PROJECT OAKDALE: Basement Lighting Design

I won't overwhelm you with the technical specifics of a lighting plan, but I have an update for the Oakdale Basement project! Today's post focuses on the basement's lighting design. In case you missed it, head to this post to see the basement's design concept.

Team Can Lights?

I used to dislike recessed can lights until I attended a lighting seminar. There, I witnessed the remarkable difference between high-quality (and expensive) recessed architectural lighting and the plastic recessed lights found at big box stores. LED lighting has advanced significantly, and I was amazed by how well these modern architectural recessed lights blend in to the ceiling. One of my main issues with recessed lighting was how noticeable they could be on a ceiling. Now, there are options for recessed lighting that are set deeper into the ceiling but still provide a good cone of light. Some are flangeless, allowing them to be drywalled around. The era of 6" can lights is over friends!

The Swiss Cheese Effect

I chose flanged recessed lights with a 3" diameter. The flanges can be painted to match the ceiling. After extensive research, I decided on this brand, and so far, I'm pleased with their appearance and functionality. They feel much more expensive than they are. To avoid the Swiss-cheese effect, I didn't follow a perfectly proportioned lighting plan with evenly spaced can lights. Instead, I created lighting zones based on the activities planned for each room. The key to preventing your ceiling from looking like Swiss cheese is to mix light sources. I combined fixed recessed downlights with a few adjustable can lights to highlight art and furniture around the perimeter. Designer tip: to make a room feel larger, add peripheral lighting. Peripheral lighting involves adding lights around the room's periphery, such as art lights or cove lighting. In our basement, I added the adjustable can lights in the soffits to highlight the periphery.

Lighting: The Jewlrey Of The Room

Now for the exciting part: the ambient and task lighting! I wanted to use real brass as the main metal, complemented by oil-rubbed bronze and plaster. I opted for a slightly Scandinavian style for the chandelier above the table and a funky wall sconce in the TV room. Above you can see the different sources of lighting in the seating area: A chandelier for accent and task lighting, two fixed can lihts above the table for general lighting, and a rotating can light in the soffit to highlight a gallery wall.

Above you can see the task, ambient, and accent lighting all together to make sure everything flows well. I sourced many fixtures from Mullan Lighting and Hudson Valley Lighting.

Above you can see the plans for the wet bar and the built-in bookcases. Below is where we are today! All lighting has been installed and now we wait for cabinetry. Below also shows my favorite room in the house, the TV room and the funky sconce. I love how the wall color (Benjamin Moore Golden Retriever) turned out. I can't help but feel happy when I walk in. Once all the lighting was installed I wasted no time in adding a few Christmas decorations.