By Katherine Salant
The first night in the new house is eagerly anticipated by all new home buyers. But as they prepare their first dinner, spend their first evening in the family room or begin to put their clothes away, many people make the disheartening discovery that the lighting provided by the builder is grossly inadequate. Even worse, they find that adding lights to their finished house will be much more costly than if they had done it while their house was under construction.How could something as central as lighting be overlooked? First, many buyers visit the model only during the day, but it's essential to visit at night as well. After dark, lighting inadequacies are often glaringly apparent. Second, tract-builders sell light fixtures - either as a standard item or as an upgrade - but very few are knowledgeable about lighting or are able to help buyers figure out what they need.
In this respect, Gary Decker, an Ann Arbor, Mich., theatrical lighting designer had an unusual advantage when he recently purchased a new tract-built house and modified his builder's standard lighting package.
Though Decker designs elaborate lighting arrangements for varied and dramatic effects professionally, all of the lighting changes that he made in his new house were modest or prosaic - for example, he increased the number of lights in his second floor hallway - but all were extras. His builder, like most, did not provide much beyond the code-required minimum.
For his house and most houses, two kinds of lighting - task and ambient - are needed, Decker said. Task lighting, which is brighter and more intense, is required for performing specific tasks such as reading. Ambient lighting, which is much less intense, provides general room lighting. Ambient lighting is usually provided by ceiling or wall fixtures and task lighting by table lamps.
For some tasks, however, table lamps are not the solution, Decker pointed out. For example, many tasks are performed in the kitchen, but lamps are unsuitable. To get the lighting you want, you have to build it in. Most builders do provide a light over the sink, so trying to see if you really got the dirt off the plate is not difficult. But much food preparation is also done at counters, and for this, under cabinet lights, which are rarely a standard item or even an option, are a must, Decker said. Most such lights are fluorescent, but Decker installed halogen ones because "they light better, the color of the light is more pleasant and you can direct light exactly where you want it."
Besides cooking, many households also use the kitchen for non-cooking tasks such as homework. This is often done at the breakfast table, so make sure that you have adequate light there, Decker said. A half-globe type hung about 36 inches above the table should provide plenty of light for reading and writing. By adding a dimmer switch here, you can lower the lighting for meals, he added.
If you wear make-up, another room where task lighting is essential but a lamp is out of the question is the bathroom. Many builders provide overhead lighting above the sink, but this creates shadows on your face, and makes putting on make-up almost impossible. Theatrical lights on three sides of the mirror will give the most even wash of light, but a band of six to eight lights across the top is a reasonable compromise for most people, Decker said.
When considering ambient lighting needs, Decker started with the bedrooms. Most building codes require only a switched outlet (a switch that goes to an outlet and turns on a lamp), not an overhead fixture. If you want this convenience, you need to request it. In his house, to add a theatrical touch, he put the builder's standard dining room chandelier in the master bedroom, which has a cathedral ceiling.
One extra Decker regrets not getting is closet lights. The builder only provided one for the walk-in in the master suite, but as he found himself burrowing around for missing shoes and umbrellas in the coat closet and food items in the pantry, the need for lights in all the closets became obvious.
For general lighting in the kitchen, most builders install a single ceiling fixture, but the lighting is usually very uneven as you go from one end of the room to the other. A few strategically placed recessed cans, which most builders offer as an option, will distribute the light more evenly. Another solution is track lighting, which can be installed after you move in, but, Decker noted, this can looked cluttered if the kitchen is not large.
Ambient lighting for two story spaces, especially large family rooms, can be especially problematic. Recessed cans can be used, but they're hard to change when the ceiling is 17 feet off the floor. They're also inefficient. With such a high ceiling, a recessed can delivers only a quarter as much light at floor level as it does when the ceiling is only 8 or 9 feet high. "You'll see well enough that you won't trip over things, but it's not enough light to read," Decker said. Wall mounted sconces placed seven or eight feet off the floor are easier to change, but they still won't provide enough light for reading. For this, you'll need table lamps.
Recessed cans in a family room with only 8 or 9-foot ceilings, however, can work well, providing both task and ambient lighting. For a 14 by 20-foot family room with a fireplace and bookcases at one end (not an uncommon family room size or fireplace arrangement), he recommended seven cans on two switches, three cans at the fireplace end on one switch and four cans on the other switch, spaced so that they would wash the walls evenly.
By varying the type of can used, you can create other lighting effects, Decker added. In the family room, for example, a can with an eyeball placed above the fireplace would direct light to a picture hung over the mantel.
A 14 by 20-foot family room with an 8 or 9-foot ceiling is also big enough to install track lighting and not have the space look cluttered, Decker said. If you opt for track lights, a definite advantage is that you can get all different sizes and shapes of lights to create different effects, and you can direct the light exactly where you want it to go.
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