THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996 TAG: 9601160452
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANN BARRY BURROWS, SPECIAL TO HOME & GARDEN
LENGTH: Long : 245 lines
INSIDE ON A COLD winter's night, the warmth of a home comes not just from the furnace but from the cozy and cheerful illumination of walls and furnishings.
Strategies for lighting the home are multiplying, as home decor industries focus on soothing the soul with a wash of light.
Lighting, according to Virginia Beach decorator Lisa Haddock, ``will make or break your interior. It will enhance the architecture of your house, the shape of your house, the marketability of your house.''
There are three ways to deal with light in the home:
Architectural lighting, which is built-in when the home is constructed or renovated.
Task lighting, which involves placement of lamps or track lights to emphasize task areas or art objects and to complement other light sources.
Decorative lighting, using lamps as part of your interior decor. Expressive, unusual or artful, lights can mix with furnishings and fabrics to make a statement.
Task lighting finds its place in the work areas of the home: the kitchen, bathrooms, offices and areas for study, reading and dressing.
But a room also is enhanced by soft, indirect light, also called fill light or mood lighting. Eye strain usually can be avoided if there is not much contrast between the lighted work area and the space beyond. The rule of thumb for comfort seems to be a ratio of 3 to 1, referring to the brightness, or watts, used for task lighting compared to fill lighting.
Norfolk decorator Michelin Gary said there is a continuing trend among customers to demand a lot of natural light from windows and ambient light integrated into the architecture of their homes.
The easiest way to provide both task and ambient light is a dimmer switch. Decorators agreed that in 1996 simply everything could and should be used with a dimmer option. Ordinary switch plates can easily be changed to dimmer controls purchased at local hardware and home improvement stores.
Beyond these tricks of the trade, the complex choices involved in lighting are tailored to individual situations by home designers, builders, renovators, decorators and homeowners. There are a few lighting experts listed in the Hampton Roads Yellow Pages, but most specialize in commercial work or theatrical productions.
Owners of newer homes will most likely benefit from the advance planning of designers and builders. Lighting integrated into the architecture of the home has an unsurpassed elegance. And there are often motion detectors, programmable on-off features and other user-friendly controls, particularly in today's ``smart homes.''
A favorite trick of one decorator is to use down lights in the ceilings of the master bath. She chooses halogen bulbs because of the bright white light's effect on shiny surfaces such as porcelain. ``Recessed halogen down lights have a nice quality, a twinkle almost,'' Haddock said.
Wayne Sasser, a Virginia Beach builder and home designer, began what is now a popular light treatment for fireplaces in Hampton Roads. Gas-log fireplaces do not need chimneys, so Sasser installs a window over the mantel. For evening, two strips of fluorescent spotlights highlight whatever floral arrangement or art object is on the mantel.
In many new dining rooms and some master baths, the effect of a floating ceiling is being achieved through special lighting. As Haddock explained, lighting hidden behind molding where the wall meets the ceiling, or in a small cove in a vaulted or step ceiling, will wash the ceiling and provide a floating effect.
A Smithfield couple, with the aid of Angie Lowry of Decorating Den, achieved the effect without the help of a special building design. They purchased the lights usually put in outdoor steps and installed them in box-shaped strips down two lengths of their dining room ceiling. The hidden lights illuminate the ceiling, which is flecked with sparkling plaster. The glow makes the room seem larger and enhances a Victorian chandelier.
``We have really enjoyed the look of this room,'' homeowner Janet Thompson said. ``And it's nice because even with just candles on the table, we can see what we are eating!''
Chandeliers are no longer restricted to mansions. Even mid-priced homes have chandeliers costing from $100 to $500. And styles run beyond the traditional hanging of clustered crystals.
Gene Lanning, head of the design department at Willis Wayside furniture gallery, said that wrought iron and other metal finishes are replacing the traditional brass and crystal chandeliers. The look is more modern and fits with most styles, he said, ``particularly with contemporary and transitional.''
Lighting can be an easy, do-it-yourself project as well as an interior-designer inspired construction plan. The knowledgeable placement of lamps or track lights can create professional effects in certain rooms.
The easiest change is installation of colored lights. Screw a rose-colored light bulb in place of a white one, or try blue in a bedroom.
Even better, but harder to find, are full-spectrum lamps that provide blue light, or ultra-violet rays. They are purported to cure the doldrums of winter and help plants grow.
There are new varieties of light bulbs that boast of sharper contrasts between black and white, which is good for reading. The most popular choices, however, are traditional incandescent lights, halogen lights and fluorescent lights.
Halogen lights have become popular for task lighting because of the extreme brightness at low wattages. They still cost dearly, however, at $26 for a six-pack of halogen floodlights. Smaller bulbs for office desk lamps are more comparably priced, but the lamps are more expensive than incandescent lamps.
Also widely available are fluorescent lamps that boast of saving as much as 70 percent in energy and promising long life, measured in terms of years instead of months. The price is higher initially: a 20-watt replacement for a 75-watt bulb is $9.95, plus an adapter. A combination bulb and adapter sells for nearly $20.
Fluorescent lamps have a cool, bright light and are recommended for night lights and children's rooms. They are useful in the kitchen and other utility areas. Once a decorating no-no unless hidden, fluorescent lamps have regained their cache. Called ``luminaries,'' there are stylish fluorescent lamps that fit into all rooms. For a retro look, nothing beats the circle fluorescent fixture.
The king of light bulbs is still the incandescent, despite its heat and the power needed to operate it. Lighting experts say it will be a long time before consumers give up the yellow glow of incandescent lights. The warm colors of the spectrum reflected in this light give a pleasant cast to people's complexions, as well as to most fabrics and textures.
Several decorators noted that fabrics will look different if incandescents are used in one room and fluorescents in another. If there is continuity of certain fabrics and color from room to room, the lighting must also match, they said.
Incandescents come in all sizes and shapes for the home. A common fixture contains three directional lights for ceilings, ceiling fans, walls and bath vanities. The result is very functional, similar to track lights. There are also ``lines of light'' available in 10- to 30-foot strips for use under or inside cabinets and behind moldings or beside mirrors.
You can take your pick of halogen, fluorescent or incandescent in track lighting, which is remarkably easy to install on ceilings or walls. Each track can be customized with as many lamps as you need, where you need them.
Simpler yet, and cheapest, is a clip-on lamp for those tiny spaces and hard-to-light areas.
Beyond the function of lights, however, there is the artistry of the lamps.
``You get the amount of lighting you need, and you also get the decorative effect,'' said James Pennington, owner of Ghent Lamp and Shade in Norfolk. He specializes in antique lamps but will serve customers by making a lamp out of anything.
``There is not much juvenile lighting available in stores,'' he said, ``so people will bring in toys and we make lamps.'' Also popular are lamps for the kitchen made from antique kitchen items such as copper pots, bottles and pitchers. Other objects express the individual, such as fire extinguisher lamps for firefighters.
Gary, Lanning and other decorators noted that lamps are as important as other elements in setting the style of the room. ``They are replacing sculptures and floral arrangements as objects d'art,'' Gary said.
Let's not forget about an old standby: candlelight. Decorating supply houses are brimming with new variations on the old custom. A new trend is a cluster of floor candlesticks, grouped in varying heights.
Lanning at Willis Wayside calls it firelight. ``Candles and candlesticks are really, really important accessory items right now,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Porcelain figures on an old lamp from Ghent Lamp and Shade contrast
with a modern IKEA lamp.
James Pennington with a cameo lamp at his shop, Ghent Lamp and
Shade.
Graphics
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Archictectural lighting: Built-in lighting.
Down lights: Recessed or semi-recessed lighting in the upper wall or
ceiling.
Fill lighting: Subdued, indirect lighting, either natural or
artificial, that sets a mood in a room.
Fluorescent: A cooler light, four times more efficient than
incandescent and with a life of 10 to 20 times as long.
Full-spectrum light: It contains ultra-violet colors and is similar
to sunlight.
Halogen: A low-voltage, extremely white light, it compliments colors
on the cool end of the spectrum.
Incandescent: The traditional light, invented by Thomas Edison in
1879, gives a warm yellow glow.
Task lighting: Placement of lamps or track lights to emphasize task
areas or art objects.
Track lights: System of spotlights that can be placed anywhere on a
track.
ROOM-BY-ROOM TIPS FOR LIGHTING
Edward Effron, a well-known New York lighting consultant and
author of ``Planning and Designing Lighting,'' (Little, Brown and
Co., 1986) has these room-by-room tips:
Home entrance: Illuminate your callers at the door and, to a
lesser degree, any pathways to it. Several tall poles with
directional light and fittings at knee height with soft general
light will work, as will lighting concealed in an overhead roof. For
drama, try a spotlight aimed straight down at your doorstep.
Hallways: Highlight architecture or wash the walls to create a
welcoming space. Passageways should be almost as bright as
surrounding rooms. The best way to achieve this is to use linear
incandescent or flourescent lights, either recessed, semi-recessed
or surface-mounted at walls or ceiling. There are recessed lights
called ``double-wall washers'' that have a nice effect.
Don't forget to light at least the top and bottom of stairs as
well as landings. Some linear lights come with louvered shutters to
restrict glare.
Living rooms: These are the trickiest to illuminate but the most
rewarding. It is a multi-functional place. Fireplaces, bookcases,
reading tables, entertainment centers, couch and chair islands, even
desks, can be found here. Consider your task needs and provide light
for them. Then add general, ambient lights that provide a sense of
coziness.
Traditional table lamps make adequate reading lights, and you can
brighten or soften them by changing the size and color of the
lampshade. Small portable floor lights are good for precise tasks.
Picture lights directly attached to artworks are recommended only
for pictures no taller than 2 feet. Otherwise, an adjustable framing
projector can be attached to a ceiling downlight or other spotlight
to wash the artwork perfectly in light. Consider plants, the
fireplace mantle and other areas of interest to be fair game for
this light treatment.
Kitchen: Another tricky area, kitchen designers can offer a
great deal of expertise here. Used 24 hours a day, the kitchen is
the one room that needs lighting to be functional. The task areas of
a kitchen are the range, the sink and the preparation counters.
These need strong light, one of the best source coming from under
kitchen cabinets. Both ceiling and under-cabinet lighting is fine,
but cabinet lighting must not glare too harshly on formica counters,
and ceiling lights should be near the edge of the counter surface,
so the cook does not cast a shadow on the cutting board.
Dining rooms: Rooms dominated by chandeliers need other light
sources. Candles, lights concealed in ceiling coves, wall brackets
directing light upward or translucent glass lamps providing diffused
fill light are best. This is a good place for fixtures that make a
statement or enhance the features of the room.
Bedrooms: If you read in bed, a good task light is a flexible
fixture on the wall behind you or a ceiling fixture with a narrow
bright beam in the correct position. Lamps on bedside tables usually
do not make good reading lights, because, if they are bright enough
to read by, they will illuminate most of the room. If you have a
full-length mirror, install lighting that illuminates whoever stands
in front of it.
GARY C. KNAPP/
Photo
Lights behind box-shaped strips create a glow that enhances the
chandelier in Janet and Eric Thompson's dining room.
by CNB