If the room that was designated for formal dining in your home ever doubles for another purpose, it's a good idea to double-check the lighting to make sure it works for whatever need you have.
It's important not to shortchange your vision in the dining room - particularly if you use it more for these "other" tasks than for its intended purpose.
A dining room with a chandelier alone is unlikely to shed light properly on homework or laptop use.
Sewing projects under the chandelier may also be improperly lit.
To ensure that you're lighting your dining room for all purposes, follow these simple steps:
- Jot down a list of all the ways you have used your dining room, or might use it.
- Identify which uses have been challenging, given your current lighting situation.
- Consider putting your overhead light on a dimmer, if it isn't already, to reduce glare for all tasks.
- Look at options for adding "layers of light" in the dining room. Add movable task lighting where needed, for those uses where you will need an eye on detail. Wall sconces and cove lighting can be installed to offer ambient lighting when the overhead lighting is turned off, and task lighting is turned on.
|
With these simple steps, you can turn your "dining room" into a multi-purpose room without compromising your night-time vision.
Dining Room Lighting Tips & Tricks.
As a general rule of hospitality, your guests should be able to see the food you are serving. With varied lighting controlled by dimmers, you can create a relaxed elegance that will set the mood for any dinner party.
Chandeliers should be hung 30 inches above the table to provide sparkle, not glare. Use clear bulbs in crystal or glass chandeliers to enhance sparkle.
Use downlights aimed straight onto the table to reduce glare in diners' eyes.
When combining a chandelier and downlights, place one downlight about 24 inches on either side of the chandelier above the table for even lighting.
Wall sconces are especially effective in dressing up the room and are an excellent way to make a room appear larger. Place the sconces above eye-level so the eye is not distracted by their glow. If the sconce is opaque, use a frosted bulb.
To highlight the crystal in your china cabinet, use a halogen bulb - the bright, white light will bring out its sparkle.
|
Dimmers.
Dimmers today come in many styles and control many different types of loads.
A typical home today may have a combination of line voltage and low voltage incandescent, fluorescent and even high intensity discharge loads. Proper matching of control system types to the load is very important.
Not all wall box mounted dimmers work properly with all types of loads. Incandescent dimmer types include:
Most of these require different types of dimming devices, though the covers and controllers can usually be made to match for a uniform look on the wall. Much higher wattages can be handled with remote dimmers. In this case, the dimmer is not in the box on the wall, but in a closet or other location and the wall box contains only the dimmer controller.
|