Lighting a Hallway
Hallways are one of the most overlooked areas in many homes when it comes to adequate lighting. Homeowners will spend a considerable amount of money purchasing and installing lighting fixtures for the foyer or entryway of their home and then neglect the adjacent hallway.
Before considering hallway lighting, it’s a good idea to take a look at the hallway surfaces. Look at the finish on the walls and the ceiling as well as the type and color of the floor. If the various surfaces absorb light (that is, they are darker colors), you may want to consider repainting the walls and the ceiling with lighter, more reflective colors. If the floor is hardwood or another surface that would be hard to change, consider lighter colored throw rugs along the passageway.
If there happens to be a window at the end of the hallway, you may be surprised that this window can be more of a problem than a solution to effective lighting in this area. Here’s what often happens. The extreme contrast between the light from the window and the relatively dimly lit hallway can create a glare effect that effectively reduces the illumination from the window. This can be exaggerated if the flooring also reflects the glare. In other words, untreated windows at the end of a hallway can cause more problems than they are worth. What you should consider is minimizing the glare factor by installing window treatments such as drapes or awnings or blinds.
Remodeling a hallway with good lighting may involve more work than is involved in reworking lighting in other areas of the home. Many hallways, particularly in older homes, have few electrical sources that you can tap into and, as a result, you may find yourself with the chore of tearing out drywall and other surfaces in order to install the needed electrical sources. If you are faced with this challenge, you should ask yourself if it’s worth the extra work involved.
I’ll assume that you are dealing with new construction or are willing to tackle the existing construction to get the job done the way you want it.
Wall sconces are among the most popular fixtures used to illuminate hallways. This indirect lighting provides a very nice, soft effect and a sconce should be placed about every ten feet along the hallway (for purposes of safety). Sconces are also very attractive when used on a dimmer switch. At night, the dimmer can be adjusted so that there is just a hint of light in the hallway but enough to navigate safely through it. If possible, use sconces that match the style of any pendant or chandelier that is used in the foyer or entryway to add continuity to your overall lighting and decorating design.
Track lighting adds a modern look to hallways and other areas in your home. Use halogen track lighting in hallways with at least an eight-foot ceiling to focus attention on artwork or a collection of photographs or other items used as wall decoration. Modern track lights incorporate a wavy looking spotlight that can make a hallway appear to be shorter than it really is. Placing at least some of your hallway lighting high on the walls with the light directed downward will add flair to your decorating and will make the hallway area look more open.
The walls at or near the end of a hallway should be illuminated.
Recessed ceiling luminaries or surface-mounted luminaries can also be used to provide a nice touch in hallway areas. Light from these fixtures should indirectly reflect from a light-colored ceiling surface and are appropriate fixtures to highlight doorways and the end of a passageway.
If the length of your hallway(s) permits, consider mixing several different types of lighting fixtures to add drama and interest to this often ignored area.
Task Lighting
Good lighting schemes use the idea of “light layering” general, ambient and task lighting to create a cohesive, productive lighting design. Of these three light layers, task lighting is the light essential to any work related activity from reading and doing homework to cutting vegetables in the kitchen.
The best placement for task lighting in any room is located between your head and the work surface. Lighting in the center of the ceiling and directly above your head is a bad idea because your head will cast a shadow onto your work surface.
Another common issue when considering task lighting is the issue of “veiling reflection”. This is lighting from overhead and directly in front of you, causing glare reflection from your glossy magazine or high gloss granite countertop.
The solution here is the placement of a light source that comes in from one, or both sides of the viewing angle. Light from the sides instead of from directly overhead better directs the glare from your eyes.
When it comes to task lighting, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home. Kitchens are not only the modern family’s gathering place; they are where everything gets done- even that homework mentioned earlier!
If I needed to stress two most necessary design elements for lighting in the kitchen they would be: 1) Under Cabinet Lighting- (this goes back to the lighting placement between the head and work surface idea) and 2) Halogen spots and pendants.
Under cabinet lighting is an important “layer” in the lighting scheme for the kitchen. This type of lighting provides an even layer of illumination along the countertop that is shadow and glare free. A common and easy way to provide his type is the use of linear strip lights mounted at the back of the under-cabinet.
These fluorescent light sources are a good choice- they can be left on all the time as they have a very long life, produce almost no heat, and are very low cost and are very energy efficient.
The halogen spots and pendants mentioned come from my own personal favorite “design element” as well as a great solution for task lighting- low-voltage bendable track lighting. This type of contemporary “lighting system” is very low profile, very efficient and is available in almost any color or finish to fit in any kitchen design, traditional or modern. They can be ordered in bright colors and finishes, or to match the kitchen hardware in chrome, nickel or even more rustic finishes. It is literally ‘bendable’, and can be installed in any fluid or geometric shape.
‘Low-Voltage’ simply put means the standard electrical voltage of 120 volts is lowered to around 12 volts using a remote ‘transformer’. This low-voltage track primarily uses halogen fixtures that are available in many unique and beautiful shapes and sizes and materials. Spots with colored glass diffusers are available as well that hold halogen bulbs with a variety of beam spread available as well.
Match with pendants that hang decoratively, and with purpose, over your kitchen island- looking fashionable in hand blown murano glass in red or blue for example-while providing clean halogen light on your stovetop or preparation area. All these types of fixtures are hung or mounted from one long continuous “track”. By strategically placing all of these light sources where they are needed most, you will find they are working hard for you while looking great as all task lighting should!
Kitchen Lighting Tips
Out of all the lighting projects in the home, one of the most overlooked rooms is the kitchen. Since modern kitchens are replacing traditional kitchens and becoming popular places to congregate over coffee or a snack, kitchen lighting is also developing along with today’s modern needs.
Kitchens require specific lighting to aid in food preparation tasks and often consists of both task and ambient lighting. According to some professional lighting designers, the kitchen is the one of the most versatile and interesting projects to handle. It can also be one of the most challenging due to its cabinets, shelves, appliances, as well as numerous nooks and crannies.
About Task Lighting
The first approach to kitchen lighting is to consider the areas that are in need of task lighting. These are the areas that best lit with lights that are bright and won’t have a shadow and include places such as tables, sinks, and counters. Task lights work best when the fixture is close to the work area gets the maximum amount of light possible. Small under cabinet lights are great choices if you desire illumination for your pantries and/or other closets. The options available for task lighting include fluorescent tubes, spot lights and directional lights.
About Ambient Lighting
Ambient light serves as general lighting that gives the kitchen overall illumination. Fluorescent tubes are a great choice for their efficiency as well as broad and even illumination. Incandescent down lights are a good choice for broad and even illumination while achieving more dramatic effect to your kitchen. Using conventional recessed lights, surface lights or light fixtures that are on a pendant or chain is a good ways to achieve direct lighting.
Other interesting lighting options include adding a layer of accent lighting for artwork and collectable and kitchen occupancy sensors. Kitchen occupancy sensors are a good choice for kitchens with multiple entrances. These sensors operate by turning on the kitchen lights automatically when someone enters the room from any direction. This is accomplished by the sensors “seeing” all the entrances from their location.
Cabinet Lighting
One of the ways to make your cabinet more attractive is the through the use of cabinet lights. Cabinet lights are mostly used to provide a sufficient amount of light for working or to display things.The types of cabinet lighting depends on the brightness, temperature, color and consumption of voltage. Cabinet lights with the effect of florescence can be of a great use for those who have a problem with heat from other forms of lighting. Some lights also have a brightness adjustment effect that can be very useful in each time of the day.
If you are planning on cabinet lighting for your kitchen, be sure to install the lighting in front or near the cabinet. This will provide the exact amount of light required while providing an added elegance to your cabinet at the same time.
The right kind of kitchen lighting will not only add to the function of a kitchen, it will also add warmth and character to the room as well.
Some Thoughts About Front Door Lighting
Lighting at the front door is an absolute must. However, homeowners frequently make mistakes when lighting this area. This article is an attempt to provide some basic guidelines to help you plan the kind of illumination that provides both safety and a “nice look” for this “first impression” area of your home. Light colored doors and walls around your entryway will help by bouncing your lighting outward.
Front door lighting should provide sufficient illumination for the walkway and steps that lead to the door. It should help visitors find the doorbell or knocker and help you find the keyhole. If you have one than one entry near the front of your home, be sure that the main entry (the one you want people to use) has the brightest lights and the most elaborate fixtures and make sure that there is enough light so that you can see who your visitors are.
The house number should also be illuminated for those first-time visitors.
Spend a little extra and purchase attractive, warm, appealing light fixtures that send a “welcome” message to your visitors. It’s also important to put identical fixtures on either side of the front door. It’s a design thing that provides a sense of balance to your main entryway and makes it look a little larger than it actually is.
A common mistake homeowners make is using lights that are too bright. Bright lights make the adjacent areas dark and that isn’t very appealing. Too much light also creates glare, which causes the visitor some level of discomfort. Your goal is to strike just the right balance of brightness so that safety is insured as well as a warm inviting glow.
A rule of thumb is to use 120V incandescent lights with low wattage bulbs (around 40W) or 15W compact fluorescents. The compact fluorescent will last about 10 times longer than the incandescent bulbs and will use only about a third of the energy needed for the incandescent lights that would produce a comparable amount of light.
Front door lighting fixtures that use colored or frosted lenses are easier on the eye and are generally more appealing than clear glass lenses.
Post lanterns are sometimes used as an alternative to wall mounted fixtures but can provide somewhat of a challenge in terms of getting the fixture that will do the job of illuminating the front door area.
Another option is to add low wattage lights under the overhang above your front door to highlight features such as your house number or some other decorative feature that’s near the front door. Remember that this is a second layer of light that should not overpower your primary front door lighting.
A word of caution: Don’t overdo your lighting arrangement near the front door area. Remember that the goal of front door lighting is to get visitors to the door and so the design focus should always have this as its primary goal.
One of the advantages in planning lighting for the front door is that you can take a look at what other homeowners in your area have done in terms of front door lighting with very little effort and without needing to bother them. Chances are that you will come away will a bunch of good ideas.
Closet Lighting Installation Is Easy
People give a lot of thought to really utilizing their closet space by good organization and smart space-saving design. What they forget is the need to provide closet lighting as well. Unfortunately, you cannot keep your storage area neat and tidy if you cannot see your way around inside. So proper lighting is going to be of extreme importance.
Natural Light May Not Be An Option
The good news is that there are lots of options when it comes to making sure that your closets have some illumination, but the one source that you usually can not count on in this area is natural light. The reason is that a window can take up a lot of space and might not even be possible to install.
Fluorescent is the Code-Compliant Solution
Safety is most important and you have to make sure not to create any fire hazards in your closet. So really the only option is fluorescent lighting – the only code compliant solution.
You can hire out this job out if that option fits in your budget. But this can also be a do-it-yourself project for someone who is a handy person. The actual directions for each lighting system may vary but it is important to know a few things before you even attempt to begin such a project yourself.
Steps in Doing it Yourself
First you have to identify which source of power you will be able to pull power from inside the closet. You have to make sure that before you start working on any electrical projects that you turn off the main power source first. You will want to install this fluorescent light between studs and the same goes for placement of the light switch itself.
Keep the Light Away from any Insulation
You will need to have access to your attic in order to complete this job to fasten the lighting mount, making sure that you keep the it away from any insulation so that it will not become a fire hazard. Another important rule of thumb is not to cross wires – keep black with black and white with white. If you find that you have a confusing wiring system then you should abort the operation immediately and call an electrician. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Lighting that Runs on Batteries
Now if you are not very electrically-inclined then you might want to consider another option for closet lighting. There are some very inexpensive lighting systems that do not have to be connected to the electricity grid but rather run on batteries. They are small, energy efficient, lightweight and inexpensive. This system requires absolutely no wiring and it is a guarantee that you will not have to end up calling an electrician.
They are just simple light bars that attach under your cabinet or to the ceiling of your closet. These systems generally run on four AA batteries. These kits include two very bright Krypton bulbs that are situated in swivel pockets, which makes it very easy to place the light directly where you need it.
Usually, there will also be two different settings on these lights such as high and low. It is just really all a matter of how much time and money you are willing to invest on a closet lighting system and your needs.