Homeschool room lighting advice needed

[Blossom'sGirl]

We are converting our front screened-in porch (8'x24') to a room that will be heated and useable all year. The screened-in porch is great but it is rarely hot enough here to be really useful. Since the room faces the north and will only get a small bit of morning sunshine, I want to make it bright enough to be a school room but have a cozy option if we need it as a bedroom down the road. The room will have two 29" x 48" windows on the 24' wall and one 37" X 48" window on one of the 8' walls. I am thinking recessed lights may be nice but I have never used them so I am wondering how many I would need or if they are even advisable. The other 8' wall will,hopefully, be a floor to ceiling bookcase and cupboards combination.

 

I feel like a real rebel because we are getting rid of our never used front entrance. We live in the country and no one pulls in and then walks to the front of the house to knock, they always go to the side door. I actually don't even like people in my front yard because it is hard to see it from the house.

[plansrme]

I know everyone else seems to love recessed lighting, but my experience is that it takes a lot more recessed fixtures to brighten a room the way a traditional fixture does. I've also had multiple recessed lighting fixtures (we inherited some from a previous owner) go bad, as in so bad that I can't get a light bulb into or our of them, or the trim piece around the hole has broken so there is exposed drywall around them. I've never had a traditional fixture just break. Also, once you have recessed lights, you're stuck with them without major drywall and painting repair, so you can't just swap them out for a fixture in a style you like better. Oh, and the bulbs are more expensive.

 

Now a fan here and can't wait to get rid of the recessed lights in my kitchen, which look like they were installed by a drunken electrician operating without a measuring tape.

 

Terri

[skaterbabs]

Task lighting is your best friend.

[gardening momma]

I used to housesit for someone who had recessed lighting in a hallway that ran along an exterior wall. Because the roof slanted down right above this hall, the recessed lighting would warm up the roof enough that in the winter it would melt the snow on the roof and the melted water would back up under the snow above it, under the shingles and leak down through the light fixtures. They let me know not to use those lights when there was snow on the roof.

 

Since you're referring to a sun room, I thought you could end up with a similar roof problem. Something to think about.

[Blossom'sGirl]

I am assuming task lighting is like desk lamps and such or does this also include track lighting? I still would want at least one or two overhead lights for the whole room. We have only two rooms in our 150 year old house where there is a switch by the door to turn a light on when entering the rest we have to fumble in the dark for a lamp.

[skaterbabs]

Yes; track lighting along the ceiling can serve double purpose as overal lighting and task lighting.

[Gretchen in NJ]

Our school room is also on the north side of our house too. I did use recess and fixture lighting. Each of us has a recess light over our desks and there is one over our bookcase. In the winter, these our great since they help to heat the room. Yes, they do get warm. We also each have a desk fixture light. We use these on those dark gloomy days and when we are working by ourselves.

 

I also choose bright, summery fabric for our windows and paint colors for the room.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I've found that no matter what type of ceiling lighting you use in a room you frequently still need a desk light for certain tasks or conditions. Or sometimes even a lamp next to a reading chair.

[kalanamak]

I like track lighting, but check the price of the bulbs first. I know someone who got the most beautiful track lighting but the bulbs are so pricey it made me catch my breath. They didn't care (lots of money) but I would. Just a thought.

[Mom0012]

Okay, I love recessed lighting. In the home I grew up in, there were no overhead lights and all the rooms were always so dark, I never felt I could see well to read or do any close activities. So, when my husband and I built our home, we made sure to put an overhead light in every room and recessed lighting in our kitchen, family room and baement.

 

Our family room is about 15 x 20' and we have 4 recessed lights in there, which lights up the room nicely. We also have a couple of lamps as well.

 

Lisa

[Elizabeth Conley]

Way back in 1965 when my parents built their home, they installed indirect fluorescent lighting in almost every room. It turned out to be a brilliant decision. The lights were bright, adjustable, efficient and maintenance free. They stood the test of time. These lights are still as practical and attractive as they were 45 years ago.

 

My father made these light fixtures himself. Even on our current economy, these very handsome fixtures could be made for less than 75 dollars. If you're interested, I'll get my mother to make a few snapshots of Dad's light fixtures. They're remarkably straight forward to build.

[Kathy in MD]

We have both recessed and track lighting. Many of the recessed lights originally were half moons to focus light on the built in bookcases. We've removed the half moons ad use them for general lighting. We've also found compact flourescent bulbs which keep the heat gains down. The only problems we've had with the cans breaking free of the ceiling was in the kitchen, mostly under the baths where we've had plumbing problems. I like the looks of them, and how you can plan the layout to control lighting in certain areas -- pools of light, one part of the room dimmer than the other, but they aren't as efficient as surface mounted lights.

 

The big advantageous of track lighting over recessed is that you can move and tilt the cans for temporary useage. We don't move the cans, but will occasionally change the tilt. The problem is that they do dangle, taking up head room, but so do surface mounted lights. (We have low ceilings and we're not short)

 

I have always liked the idea of indirect lighting, but our ceilings just aren't high enough.

[Blossom'sGirl]

I appreciate all the responses. I think I am going to have to head out and just check out some lighting. We are a long way from installing anything but I wanted to give dh a clue to where we will need electric ran. I know I want lots of outlets, a rare find in this ancient house, for desklamps and such. I am thinking of maybe a separate switch for lighting over the bookshelves and another switch for overhead light. Because of snow and ice concerns I am going to forget recessed lights we do not want heat in the ceiling . We are planing on adding an underfloor run of hot water heat so if we figure it out right it should be toasty. I will be pleasantly shocked if this room is ready by fall.