!8: Comparison Fluorescent Kitchen Lighting: January 2012

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Condo renovations can be quite challenging considering the fact that you may be prohibited from undertaking a major remodeling job as per the building or association regulations. However, with a bit of lighting makeover you can certainly change the look for your condo dramatically. With proper lighting techniques, you can make your condo appear larger, hide unappealing corners or areas, and make it look elegant. While choosing the lighting options for your condo, you need to consider each room or area separately and plan accordingly to decide which type of lighting would bring out the best in that space. Choose a focal point for lighting Unlike large freestanding homes that have a fire place or a garden view as the main focal point, modern condos would have the television or the so-called entertainment center as their focal point.

Alternatively, you can use elegant lighting to make it the focal point of any room of your condo. Choose an appropriate type of light Typically, you need to choose between three types of lighting - general lighting, accent lighting, and task lighting. General lighting refers to lighting up the whole area evenly. General lighting is good for navigation. However, it makes sense to update general illumination only if you have used fluorescent lights extensively in your house or if your condo is particularly dark. Task lighting on the other hand refers to focusing light on a particular area to carry out tasks. In that sense, it can be considered as the opposite of general lighting. Reading light is a good example of task lighting. Accent lighting is also a concentrated type of lighting often used to highlight objects or walls that you would want everyone to notice.

Accent lighting is very inexpensive and is a smart choice if you want to define a space within a space or make your living space look larger. You can use a combination of all these lighting solutions to illuminate your condo as per your requirements. If your condo has vaulted or exceptionally high ceilings, you may consider using a track lighting or monorail lighting system. Recessed fixtures would also be a good option to illuminate such awkward spaces. Under cabinet lighting would be a good addition to your kitchen to eliminate shadows and make it seem larger than it actually is. You may transform the look of your bedroom with space shaping.

You may add dim-able recessed lights over the bed area to separate the bed area from the rest of the room in order to make it more warm and cozy. You may also add a pendant light over the chair seated next to the windowsill to create a special area for reading and relaxation. By incorporating such simple space shaping techniques, you can make any room more functional and aesthetically appealing.