Lighting Solutions for High Ceilings

Rooms with high sloped ceilings can often be a challenge to light. If done thoughtfully, they can end up being the most beautiful room in the home. Layering task, accent, task and ambient light creates a welcoming and cohesive space. 

In this home we started with the linear LED strip lighting, mounted on top of the beams which are running parallel to the apex skylight. The skylight brings in beautiful light during the day but at night it is a dark slot. Adding the indirect light on the sides helps this become a visually positive space at night. Along the perimeter walls a valence was fabricated to house the curtains and hide a run of uplighting to provide additional fill light and show off the beautiful wood ceiling.


Six recessed adjustable low-voltage fixtures were added to illuminate the coffee table and  the stone fireplace facade.

A wonderful over-sized lantern was selected to help create a human scale for the space and help give the illusion of providing the room's light, even though it only uses four 25 watt flame tip bulbs.

Pharmacy lamps provide reading light at either end of the two sofas.


lighting designer: Randall Whitehead
architect: Wm. David Martin
interior designer: Susan Schipmann
contractor: Brian Groza

In this very modern home, the ceiling in the living room was 16 feet high. What we designed was a series of floating panels that dropped 2 feet down from the ceiling, just below the clerestory windows.

Dimmable indirect lighting was installed on top of the panels to provide ambient light for the space, while creating a secondary ceiling line to help make the room feel more comfortable for people. 

Recessed fixtures, installed in the 16 foot ceiling, provide accent lighting for art and tabletops. A pair of fantastic Ingo Mauer "Oh Mei Ma" pendant fixtures hover  weightlessly below the panels to add visual interest and to help humanize the scale of the room.. 

lighting designer: Randall Whitehead

architect: Blue Design Studios

interior designer: Sonja Knutsen

contractor: Greg Holt

Mellow Yellow

Color Bind

Looking at an alternative way to warm up LED sources

LEDs with warmer color temperatures integrate better into primarily incandescent environments

In my ongoing efforts to help introduce LED lighting to consumers I continue to bump up against one major stumbling block…and that is the somewhat limited color temperature offerings.

Yes, there are plenty of uses for cooler colored LEDs, especially in landscape lighting where plants look greener and more alive when illuminated with lighting that is in the 3000° Kelvin to 5000° Kelvin range. I also specify cooler color temperatures in closets and laundry rooms so that people can do color matching in a daylight-type situation. And I know that we can get more lumen output from the cooler colored LEDs. But it is not always lumen output that people are looking for in their choice of light sources.

I do believe that for many years people will be mixing incandescents, fluorescents and LEDs in their homes; also in their restaurants, hotels, retail spaces and even offices. I think that giving people a wider variety of color temperatures will help meet the needs of a greater number of consumers. It will allow these disparate lighting sources to be able to blend better visually.

I also am learning that many people, including myself, will sacrifice lumen output for a warmer color temperature. I have been gently requesting from the LED manufacturers for many years to offer color temperatures that are closer to that of dimmed incandescent. Presently only a  few companies are offering light sources in a 2200° Kelvin to 2400° Kelvin range.

I’m beginning to think that I may be approaching this in the wrong way. Instead of forcing the manufacturers to go back to the drawing board and come up with a way to create warmer colored LED sources, what if the manufacturer simply offer filters to modify the color temperatures they already have? I’m not the first to think of this. I have noticed a few manufacturers offering what they call “warming filters” in their list of accessories. This is something that I would like to see more in practice.

Here’s the big news though, I met with Tal Janowitz the other day. She is the architectural product manager for Lee Filters USA (www.leefiltersusa.com). She is developed the ”architectural series” of dichroic polycarbonate filters which are made specifically to work with LED sources. They are super thin (.03”) and fabricated for long-term use. They have five beautiful colors in stock. Additionally, she told me that they also have been able to coat the lenses of existing linear LED products. This would be great for companies that make linear task lighting and indirect lighting.

I think manufacturers would be very wise to add these options to their lines. I’m not saying that they should absorb the cost and offer this as a part of the product package. Instead I’m recommending that they be added in the accessories section or offered as upgrades to their standard product. As a specifier…and a consumer, I would be willing to pay the extra money to get the color of light I want.

The truth is that no one can agree what the perfect Kelvin rating for LED lighting should be, but I think we all can agree that having a choice of color temperatures will go long way to making everyone happy.

A glowing example of warm colored LEDs

LEDs go to the Olympics

As I was watching the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic Games I suddenly realized how much LEDs have become an art form.  I was fascinated to see a boat, carrying the Olympic torch, speeding up the Thames River with David Beckham at the helm.  As they transition to an aerial shot I saw that the boat was illuminated with brightly colored LEDs, while the buildings and rooftops along the banks were also dressed up with solid-state lighting.

     LEDs brighten up the torch carrying speed boat

Then the world found out that the entire stadium seating had been wired with blue LEDs, making them a      part of the show.  And while I can’t confirm it, I feel pretty sure that the illusion of the Olympic rings being forged from molten metal, during the opening ceremonies, was also created with amber colored LED lighting. 

  

      Blue LEDs make the stadium part of the show                 

      Yellow LEDs create the illusion of molten metal

I think the oddest use of LEDs was the illuminated blankets for the “sick” children in the hospital beds.  How can anyone fall asleep if your whole bed is glowing like a giant Arctic night light.  For me most lyrical use of LEDs was the illumination of the winged cyclists who represented doves, floating around the perimeter of the stadium.  It was then that I teared up a little while clutching my twinkling LED pillow. 

      Children trying to sleep while covered with bright white LEDs                

    The dove bikes were magnificent

Perfect Light in a Small Package

I've been following the development of a particular LED MR 16 lamp that is going to offer some distinct advantages over other similar products that are on the market. The lamp is made by a company called Soraa (www.soraa.com).

There are many things I like about this particular lamp. For starters, it produces more light than competing LED MR16s- it's a true 50W halogen equivalent in light output, as opposed to 20-35W equivalent from other manufacturers' MR16s. Next, it's a single source lamp, while most of the other manufacturers use 3 or 4 LEDs, which produce multiple shadows behind the objects being illuminated. 

The Soraa lamp is compact in size, 

but offers a great punch of illumination

The Soraa MR16 is compatible with many different types of dimmers and transformers and is virtually the same size as standard halogen MR16's, which means that they fit in to almost all fixtures that take an MR16 lamp, while many of the other LED MR 16's are too large to fit into a majority of the existing fixtures on the market. They also have a lifetime of 25,000 hours, which beats the pants off typical halogens, which require seemingly constant replacement. Considering this last point, they will be priced competitively, especially given the lower costs of maintenance, and of course electricity, as they use only 20% of the energy of halogens.

As you can see from the photos, they have a very cool form, which comes from an ingenious heat rejection configuration that eliminates the need for an internal mechanical fan, which some competing LEDs must use in order to operate at a high enough power level to get acceptable light output. 

But the real reason these lamps are starting to look like my new heroin is the amazing quality of their light output and beam spread- it's just about "perfect." (I'm probably falling under the spell of their marketing, which has the tagline "Simply Perfect.") Like they say in Texas, it ain't braggin if it's true. 

One-stop Shopping for Solid-state Lighting and Dimming

One of the things I've been advocating for a while now is the idea of having one company that makes both SSL (solid-state lighting) fixtures as well as dimmers and dimming systems. That way we as lighting designers, architects, contractors and interior designers would be able to comfortably specify products that we know will be able to communicate clearly with each other. I was surprised and happy to find out that Lutron had started to manufacture recessed LED fixtures under the umbrella of their recently acquired Ivalo collection. The series is called Finire. I don't yet have one in hand, but I'm very excited about what is being offered. As a designer working in California my first question was to see if these fixtures met the efficacy requirements of Title 24. I was told that they do, which is good news. Here are some of the features that they list on their website:

• Smooth, flicker-free dimming from 100% down to 1% 
• Extended LED driver and lamp life- the fixture is rated for 50,000 hours 
• Downlight, wall wash and adjustable trim options, suitable for a variety of applications 
• Immediate light output (without warm-up time) 
• Flexible with field interchangeable light module, driver and beam spread 
• 15W or 18W LED options providing light output equivalent to 60-90W incandescent lighting 
• Energy-compliant meeting ENERGY STAR and California Title 24 standards 
• 3-year warranty 

Stay tuned, and I will give you my feedback on the fixture once I've had a chance to test it. Having compatible fixtures and dimmers in the same family would be a wonderful marriage!

Lights without Ladders

The Bliss Light Spright in this installation is agumented
with a filtered green luminaire to illuminate the trunk

For those of you who dread the idea of hanging holiday lights in the trees. I have good news for you. There's a company out there called Bliss Lighting (http://www.blisslights.com/)  that offers an exterior rated fixture that uses a laser to project thousands of pinpoints of green light way up into the tree branches. And I mean way up... Easily 50, 60, 70 feet up into the canopy of foliage. It offers instant gratification without the hassle of climbing up ladders and stringing lights through the trees. Ans as much as I dislike hanging lights, what I like even less is the idea of taking them down after the holidays are over. For residential size projects, they offer the "Spright". They also have other versions for commercial settings, as well as other interesting projection devices for interior spaces. Using this product, for me, helps relieve a little of the stress around the holiday season.

The 'Spright' by Bliss Lighting

High-Tech Green Lighting Solutions Transform a Traditional Home

Green Means Go for this California Re-Design!
In these hard economic times homeowners are not moving into the next bigger house but are instead staying put and investing their hard-earned (if somewhat deflated) equity into upgrading their present residences. If budgets are tight, sometimes green design isn't first on the list, as there's a perception that it's more expensive. But with a bit of savvy design expertise, energy efficient lighting can be both within the budget and warm and inviting. Designers are learning how to integrate efficient lighting into all styles of projects, not just high-end modern design, for new construction as well as retrofits and remodels. This is a positive trend, as building codes, led by California (where Title 24 requires the use of high efficacy lighting in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor areas), are gradually changing to require more efficient lighting and other systems. In this post I talk about a traditional remodel project where highly collaborative teamwork produced a result that is beautiful, green and affordable.

Exterior- Traditional homes reap benefits from being energy conscious. Here, exterior lanterns use two 8 watt CCFL by Litetronics, providing 45 watts of light, lasting 25,000 hrs. Resembling standard household bulbs, they dim with a standard incandescent dimmer.

Design magazines looking to remain current offer up contemporary architectural layouts and stark, eye-catching interiors. While it’s true that futuristic modern design and green design often seem to go hand-in-hand, modern design is not for everyone. How does the owner of a more traditionally styled house make use of today’s earth friendly lighting and interior design techniques? Can progressive lighting design be applied to non-cutting edge spaces to enhance the sense of warmth and comfort that these cozy interiors inspire? Absolutely!

Breakfast Nook: The Pendant fixture and sconces use dimmable CFL’s in a flame tip shape by Litetronics. Five watt bulbs provide 30 watts of illumination with a lamp-life of 25,000 hours

My technique for those clients with a fear of fluorescents is to use what I call stealth energy efficient lighting design. I hide compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) and light emitting diodes (LED) within traditionally styled fixtures and behind architectural details. If they can’t see a bulb that looks like a softy ice cream then they won’t instantly hate it!

Many of today’s fluorescents can be dimmed, do not hum or flicker and have a wonderful warm color. The key here is that the best bulbs on the market do not come from the dollar rack at the big box stores. Lighting-wise, I like to think of the decorative fixtures as the architectural jewelry for a home. This allows the chandeliers and table lamps to give the illusion of providing a room’s illumination.

For this modest two-story home I was very fortunate to work with interior designer, Nancy Satterberg. She believes that the trick in a remodeling project is to keep the upgrades subtle so that wall colors, floor finishes and well integrated lighting enhance the existing architecture.

Living room - A pair of alabaster pendants by Lightspann provides decorative and ambient light. Each uses four dimmable CFL’s by Maxlite, with 400 watts/fixture, but consuming only 96 watts worth of power. Track lighting at the apex beam is fitted with LED MR16’s bulbs by Philips/Color Kinetics-- accent light without harmful UV.

There was nothing more satisfying to the owners than working with the highly collaborative team of interior designer, lighting designer and contractor (in this case, Forde Mazzola Inc), to update and transform the overall feel of their home without losing the charm of the existing architecture.

While some homeowners may want their homes restored to their previous splendor; these owners decided to go a different way– creating a feeling of smooth traditionalism with unexpected warmth using innovative, energy efficient lighting. They also relied on Satterberg’s skilled hand to mix contemporary furniture and Asian antiques. The use of much of the owner’s furniture, as well as their treasured artwork and objects, collected from around the world, brings an element of personalized grace to this beautiful home. This was also a big help for a modest design budget. The 9 month-long project updated the look to what Satterberg calls “new millennium traditional”, meaning that the hard-edged look of the home’s 1950’s architecture was now softened with warm wood molding, saturated colors and the contrasting finishes available today.

Dining room- An alabaster pendant by JH Lighting was converted to a hard-wire fluorescent using locking sockets for GU24 bulbs manufactured by Maxlite. The reduced heat output of CFL’s prevents the alabaster from discoloring.

The lighting was designed for versatility in all areas, without overpowering the traditional look and feel of the space. We went beyond the requirements of Title 24 and applied energy efficient lighting to all the rooms. The result is dramatic, inviting and warm, while saving on power consumption.

For example, the flat ceiling of the master bedroom was replaced with a deep coffered detail offering greater height to the room, along with the restful glow of illumination from both indirect LED lighting and decorative CFL pendants. This dramatic yet cost sensitive change blends beautifully with the existing architecture. The whole design stayed within the confines of the existing unused attic space.

Kitchen: Fluorescent puck lights by Tresco provide both task lighting for counter tops and ambient light above cabinets. Warm color blends seamlessly with the incandescents used in other parts of house.

The experience of “juxtaposition” is a prevalent theme throughout. Here, in this project, the use of richer colors and finishes is dramatically different than what is typically used in homes of this period. In the kitchen for example, the existing warm-toned granite countertops are complimented by freshly-painted existing cabinetry, with updated hardware. The kitchen is lit with a combination of 100% fluorescent and LED lighting.

Satterberg took care to choose natural cotton and wool blend upholstery fabrics for their durability, to stand up to constant use by children and pets. The varied textures are complimented by the lighting, both day and night, as well as season to season. The interior designer’s selection of Asian-inspired textiles enriches the owner’s collection of rugs. Satterberg’s decision to refinish, instead of replacing the existing floors, helps unify all the rooms and adds a rich textural quality, while saving a few trees as well!

Bedroom: Raising the flat ceiling added architectural interest to master bedroom. Pendants by Christina Spann of Lightspann have dimmable CFL’s. The perimeter cove LED lighting is the Color Kinetics/Philips EW Cove GLX Powercore.

She believes that, when art is introduced in a room, the scheme for the furniture and walls should be stylishly neutral, so not to detract from the more important focus on the art and accessories. My job as the lighting designer was to make sure that the owners and their guests felt welcomed and not overpowered by the other elements. Good lighting draws more attention to what it is being illuminating, rather than focusing attention to the lighting fixtures, themselves. What helps pull all the design elements together at night is a well integrated interior lighting plan and a Dark-Sky-compliant exterior lighting plan.

There are three elements within each space that need lighting: art, architecture and people. Think about lighting the people first – you must humanize the light. A layer of ambient light softens the shadows on people’s faces, as well as softening the otherwise hard edges of the architecture. The addition of accent light can add drama, but should remain subliminal, only attracting attention to objects, artifacts and artwork or other dramatic design details in the room.

Bath and Vanity: Wet location-rated recessed LED fixtures by Cree Lighting illuminate tub. These LED’s rated for 50,000 hours and are dimmable; CFL’s may burn out prematurely when enclosed, as in these sconces by Metro Lighting, but Maxlite makes a CFL specifically for enclosed fixtures.

The well-integrated layering of decorative, task and accent lighting within each space created a unified and inviting design. For this project, an additional, inviting layer of ambient light created just the right balance. In the living room, indirect dimmable LED lighting is mounted on top of the beams to help bring the gabled ceiling details to life.

There was also an extensive use of adjustable low-voltage LED lighting on this project, to accentuate the artwork throughout. CFL sconces and hidden, linear indirect LED and fluorescent sources were implemented for general illumination. The window coverings were minimized to allow a generous amount of natural light into all areas, while also allowing the subtle, shielded exterior landscape lighting to draw guests outside at night.

Effective lighting is an integral design element and needs to be planned along with all the other design components at the beginning. Well-done lighting design has to accommodate all the practical and aesthetic needs of the homeowners. Exciting new technological advances in luminaires (light fixtures), lamp sources (bulbs), and controls can make lighting versatile enough to meet any need. In other words, effective lighting is critical to creating the desired in any home, especially at night.

Ultimately though, I see the role of the interior designer as primary. Without an experienced and inventive interior designer there may be little worth lighting. The result of a collaboration between interior designer, lighting designer and contractor is a home, which, when combined with the latest in lighting technology, creates a unique and dramatic kind of understated glamour.

Credits:

Photographer- Dennis Anderson www.bluewaterpictures.com

Interior Designer- Nancy Satterberg, Satterberg Desonier Dumo www.satterbergdesign.com

Contractor-Forde Mazzola Inc. www.fmabuilders.com

Lighting Designer- Randall Whitehead, Randall Whitehead Lighting Inc. www.randallwhitehead.com

Randall Whitehead is a nationally known lighting designer and author. He has written seven books on lighting, the latest being Residential Lighting- A Practical Guide to Beautiful and Sustainable Design (John Wiley and Sons). For more tips on lighting visit him online at http://www.randallwhitehead.com

He has also has published his first book of photography called, Lost Dolls- The Hidden Lives of Toys. See images from the book and watch a two-minute video at http://www.rwfoundimages.com.

To learn more about Title 24 lighting requirements, go to: www.energy.ca.gov/title24

To learn more about Dark Sky Compliance, go to: www.darksky.org

Lighting Resources noted in captions:

Exterior and Breakfast Nook: www.litetronics.com

Living Room: www.lightspann.com, www.maxlite.com; www.colorkinetics.com

Dining Room: www.jhlighting.com,

Kitchen: www.trescointernational.com

Bath: www.creelighting.com: www.metrolighting.com

Master Bedroom: www.lightspann.com; www.colorkinetics.com