Designs By JAlex: Lighting is Very Important to Your Design

Welcome to my blog where you can hopefully be inspired

The design ideas in this blog are for you to get inspired to help make your home a place that will be warm and cozy. I'm not a minimalist and love to be surrounded by beautiful things that did not cost a lot of money. My husband and I went to garage sales for 7 years until we couldn't bring anything else home because it wouldn't fit. I use to take people with me to the garage sales by their request because they wanted to learn how I found so many lovely things. It was a great adventure for them and they learned how to get in and get out fast. So I hope I will be able to help you too find things that look like you spent a bundle when in reality you got it for a song.....

Monday, January 17, 2011

Lighting is Very Important to Your Design

I can't emphasize enough how important lighting is to your overall design. Adding dimmers is the best way to control the rooms lighting. It is better to be able to add more lighting if needed than to have those 100 watt light bulbs glaring around the room. I adore lighting fixtures and would have more if I had room. There's a lot to choose from out there so don't be skimpy with your lighting.

Light Fixture used in a Conservatory

After the Conservatory was put in at the back of our former house we had an area above the doorway that needed lighting. This is one of my favorite lighting fixtures. It gives off a lovely amber colored light.

"Spot" light bulbs is the secret in getting this type of lighting. It won't happen if you use "flood" bulbs

A nice Spot above this sofa brings it to life with a cozy feeling

If you have a spot-eye fixture above your fire place add a dimmer to it so you can control the amount of light

Lighting is tucked away everywhere in our home

We changed out the fixtures in all the bathrooms and added "spot" light bulbs

I'm not a fan of naked chandelier bulbs so I had to add shades and a dimmer to control the lighting

Just add a couple of candlestick lamps to a chest

This is a Bathroom Chandelier where I have added shades, extra crystals and a dimmer

See how nice a "spot" bulb can light up this carousal horse

Light up those stairways and add a light to artwork to enhance them

In this family room lighting was crucial in adding that golden glow

It is so cozy in this room and all the lighting was on dimmers

Adding Pendant lighting to an Island is great for beauty and functionality

Pendant Lighting was important in bring the mural behind it alive

Light up your seating with a "spot" light bulb using dimmers

Lighting from the windows as well as the room lighting makes this room bright and welcoming

No comments:

FRONT-YARD LANDSCAPING BEFORE AND AFTER

Coastal Bedroom Design Former Home

Former Home Remodeled Master Bath

After living with our home for 10 years we decided to remodel instead of buying a new home. Our Master Bathroom was such a transformation from what it was. I enjoyed every moment of picking out all the materials for this design. Be did the painting and electrical but everything else we had contractors do. Each process was done by a different contractor stone/granite, plumbing, cabinets, shower install, flooring.....that's a lot of contractors. Fortunately there were very little problems through the completion. I could write a book about the process of going through a remodel the good the bad and the UGLY!

LARGE PATTERNED AREA RUGS

Below are some examples of using large patterned area rugs. As I have mentioned it takes a leap of faith to buy a large patterned area rug and place it in your home. I personally like them and use them where ever I can fit one. After you get items on top of them they seem to fade away kind of like when you use a bold paint color when it is on the wall without anything else it is over powering but once you put your items up the wall color becomes less prominent. So go for it.....there are lots to choose from.

The use of Murals

I absolutely love murals if they are done in good taste. Here in our former home I used a mural of Paris on the back wall of the kitchen dining area. There is a long bench on the back side of the table for setting of at least 4 people. My husband put in the dropped pendant lighting over the table which helped illuminate the the mural. When we moved I wanted to take the mural with me but the new owners loved it so it was left behind. If you saw this in person you would be able to get the full impact. So don't be afraid to use a mural there are high quality one's out there that are as easy to install a wall paper.

Remodeled kitchen before and after

This kitchen remodel was in our former home where we did an entire house remodel from top to bottom. The kitchen was totally gutted and everything replaced. We saved over $50,000 by the way we did this room. We did the demo, painted the walls, the electrical and chose all of the contractors our selves. The cabinetry alone was a huge savings by getting them through a family members source. The brand was Decora with soft closing drawers really I was able to get the works. The price we paid for the entire remodel cabinets throughout the house was the same as some quotes were for just what we would have paid alone for the kitchen. When it comes to remodels shop around.

Dining Room Before and After

The chandelier in our current dining room was enormous but plain. I ordered crystals online and went to work with upgrading the fixture. I purchased the lamp shades to cover the naked bulbs (not a fan of naked bulbs). I had a red dining room in our last home too. For us it is what we like and I know it's not for everyone. When you dine in there you feel like you are at a Five-Star restaurant it's so cozy. I debated on painting the ceiling red or not but after the walls were painted it just seemed the contrast was too great so the ceiling got painted too. There's a lot of light coming in from that large window so it doesn't feel like a dark hole.... Red is my favorite color so you will see plenty of it being used throughout the home.

Sitting Room Before and After

The above pictures are from our former home where we did the major remodel. In this area we took out the french doors and added a conservatory sun room. Where the sofa is was were the original dining room was located that was moved to another room after the remodel. The ceiling became lower in the area because where we added a loft on the second floor they had bump it down a foot to allow for head room in the new office area above it. There's an arch as you go into this room so you don't notice the ceiling variation at all.

Fireplace Before and After

The above pictures are of the fireplace in the family room in our current home. I made several changes to it before we ended with this version. I was fortunate to be able to find the columns online that fit the dimensions exactly from the top of the fireplace to the ceiling. I purchases some rope wood pieces to add to the top above the clocks and just below the clocks and around the center edge of the fireplace to pull it all together. We had it painted green at first but the clocks got lost in all the darkness so we painted a muted yellow to make the clocks come alive. This room is painted 3 shades of green the accent wall, ceiling and other walls. The wall that the fireplace is on is the accent wall painted a dark green the other walls are light in color.

Welcome to my blog where you can hopefully be inspired

Monday, January 17, 2011

Lighting is Very Important to Your Design

No comments:

Post a Comment