Q: My husband and I are remodeling a large farmhouse. The great room has ceilings about 24 feet to 30 feet high with a wide beam. The dimensions of the room are about 40-by-20 feet. We have added new ceiling fans with up and downlighting. However, we need additional lighting. While we realize that changing bulbs will be a challenge, recessed cans seem to be the best option, along with uplights on the beams. We get a ton of natural light on all sides, but there are huge expanses of wall that probably need to be broken up — maybe with wall sconces? Help!
A: That is one gigantic room. The right lighting can really help create some human scale to an enormous space, making it feel more inviting instead of a bit intimidating. Installing recessed fixtures from that height is not the best way to go. By the time it reaches the floor, their light output will be diminished. Plus, they will cast harsh shadows onto people’s faces, which will visually age them. I’m all about flattering lighting. The better I look, the better I treat my company.
First off, my suggestion is to remove the light clusters from the fans. Let them do their job of moving the air around. I would also add a series of wall sconces around the room. Figure out where you are going to hang art, then install sconces on either side. Or the sconces could be installed up further on the wall (at 7 to 8 feet, above where you might hang paintings) to give you the most flexibility on where the art might go. Don’t get stuck on the exact style of sconces. They will be your bigger-ticket items. The main thing is to get the junction boxes installed at the right locations. You can start with lower-cost fixtures and trade up later.
Since you have such high ceilings, I recommend you illuminate any art with picture lights. You should add regressed plugs (“clock plugs”) in the walls behind where the art will go. Connect these on a wall dimmer so that you don’t have to turn them on or off individually. Using UV filters or LED lamps will protect the art.
I do like the idea of installing indirect lights on top of the beams. Consider using an inexpensive LED rope light, hidden within some sort of U-channel. Use the amber/yellow color (2700K) instead of the blue/white (5000K). It won’t throw out a lot of light but it will add a lovely glow to the ceiling and along the diagonal support beams, especially when the other lighting in the room is dimmed.
People with sloped ceilings that go up to 12 feet to 18 feet at the apex can use a series of pendants or two pendants flanking a center fan. These fixtures will create a secondary ceiling line and provide both decorative and ambient lighting for the room. The bottom of the fixture should hang 9 feet above the finished floor. The scale should be 30 inches to 36 inches in diameter. Consider using dimmable screw-in CFLs in the pendants so that the bulbs will last longer.
