THE ESSENTIALS OF LIGHTING

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile since I've talked with you all, it's been a pretty busy summer. I had an internship at Light Expressions by Shaw which I am finishing up this next week. I have learned so much these past two months and I cannot wait to share some of it with you. For today, I am going to stick with the lighting basics every designer and home owner should know.

http://www.hinkleylighting.com/dynamic/idea_center.aspx?cat=lighting-101

Above is a chart that can be very useful and come in handy when picking out lighting. It's a brief outline that goes room by room and explains the standard sizing of lighting needed. Now these guidelines may not always apply depending on certain situations. Below is a breif description of lighting fixture sizes that can be seen on the chart above.

OUTDOOR LIGHTING

For outdoor lighting, fixtures should hang 66" from the ground as a general rule of thumb. The size of the fixtures should range from 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the door. 

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Why+America+Loves+ReliaBilt_1269617520_

FOYER LIGHTING

When deciding on a foyer light you need to keep in mind the height of the ceiling. The fixture in the foyer should be at least 7' off the floor to avoid the door swing if the fixture hangs right above the door. So if the ceilings are 8' you will probably have to do a flush mount. If there's a window above the door, it's common to have the fixture hang in the middle of the window.

http://huskerdreamhomes.blogspot.com/2011/02/bright-ideas-for-your-home.html

BATHROOM LIGHTING

Bathroom fixtures are usually based on the certain vanity in the bathroom but are generally placed 75"-80" off the floor if it is being placed above the vanity and usually no more than 24" wide. If sconces are being used on either side of the vanity they are usually placed at eye level and are 36"-40" apart. It's also typical to have down lighting in bathrooms because it's a task area so it needs better lighting.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,403815,00.html

http://www.pegasuslighting.com/7-tips-to-improve-your-bathroom-lighting.html

BEDROOM LIGHTING

Lighting for bedrooms vary depending on the type of lighting you want and how big the bedroom is. There is almost always a central overhead light that lights the room but there can also be task lighting such as sconces on either side of the bed. When getting into bedroom, living room, or dining room lighting not everyone wants the same thing. Some people might want a ceiling fan in their living room while others want a chandelier. So you can't really have standard sizing guidelines for these rooms but you can have standard guidelines for each type of fixture. We are going to start with chandeliers.

http://bedroomist.com/2012/10/what-must-be-considered-on-constructing-master-bedroom/master-bedroom-photo/

CHANDELIERS

When sizing a chandelier, you have to base it on the size of the room it's going in. So to get the size chandelier you need, you have to take the length and width of the room and add it together then take the total and convert it to inches which gives you the size you need. If the chandelier is hanging over the dining room table it should be 30-32" off the table.

http://theenchantedhome.blogspot.com/2011/07/30-ways-to-rock-chandelier.html

CEILING FANS

When deciding on a ceiling fan you have to think about the room size also. As shown in the Minka-Aire catalog, if the room is approximately 6' x 8' or 40-60 sq. ft then your ceiling fan should be 26"-42". If the room is approximately 8' x 10' or  70-90 sq. ft then the ceiling fan should be 44". If the room is approximately 10' x 12' or 100-150 sq. ft then the fan should be 52"-54" and if the room is approximately 12' x 15' or over 160 sq ft, which is typically a great room, then the ceiling fan should be 60" to 72" or have multiple fans. Another thing to remember is that the height of the room is important also. Ceiling fans come with down rods and the length of the down rod is based on the height of the ceiling. If you have a really low ceiling than you want a hugger mount which means you don't have a down rod.

8' ceiling-standard down rod (3 1/2")

9' ceiling-6" down rod

10' ceiling-12" down rod

11' ceiling-18" down rod

12' ceiling-24" down rod

13' ceiling-36" down rod

14' ceiling-48" down rod

15' ceiling-60" down rod

16' ceiling-72" down rod

18' ceiling-96" down rod

As seen in the Casablanca Fan Company Catalog

Ceiling Fan

http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/fans-cooling

PENDANT LIGHTING

Pendant lighting is really popular over kitchen islands and should hang 30" from the counter top. Typically pendants are 12"-24" apart but it really depends on the length of the island and the size of the pendant. Typically you can take the length of the island and divide it the number of spaces you are going to have. So say you are going to have two pendants than you take the length divided by three because that's how many spaces you will have. Also, there should be 12" to 15" from the edge of the counter to the pendant as a rule of thumb.

http://kitchenextra.com/kitchen-ceiling-lights/

http://www.home-style-choices.com/home-lighting-design.html

LANDSCAPE LIGHTING

Landscape lighting really makes the exterior of a house look fantastic and has many purposes. It can be for security reasons, to light a walkway, to highlight tress or bushes, ect...There are so many options for landscape lighting.

http://www.livinglandscapes.net/id67.html

OTHER LIGHTING BASICS
When it comes to lighting you should know the terms ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting. According to Hinkley, ambient lighting is the main lighting that lights up the whole room, accent lighting is lighting that is used to highlight things such as artwork and has to be brighter than the ambient light, and task lighting is for a specific area where a certain task is performed such as cooking, doing homework, reading, ect...