Have you ever gone out to eat, and had the pendant light over the table create such a bad glare that you shaded your eyes throughout dinner? Or lived with poorly placed track lighting?
Or not enough lighting? Or had so much light that you could
perform brain surgery -- if you didn't pass out from heat stroke, first? Oh, the sins of bad lighting design!
Or not enough lighting? Or had so much light that you could
perform brain surgery -- if you didn't pass out from heat stroke, first? Oh, the sins of bad lighting design!
The lighting in this kitchen is pretty typical of what most of us grew up with. Now days, we usually get a can light over the sink, and a lamp under the range hood.
Okay, let's try to avert our gaze from this poor kitchen's lack
of landing spaces, and focus on the One. Ceiling. Fixture. No
matter where you work in this kitchen, you will be working
in your own shadow. Who needs to see, anyway, when you're
dealing with sharp knives and boiling liquids? photo cbbain
The owner of this home got some bad advice when it came
to updating their kitchen lighting. This is a case of too much
light, in all the wrong places. The fixture over the sink should
have been located slightly forward -- to light the work area
instead of the worker. The fixtures over the counter, however,
are placed a little too close to the cabinets --this is going
to cause "hot spots" and glare, as the light reflects off the
white cabinets. Fewer and more carefully placed cans and
to updating their kitchen lighting. This is a case of too much
light, in all the wrong places. The fixture over the sink should
have been located slightly forward -- to light the work area
instead of the worker. The fixtures over the counter, however,
are placed a little too close to the cabinets --this is going
to cause "hot spots" and glare, as the light reflects off the
white cabinets. Fewer and more carefully placed cans and
layered lighting would have made this kitchen a much more
comfortable space to work in. photo estately website
comfortable space to work in. photo estately website
Alright, I know it seems like I'm picking on kitchens in this post!
But, I could not resist showing this poorly placed track lighting.
Sadly, we have the very same fixture over the dining area in our
temporary-while-we house-hunt-or-maybe-get-transferred-again
-corporate-apartment! I'm not picking on track lighting -- when
used properly, it can be an excellent solution-- but in this application,
it will only serve to light the back of the head of the person working
in the kitchen or shine a glaring light in their eyes. Rule #1
of good lighting: know which surface you want to light, and
light it. One of the lamps in the above picture seems to be
lighting nothing but air.... photo cbbain
Most of us live in builder grade homes, with builder grade lighting. Nothing special. Just the bare basics. Most builder homes have lighting in hallways, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens, and no lighting at all in living rooms and bedrooms.
This living room is pretty typical of homes built in the last half-
century (ironically, earlier homes often had ceiling fixtures and/
or sconces in their public spaces). photo cbbain
So, someone moves into their new home and quickly realizes they want more hardwired lighting. They are tired of living in the dark. And they call a contractor and have him install several recessed cans in every room, and some trendy looking track lighting from the local home improvement store. They've suddenly spent a ton of money, and now they have too much light in some places, and lots of glare, and they've still haven't solved the problem!
Wow! There are a lot of recessed cans in this ceiling! This is
the gift that keeps on giving -- after living with migraines from the
glare, you'll get another headache when you get your electricity
bill! Not only will the lamps use a lot of energy, but they will
increase the cooling load on your AC. photo DecorPad via ShelterPop
Although fixture finishes and styles have
changed in the last couple of decades, the
lighting "design" of most new homes today
has remained the same-- inadequate.
When the owner of this house sees himself
in the mirror in the morning, he's going
to look like he had a bad night. photo cbbain
Here is an example of a remodel that was almost exceptional, except for awkwardly placed lighting. If you notice the picture, most of the light is hitting the wall next to the sconce. If the sconce had been properly placed, it would have lit the face of the person standing at the vanity -- not the wall next to the ceiling.
This bathroom breaks my heart. The fixtures and
finishes are stunning. Just beautiful. But the vanity
would have been more functional, and the lighting
more flattering, if the sconces had been placed
at"face level". It kills me to see someone put
significant resources into a project like this, and
get something as essential as good lighting so
wrong. photo DecorPad
One trick your interior designer or lighting designer may use is "coloring", using yellow pencil, exactly how a light fixture will light a surface. This can be done on elevations, axonometric drawings, or in perspective drawings.
Once again, I hope I haven't confused you -- or worse, bored you. There is just so much to know about good lighting--types of lamps, colors of light, intensity of light, types of lighting (ambient, accent, etc.), dimming characteristics, color rendering, heat, cooling loads, glare, safety, building codes -- the list goes on. In the design industry, good lighting is considered "jewelry" for the home!
This post is being linked to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.