Lighting Basics

General Lighting provides an area with overall illumination. Also known as ambient lighting, general lighting radiates a comfortable level of brightness, enabling one to see and walk about safely. It can be accomplished with chandeliers, ceiling or wall-mounted fixtures, recessed or track lights, and with lanterns outside your home. A basic form of lighting that replaces sunlight, general lighting is fundamental to a lighting plan

Task lighting helps you perform specific tasks such as reading, sewing, cooking, homework, hobbies, games, or balancing your checkbook. It can be provided by recessed and track lighting, pendant lighting, and portable lamps. Task lighting should be free of distracting glare and shadows and should be bright enough to prevent eyestrain.

Accent Lighting adds drama to a room by creating visual interest. As part of a decorating scheme, it is used to spotlight paintings, houseplants, sculpture, and other prized possessions, or to highlight the texture of a wall, drapery or outdoor landscaping. Accent lighting requires at least three times as much light on the focal point as the general lighting around it. This usually is provided by track, recessed, or wall-mounted fixtures.

Once you've selected what you want to light, you'll have to decide how you're going to light it. Please view the many different styles, sizes and shapes of lighting fixtures that are available to deliver the general, task, and accent light you need.

Hall/Foyer Fixtures can create a congenial atmosphere, while providing you with the general lighting you need to greet guests and assure safe passage into other areas of your home. Use ceiling, chain-hung, or close-to-ceiling fixtures in hallways, stairwells, and entryways.

Chandeliers can add sparkle and style to your dining room while giving you the general lighting you need for dining and entertaining. They are also used in bedrooms, foyers, or over a living room grouping or a grand piano. Some are designed with downlights to provide task lighting for homework or table games, or to accent table settings. Chandeliers are available in both incandescent and compact fluorescent lamping options. The addition of a dimmer control lets you alter the intensity of light to suit the mood and activity.

Pendants can provide both task and general lighting. Equipped with shades or globes to avoid glare, they are suspended from the ceiling over dinette tables, game tables, kitchen counters, or other work areas. When used over end or night tables, they free up the space occupied by table lamps. Pendants are available in halogen and compact fluorescent lamping options. The use of a dimmer control gives you the flexibility to vary the light to suit the occasion.

Ceiling Fixtures usually provide general lighting. They are practical in busy areas such as foyers, hallways, bedrooms, kitchens, baths, laundry rooms, playrooms, and dens. They are available with incandescent, fluorescent, and energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

Wall-Mounted Fixtures can furnish general, task, and accent lighting. Many are designed to match and supplement dining room chandeliers, or to provide hallway, bedroom, or living room lighting. Wall brackets/sconces are often used for task lighting at the bathroom mirror.

Bath/Vanity Lighting Strips supply task lighting, while supplementing the general lighting provided by ceiling fixtures. Similar to the lighting in theater dressing rooms, softly glowing strips of globe-shaped incandescent bulbs provide excellent lighting for applying makeup, shaving, and grooming.

Portable Lamps can deliver general, task, and accent lighting, while giving you the flexibility to move the light whenever you want. Table lamps, console lamps, floor lamps and wall torchiers are available in a variety of styles to complement your decor. Small specialty lamps fill a variety of task and accent light needs.

Track Lighting can provide general, task, or accent lighting all at once in one flexible lighting system. You can move, swivel, rotate, and aim the individual fixtures in any direction along the track, giving you the versatility to change your lighting scheme when the need arises. You can also hang small chandeliers and pendants from the track. Track fixtures are available in standard or low-voltage current, with a choice of halogen, and energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamping options.

Recessed Lighting can provide general, task, or accent lighting inconspicuously. Installed in the ceiling with only the trim showing, recessed fixtures can be used anywhere in the home, including outdoors under eaves. They are ideal for low-ceiling areas; and with a special adapter they can also be used in cathedral ceilings. They are available as downlights, adjustable accent lights, and wall washers in both standard and low-voltage current with a choice of incandescent, energy-efficient compact fluorescents.

Undercabinet / Undershelf Fixtures offer both task and accent lighting. Under kitchen cabinets they light a countertop. In a display cabinet they show off prized possessions. They're used in a workshop or anywhere you need lighting right at hand. They include slim, "energy-efficient fluorescents, miniature track lighting, and Xenon or Halogen light strips.