Family and Dining Room Lighting

Dining and family room lighting should be functional and decorative. Lighting sets the mood for a wide set of activities: a dinner, homework, reading, watching television, hobbies…

Living room and dining room lighting design is based on for types of lighting:

- Ambient or general lighting (for ambiance and entertainment);
- Specific lighting areas (TV area, reading area, dining table area, bar area...)
- Task lighting (for reading or sewing…);
- Accent or decorative lighting: for details, depth and décor (examples: low-voltage lamps to highlight art, a portrait, a painting or to illuminate a plant).

See also, for day-lighting issues: Skylights, Passive Solar House Design, Daylighting


Energy efficient lighting

Family/dining room efficient lighting is based on:

- high efficient fixtures and fluorescent lighting;
- dimmers and separated switches and controls for each area of the family room or dining room.
- Daylighting.

Planning the living room lighting areas

Lighting should take into account the activities performed in the living/dining room, and the areas of lighting that can and should be considered:

- reading and other task areas
- fireplace area
- bar, buffet, sideboard areas
- game tables area
- TV, video, games and computer areas
- dining room table area
- accent-decoration areas

Television, video, games, computers areas

It’s highly advantageous to watch TV without a harsh contrast of light and shadow in your field of vision. The same is valid to activities as playing with video games and even when playing or working with computers.

To avoid that contrast, place a lamp that casts a soft light on the wall behind the set.


Reading area

Reading, sewing and other tasks demand task lights that should be adjustable to the optimum height and angle. To avoid glare, the bottom of the shade should coincide with the eye level). 

Task lighting can be accomplished by placing a floor lamp at either side of the correspondent chair or sofa... 

Dining room table area

Dining room lighting is usually centered in a chandelier suspended over the table.

You may use a dimmer to control the atmosphere, and downlights to get task lighting, when necessary. You may also consider a ring of four recessed or track lighting in the ceiling, around the table, to get general and decorative lighting. 

Fireplace area

Wall fixtures on each side of the fireplace emphasizes the fireplace and provides general lighting.
 

Bars, buffets, sideboard areas

Living room bars can be lighted from above with small miniaturized low-voltage pendants, or with recessed lights. A buffet or sideboard can be illuminated with wall sconces on both sides. Objects around can be highlighted with recessed down-lights, located in the ceiling above.
 

Game tables area

Shaded pendants with energy-efficient compact fluorescent tubes are a good solution to light game tables.

Accent / decoration elements

You may use fixtures strategically placed to illuminate collections; or lights placed on the wall behind a plant, to cast and accent its silhouette; or recessed low-voltage lights to highlight family portraits, paintings and other arts, or to highlight shelves and glassware, China cabinets, hutches, wall niches (low-voltage lights will spread a beam of white light).

Making the family-room seem larger

To make the living room seem larger you may light an entire wall, using recessed lights mounted on the ceiling. The lights should be placed at an equal distance from each other and the wall.

Fluorescent lighting

Bet on fluorescent. Modern fluorescents are excellent as task lights or for ambient lighting, and allow immense energy-savings relatively to incandescents.

New CFCs (Compact fluorescents Lamps) are available in styles and types that can accommodate to most common fixtures.

Also bet on efficient reflector bulbs - for task and reading lighting or for accent-decorative lighting. An example: a 50W reflector ("R") bulb can illuminate as much as a non-reflector (“A”) 100W bulb.

Dimmers and different switches for energy savings

Use dimmers to control and vary the lighting. Dimming controls are ideal for the living room and the dining room because they allow to control the lighting to suit each activity and set the mood, and also because they allow energy savings.

Different switches controlling the different lighting areas in the dining and family room are also essential to reduce the lighting bills.

Controls as timers and sensors, to turn outdoor lighting on and off automatically, are also elements you should consider.

See: Lighting controls

See also:
House Lighting Basics
Low-voltage outdoor lighting kits;
Outdoor solar lighting.
Landscape lighting design
Bathroom Lighting
The Lighting Association

 
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