Dining Room Lighting

In many of today’s homes, dining areas, like living rooms, have evolved into multi-functional spaces wherein dining is only one of many activities carried out within. As with any other multi-use room, lighting in dining areas should be flexible enough to accommodate all of the different ways the space is likely to be used. This is once again achieved through a layered combination of ambient, accent, decorative and task lighting.

One thing that hasn’t changed about dining rooms (and dining room lighting) over the years is the tendency for the dining table, and the decorative light above it, to be the room’s central focus. However, often the necessity to move the table over to make room for a home office or storage unit means that this central focus isn’t necessarily in the center of the room. This can create a problem for centrally-hung chandeliers and pendant lights.

One solution is to hang the light on a swag chain or a pulley system. A swag chain can allow the light to easily be moved over the table. A pulley system allows the light to be raised closer to the ceiling so that it is visually tied to the ceiling rather than the table, so that it doesn’t look odd if the table isn’t centered directly underneath. With this in mind, another option is to forgo a pendant light altogether in favor of a flush or semi-flush lighting fixture. Flexible recessed lights aimed either at the four corners of the table or at the centerpiece are another option.

Whatever you choose for a central fixture, don’t rely solely on it to light the whole space. Placing it on a dimmer switch will allow it to be turned all the way up to provide overhead task lighting, and also make it possible to dim the lights for a more intimate or romantic setting. Add ambient and accent lighting around the perimeter to soften the room with flattering fill light. This might be a combination of wall sconces, uplights placed in the rooms corners, undercabinet lighting on a china hutch or decorative lamps placed on a buffet.

Candlelight is another popular choice for adding ambiance to a dining area. Whether creating a mood that’s festive or romantic, choose a combination of candles and holders that won’t put the flame at eye-level where it can obstruct your view of your dining partner or guests. For a dinner for two, choose votives or pillar candles that are low enough to be out of the way while casting a flattering glow on faces. Tall candlesticks and candelabras with tapers are more appropriate for a dinner party, provided that they’re tall enough that the flames won’t temporarily blind your guests.

With lighting layered in such a way, your dining area will be ready to accommodate anything from a formal dinner to breakfast in your bathrobe to a family game night, and all of the dozens of other uses in between.

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Make a Good First Impression With Entryway Lighting

In the past, we’ve taken a look at lighting for living rooms, kitchens, home offices and children’s rooms. Over the next few weeks, we’ll help you cast the rest of your house in its best light, beginning with entryways. Whether you have a roomy front porch leading into a spacious grand foyer, or a simple stoop leading into a corner of the front room where you’ve stashed a coat rack, your front entry creates your home’s first impression. The right lighting can help to ensure that that impression is a good one.

Outside: After dark, no matter how large or small your front entrance and the path leading up to it, safety is the first concern. Light any potential obstacles and provide enough light to make visitors feel secure as they approach your home (and to ward off those whose interest in your home is less than savory). Use eye-catching light fixtures to help guide visitors to your front door, and make sure your house number is well-lit. These steps will go a long way toward making guests feel welcome before they even set foot inside your home.

Illusion: Inside, use the lighting tricks we’ve discussed in previous posts to your full advantage to set the tone you would like visitors to carry with them throughout your home. If you feel your grand foyer is too spacious and daunting to new visitors, dimming the lights and directing lighting toward the floor will make the space feel smaller and more intimate.

By contrast, directing lighting upwards to fill in the space near the ceiling can help a cramped entrance feel more spacious and airy. Hanging mirrors can also expand the space, as well as reflecting daylight or ambient light from the adjacent room to make the area feel more open. If the front door opens directly into the front room, create the illusion of an entryway by setting the afore-mentioned coat rack near the door and placing an entry table nearby to help define the area, or cordon it off with glass blocks or a transluscent screen that sections off the area wile allowing light to shine through. In small entrances with stairways, a lighted painting along the stairs or an illuminated plant or sculpture on the landing can lend the space a touch of grandeur.

Ambient and Accent Lighting: Don’t rely on your overhead light or chandelier alone to light the space. Greeting night visitors with plenty of warm ambient light not only helps to set a welcoming tone; it also casts you in a flattering light as you greet your guests. Wall sconces are a good source of ambient fill light. Opaque sconces are best - they cast light upward to soften shadows and don’t draw too much attention to the light source like transluscent sconces can. Layer them with a dimmed chandelier and a hidden accent light directed at a painting or sculpture to create a grand entrance that is both welcoming and impressive.

Finally, don’t neglect daylight. If your entry lacks windows, consider installing a skylight if you have the resources. Otherwise, mirrors or mirrored surfaces, as mentioned above, can draw in daylight from the adjoining room.

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All About Track Lighting

As mentioned in our last post, track lighting has come a long way in its evolution from the rigid, clunky-looking design that achieved popularity in the 1980s, giving it a resurgence in popularity and making it one of the up and coming trends for 2010. Here is a more in-depth look at what to expect from today’s track lighting.

The track lighting family has expanded to include three categories: fixed rail lighting, free-form rail lighting, and cable lighting.

Fixed Rail Lighting is the least flexible, but it’s also the most budget-friendly choice, making it the most widely-used form of track lighting in today’s homes. As the name implies, it consists of a single rail with a fixed number of light fixtures at manufacturer-selected intervals. The light fixtures usually swivel and can be angled at any direction. They can be mounted on walls or ceilings, and joined together to accommodate long spaces. The rails range from straight and utilitarian to artfully curved with decorative details. Low-voltage versions have a transformer at one end of the track that delivers power to the light fixtures, allowing for relatively easy DIY installation.

Free-Form Rail Lighting has all of the features of its fixed rail cousin while offering more flexibility. Light fixture types can be varied, switched out and repositioned along the track. Spotlights and decorative pendant lamps can be combined along the same track to increase functionality. Also, both free-form and fixed rails can be suspended from high ceilings, allowing the spotlights to swivel upward for an uplighting effect, and decorative railing to form a floating sculpture, standing out and making its own statement instead of blending in.

Cable Lighting is the most recent addition to the track lighting family. It’s also the most advanced, as well as the most green, using only 12 volts of energy. Bare wire cables form a twin rail for lights to move along, creating a contemporary minimalist look. The cables are extremely flexible and can take almost any shape the homeowner can imagine. For even more functionality and panache, remote control options are available.

Both rails and fixtures come in traditional, transitional and contemporary styles, meaning that there is a track lighting option to fit almost any style or budget. So don’t be afraid to hop on this growing trend and consider track lighting for your home lighting scheme.

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2010 Home Lighting Trends

A new year often brings new direction--not only personal resolutions, but also changes in social and economic thought that are reflected in home decor and lighting trends. That’s as true as ever in this new year, with continual advances in technology and energy efficiency making it easier than ever to go green with your lighting. Here are some growing lighting trends to watch for in 2010.

Hidden Track Lighting - say goodbye to the rigid tracks and exposed hardware that one generally thinks of when it comes to track lighting. The latest version, also called cable or monorail lighting, offers attractive fixtures and flexibility that the old style lacked. Run off of a single low-voltage transformer, they are also more energy-efficient than their predecessors, making them a popular choice with homeowners.

Chandelettes and Mini Chandeliers - bring the refined look of a chandelier to small spaces with one of these fixtures that add all of the sparkle and drama without the size or power requirements of a full-sized chandelier.

Deep Metallic Finishes - rustic metal tones like brushed nickel and oiled bronze are gaining popularity in choices for lamp base and lighting fixture finishes.

Natural Materials - another growing trend in finishes are those that bring in a bit of nature, such as bamboo, wood and teaque. Bamboo and natural fiber lamp shades are also becoming trendy in the new year.

Vintage and DIY Lighting - as more and more people try to reduce their carbon footprint by re-using and recycling, vintage and thrift-store finds as well as unique lamps and pendant lights created from recycled and upcycled materials are becoming a popular trend.

Wall Sconces - another eco-friendly trend involves moving into smaller spaces, which brings with it an increased popularity in space-saving wall sconces that double as statement-making art pieces.

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Lighting Up the New Year

For 100 out of the last 102 New Year's Eves, people from around the world have rung in the New Year by watching a lighted ball drop over New York’s Times Square (the two exceptions being during WWII, when the New Year was instead met with a moment of silence followed by the ringing of church bells).

Although the tradition hasn’t changed, the ball itself has gone through a lot of changes over the century, the most recent being to go green by replacing its combination of incandescent and halogen bulbs with energy efficient LED lamps. As we prepare to ring in not just another new year, but a whole new decade, here are some facts about this year’s New Year’s Eve Ball to keep in mind as we approach its annual hour to shine.

The newest ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds.

It’s covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Phillips LEDs.

Focus Lighting created the lighting design, which uses over 3,500 lighting cues for a brilliant, kaleidoscopic display of light.

The lighting design is carefully orchestrated to highlight every facet of each crystal, making the sparkle visible from as far as 500 feet.

The Times Square Alliance is so proud of this newest ball that, as of last year, they have made it a permanent fixture over Times Square, using it to put on a light show on various holidays and occasions throughout the year.

The number of people who gathered for the first New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square was a respectable 200,000. Since then, the number of people who gather to watch the ball drop live has grown to an estimated 1 million.

As this remarkable work of lighting design descends over Times Square to signify the start of 2010, we wish you and yours all the best for a Happy New Year!

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Lighting Your Holiday Party With Style

‘Tis the season for entertaining guests. Whether hosting a big holiday bash or a small, intimate dinner party, you want your lighting to set the right tone and to feel as special as the holidays themselves. Although the season brings to mind all things “merry and bright,” that doesn’t necessarily extend to your lighting. Follow these tips to achieve an inviting lighting scheme that will make your guests feel reluctant to leave.

The key to party lighting is to combine softness with sparkle. Soft light sets a warm, inviting tone that makes your guests want to linger. Dim or darken overhead lights, and allow accent lighting to create warm pools of light around conversation areas. Dimmed lighting will also let your Christmas tree or other holiday lights shine more brightly, creating a festive holiday mood.

Add to the ambience with candlelight by spreading votives or pillars around the room’s perimeter. If you have a fireplace, light a fire (if it’s a faux fireplace, light a grouping of pillar candles in the hearth). If there are children in attendance, consider battery-operated flameless candles or LED tea lights. You can also emulate candlelight by stringing clear holiday twinkle lights across the mantle or along bookcases, creating soft, ambient light with a hint of holiday glitter.

The kitchen has a tendency to become Party Central, There, once the cooking is done, the same guidelines apply. Dim overhead lights and turn up the cabinet lighting for soft ambient light. If you haven’t installed under cabinet lighting, run strings of holiday lights along the back of the countertops, and on top of the cabinets if there is space. Group candles on the countertop or island, or as a centerpiece on the kitchen table. If you have a crystal chandelier connected to a dimmer switch, turn it up just enough to show off the chandelier’s sparkle without flooding the room with light.

Keeping the lighting soft and bringing in subtle festive touches will create a relaxed party atmosphere that encourages your guests to hang out and enjoy themselves, and places the focus on the company instead of on the lighting. Happy Holidays.

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