I’ve been working on initial plans for light fixture and outlet locations at the new house. And by working on it, I mean that I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest and Houzz.
Kidding.
Not really kidding, actually.
I’m trying not to get too obsessed with things that don’t matter. But then, what would I have to worry about? Things that matter? I mean, geez. Boring.
So, we decided it may be helpful to begin marking the blueprints with locations for lights and outlets. At least to get us (me) started thinking about it.
And the Nester recently wrote a great post about coming up with a lighting plan. Lighting is one of the last things to be installed (which will be a while for us). But even if I don’t know exactly which light will go in the spot, I need an idea of the type of lights I want installed (along with the outlets needed).
Sconces, ceiling fans, can lights, chandies …. so many decisions.
So, I’ve been spending lots of time thinking about lighting.
A few things I think I know:
Recessed lighting
I’d like lots of recessed lighting throughout the home – it’s something we have in the barn and love. It gives so much more light everywhere and also allows us to have more light throughout the room. It’s also quite simple – it doesn’t stand out or compete with other things in the room, which I actually like. And it’s pretty flexible – moving around furniture isn’t a problem because lighting is all over.
Our living room at the last house had ONE LIGHT. It was a 20×10 ft room and it had one stinkin’ ceiling fixture. and it was a FAN LIGHT. Seriously. The worst.
Which leads me to …
Fans
We will need fans. It gets hot and the movement of air is needed.
(via Home Depot)
But I’d prefer to have simple fans in the bedrooms and living room without lights and rely on the can lights for the bulk of the lighting. (Anyone have any fan recommendations that aren’t hideous and aren’t a million dollars? Please and thank you.)
Ceiling fixtures
Other than can lights, I’m planning to have:
- Two pendants above a kitchen island.
- One hanging fixture above the dining table.
- An entry fixture inside the front door.
- A hanging fixture in the stairwell (or should it be a sconce? Still undecided.)
- Two sconces in each bathroom.
- Two sconces next to our bed in the master bedroom.
I also want to make sure several of the lights are on dimmers. We’ve never done this in the past and I think I’d like this option in the dining room, kitchen and living room. (Is there anywhere else I’m missing?)
(via Houzz)
This all seems doable, right? Actually, it does seem doable now that I’m writing it out.
The actual CHOOSING of the lights will be another story. Because I have a very hard time committing and don’t really want to spend very much dinero.
I love so many different types of light fixtures – industrial, barn-style, schoolhouse, even contemporary. How will I ever choose?
(I am also sharing some lights I love on my most recent Houzz Guest Picks.)
Anything I’m missing? I’d love your thoughts about lighting.
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Beth Ann says
Be careful as to were you place the ceiling fans and recessed lighting otherwise when the lights and fan is on you will have a bit of a disco/strobe light effect :).
Beth Ann says
And, when we recently built our home, we had our wall mounted, floor level, stair lights wired to a photocell located outside, in the evening, at dusk, the lights automatically come on and stay on at night and then automatically turn off when the sun comes up. We wish we would have also wired some of our outside lights this way as well.
Kim Woodward says
Such a great tip – and something we actually had to live with in our last house. The kitchen was a bit of a disco with the fan on.
Kathy says
I was just going to ask about that!
Bonnie says
Hi Kim -I totally agree fans are a necessary evil, i love the chandeliers but I need the function over fashion. I have energy efficient Harbor breeze fans w no light and they’re great, got them at lowes, link below 🙂
I ended up putting recessed lighting in the master bedroom also, we have a large tray ceiling and its nice to have the dimming, I look best in dim light lol 😉
http://www.lowes.com/pd_79837-1811-BDB52MBK5N_1z0vgaxZ1z11x1dZ1z11xlk__?productId=3478963&pl=1
Kim Woodward says
Those fans look like exactly what i need. Thanks for sharing!
Kayla AKA Kilo Bravo says
So I’m just going to throw this out there – it may send you down a rabbit hole you aren’t interested in but since you mentioned dimmers…
We have some HUE lightbulbs in a few rooms in our house (I think other brands are coming to the market now too). My husband being the tech geek that his is was dying to get them when we moved. Now while the type of lightbulb you get won’t really affect placement, but they do have some cool attributes (I cared 0.0% when he first installed them, but now I appreciate the little things they offer). There are two types – one that can change any color in the rainbow (like even from a yellow-y incandescent light to a white florescent light if you are into that) and there are regular (read: cheaper) versions that are just like a regular lightbulb. Probably the best part about them is turning them on/off/dim with your phone (who wants to walk over to switch when you are laying in bed? or you just got comfortable on the couch ready to watch a movie?) Or if you get a Harmony remote control, you can turn them on/off/dim from there as well. There are also codes out there people have created to have them dim or change color when pretty much anything you can imagine happens. You want to be notified when its about to rain? Have them blink. The sun is setting – have them dim or get brighter. It all sounds like a silly luxury, but I actually started to enjoy these little things. Time for Henry to go to bed – don’t tell him yourself, let the house tell him and he can’t argue with the house! Clearly some of this is in jest, but just to give you an idea of what can do with these might get the ole noggin turning on if/how these could be used to your advantage. We have them in our family room, bedroom, and outdoors. We have them set to turn on and off at certain times at night outside, but slightly randomized so it has a more natural feel (we all learned what burglars look for from Home Alone, right?)
I’m sure you needed more stuff to research, so you are very welcome. 🙂
Kim Woodward says
So, I’m so intrigued. You control the actual BULB with your phone? As in, you can put them in any fixture and control? I’m totally loving this idea!
H says
Dana at housetweaking has these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I5T1CF0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00I5T1CF0&linkCode=as2&tag=houstwea-20&linkId=JGAE4FRWLN2ZUTWB
I remembered them because I liked the very clean look.
Kim Woodward says
Thanks for sharing!
Emily says
The vast majority of my recent light purchases have come from Lowes, they have great editson pendants and gloves of you are into that kinda thing (I am).
Kim Woodward says
i’ll have to check it out!
Amber @ Wills Casa says
Lighting had me in a panic too! We did cans in all the rooms because we had to have ceiling fans. I will say that I don’t regret any of the choices I made with pendants or anything. I love every single of them more than I could have imagined. So that’s my words of wisdom or hope or whatever on that subject!!
Kim Woodward says
What did you choose for ceiling fans? And did you have a strategy for how many can lights to put in? I can’t find any real guidance on this.
Amber @ Wills Casa says
The living room and master got these fans which are crazy cheaper and super awesome.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Industrial-60-in-Black-Indoor-Energy-Star-Ceiling-Fan-26629/202670138?N=5yc1vZbvlqZ1z0tfnb
The kids’ rooms got these since they are basic.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Farmington-52-in-Indoor-Natural-Iron-Ceiling-Fan-B552QI-NI/205316896?N=5yc1vZbvlqZ1z0tfnbZ1z0vxal
The bedrooms all got 4 cans. The living room did too which is crazy in retrospect, but I never turn them on because it’s just too bright at night with them on. The kitchen got 10 somehow in addition to the 2 pendants. 3 over the sink area, and 7 in the main part of the kitchen. The plan was for 6 with 1 can in the hallway, but there was a vent or something over there. They just moved it to center it with the 2 on the far right of the kitchen.
Kim Woodward says
Thank you for indulging my crazy. I love bright rooms so I think I’d have a tendency to “over-light.” (is that even a thing?)
We basically put them every two feet in the barn. Hahaha.
Erin says
I love the dimmers in our bedrooms, especially the nursery. It is ideal for middle of the night wake ups when we just need enough to change a diaper.
Kim Woodward says
That’s a great idea.
cassie @ primitive & proper says
big yes on fans! we love to have them, too- i dream of pretty chandeliers of course, but mama gets hot!
Kim Woodward says
In upstairs bedrooms, I seriously can’t even imagine living without fans.
Katie Newcomb says
So fun to think about your NEW lighting in your NEW home! What about outdoor lights?
Kim Woodward says
OMG TOO MUCH PRESSURE. 😉 I’m thinking fans on the back porch, and similar sconces for the front porch and the garage. But who the heck knows? 😉
Deb says
I love the practicality of ceiling fans but not the look, so I want to install/replace our existing ceiling fans with a fan that has retractable blades. I’ve seen a few and they are ah-mazing!
Kim Woodward says
Do they retract automatically? I’ve grown to ignore ceiling fans for the most part, they don’t bother me much. But I do love the idea of something more hidden. I actually spotted a chandelier the other day that was a circle and had a fan in the center part. It was really rad – and also $6k. Womp womp.
Deb says
Yes, the blades come out when you turn the fan on and retract when you turn it off. When the blades aren’t out some of them almost resemble the old schoolhouse lights.
Ashten says
I would 100% recommend an up light fan! We got this light (http://www.amazon.com/Concord-52CP6ORB-Ceiling-Fans-Rubbed/dp/B002NZFULE) It is a little pricey ($300), but you can look at other options that have that feature. We have can lights in our family room and the up light is a perfect way to add alittle bit of light. We chose this one because it has 6 blades rather then the normal 5. We like things that are like us, a Bit Different.
Kim Woodward says
I’m not seeing the light on that fan – is it hidden? I love this concept, but I guess I’m not really sure what I’m looking at.
Ashten says
You cant see it in the pic, but if you look in the description it states that there is a bulb. up by the post. You cant see it in the image but there is a light in it. It is similar to this https://www.faucetlist.com/concord-sunset/52AC5ORB.jpg just not all fancy. It is a hidden light but I love the element it added.
Adrienne B says
I am currently sitting under this ceiling fan: http://www.build.com/minkaaire-concept-i-52-ceiling-fan/s457346
I like that is has a light (but you can just put the cover on and have no light), and the light is not ugly. None of those frilly light kits on arms. It’s not a crazy amount of money, and is very solid.
Other fans I like are Emerson Fans- good options and reasonable prices. I’d probably stay away from Hunter- they are not what they used to be and the prices are pretty high.
As for lighting, favorite places to look: Barnlight Electric, Rejuvenation, Restoration Hardware (for bath lights- get them when they go on sale), Shades of Light, Fabby, ET2, Kichler, and even Etsy for something very unique.
Good Luck!
Kim Woodward says
Thanks so much for sharing! It’s amazing the number of options there are for simple lights!
Stephanie says
We put our bedroom hall light on a dimmer- it makes the perfect nightlight and helps potty trained kids find their way to the bathroom without fear. 🙂
Kim Woodward says
Very smart idea! I’m having a tough time not making everything dimmable.
Kim says
Couple things: When my parents built their house the electrcian ended up putting all the recessed lights in the main kitchen/dining area on ONE switch. That meant the lights above the island were on the same switch. So you turned it on and the place was BRIGHT!! He was very unhappy about having to redo it (finished drywall and all) but it was his fault since it had been on the original lighting plan to have them separate. THat way she can have the counter lights on or just the kitchen and it isn’t so crazy bright.
Also – I believe dimmers can be put on after the fact, right?? I mean, I believe my husband has installed a few dimmer switches in our house after we moved in and it’s an older home. Not that it’s easy for everyone to do of course. But if you find the need down the road you can add them.
I’ve heard people want a switch for the fan/lights right at headboard level next to the bed.
I’m in Iowa, too, and ceiling fans are a MUST! They’re so much better than they used to be, too. We got a really cool looking airplane propeller one (like an old airplane, not modern) online for my son’s room. It doesn’t look “kiddish” but rather retro-ish and fun. Not theme-y either. Ceiling fans make me think of living in the south, on a plantation or something, sitting on a porch on a hot summer afternoon sipping lemonade 🙂 Oh – we love our outdoor ceiling fan on our covered deck, too!