

For a beginner’s guide to home lighting design, have a look at my post here: The Simple Guide: Home Lighting Design Basics.

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October 23, 2013 in Lighting, Living Room

Entry Foyer Lighting Ideas: For Large and Small Spaces

The foyer area is an important part of the home, since it is the first area people experience when they step into the house. Great entry lighting can play a big role in how the space looks and feels – even during the day.

Good lighting not only makes it a more pleasant space when you enter, but can help make things a lot easier to do. Like putting on your shoes at night, finding the keys, or checking the mail.

Lighting for Small Foyers: A lot of homes will have a standard sized foyer. Here the ceiling height can be normal height or double heighted. Either way, you’ll probably only need one ceiling light in a compact foyer to light it up. For a standard height ceiling, recessed lights or a flush mount light will work best. For a 1.5 or double height ceiling, you’ll want to bring the light down and away from the ceiling. So something like a pendant light is ideal – like the lights in pictures (1) and (2). If you have the space, then a nice mini chandelier can make a grand statement.

Foyer Lighting Ideas for Large Spaces: If you have a larger foyer space then you’ll probably need more than one light fixture to properly light up the area. A lot of people with a large foyer like to have a chandelier hanging down (or grand pendant lighting) – but this doesn’t have to be the classical crystal styled chandelier. It can be a more lantern styled chandelier (3), or more modern like the one in picture (4). In the same picture you can see that other foyer lights are being used too – like the table lamp and wall lights. You can also get more decorative lighting, like the display shelves in picture (5). Or another decorative lighting idea is to fit cove lighs like in picture (6)

Daytime Lighting: In the daytime you don’t want your foyer area to be a dark place – one where you’d have to turn on the lights. Instead, look to having windows that bath the foyer in natural lighting. Some ways to have windows and still keep privacy include fitting thin windows on the sides of the door like in picture (7), having a window panel above the door, using frosted/curtained windows on the door (8), or if you have a double height ceiling, a skylight would be a major design addition to have.

A Helping Hand – Having a side table would be a good idea. This can be a place for putting mail, keys, and having a table lamp. You can have a mirror hanging above (9), or sitting on top (this will make a smaller spaced foyer feel much larger). If you have a large foyer, some stools tucked away under the table can be useful when putting on shoes. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9