Kitchen Lighting Plan For My New House

 

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How much light does a room need? Most homes are light poor. In my career I have found this to be very true. 

Did you know there is actually a formula to figure out how much lighting a room needs in your home?

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HELPFUL TIP:

I read a little formula a long time ago that said  find your square footage (example 12ftx16ft = 192sq.ft) then multiply your square footage by 1.5 (192 x 1.5 =288) so that means your room will need 288 watts of lighting sources.An average room should have approx. 4-5 lamps.

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Anyone who knows me well, knows that I require light and air so I always have enough lighting in my room.

I am a big proponent for ambient lighting as well so most of might lighting has dimmers.

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In my new kitchen I have, in my opinion, way too many over head recessed lights I have never been a big fan of overhead recessed cans, or the Swiss cheese look for ceilings, but I do understand their use, and most new built homes are going to have recessed lighting. 

This is a picture of the model, I think I counted 8-9 can lights. I am NOT a fan. These babies will all be on dimmers.

I like different types of lighting in a room, not just overhead lighting. I like lamps, sconces and overhead lights. 

In kitchens we are all use to mostly overhead lighting, but there are other ways to use the different types of lighting in our kitchens.

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Recently a friend of mine showed me a picture of a kitchen that she just knew I would love and little did she know it renewed an idea I had thought about for years, but did not have the opportunity to do this idea in my previous home.

(Thank you Jeanette!)

With my new home this could possibly be an option I might be using depending on the final design plan for my kitchen.

LAMPS ON KITCHEN COUNTERS:

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When I had lamps on my counter in my other home I made sure I could hide the cord. 

Downside of that was the lamp had to be close by an outlet. 

If you look closely you can see the cord running underneath the mirror tray. I had it like this for years, until I got under counter lighting in the kitchen.

Because of the height of the cabinets I also had to make sure the lamp was low enough to go under the upper cabinets.

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This entire kitchen is stunning to say the least. I love the lamps on the upper portion of the breakfast bar. 

It appears that these lamps are permanent fixtures. no cord to be seen. However I know that cords are often photo shopped out.

This is a picture of Ina Garten’s kitchen. This island measures 18ft long, and I thought my island was BIG!!! I just noticed there is a cord in this picture, but take a look at this next image…..

At first I thought it was the same lamp as in the other image, but it is slightly different. 

Notice no little feet, and this appears to have silicone, or some type of caulking around the bottom edge, and there is not a cord in sight.

Maybe Ina was like me at first, not sure she would want it as a permanent fixture, and then she decided she like them there so much she made them a permanent fixture. I really have no idea, this is me assuming.

I would like to know, wouldn’t you. So INA if you are reading this, (fat chance that would happen) could you tell us about your lamps on your counter in the comments!!

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Since I do not plan on having lamps on my counter permanently I have to figure out a way to do it without the cord showing. This made me start to look for some ideas on how to accomplish that. I did find some possibilities.

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Nice looking is she? (her name is Marilyn,) If the lamp was going to be a permanent fixture forever it might be worth the price of $425 to not have a cord, but there are other ways to get around the CORD issue.

I found a blog post that shows how to make a cordless light using LED strip lighting. 

This is the particular strip lighting we used as under cabinet lighting, and inside our cabinets in our old home, and we also plan on using it in our new home. It is easy to install and very inexpensive.

You can read about here.

This blogger is so generous in showing just how to do it and she uses rechargeable batteries so it sounds to me like this just might be the way to go in order to stay within a reasonable budget that hubby will be happy with.

You can go HERE to her blog post to see how she did it.

So now I have a plan of attack if I decide not to do any lighting over my island, and decide to do lamps on my island instead.

You all know I am a girl that has to have a plan of attack.

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Could you see a cordless lamp in your future, or a lamp on your kitchen counter top?

I definitely can and just might!!!

For a great blog post on lamps in kitchens be sure to read “Things That Inspire,” Holly’s post HERE!!

Since I am a planner you can bet I will be doing more blog post on my kitchen lighting ideas!!

Stay Tuned!

 

 

I Have Been, "RACKING," My Brain For Ideas

 

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To say my mind is busy spinning with ideas would be an understatement. With the purchase of a new home I can see new possibilities around me everywhere.

However I am the kind of homeowner that keeps her home pretty much in the same vein with tweaks here and there.

In looking around at new ideas I always refer back to my pins on Pinterest. I do have a board that is called,

 “Things that are on my radar!”

This is the board I pin things that I keep being attracted to for some reason. I have found by pinning lots of ideas like this  helps me either want it more, or I realize I probably couldn’t really live with it in reality.

If we get caught up in the moment, or a new trend and just dive in head first without thinking of how it will relate to our existing pieces, or the over all feeling of our home we can end up with a hodge podge of ideas plunked down in our rooms therefore creating a, “Hot Mess!”

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I spend a great deal of time mulling over ideas, and making plans on the over all design before ever jumping forward with anything. 

In my career when asked what is the biggest mistake homeowners make, I would always say, “They start decorating without a plan!” 

If you don’t have a flexible plan in place you can not make good choices, or adjustments as needed.

There will always be adjustments that need to take place for a few reasons, availability, affordability, and practicality.

We as home owners always have to keep these three things in mind when decorating our homes.

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With all of this in mind I thought I would share one of the ideas I am just thinking about for our new home, in fact it is an element I thought seriously about for our old home as well. 

You have probably guessed what it is by now because of the images I have posted!

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PLATE RACKS

In thinking about a plate rack I think the positives for me are it is decorative, and functional at the same time.

It can add charm to a blank wall. The down side, or just a bit of apprehension on my part is, will it be too much going on for my eye. 

I like simplicity, and not too much visual clutter. Because of this I have to think it through completely before committing.

Let me show you the wall that I am thinking about putting it on. This wall is one of the problem children in my homes design. 

With a new build or a reno we sometimes have to work around/with problem elements. The only way to get around this is to build a custom home that you design from the ground up.

My problem child is the end wall in my dining area it has two 18in. square awkward looking windows at the top of the wall.

I understand the reasoning behind this was probably to allow those that have a hutch or a serving piece to be able to place it there. 

I have NEVER had, or even liked a hutch so for me I would much rather have a nice big window there, but I did not design the home so no one is listening to me on this count so I am going to work around my two awkward windows.

I am trying to look at this as a design lesson for me, and for you and I will figure out something once we actually live in the home, but for now I am dreaming, and making plans for the possibilities, so that is what we are going to discuss today.

I think I have about 6ft high of wall space to work with under the windows. Now use your imagination and picture white cabinets, white quartz counter tops and medium brown hardwood floors……

These are my actual finishes for this area.

Before we start I have two other ideas that could work for this wall as well. I will discuss those in later post. 

But for now lets look at some plate racks that could possibly work on that end wall…

Ideally I would like that entire wall clad with paneling of some kind so that the plate rack looks almost like a built in feature, something like this…….

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I love the simplicity of this design with only one platter per shelf. I will display some plain white platters that I have collected over the years. 

The one feature I would change on this  plate rack is the curved corner pieces, that makes it a bit too cute for my style. I love the idea of  having sconces included in the design. That is very appealing to me.

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Nice and simple, however I think the top needs to be capped off with some time of header.

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I love the way the white plates pop off of the darker background. I use black in my home, just not sure I could do this.

If I did do this, I would keep the frame and the rails white and only have the very back wall black. It is a thought and one I will consider.

In my consideration I have to keep in mind that I do not want to get too many black and white areas in my home, making it look contrived rather than well designed, it is a very fine line that I try not to cross.

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I really liked seeing this particular plate rack  because of it’s white surroundings, which is what I will have. It is also wider than some of the others I have seen. Again, I would eliminate the corner corbels for a cleaner line.

This is one of the ideas that I have for my problem child wall!!

Next question:

Should I do the plate rack right below the windows, and put nice big molding around the windows to make it look like part of the plate rack, or should I include the windows inside the plate rack on the very top shelf?

Hmmmm? Something to think about.

I have two more ideas up my sleeves, more on that later!!!

 

 

The Ups and Downs of Window Treatments

   

“WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN

CHOOSING WINDOW TREATMENTS”

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One of the very first things we have to think about when we move in to our new home are the window coverings.

When it comes to window treatments I am a no nonsense kind of gal. 

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Basically I would have nothing on my windows if I did not need privacy at night, and some light control from the hot sun during the day. I like an open window policy.

For some I know this would be like living in a fish bowl, but for me it is light, bright and airy, all of the things that I require in my home.

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However we have to be practical don’t we? 

So this is me being practical……..

Our new home’s walls are covered in windows. I have three walls in my great room, two walls are covered in a bank of three windows each, and the other wall has a fireplace, and an entertainment niche. 

There is basically no wall space in there to speak of. I love the idea of all the windows, however it leads me down the path of the dreaded window treatment decision, (insert scary music here ♪♫♪)

Here is a picture of what our windows will  look like in the kitchen and great room at the new house. You will have to visualize white walls and wood floors………

“Just look at all of that light! It is going to be great!!!” She says, until she realizes she has to cover the windows with some kind of window treatment!

The way our lot sits we will get afternoon sun on the back three windows at a slight angle. 

It is actually the same exposure we had in our previous home so I do have an advantage of knowing what my needs are.

In our previous home we had a large slider with 2 in. white wood blinds….

My daily routine was to open up the blinds, and the slider and they stayed up, and open until about 2:30 –3:00 during the hot summer months, and then I would close them to keep the sun off of the hardwood floors, and also to keep the room cooler. 

You will notice my hubby built a cornice board above the two blinds. 

I could pull the blinds up into the cornice and they would disappear. Insert: Happy girl!

Now I have the light, bright, airy, nice big wide open window that I crave!!!

So this brings me to function and design. When thinking along these lines, think of your needs first…..

MY NEEDS:

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• Open windows for air and light.

• Covered windows for privacy at night and sun protection.

• Slightly open or tilted to let in some light but able to direct the sun upward away from hardwood flooring. ( I might do this for 2 hours of each day.)

• Inside casing treatment in order for window framework to show.

Of course each room has it’s own needs as far as privacy. Such as a bedroom, or bathroom will need the option for complete privacy throughout the day, and night. I will talk about that later. 

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Today we are discussing the main living area of the home.

Next you need to think about the overall feel and look you want your home to have…

STYLE/LOOK:

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• Nantucket, classic, casual, coastal vibe.

• Open, airy, light filled rooms.

 

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The windows will have molding added to them to beef up the windows a bit. 

Something similar to this:

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Since we are going to trim out the windows I will be needing an inside casing treatment.

Now that I have my needs, style, and application narrowed down, it is time to look at some options.

Option #1: Plantation shutters…

Upside:

The beauty of plantation shutters is, just that, they are beautiful. They let in light when tilted open and they look really nice.

Downside for me personally:

See the frame around the actual shutter, well that pretty frame/rails will cut into the light coming in. 

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Basically you will lose a certain portion of your window surface. It will vary somewhat according to which company or style of shutter you purchase.

On an average you can figure about 3in. per side , so you will lose approximately 6in. top and bottom and another 6in. for the sides.

If your windows are large enough and you do not mind losing some of the light that will filter into your room, this is a wonderful option.

Since my needs are to be able to have wide open windows in the Great room plantation shutters would not be the best option for my wants.

As far as the style, look and feel go, they would look beautiful.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!

Next shall we look at:

OPTION #2, 2IN. BLINDS….. 

Upside:

More economical and budget friendly.

Can be up or down and tilted to direct the light.

Downside:

Stack-up!! (this is an important word to remember)

Knowing how much a window treatment stacks-up, or stacks-back if it is a curtain is a very important consideration.

You will need to allow room for your stack-ups, or stack-backs,if you choose draperies, and remember when doing an inside mount treatment that will mean the stack-up will always cover your window permanently when it is drawn up.

Here is a very helpful chart to figure out what the stack-up would be for wood blinds….

You can see that for most windows it ranges from about 6in. to 10in. the other thing to consider, do you like the look of stacked up wood blinds?

I personally do not like the look of a stacked up blind, so when I use them I usually have a cornice made to hide the stacked up blind so it disappears as I did in my last home.

Since we plan on having some nice molding around our windows these will not work in my Great room area.

Next Option!

Roman Shades:

There is a lot to consider when choosing a roman shade, first what type of material do you want to use, and what color family will you need to accent your room.

I will not go into the many, many options that are out there, but today I do want to talk about the mechanics, and the look that a roman shade will give you.

The other thing to consider is the stack-up as I spoke about with the wood blinds. Here is a helpful chart for the stack –up of roman shade.

As you can see most stack ups for either type of fold will be 7-9 in.  You also have to consider, do you like the look of a stacked up roman shade.

Personally I do, they look finished and neat and tidy.

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UPSIDE:

With a roman shade I will get an open airy look, privacy, and light control when needed, and it is a perfect look for a Nantucket/Coastal look when done in a textural fabric such as linen, or a type of bamboo, or matchstick blind.

DOWNSIDE:

Keep in mind they are either up or down. Since I only needed the tilting option for about 2 hours a day, I am willing to compromise on this one need for the overall look and functionality of a roman shade for my room.

DECISION FOR MY GREAT ROOM:

Until I am actually living in the home, nothing is ever certain, but as of right now, I am leaning towards Roman shades in a lighter value color than my hardwood floor, but something with texture and warmth.

Soon I will do a post on what I am leaning towards with pictures to show you the direction I will most likely be going. I definitely have a plan in mind.

UPDATE ON OUR NEW BUILD HOME!

This was on Tuesday!!

This was on Friday!

We now have framing! Look at my pretty lamp post! That pretty lamp post is one of the reasons we chose this lot, I love it's charm.

So now we own some dirt, metal thingys, cement and wood! To say we were excited when we turned the corner and saw this is an understatement.