Even though construction has been underway since March, planning has been going on since last summer. Even prior to purchasing land, Rusty and I have always loved going through houses under construction, looking at house plans, and dreaming about our future home. It’s always been a hobby of ours. When we were deciding on room sizes, Rusty pulled out an article from 10 years ago he had kept that offered recommendations on how much room you should plan around a table to be able to seat someone while another person moves behind them comfortably…seriously. There has been a lot of thought put into how each space would be used and there hasn’t been a day that we haven’t touched the house in some way.
It was no different when we started considering lighting. On Lynn Taylor’s recommendation, our first step was to visit a lighting experience center last fall in Ashland City. That place was awesome! I’m sure they have similar setups around the country if you aren’t local. They had everything from step lights and star ceilings to automatic room darkening blinds and art lighting…and the ability to see the effect each had on a room. It was eye-opening…literally. I had no clue how much of an impact lighting had…I just thought I’d pick a fixture and we’d call it a day!
Instead of staring up at a panel of recessed fixtures at Lowe’s, I could see in a dark room the difference between 6″, 5″, and 4″ recessed fixtures…the different lenses…the different trim kits…and the different bulbs. Nuts. The different effects on a space are dramatic! I learned quickly that the accepted “contractor favorite” that we were planning on using due to its price and availability was my least favorite fixture. I also got to see the difference between fluorescent, halogen, LED, and Xenon lighting for under cabinet and accent lighting – I didn’t even know how to pronounce all those things much less the difference between them. Ever wanted to set the mood or look like you were home when you weren’t? With the push of a button (or better yet from your iPhone), you can light your path from the garage entrance to your bedroom instantaneously…insanely cool.
The reason all of this is so important when you’re building is that it’s easy to wire for everything you want long-term on the front end. Before you break ground is the time to plan lighting, networking, whole-house audio, intercoms, security, and home theater. Rusty went so far as to learn photometrics. In Google SketchUp, he placed the actual circle of light that each fixture would cast based on its size and bulb type. Did I mention that he is a smart cookie? This then allowed him to determine where more or less light was warranted. Needless to say, our home may have the capability to be seen on a satellite;-)
HINDSIGHT IS 20/20: Lighting has been freakin’ fun! We are actually going to be making a lot of our own fixtures so we will be relying on the recessed lighting starting out. We will most likely cap a lot of our fixtures starting out and let the recessed lighting be our sole source. We don’t want to stick something up just to get done BUT finding time to build stuff right now isn’t an option. I don’t think being unable to see is going to be a problem;-)
Pendant light made from insulator
Egg basket light
Wine barrel globe light...now if I just drank wine;-)
Mason jar chandelier...this one is from Pottery Barn but this is DIY doable
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Tags: fluorescent, Google SketchUp, halogen, iPhone, LED, lighting, Lynn Taylor, photometrics, Xenon
Wow! Your house is really coming along! We are going to have to chat one day soon so I can tell you about all of the foreclosure hell the new house has been giving us. I’m debating calling Holmes on Homes, seriously! And I’m curious about your new knowledge of track lighting. I have some hideous track in my LR, but it is way down the line on getting replaced. Hope ya’ll are doing well! ~Mel