Downlighters & a main light?

[chillout]

My sparki recmmended having downlighters & a main light in the bedrooms, as explaine dthat last job this was done and looked quite effective. has anyone else done this at all?
Ive only seen it done in commercial premises before.

 

[ColJack]

downlights for that mood lighting you want for a romantic evening.. and the main light for that "stumble out of bed and get dressed first thing" lighting ...

 

[sparkyspike]

I've seen it done with mini downlights fairly close to the edge of the ceiling and a centre light.

Not my cup of tea though.

You might consider a central light with the addition of a few 2A outlets around the room for table lamps. These two circuits can then be dimmed at the lightswitch.

I think you need to decide for yourself. I also like Marmite.

 

[FourFootMedia]

At our last house we had a 3 lamp fitting in the middle of the bedroom as the main light, then 3 downlights just infront of the balcony doors and 2 above where the built in dressing table was. These were all switched together and worked well - looked good and useful.

Here we have a main 3 lamp fitting in the middle of the room for main light, and a couple of wall mounted uplighters. The main light and uplighters are switcherd seperatly on dimmers so the uplighters work well for a bit of mood lighting

 

[Taylortwocities]

Ooh, balcony in the bedroom, that's posh.
That house, it's not just at the end of The Mall, is it ma'am?

 

[chillout]

Very useful info all, but Sparkyspike do you mean linking the bedside lamps to a double light switch (dimmer) on the wall? I was going to control two downlighters in the bay and the main light with a dble remote control unit.

Would I need a three way dimmer to control all and the bedside lamps also?

The wires are in place to have four downlighters in ceiling and a main light, but Im thinking maybe the two in the bay would be enough, as I would be using the bedside lamps also. Its either going to look a bit too much or really good. Tough choice!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Fit a lipped cornice on the walls, about 100mm down from the ceiling. It can be as plain or as fancy as you like, to match the style of the room. Behind it install cold cathode tubes - you can get ones which just get under the 1000V limit for low voltage, they are dimmable and available in a wide range of colours.

 

[chillout]

That sounds like an idea, but Im not sure how Id do that. I was going to install cornicing to the ceiling. Do you know of any sites of where this has been done, ie pics at all? Sorry I know more about cars than DIY!

 

[FourFootMedia]

A quick google will find you some. There'a few example photos on this site: http://www.wmboyle.co.uk/displayProduct.jsp?criteria=Uplighting_Cornice

If my parents wern't away on holiday I'd get them to take a photo of their dining room as they've recently had illuminated cornices fitted.

 

[chillout]

Thats great, cheers mate!

 

[ColJack]

white christmas rope lights have the same effect for much cheaper

 

[SparkyNinja]

white christmas rope lights have the same effect for much cheaper

and they can twinkle







but seriously, cornice lighting is very effective and does look fantastic (if installed properly).

 

[chillout]

I guess so, the house is 1920s though and wanted to keep it period looking. It wouldnt look too tacky would it?

Do you have it yourself?

 

[SparkyNinja]

Personally no, b ut that's because I'm tight.
Still got an old Dorman Smith DB

But I have installed it a few times, often because clients don't want lights all over the ceiling.

The common solution from my experience is that when they get the cornice lighting in, they also have some of the low amp outlets on a light switch for the table lamp and uplighters. That way the ceiling stays plain and they are always chuffed with the result.

 

[chillout]

Oh right, would there be a gap between the cornice and ceiling though? Would this not gather dust/dirt etc?

I have a sparki working away this week so need to tell him what I want really!