And Then There Was Light
Posted October 1, 2009  |  No Comments  | 

For some of us, lighting is pretty much an afterthought when we move into a new home, following the purchases of furniture, area rugs, and accessories. After all, it's just illumination in the dark, right?

Actually, lighting can play a variety of roles in a setting, according to Tim Jackson, who's the owner of Urban Lighting in the Gaslamp. "It can create a mood in the space with pools of light performing specific tasks," he explains. "You can have picture lights to focus on artwork or sculpture. You can have accent lighting on the upper cabinets in your kitchen to bounce off the ceiling and create a great mood. You can have under cabinet lights for mood lighting and tasks. And, of course, there's illumination for the entertaining area of a room, reading lights for a chair or bedside, and inviting lighting for a balcony or terrace. The ways you can use lighting are endless."

Jackson encourages customers to select the appropriate fixture for the appropriate task. For instance, if you've got a favorite chair you use for reading he pretty much frowns on balancing a table lamp on a stack of books, when what is really needed is an adjustable dimmable floor lamp.

Consider the dining area as theater. You can add wall sconces to create drama or place small decorative lamps on a sideboard. If you have art on the wall, think about installing lights that illuminate each piece. And, then, of course, there is the fixture over the table itself. The table size should determine the size of the fixture--generally it should be between a third and half the size of the table and hung either five feet from the floor or two to two-and-a-half feet from the table's surface. It's a little flexible because you'll want to make sure you're not obstructing a great view.

When it comes to illuminating the bedroom, you've got a few issues to consider. You want good general lighting in the room to help you move about. That may already exist in the form of a ceiling-mounted fixture. But, you can add small fixtures on your dresser or a floor lamp beside it to help you better identify the colors of socks, ties, and lingerie. You may want special lighting to create a relaxing or romantic mood or, again, to illuminate art. If you read in bed, you'll want an adjustable task lamp so you can focus on you and your book and not disturb your partner. If space is an issue (or even if it isn't), you might want to install a wall-mounted fixture.

"These are great because they take up less space on the side table and if you need to turn it on in the middle of the night, you won't risk knocking it over," Jackson says. He also suggests avoiding a traditional shaded lamp because you end up illuminating a large space, making it difficult for your partner to sleep.  

Finally, there's the light bulb. Choosing the right one can be daunting because the technology is changing so quickly that it's hard to keep up. Do you go with compact fluorescents? Halogen? LED? The best way to keep yourself from going crazy over this is to go to a light bulb store or lighting fixture shop to get advice and see all the available choices, not just best sellers. Someone in the know at one of these shops will ask you what kind of lamp you have, the colors of your environment, the socket size, how you'll be using the fixture, and how often. Based on that information you'll get just the right bulb for the fixture. And that person will help you find the bulb with the right color temperature so your skin won't look green under the light and the room will shine in the hues that show it to its best advantage.