Seeing the Light

Excerpt from: Universal Design for the Home

Universal design sheds new light on the importance of good lighting. Lights in the right places and at the right level of brightness make a safer, more positive home environment, avoiding accidents and making residents feel cheerier and healthier.

Overall, or ambient, lighting is the first essential of the lighting plan. It needs to fill a room evenly and completely, from corner to corner, to reveal the full area and provide clear orientation. For balanced, shadow-free illumination, use central fixtures, perimeter cove lights and wall fixtures with translucent covers that reflect light off a white or light-colored ceiling. It's fine to garnish this general lighting with decorative lamps or with accent lights, such as track lights, that are focused on artwork or other interesting room elements. Just don't count on these ornamental fixtures for ambient lighting.

The second essential is task lighting. Supplement the general lighting with targeted, task lights at reading corners, workstations, bathing areas, kitchen appliances, and wherever close vision is necessary. Direct this lighting across the task surface, perhaps from the sides, to prevent glare and over-the-shoulder shadows. Strips of small, under-counter task lights work well in the kitchen, especially when nonreflective, matte-finish countertop materials are used.

MIX IT UP

Good lighting involves natural as well as artificial lighting. Daylight from windows and skylights make the space feel bigger, fresher and more uplifting. For an even wash of natural light, distribute windows along more than one wall of the room- or at least place mirrors on walls facing windows. To moderate the intensity of sunlight, you can install awning and deep eaves on the outside. On the inside, use window coverings, such as draperies and remove control window treatments. Glass blocks and frosted or textured glass are good options for windows and doors where light is welcome but privacy is important. Skylights set at an angle or covered with frosted glass provide more indirect, diffuse sunlight.

As we get older, we need more light to see sharply and perceive colors and objects accurately. Adequate natural light helps, as does artificial lighting that approximates daylight. Compact fluorescent bulbs, without the harshness and fluttering of earlier fluorescent, and LED's (light emitting diodes) now can be used in place of standard incandescent bulbs and come in a variety of temperatures (measured in degrees kelvin, or K), some of which can deliver "truer" colors and increase visual acuity. Another advantage of these new bulbs is that they last a long time; homeowners find themselves on stools changing bulbs less often.

Some recommendations for general overhead lighting are 3,000 to 3,500K; 5,000K for windowless overhead lighting; 2,700 or 3,000K for accent lights; and 2,700K for decorative fixtures. For good task lighting in the kitchen. go with 2,700 or 3,000K lights. Lighting at the bathroom mirror is best at 5,000K for daytime use and 2,700K in the evening. With dimmer switches, you can tailor the lighting as needed.

For a truly user-friendly lighting landscape, try to keep the level of lighting relatively consistent throughtout the house, and make sure that light switches are accessible at every room entry. That way, adjusting your eyes to different light levels and negotiating in darkness will not be necessary.