New construction-family room is 20'x 20'--20' ceiling. The 20'exterior wall has a 16' sliding door 8' high with 3 radius windows above. Wall to the left of that is 5' wide bookcase, 6' wide fireplace, 5'wide bookcase. Next "wall" is actually adjacent to a 4' hall, with balcony above. The rear wall is fairly open to the kitchen. TV will be in cabinet above fireplace.

The plan actually has 2 eyeball cans pointing to the bookcase wall and a ceiling fan in the center of the room.

We are very informal. Room will be used for watching TV, reading, and visiting. Ideas and suggestions for how to light this room, please.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tammy in VA,

if i was building a new home, i would consider enlisting the services of a lighting designer. Your space is quite large(tall)....

I lighting showroom(not Lowes/HD) might be able to help you w/ those services)

You are putting a lot of money into your home to have the lighting "not just right"

good luck..

I think a room that sized will be okay during the day but it may be underlit at night.

I too would suggest consulting a lighting designer.

A few ideas.
Add sconces on the walls around the room on dimmers.

Use low-wattage strip lights to the bookcases when you don't want the eyeball fixtures on.

Did you plan for electrical outlets in the floor? - more that likely you'll float
furniture and it would be nice to have them for lamps.

Do you have lights planned for the exterior on the window wall? Outside lights could help the windows from looking like a black hole.

Jim

quote:

out on a limb

Yes, got a lighting designer, but was hoping for some personal experience from some of the other board members who have similar sized rooms.

We live in a rural area and I don't have any other lighting designers to consult with. Thanks for wishing me luck, I need all I can get.

quote:

Originally posted by sheetmoss:
I think a room that sized will be okay during the day but it may be underlit at night.
This is what I'm afraid of...

I too would suggest consulting a lighting designer.
Done that but want some personal experiences...

A few ideas.
Add sconces on the walls around the room on dimmers.
Hadn't thought of that, but I don't have very much actual wall space at all...

Use low-wattage strip lights to the bookcases when you don't want the eyeball fixtures on.
Okay, good idea...

Did you plan for electrical outlets in the floor? - more that likely you'll float
furniture and it would be nice to have them for lamps.
Yes, we have a full basement which will not be finished until some time after we move in. So we will be adding floor outlets where needed...

Do you have lights planned for the exterior on the window wall? Outside lights could help the windows from looking like a black hole.
Yes, good lighting on the back. I hate black holes...

Jim
Thanks, so much.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tammy in VA,

Hi Tammy, I hope you plan to show pics when it is all finished, congrats on your new home.

Sounds like a lovely room. When we built our new camp, our lr/dr/kitchen are all open. I can't remember the exact dimensions right now, but we put 9 can lights in the ceiling, and a ceiling fan, just in the living room. We can turn on the lights in sections and they are on dimers. I like that we have "control". I also have 2 lamps in there. So, not much help, but I wish you luck. Remember that you can always turn a light off.

I found this too about using lamps and fixtures in proportion to the ceiling height - don't go small.

When you're working on your lighting plan, however, remember that the aesthetics of the fixtures themselves should be a consideration. "When you're in these tall rooms, you certainly don't want to use an 8-inch wall sconce or regular small table lamp," says Jeff Dross, senior product manager and trends analyst for Kichler Lighting. He says taller table lamps fill more vertical space and give more interest to the room and that 24 to26- inch wall sconces can make a dramatic effect on the feel of a space. "Those taller wall sconces will give more interest on the wall, break it up a bit and, if you hang a series of them together, it can almost create the illusion of a ceiling at the top of the light line," he says. "It makes the space feel a little cozier and more inviting."

Are you planning to have any kind of molding around the ceiling? - rope or strip lighting can be used behind it to create ambiant light.

Jim

We have a greatroom (living room) with about the same square footage which is partly 20' cathedral ceiling and we have 4 wall sconces, 2 pot lights, and 1 ceiling fixture. We seldom use any of them but do use one floorlamp and sometimes one table lamp for reading. We used to have the sconces on dimmers but since we now use the compact fluorescent bulbs we can't do that anymore so we use them less. I also use two other lamps for mood lighting.

It depends on the use of the room but it's better to have more lights than less IMO. Ours are never used all at once.

Here's some info which tells about the different types of lighting:
http://www.sylvania.com/LearnLighting/TypesOfLighting/
http://www.americanlightingassoc.com/info_lighting3.php

You might also have lights on your art which can help.

~Joyce~

I hope there is something good to share pictures of

quote:

Originally posted by idontknow:
Sounds like a lovely room. When we built our new camp, our lr/dr/kitchen are all open. I can't remember the exact dimensions right now, but we put 9 can lights in the ceiling, and a ceiling fan, just in the living room. We can turn on the lights in sections and they are on dimers. I like that we have "control". I also have 2 lamps in there. So, not much help, but I wish you luck. Remember that you can always turn a light off.

Did you put a light kit on the ceiling fan? About how far in from the wall are your cans?

quote:

Originally posted by sheetmoss:
I found this too about using lamps and fixtures in proportion to the ceiling height - don't go small.

Are you planning to have any kind of molding around the ceiling? - rope or strip lighting can be used behind it to create ambiant light.

Jim

Good info. BTW, where can I find info on installing rope lighting behind the crown molding? Thanks for the help.

Joyluck-

Thanks so much for the links. They had all the info I need in a nutshell. I was going nuts trying to sort together all the different info I had from various sources. And they even had good illustrations. Now I see I may need more light in the dining room...

I would love to use sconces but my wall space is kind of limited. The wall with the 16'x8' sliding door has 3 circletop windows above. The only place I could put sconces on that wall would be in the area over the slider, under the circletops. Wonder how that would be??

The "wall" between the kitchen/breakfast room and the family room is pretty open on the bottom (except for the bar), and the wall area above that has an "window" opening into my DH's study. I think I may have to put some kind of light above the bar height counter though.

The opposite wall will be full of cabinets (hiding TV), gas log fireplace and bookcases. I do want to focus a light on the area above that as I will probably hang a quilt above all that.

The wall opposite the window wall is a two level hall with a balcony. The halls both have ceiling flushmounts. Didn't want to put anything ON those walls as I plan to showcase art or pictures there.

We will probably use 9 can lights and am sure that will be fine.

Thanks again.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tammy in VA,

quote:

Good info. BTW, where can I find info on installing rope lighting behind the crown molding? Thanks for the help.

Here:

http://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/crown_molding_lighting.html

Jim

sheetmoss-

Thanks for the idea and the directions on how to do it. Not sure where I can use this, but will be looking for a place.