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Getting Started in Real Estate!
A Single’s Game of Real Estate
(Getting started in your twenties)
By Dan Auito
This discussion leans toward answering questions asked most often by our youthful men and women in there early twenties. They often begin to ask themselves the...
Motion Detector Technology
Motion detectors are in use all around us in both residential and commercial locations. There are many common uses for motion detectors that most people find convenient and helpful in very common, everyday situations, and there will be some new...
Store Seasonal Items in your own Self Storage Unit
For the small business owner, particularly for businesses which
require access to tools and heavy equipment, self storage can be
a real boon.
If you're a landscaper, carpenter, plumber, or electrician, you
need easy access to the tools of...
The Ten Essential Storage Principles Of An ExtraOrdinary Home
Planning a remodel, major repair or new home construction?
Looking for some terrific features to include that won't be
budget busters? We can help! We started collecting over 1,000
uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins in 1998, when...
Tips To Reduce Your Home Insurance Costs
All homeowners are looking for ways to reduce our home insurance costs. Costs continue to rise and budgets get tighter and tighter with each passing year. Here are 8 tips to reduce your home insurance costs.
1. Increased Home Security
Most...
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Cooking up a Lighting Plan for your Kitchen
Your kitchen, more than any other room in your home, needs a good well thought out lighting plan. Today's kitchens have many more functions than just cooking a meal. For many families it is the most frequently used room in the house. Besides the obvious preparation of meals, kitchens today are also a place for the kids to do homework, parents to pay the bills, reading, eating and watching TV. For this reason it is important that the light not only be adequate but flexible.
The first place to start in any room when devising a lighting plan is to address general lighting. This is the light that will be used most of the time. In the case of a very small kitchen, one light in the center of the room will provide the general light. With most of today's kitchens being larger, a single light fixture in the center of the room probably won't satisfy your lighting needs. The most common solution is recessed lighting. Depending on what part of the country you are in they may be called high hats or pot lights or can lights. All these terms mean the same thing. Recessed lighting is a good way to provide general lighting in a kitchen in a neat and clean way.
The placement of the lights is very important. When designing a layout for the general lighting in a kitchen, we want to take into account the areas where tasks will be done. This includes counters, islands and tables. In most cases, by designing the light to illuminate these areas, the rest of the room gets a good spread of general light as well. Try to have the recessed lights fall out on the ceiling so that they are directly above the outside edge of the cabinets. The key here is getting the lights close enough to the work area so that you don't create a shadow with your body. Putting the lights to far away from the counters is a sure formula for shadows. Don't overlook any nooks that may be dark.
Islands can provide a great outlet for adding a decorative fixture or fixtures to the room. There are a multitude of pendants to choose from that can really enhance the room. I find it is probably one of the most commented on aspects of a kitchen lighting plan when the homeowner sees the finished product. Simply installing 2 or 3 pendants in line over
an island can be quite stunning.
The next step is the task lighting. In a kitchen this is the light directly over the counters, stove and sink. Having one or two small recessed lights on a separate switch over the sink is both attractive and useful. The stove these days is almost always lit from a fan hood or microwave but if it is not it should be addressed. The way the counters are illuminated is with under cabinet lighting. This can be in the form of simple fluorescent fixtures on an economical level. A very nice effect is to use low voltage linear track. These can be dimmed and provide very good light to the counters. There are also xenon fixtures and halogen fixtures. If you can try and stay with xenon as they burn cooler and have a longer bulb life than halogen.
After you have your general lighting and task lighting covered the last thing to consider is any accent lighting. On some kitchens where there is a space above the cabinets, lighting on top of the cabinets can look spectacular. Tray ceilings with crown molding can also benefit greatly from this type of lighting. Using either a low voltage type track or rope light, you can add that extra touch that makes your kitchen unique. For more lighting tips and lighting design help visit the links below.
Paul Forte has been in the lighting and electrical field for over 25 years. He has helped countless homeowners across the country with their lighting needs through his website. He will be appearing on an upcoming episode of "It Takes a Thief" on the discovery channel installing some security lighting.
(c) Copyright 2005 Paul Forte. All rights reserved.
About the author:
Paul Forte has been in the lighting and electrical field for over 25 years. He has helped countless homeowners across the country with their lighting needs through his website. he will be appearing on an upcoming episode of "It Takes a Thief" on the discovery channel installing some security lighting. How to Layout Recessed Lighting
Visit Our Home Page for more information
http://www.forteelectric.com
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