Recessed lighting is meant to enhance a living space without taking up room meant for other decorations. You won't find light fixtures hanging down from the ceiling or poking out from the wall, but instead the lighting will peek out from within the ceiling and walls with a pleasant glow. This lighting effect takes the focus off the light fixtures themselves and puts it on the room space by creating an ambient base layer of light upon which to build the room's decor. When renovating a room that gets used a lot like a family room or den, recessed lighting is always an excellent choice.
The family room is an area that is often used for a wide variety of different activities like reading, playing board games, eating, watching television, and entertaining guests. Dimmer switches are a must for recessed lighting. It gives you the flexibility to adjust the light intensity or adjust the down lighting to side lighting ratio. For instance, if you have a gathering of people in your family room for cocktails and they are standing up and moving around, chances are, if 100% of the room lighting is coming from the above recessed lighting, you'll have unnatural hot spots in the room especially if the ceiling is low. To avoid these and the unnatural shadows on a persons face from direct down lighting you can dim the recessed lighting and turn on some sconces and table lambs to have more light hitting them from the side and front for a more flattering appearance. Meanwhile the recessed lighting can do it's job of highlighting the room's decor in a subtle way by filling out all the nooks and crannies of the room.
How To Decorate And Live Well
There are a number of other areas in your home that can take advantage of some of the features of recessed lighting. Grand Living rooms with high ceilings, wall paintings, period furniture, beautiful hardwood floors with elegant rugs just beg for the accenting and spotlighting that strategically placed ceiling recessed lighting can provide. Clear bulb halogen lights provide great accent lighting for this purpose because they render the colors of paintings, decorative arrangements, and vases at a level almost akin to daylight. Clear lamp halogens are not the best for general lighting however. They highlight the outlines of objects too sharply and produce distinctive shadows. It is much better to use recessed halogen lights with frosted lenses that allow a gentler dispersal of light so that with gatherings of people glare is not an issue and skin problems and wrinkles are not highlighted. While at the same time the grandeur of the living room can be conveyed with works of art and period furniture bathed in sharper accent lighting from the clear lamp halogen bulbs. Switches and dimmers that allow for the separate control of accent lighting and the softer dispersed lighting help accomplish this effect.
Another area where recessed lighting can work wonders is the outdoor area of your home. Decks, verandas and outdoor entertainment areas that have some covering structure or crossbeams where recessed lights can be housed can benefit greatly from outdoor recessed lights. These illuminating lights are great when entertaining family and friends late into the night. There is no need to move the party indoors when the sun goes down because you can turn on these lights beforehand and leave them at a dim setting and then as the sun goes down they can slowly be brightened. This is a great option for cookouts, pool parties, cocktail gatherings, or just a simple soak in the outdoor jacuzzi. Beyond the outdoor entertainment area is another part of your home's exterior where outdoor recessed lighting may be used.
Security lights mounted as recessed lights is a lighting option that can add style and ambiance to the exterior of any home. When a walking area is defined by step lights on the border of stairs your guests and family members experience a great feeling of confidence going up or down them. They also convey a feeling of welcome just as a driveway bordered by recessed lights bathed in soft cones of lights lends this feeling to guests or family members heading up the driveway. Not only is the driveway easier to see, but from a security standpoint it is a little more confidence inspiring. Suburban homes and country estates benefit greatly from good recessed security lighting. While conventional outdoor light fixtures can provide basic, functional lighting for this purpose, outdoor recessed halogen lighting with frosted lenses do so with a flourish.
Recessed lighting for the home provides some unique challenges in terms of pre-planning, setup, and proper placement. However these are greatly outweighed by the benefits. Recessed lighting used both as task lighting and directional lighting has the ability to completely transform a family room, a living room, and even your great outdoors. They can highlight works of art as well as the overall quality design and workmanship that have gone into your space. This can be the new hardwood floors in your living area, the new what not in your den, or your newly tiled walkways and driveways. Either way, with some preparation recessed lighting can be a great lighting choice for any area of your home.
Home Recessed Lighting - How to Transform Your Living Space With Recessed Lights
If you're thinking of ways you can help cut your home lighting costs and for some cool ideas on home lighting in general, visit my site at http://homelightingideas.net where I discuss home lighting in general. Here you'll find an important corollary to outdoor recessed lighting where I discuss outdoor lighting fixtures
Ted Gambel has been an electrical tinkerer for as long as he can remember and his favorite topic is the area of home lighting and home lighting fixtures for better living