The Right Lighting Matters

When my husband and I renovated our home we had to work within a budget. We were careful not to skimp on those things that are most important, like plumbing and wiring, while cutting corners on some of the easier-to-replace items like faucets and light fixtures. Over the past 15+ years, we’ve replaced a few ceiling fans and bathroom fixtures but now I’m ready to do a major overhaul in my own master bath.

For the most part, I’m satisfied with the vanity lighting that we chose. The vanity is long with a kneehole space for sitting and primping. My husband convinced me that recessed lighting would be best there and it’s worked out well. What hasn’t worked out well is the ceiling light in the center of the bathroom. My husband picked it out and made a huge mistake. It takes special (i.e. expensive) light bulbs. They’ve been burned out for over a year and I’m ready to replace the fixture and get something I’ll actually use.

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the fact that my husband spent a little extra in order to make my bathroom special for me. It’s just that I’d rather have a light fixture that takes regular bulbs rather than special ones that never get replaced. I found a progress lighting flush mount fixture that I really like. Not only does it coordinate well with my bedroom ceiling light/fan, but it takes three 100 watt bulbs. That means no special bulbs! What do you think? Do you like that fixture?

Speaking of special bulbs, I did look into the difference between using regular incandescent bulbs or fluorescent ones. I’d read that fluorescent lights are more energy efficient but according to Wired Magazine, their life is cut short by turning them on and off repeatedly, as would happen in a bathroom, so they’re not the best choice for that room.

I’m still considering fluorescents for other rooms in my house, though. I’ve always wanted under cabinet lighting throughout my kitchen; I wonder how that would work with fluorescents. The Wired Mag article I mentioned says that you can control the “tint” of fluorescents by choosing the correct CFL, measured in degrees Kelvin. The upper warm range would probably work well for the “mood setting” kitchen lighting.

I’m going to do a little more research on the various brands of fluorescents because I do plan to update all of my lighting fixtures in the house over the next few years. If you know of worthwhile sites regarding energy efficient lighting, let me know in my comments.

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