There is a reason that movie directors and professional photographers take great care in creating the perfect lighting for their visuals - good lighting can make all the difference. Choosing the ideal lighting for your custom home can help set the mood, showcase your artwork or furniture, or provide the right amount of brightness to read a book, work on a crafting project, or prepare dinner. You may have the perfect light fixtures selected, pieces that can complete the design aesthetic of your new home, but it’s important to recognize that size can be a major issue. And when it comes to selecting the right lighting, size really does matter.
Luckily, there are some clear and simple guidelines that will help solve the size and location dilemmas that may arise when designing the lighting features in your home.
The Bathroom
Lighting for your bathroom is not just important, but unique compared to other rooms in the home. While a bedroom or great room might be lit for style or ambience, a bathroom is meant to be bright. There is nothing worse than straining to see your face in the mirror and nobody enjoys a morning shower in dim mood lighting.
We recommend you start a discussion with your New Home Consultant so that you can choose the right sort of overhead lighting for your bathroom to get the design started. Think about the different ceiling design options, like cove or recessed cove ceilings, but don’t pick the lighting concept simply for the design aesthetics. Be sure you pick lighting that will provide the sort of bright white light that you’ll want to enjoy as you use your bathrooms.
Moving down the walls, many of our customers love installing vanity lights. Having the perfect lighting around your mirror can make all the difference when it comes to anything from brushing your hair, applying makeup, or simply feeling alive and invigorated while brushing your teeth. When planning for vanity lights, remember that it is always best to have them on both sides of your mirror in order to eliminate shadows. Equally important for eliminating unwanted shadows, it is ideal to place the lights at least 60” to 66” from the floor which will align the lights with the average person’s height. Too tall can cast shadows on the bottom of your face and too low can feel like an ambient up lighting.
Finally, be sure to take note of any alcoves or other spaces in the bathroom that might need extra sconce lighting or otherwise to be sure there are no unwelcome gloomy corners.
Chandeliers
Chandeliers are an exciting way to bring style, along with light, to your home. There are a wide array of chandelier designs these days from traditional crystal and chain pendants to ultra modern designs using steel, glass, and other specialty materials. The key, however, to choosing the proper chandelier doesn’t just lie in finding a piece that you love, but in finding a piece that is the correct size for the room where it is being placed.
Let’s start with a classic location for chandeliers - the dining room. Placing a chandelier above your dining table can turn an ordinary space into a contemporary, formal dining room or, if in an open concept home, the proper use of a chandelier can provide division between the dining area and the other parts of the great room. The key to choosing the correct chandelier for placement over the table is simple. Assuming the table is a rectangle, or similar shape, just measure the width of the table and subtract 12” to figure out the proper diameter for your lighting choice. A chandelier that is too large can look clunky and cumbersome while a chandelier that is too small will look cheap and likely not produce enough light for you and your guests to properly enjoy their meals at the table.
Another perfect placement for chandeliers is the foyer. This is a classic opportunity to show a little style and flair in the front of your home, welcoming you and your guests into a warm, beautiful, and artistic home. Like choosing the size of lighting for the dining table, there are some very simple rules to follow here, primarily being careful with height. The key in a foyer is to allow a minimum of 84” clearance between the floor and the bottom of the chandelier. Don’t make the mistake of hanging the chandelier too low or your taller friends will feel as if they have to duck underneath it (even if it is actually a few inches above their head). You should also double check that it is tall enough that your doors won’t bang into your light fixture when opened as this would quite obviously be a disaster that is easily avoidable with a few quick measurements.
Sure, there are rules about proper heights and diameters when it comes to classic lighting techniques, but don’t forget to also have a bit of fun with your lighting, as it can add high architectural design and a bit of flair to your new home. Sometimes, you just need to throw the rules out the window. Here are a few photographs to demonstrate some fun ways that we have used lighting in our custom homes. If you need a point of inspiration, Progress Lighting are experts in the field, and you can stay on trend with them in their design series.
HOT TIP: Lighting can be art! Creating the perfect lighting effect in a room is about a combination of elements. From recessed lighting, to hanging lights, to floor lamps, to windows, there are multiple ways of achieving the desired brightness or ambience in a room, and sometimes a chandelier is just a small piece of that puzzle.
There is also another great way to break the rules with chandeliers - use them in unexpected areas. Be it a chandelier positioned over your drop-in tub to elevate your owner’s oasis spa bathroom to another level or lighting a home office with an on trend fixture in addition to your recessed lights, there are always fun places to use these exciting pieces of utilitarian art.
Kitchen Pendants
Hanging pendant lights in your kitchen can make a stunning visual impact, bringing your kitchen, quite literally, to light. Pendants are a popular choice to hang above a kitchen island or kitchen table, highlighting the space where bright light is essential by creating an artful impact and dividing line. Here again, there are hundreds if not thousands of choices in design, but the rules for installation are rather simple.
For both aesthetics and functionality, it is best to space your pendants evenly apart. Symmetry is pleasing to the eye and uniformity provides a feeling of cleanliness, which is ideal in a kitchen. The guidelines that we typically use for planning the lighting over a kitchen island is to place pendants 30” apart, but of course that space can vary depending on the size of the island and the room itself. There is no steadfast rule on how many pendant lights should be used and our team will gladly point you in the right direction based on their years of experience.
As for the hanging heights, there are two choices. You can either measure 60” to 66” from the floor to the bottom rim of the pendant, or, you can measure 30” from the island countertop to the bottom of the pendant. Either way should land the lights at about the same height, placing the fixtures in the ideal place to create a focal point for the room and to properly light the counter.
Once you begin doing research on lighting fixtures and design, the possibilities are truly endless. From sconces to pendants to chandeliers and beyond, there are thousands of opportunities to adorn your new home. While there is never a so-called “right” answer as to what light to choose, our team is here to guide you through the process, and, if nothing else, at least these little tips and tricks should help avoid any mistakes.
About Schumacher Homes
Schumacher Homes, based in Canton, Ohio, is America’s largest custom homebuilder, with operations in 32 markets in 14 states across the country. The National Housing Quality award winning company has built over 19,000 homes, customized to fit each family’s lifestyle, since its founding by Paul Schumacher in 1992. Schumacher Homes takes each customer’s inspiration and gives it a home. Each Schumacher Homes location includes a one-stop shopping design studio and model homes displaying the latest in architectural and product trends. Stop in today, be inspired and receive your no obligation price quote.