Expert: Richard Taylor, AIA - 4/8/2010

Question
Hi,

We're doing some remodeling on our little 1945 house. The DR/Kitchen and LR (total space: 21 X 28) is separated by a weight-bearing wall (running in the middle along the 21 ft span). We've sloped the ceiling up to 12 ft at the wt.-bearing from both sides and now, have no idea how to light it.

Cans? Tracks? Cans symmetrical or tasked? Tracks flush or suspended? Tracks parallel or perpendicular to the slope? Just to complicate things, we also want to add two ceiling fans.

We like the light put out by halogens and the ceiling is still open and accessible, for what that's worth.

So, we're really at a loss. Can you give us any basic guidance? Some rules to follow?

Thanks very much for any shred of guidance you can give.

Answer
Good morning Mike - thanks for your question!

Before we tackle the lighting, I want to talk a bit about the scale of the room.  12' tall sloped ceilings - especially "one sided" vaults as you've described - might be a bit overwhelming for the little home you're working with.  The tight acute angle at the top is also a problem, it's hard to drywall, paint, and trim, and will be a lightning rod for cobwebs and dust.

So I'd suggest starting with lowering part of the ceiling on both sides - giving you a larger flat spot on either side of the center bearing wall.  In a house like this, a comfortable scale in the room is far more important the sheer height and volume.  Maybe bring the ceiling down to 10' or so - depending on the roof pitch, you'll get a nice area of flat ceiling.  Ideally it would be at least 2/3 of the width of the room.

And since you're still in the framing stage, it should be very easy to make this change!

With that done, we'll have a much easier time figuring out the lighting.

You're already on the right track, understanding the difference between general and task lighting.  I'd add a third category, accent lighting.

A big mistake many homeowners make is can lights on sloped ceilings and high ceilings.  Can lights are intended as general/accent lighting - they're meant for lower ceilings, where the can casts a pool of light on the floor or table, or washes a wall, and you don't see much of the lamp.  When you mount them high or on slopes, you see the bright lamp...not good!

With the ceiling lowered and flattened, you're in a better position to use recessed cans.  Maybe a few along the tall walls, with a directional shroud to wash the wall - those walls then might become a great place for artwork.  Since you like halogens, you have even more options - and recessed halogens are much smaller, less-obvious fixtures than incandescents.  In this use, the cans would be considered accent lighting - although they'll contribute to the overall general lighting of the rooms.

On the side with the sloped ceiling, you might consider washing the wall upwards - wall sconces are great for this and you have many styles to choose from.  Sconces will throw light up the wall and onto the sloped ceiling, where it will help with the overall general lighting of the room without being too bright.  Making a room too bright is a common mistake.

I'd skip track lights unless you need very specific task lighting need, and then I'd use the suspended track type, not the ones that screw right to the ceiling.  That's SO 1974! :)

For the rest of the lighting, plan your furniture placement in the room and install floor outlets connected to wall switches, and plug in floor and table lamps.  That way you'll get both general and task lighting from them, and have maximum flexibility with lamp style, wattage, etc.

Finally, a few words about ceiling fans.  DON'T mount light kits on them, that's the worst kind of general lighting (I would only use them in kid's bedrooms and then only rarely).  Also don't get fans that contrast with the wall and ceiling colors.  Fans should take a back seat, visually speaking.  And unless the rooms are pretty big or you have heating/cooling issues, you should consider doing without them entirely - they usually just end up a visual clutter and are a pain to keep clean.  If you do use fans, mount them on the flat ceiling, as close to the ceiling as possible.

Send me a photo of the finished rooms!

Hope this helps,

Richard Taylor, AIA
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