More Great Advice From Randall!

Sizing Light Fixtures

Helpful advice for calculating proportional decorative lighting based on a room's dimensions.

Question: 

What is the rule of thumb for determining the size of a chandelier or pendant fixture for a given space? I have a 25-by-30-foot area over a stairwell and I don't want too large or too small a fixture. If you could help me out, it would make me very happy. 

Answer: 

Just think of me as verbal Prozac. Try this formula: Add the dimensions of the width and length of the foyer area together. This number will be the measurement in inches what the width of your fixture should be. Based on the dimensions that you have given me, I think you should be looking at a chandelier that is 55 inches in diameter. The length will be a little bit harder to determine, as it depends on the ceiling height. Taller ceilings can take longer fixtures. Somebody in your family or your contractor could make a mock-up out of wooden dowels and strings to get a feel for what the fixture would look like in the space.

Randall Whitehead, IALD, is a professional lighting designer and author. His books include "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide." Whitehead has worked on projects worldwide, appeared on the Discovery Channel, HGTV and CNN, and he is regular guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Visit his websitewww.randallwhitehead.com and follow his blog www.lightmakesright.com for more information on books, upcoming seminars and the latest lighting trends.

Ask Randall: Recessed Lighting in a Living Room

Supplementing Recessed Lighting in a Living Room

Q: I recently installed eight recessed downlights in my 16-by-16-foot living room -- three rows of three, two and three. I used Halo 6-inch LED lights that have an 8-foot beam spread from a 9-foot ceiling. The room is super bright and awesome.

 

A: This is more of a declaration than it is a question. I’m still trying to process the lighting installed in your living room. I had to lie on the floor in a darkened space just to create a mentally safe environment. This lighting would be "awesome" if you were interrogating eight prisoners all at the same time. Have you learned nothing, Grasshopper? Your living room must feel like an alien spacecraft is just about to land and tractor beam you up for a quick probe. I applaud you for using an LED source. All I am asking for is that you use some other sources of illumination in the space, too. Since you have a 9-foot ceiling, consider installing one or two pendants. Maybe add a pair of sconces flanking a tall piece of furniture or a painting. The journey to good lighting begins with a single step light

 

Randall Whitehead, IALD

Randall Whitehead, IALD, is a professional lighting designer and author. His books include "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide." Whitehead has worked on projects worldwide, appeared on the Discovery Channel, HGTV and CNN, and he is regular guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Visit his websitewww.randallwhitehead.com and follow his blog www.lightmakesright.com for more information on books, upcoming seminars and the latest lighting trends.

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Residential Lighting: Ask Randall

Sufficient Lighting for a Master Bathroom The question is not whether two ceiling-mounted fixtures will offer "enough light" for a master bath, but whether that approach is "enough" period, says our expert. By: Randall Whitehead, IALD Q. I am planning to install two ceiling-mount fixtures in my master bath. Each fixture will accommodate 100W. Do you feel that this will be a sufficient amount of light? A. You know how I feel about trying to make one type of light fixture do all of the work. This is the master bath, your very special and personal domain. Do you really want to be back-lit by 200W of light when looking in the mirror? Your face will be in silhouette, like on a news program where they are trying to protect your identity. Install a pair of vanity lights, flanking the mirror, mounted at 5 feet 6 inches above the finished floor. This will provide even task lighting for your face. I'm fine with you keeping the two ceiling-mounted fixtures, but I am recommending that you put them and the sconces on dimmers. No one needs to be blasted with light, especially first thing in them morning. Finding that stray false eyelash attached to your shoulder is horrifying enough.

 

			Randall Whitehead, IALD, is a professional lighting designer and author. His books include "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide." Whitehead has worked on projects worldwide, appeared on the Discovery Channel, HGTV and CNN, and he is a regular guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Visit his website (www.randallwhitehead.com) and follow his blog (www.lightmakesright.com) for more information on books, upcoming seminars and the latest lighting trends.

Make It Glow Issue 16

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Ask Randall: Mounting Outdoor Lanterns

Residential Lighting has another great Ask Randall Section. See below the correct way to mount an outdoor lantern.

Mounting Outdoor Lanters

The right height for placing outdoor lights depends on the positioning of the light source in the fixture, says our expert.

Question: I am wiring a new room and want to include outdoor wall sconce lights by French doors. I haven't picked out the lights yet, so I want to leave options open as much as possible. What sort of junction boxes should I install: round or single-gang rectangular, metal or plastic? How high? The exterior is lapped siding with a 6-inch reveal. Answer: First off, I want to congratulate you on having the forethought to add exterior sconces flanking the French doors. This will help keep them from becoming black mirrors at night and add a little architectural jewelry to the facade. As far as a junction box goes I would use a round 3-inch box. This can be a noncorrosive metal box or plastic. It would be really good if you could pick a fixture ahead of time before installing the boxes because that will help greatly in determining what the correct mounting height should be. A good rule of thumb is that the center of the light source should be 6 feet above the patio or deck (whatever the French doors are leading out onto). Some exterior fixtures do not have the electrical feeds exactly in the center of the backplate; sometimes they are closer to the top. Also, some fixtures hang down from an arm, or are raised up on an arm. These configurations affect the correct mounting height. For example, you’ll see the ELK Lighting Freeport fixture (left) has the electrical feed toward the top of the backplate. It’s not centered on the backplate. In contrast, the Quoizel Oasis lantern (center) hangs lower than the junction box. So in this case, the junction box has to be mounted higher than 6 feet so that the light source ends up at the 6-foot height. The Sea Gull Wynfield lantern illustrates a light source situated above the backplate. For these styles, the junction box would need to be installed lower in order for the light source to situate at 6 feet. My advice: Just bite the bullet and find the fixtures that you’re going to use. You need to buy the horse before you hitch up the cart. It will also help knowing the size of the backplate so that you can cut the right size opening in the siding.

			Randall Whitehead, IALD, is a professional lighting designer and author. His books include "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide." Whitehead has worked on projects worldwide, appeared on the Discovery Channel, HGTV and CNN, and he is a regular guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Visit his website (www.randallwhitehead.com) and follow his blog (www.lightmakesright.com) for more information on books, upcoming seminars and the latest lighting trends.

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Landscape 101

Paul Gosselin, President of the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals and President fo landscape lighting specialist NightScenes Corp. offers the dos and donts of outdoor lighting.

DO control glare. Make sure that you can't see the source of the light from primary viewing angles. You want to see the effect of the light, not the source.

DO think about different lighting sources. You don't want to use the same fixture and lamp for everything. Some areas will need wider or softer light while others will need an intense focus of light.

DO leave a few feet of extra wire. Do this for each fixture location to allow for later adjustment as the landscape matures.

DON'T use too much light. Less is more. Use lower-lumen fixtures instead of throwing a lot of light at objects.

DON'T forget to adjust your lighting at night. You may need to move things around a few times to get the best effects.

DON'T bury your wires as you go along. You want to be absolutely sure where your fixtures will end up first.

Source: Residential Lighting

Mirror, Mirror!- Ask Randall

Residential Lighting has another great "Ask Randall" column! Thanks Randall for all the great advice! 

Question:

My local department store has the best lighting in its dressing rooms. The lighting is very flattering and makes me want to buy everything. The lighting appears to go the length on either side of the mirror and would lead me to believe it is fluorescent lighting. I usually hate fluorescent. What type of lighting could I use in my bathroom to achieve the same flattering light? Is there a non-fluorescent option that is flattering?

Answer:

You are absolutely right about having lighting on either side of the mirror. It is the most flattering because it bathes people in even illumination. Good store designers (or those that hire incredibly talented lighting designers) know that if people feel attractive when they try something on, then they are more likely to buy it. Any time there is recessed lighting above a mirror, whether it is in the dressing room of a store or in your own bathroom, you are hit with light that casts harsh shadows underneath your eyes, nose and chin. Nobody looks good under this type of light ... unless you are lying on the floor looking up.
For your bath, find a light fixture that is vertical and linear. This gives you better coverage from the top of your head down to your ... elbows. There are lots of fixtures that use incandescent or halogen sources to provide this kind of illumination. Take a look at the Robbia Full by Artemide and the Dover by LBL Lighting.
There are also dimmable fluorescent sources, like the Emanation by Boyd Lighting, that I think do a very good job, especially when the correct color temperature of light is selected. I tend to recommend a lamp that is 2700K to 3000K (the color of standard incandescent and halogen light). Sometimes I specify fixtures with two parallel lamps, one of which also provides the color of daylight (5000K), like one made by Dreamscape.
We are not seen under much incandescent light during the day, so it’s better to do your makeup and select your clothes under a daylight quality of light. Most of us are getting up and getting dressed before it is daylight outside, so we need to rely on an electric light source to provide an effective substitute. You simply can’t always wear the clothes from the night before. My limit is three times a week.

Randall Whitehead, IALD

Randall Whitehead, IALD, is a professional lighting designer and author. His books include "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide." Whitehead has worked on projects worldwide, appeared on the Discovery Channel, HGTV and CNN, and he is regular guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Visit his website www.randallwhitehead.com and follow his blog www.lightmakesright.com for more information on books, upcoming seminars and the latest lighting trends.

Ask Randall-- Outdoor Lighting Checklist

Residential Lighting posted another great Ask Randall Article. See more Below.

 

 

Spring is just around the corner and the days of enjoying your outdoor landscaping is appoaching. See Randalls great Outdoor Lighting Checklist to make sure you are ready!

 

 

Q. :

I always enjoy your columns. One of my favorites was a checklist for approaching kitchen lighting design. Do you have a similar checklist you can provide regarding outdoor lighting?

A. :

Oh, please, I have a checklist for everything, from my “what to wear to the airport” checklist to my “what not to do on a first date” checklist. I see my OCD as an asset, while those that are close to me … not so much. So here you go:

1. There is no single type of exterior light fixture that can perform all lighting needs in the garden. Light layering is a design method in which a number of different light sources are blended together to create a cohesive and inviting design.
2. Put together a planting plan, an outdoor furniture layout and an outdoor kitchen design, along with sculpture or water feature locations, before attempting to create a lighting design. The lighting should relate to the way the outdoor spaces are going to be used.
3. Try to get all the players (the homeowners, the lighting designer, the landscape designer and the contractor) together to share ideas. This is called a team approach to design. The result is a well-integrated design where all the elements work harmoniously with each other.
4. Create two levels of light; one for when you are inside looking out and one for when you are actually in the garden. Much of the time we look out into our gardens because it is just too cold or inclement to be outside.
5. Try to choose a shielded exterior fixture that can serve as a downlight, accent light or wall wash. Glare can really ruin people’s experience of an outdoor space. Only the decorative fixtures, such as the lanterns flanking the doors, should be seen.
6. Always try to include some exterior lighting in the overall design even if you are working on the lighting inside of your house first. It not only keeps windows from becoming black mirrors at night, but it also visually expands the interior spaces, allowing them to feel larger.
7. Be thoughtful when dimming exterior lighting. Standard incandescent light, when dimmed, becomes even more amber in color. Green plants look sickly under yellow light. Dimming of LEDs is a different story; they do not change color when dimmed.
8. Locate a panic switch for security lights in the master bedroom. It’s no fun running to the front door in the middle of the night to turn on the outside lights.
9. Don’t just locate light switches for the house and landscaping at the front door. Most people enter their homes from the garage. This is where a second set of controls should be installed.
10. Use a daylight blue color correcting filter on the outdoor lights if they are incandescent to eliminate the amber quality. Or specify cooler-colored fluorescent and LED sources which will will keep the plants looking healthy.

Randall Whitehead, IALD

Randall Whitehead, IALD, is a professional lighting designer and author. His books include "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide." Whitehead has worked on projects worldwide, appeared on the Discovery Channel, HGTV and CNN, and he is regular guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Visit his website www.randallwhitehead.com and follow his blog www.lightmakesright.com for more information on books, upcoming seminars and the latest lighting trends.

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FAQ: Residential Lighting-- Ask Randall

Came across this great article form Residential Lighting. Enjoy! Accent Lighting Around a Fireplace Don't send in grids of recessed cans to do the job of a proper lighting plan, says our expert. By: Randall Whitehead, IALD Q. I have a fireplace that is about 72 inches wide on a wall that is 16 feet tall on one end and 14 feet tall on the other end. What would you suggest for accent lighting of the fireplace? The room already has a grid of six Halo 6-inch recessed cans with eyeball trims. A. It sounds like your room is suffering from a bad case of inadequate lighting. I see it all the time, where a contractor or an architect has put in a grid of recessed fixtures and called it a day. This is not really what we would call lighting design, since it doesn’t relate to how the room is being used. The first thing I would have you consider doing is to retrim the existing recessed fixtures with the Halo 1450P trim. This will turn your existing fixtures into recessed adjustable low voltage fixtures with much smaller apertures. These can then be directed around the room to illuminate tabletops, plants and other objects. These trims use halogen MR16 lamps but you can also consider using LED versions instead. I would use two additional recessed adjustable fixtures to cross-illuminate the fireplace. Place them 2 feet out from the face of the fireplace. If you install them too far out from the wall, then people who are walking in front of the fireplace will get that light right in their eyes. Also, I would really recommend that you add some sort of indirect lighting into the space to show off the wonderful height of the ceiling and to soften the shadows on people’s faces. I would recommend installing a cantilever on the wall section below the high side of the ceiling with a run of indirect lighting on top or a series of opaque wall sconces — take a look at the Belfer Wedge (www.belfer.com) as a reference. This will help create an inviting glow of illumination for the room. You might also consider installing two pendant fixtures that are centered on the fireplace and divide the room into thirds. This will help create a little bit more human scale to the space and add what I like to call architectural jewelry. Even houses like a little bling.

			Randall Whitehead, IALD, is a professional lighting designer and author. His books include "Residential Lighting, A Practical Guide." Whitehead has worked on projects worldwide, appeared on the Discovery Channel, HGTV and CNN, and he is a regular guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Visit his website (www.randallwhitehead.com) and follow his blog (www.lightmakesright.com) for more information on books, upcoming seminars and the latest lighting trends.