Lighting changes can spruce up a room without the muss, fuss and expense of a large-scale remodel.
“Major remodels create stress,” says Peter Neuberger, president of Foothills Lighting in Denver. “I hear customers say they’ve decided not to tear out the whole kitchen but have opted to put in new track lighting so that it feels like a new kitchen.”
Denver interior designer Jill Pfeiffer uses lighting to create drama and beauty. Her clients have fixtures that are as artistic as they are functional.
“It’s as basic as framing, as far as I’m concerned,” Pfeiffer says of the way she uses layered lighting effects.
When researching lighting design options, homeowners should consider the following basic questions:
• What is the function of the room?
• What type of ambiance do you want to achieve?
Pretty with a purpose
Robin Snyder and her husband, Michael, hired Pfeiffer to redesign their Englewood home.
“She created a warm environment out of a room that was cavernous and cold,” Snyder says of her new living room, where the focal point is a pendant that radiates amber-hued light and “pulls the ceiling down” to make the room cozier.
Creating livable art with light fixtures harks back to 1930s theatrical lighting, says Patricia Rizzo of the Lighting Research Center in New York. That’s when home and design buffs realized the way the right light “affects visual systems as well as the circadian cycles,” Rizzo says.
Now design professionals use terms like sprinkle, throw and bounce to describe how light impacts a space.
“A simple overhead fixture can create a pool of light that is as effective as a welcome mat,” Clodagh, a New York-based designer who goes by one name, notes in her book “Your Home, Your Sanctuary,” (Rizzoli International Publications, 2008).
Layering is the key to beautiful, effective lighting design.
“You don’t want one light source,” Rizzo says. “You want to give dimension to spaces, which you cannot do with one fixture.”
The U.S. lighting industry represents a $12 billion market, according to the Lighting Research Center. Globally that price tag jumps to $40 billion.
Bulb basics
Homeowners and do-it-yourselfers should know there are three major light bulb choices:
• Incandescent, or traditional, light bulbs like those in reading and end- table lamps.
• More energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFL). Halogen lamps, which are popular with homeowners because they use less energy, are in this category.
• The newest source, light emitting diodes (LED).
Incandescent lamps may cost $1 while the price of CFLs jumps to $5 and LEDs may average $50.
In 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency urged consumers to change at least one incandescent light to energy-efficient alternatives with the Energy Star label. The EPA claimed that if each U.S. household changed one bulb the country would save $600 million on energy bills and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1 million cars.
In a class hosted by the Denver Design Center last year, Pfeiffer learned that homeowners who burn one halogen lamp for 10 hours pay about $18 per year, compared with $21 for 60-watt incandescent lamps. Costs for LEDs are harder to pinpoint at this early stage, though most designers believe that homeowners recoup the upfront cost of energy-efficient lamps through energy costs within three years.
LED technology in particular allows designers and do-it-yourselfers to integrate upscale lighting design on surfaces or in tiny spaces where traditional lights would not work. “It’s a very different way of thinking about light,” Rizzo says.
See the light: three places to shop
Want a fresh look at home without breaking the bank? New lighting could be the answer, and one of these highbrow local lighting showrooms can help.
Liesl Lighting has earned a reputation for its edgy, cosmopolitan commercial lighting installations. Last year the company relocated from a RiNo warehouse to South Broadway’s design district. The eye-catching new showroom is devoted to modern and contemporary fixtures from the likes of Oggetti from Italy, Aqua Creations from Israel and Moooi from the Netherlands. The store also employs lighting designers and electricians. 326 S. Broadway, 303-573-0074,
The Lighting Studio in Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood is Colorado’s exclusive source for a number of high-end lighting lines including Prandina, the maker of sexy, Space Age-looking Italian fixtures; Fontana Arte, also of Italy, whose long and lean modern fixtures are conceived by architects; and Ingo Maurer, the playful, artistic, namesake brand from a renowned German designer. 1024 Cherokee St., 303-595-0900,
Mod Livin, one of the region’s taste-making modernist retail outlets, has enlisted designer and architecture buff Rick Overby to staff its lighting studio. The Mod Livin Lighting Studio now stocks sconces, pendants, and floor and table lamps by design icons. Among them are AreaWare’s Pigeon Light, by Ed Carpenter, and Kartell’s Ge Pendant, by Italian architect Ferruccio Laviani. 5327 E. Colfax Ave., 720-941-9292,
Weekend project: fixture update
Changing overhead lighting can dramatically update any room. Replacing an old fixture usually takes only a few minutes, according to the “New Complete Guide to Home Repair and Improvement,” from Better Homes and Gardens. Do-it-yourselfers should have basic electrical skills for this project, in order to safely and correctly connect new wiring. See detailed project diagrams at .
What you need: Your new fixture, a wire stripper, a screwdriver, needle-nose pliers, a ladder and a coat hanger or strong cord (optional).
Shut off the power to the appropriate circuit at the service panel.
Remove the old unit. As you do so, examine how the old fixture is attached. Some secure with bolts to a strap; others mount with a hickey to a stud in the center of the box. Still others use a combination of these systems. Strap mounting works best with lightweight fixtures. Tip: As you remove the old fixture, take care not to undo other connections that you may find in the box.
Prepare the new wires. Strip 3/4 inch of insulation from the new leads. If the wires are the stranded type, twist the bare ends slightly.
Secure the new fixture to the ceiling. If your mounting involves a hickey, make sure the wires exit through the hickey’s side. Screw a nipple into the hickey; thread the hickey onto the stud. Tip: If your new fixture is heavy, you can temporarily support it with a coat hanger or strong cord. Also, handle fixtures gently as most are made of lightweight metal that can be easily bent.
Make the electrical connections once you’re sure the fixture is mechanically secure. Then carefully coil up wires inside the box.
Check your installation by turning on the power. If the fixture lights up, shut off the power again and raise and secure the canopy.
