In the past couple of weeks, I have been giving thought to lighting the house. Our quote was the most basic of basic setups and didn’t make a lot of sense to me. So I made a new plot. It wasn’t easy and it’s not done.
Some lighting choices are easier than others. The bedroom and bathroom are basic and the living room at 555 is a piece of cake. Lighting the doma won’t be too hard.
The asymmetrical vaulted ceiling of the dining room and kitchen create a lighting challenge.
Task lighting isn’t too hard. We will put lights under the wall cabinets and a track over the kitchen counter and sink to give clear views when chopping. A track on the beam over the dining-counter (between the kitchen and dining rooms will be sufficient for task lighting there.
For over the dining table, I have a particular Odelic chandelier in mind. It can be installed on the bottom of the appropriate beam and we will have no trouble seeing our dinner. But it’s almost the same cost as our kitchen counters, so perhaps not.
Ambient light in this space is way harder. There’s a matrix of beams and columns overhead creating obstacles and shadows.
Uplight or downlight?
Downlights can be fitted into the ceiling (or on a track or wires) angled to beam down towards floor. That’s definitely an easy and common option. They will give plenty of light for “everyday use” but downlights downplay the beauty of the weird vault.
Uplights can be attached to the top sides of the beams or tucked into coves along the outer walls, pointing towards the ceiling and its angles. But because there’s a huge distance (~2 meters) between the beam and the ceiling, the reflected light might not be strong enough to create more than a gentle glow for us below the beam.
The actual answer is to have both, I guess. The most expensive possible option.
