I have great clients with great taste in design, decorating and light fixture choices. I make some very basic recommendations, like "This room would be very nicely lit by two rows of recessed lights, and we could use the 5" ones because they are a little more stylish than the 6" ones. Then, one or two hanging pendents over the island, or coffee table, would look so cool."  

Sometimes I can tell when there is a good chance we will find long abandoned sconce light boxes buried in the walls. I let folks know that and if I'm right, they often get another touch of classic elegance to their living room or dining room.

But in all cases, it's really my clients' great taste in picking out the fixtures that ends up making the look awesome!

I'm just glad to be a help.

We were very honored to be trusted with updating the lighting at Steve and Gretchen's Condominium in Hyde Park last week. They are such great people; I wish all my clients were like them. A couple years ago, we did the track lighting in the main hallway. It came out very nicely. This year they turned their attentions to the kitchen.

Beforehand, they had two Home Depot economy fixtures surface mounted on the ceiling. They were left over from the old center light locations, and afforded neither sufficient illumination nor a hint of style. Gretchen and I put our heads together and came up with this design. There are six recessed  fixtures in two rows, providing ample illumination for cooking and preparing food. Gretchen chose these really cool looking pendent fixtures that we centered over the island. They have just a hint of green shading to the clear glass, and when the retro type light bulbs come on, they look awesome. Finally, we replaced the haphazard under cabinet lights that had been lovingly installed by a relative who was long on good intentions but short on electrical knowledge. 

All in all, the result was very lovely. Thanks Gretchen and Steve. Enjoy!

We installed these beautiful fixtures earlier in the week on Dorchester Ave.

They are gorgeous.

Not much I can add to that!

We recently installed this beautiful track lighting system in a vintage East Hyde Park apartment. I am very pleased with how it came out.

Previously, there was only one small fixture in the center of a 26' long hallway. Can you say dim?

I really love the brushed steel finished heads with 50 watt halogen lamps that the client decided on. The halogens cast a white light that is excellent for bringing out the detail in artwork of photos. Since the miniature heads can be rotated 180 degrees and tilted to almost any angle, they are very versatile.

There was only one switch in the middle of the hall as well. We eliminated that and installed 3-way switching so you could actually turn on the lights before you walked the length of the hallway, and then turn them off when you reached the end of it. Brilliant concept, isn't it?

Preset dimmers that allow the lights to be brought down to the desired level of illumination and then hold that setting in memory finished the job.

Beautiful!

This info came from a list of "10 Common Mistakes in Kitchen Design"

Don't settle for poor lighting. The kitchen is one room where you can’t afford to have poor lighting. It’s not only a matter of design and atmosphere, but also a safety matter when it comes to handling sharp kitchenware. Rooms generally need three types of lighting: general lighting for overall illumination, task lighting and accent lighting. For the kitchen, you especially should evaluate the work areas and focus on how you can provide each spot with the light it needs. Consider adding lighting directly above all the main working areas, perhaps using pendant lights or a series of mini-pendants in areas where these enhance the lighting and beauty of the kitchen. Pendants look great above kitchen sinks, while a series of mini-pendants enhance the appearance and lighting of breakfast bars and kitchen islands. Also, install under-cabinet lighting as an additional way to ensure that the counters have sufficient lighting for common kitchen tasks. After all, the more light you have in the room, the better you can show off all of those amazing design elements you’ve added to the space.

4/23/2012

I highly recommend Peter McCarthy if you are looking for a great electrician and professional business person.  We moved into our (Hyde Park area) home last summer, and I didn't know until fall and winter darkness came how horrible our kitchen lighting was!  I had heard many good things about Peter in the neighborhood, so I decided to check in with him.  After e-mailing him, Peter wrote back with an extremely helpful and detailed response describing what our possible options might be, explaining the basics, and offering to come by to take a look.  We had a few ideas, and Peter created a design for us.  We were very excited to get started!

When his crew came on the day of the job, they were very efficient and had things done quickly.  Everything was neat and you wouldn't even know work had been done.  Peter also directed us to a place to get a decorative piece (per our request-- we were not excited about the selection at Home Depot) and even got us a deal there.  Now that the kitchen is done, it all looks great!  Every time I turn on my lights I am SO happy not to be in a dark, shadowy room anymore.

Peter was very good about returning calls and e-mails and keeping on top of things.  I wish all home repairs/work were this smooth!  We will definitely call Peter gain should we need anything.

Emails:

Hi Cheryl;

I am starting to think about you place. It is a very, very blank canvass at this point. So a few Qs are in order. Please reply with the best answers you can at this point.

1. Have you seen anything anywhere that you like? In magazines, or other friends homes? If so what was it? Conversely, have you seen or lived with any type of lighting you hated?

There are 3 basic types of lighting:

1. General lighting:  The overall lighting in the room. That which is meant to make it not dark. Ambient lighting, overall lighting. In the old days, this was the one center light fixture in the room. In modern days, is usually the center light in a bedroom, the overhead light in a bathroom, and a combination of multiple fixtures in the kitchen.

Kitchen general lighting is achieved by a combination of artistic or aesthetically pleasing fixtures (the decor portion of it) installed and located in locations that create in total a sense that the room is well lit. That it is not dark, that you can see what you are doing easily and automatically, not having to think about it. That there are no significant shadows on you or the work areas. In an older, cheaper kitchen, someone could take out the previous center fixture and install a ceiling fan with 4 little stem lights on it. Often done, never works. Not enough light. Movement of air, yes, but dim. Other times folks will take out the center fixture and install big 2x4 florescent surface mounted fixtures. Sometimes one, sometimes more. Result? Lot

of light, dimness banished! But very ugly. Are you staring to get the picture? Good residential lighting design is a combination of type of fixtures that are decoratively and architecturally/aesthetically pleasing to the client, installed in sufficient quantity and locations that the whole space is amply lit, without seeming crowded or cluttered with lights or as if they were put in as an after thought. Enough fixtures that one center fixture does not end up burnt by years of abuse with two 100 or 150 watt bulbs in it, turning it into a de facto easy-bake oven, because it is the only fixture in a big dark room.

A very common type of general lighting for a kitchen is recessed lights, (can lights). They work well because you can space them in proper locations and they aim straight down. Shadows are not thrown to front or back. Each one can have large enough lamp that in total they make a well-lit room. They throw light down in a cone fashion so for each fixture the field of light overlaps with its neighbor fixture.  When done right, the whole area is well-lit, and the source of "where is the light coming from?" is not obvious. It is just there. When it is done right, we don't notice it, either by its presence or absence. It just seems normal and natural. Tracks do not do this very well.

Recessed cans have a multitude of trim styles that can be installed to meet your preferences. They come in 6", 5" or 4" openings (the size of the round hole you see from below. The 6" is the old standard that you see all over. They are not as fashionable as the 5" these days. They seem too big or out of proportion I think. Better for a basement rec room than a kitchen. But Ok, I guess. The 4" are out there as well, but they are too small to use as general lighting. They can be installed in specific locations to highlight or frame a smaller area where larger ones would seem out of proportion. But they definitely do not work as stand along general lighting.

Tracks do not work that well as general lighting. Mostly, they are ugly and dated. Keep in mind, the issue with tracks is usually with the heads, not the "track" per se. There are places where tracks are both attractive and useful. Think a long hall in

Hyde Park railroad apartment. Track lighting is excellent there because for very little damage to existing ceilings, it can run down the center and track heads can be aimed in any direction to highlight the artwork or family pictures. The deal there is that the hall is narrow. Maybe 5 feet wide. Lights aimed at the wall are also sufficient for the overall general lighting because the light hits the wall and reflects off it as well, resulting in sufficient light for the hall, where you are not working but walking through. Not the same at all in an open space like the kitchen.

A common issue with tracks is the heads. A 20 year-old, huge cumbersome head will look like crap wherever it is used. There are nice looking heads that work well with track when it is installed in place where it fits in and works proportionately. They make numerous pendant type fixtures that can hang off tracks (Think the lovely orangish/dark reddish fixtures that often hang in the window at a Starbucks, or over the tables in coffeehouses. Or over islands in fancy kitchens. Often they will install 2 or 3 of these over an island or peninsula in a modern kitchen. These type of fixtures can be installed easily in a new construction kitchen by locating junction boxes in the ceiling wherever you will want them. But in a rehab, especially a vintage plaster building where the ceilings or walls are not being gutted, the advantage of a track is that it only requires the ceiling to be cut and broken in one location to give it power. Then the track sits on the surface, and it can be run in either direction and over as many locations as you wish to have hanging lights.

2. Task lighting. This is light for specific tasks and uses, not meant to light the whole room. In kitchens, this is almost always under-cabinet lighting. They light the counter surfaces for optimal functionality. They take the form of either florescent strip fixtures or round halogen "puck" lights. There are a lot of choices with pros and cons to each.  I like the idea of these lights, but am somewhat disappointed in the lack of durability in the products themselves. I am resigned to it. Most florescent under-cabs will require repair in 2-3 years. Most round puck lights will burn through bulbs pretty frequently. That sucks and is embarrassing to me as an electrician. But ask around your friends and relatives who own homes. I think it is a result of our societal desire to have manufactured products as cheap as possible, made in China

under loose specs, ect. Soapbox is coming out here. But this kind of lighting does have a nice utility, even though its high maintenance.

3. Decorative lighting. While you don’t want any "un-decorative" (ugly) lighting, this term means light fixtures that are installed to serve primarily the purpose of decoration by way of light. It is highlighting art on the wall or the 3 lovely cone shaped lights hanging over the island. These are there for looks and they help make it easier to see things, but they can not carry the load of general lighting. You don't find too much of this in an average kitchen. Sometimes you will have puck lights cut into cabinets that are fancy and have gorgeous crystal in them. They usually have glass doors so that you can behold the lovely items from outside the cabinets. Sometimes folks will have indirect strip or florescent lights mounted on the top of the cabinets, pointed up and not visible. They provide a nice glow if you have the design of cabinets that do not go all the way up to ceiling. That's mostly it.

So that's a jumping off point. Recessed lights, either alone or in combination with a pendant light (hanging over a table, usually smaller) if you have one in the kitchen is a good set up. Pendants can hang for decoration and ambiance over islands or peninsulas as described above. A ceiling fan can be nice to move the air, but one with a light kit is not a good choice in my mind. The dinky little lights that attach to it are not enough for general lighting, and look kind of chincy. (sp?)  In a real low budget place, where you have only that one existing center light location and you want a fan but can't loose the light, it is an adequate choice. But your place will surely be more elegant than that.

If you are opposed to recessed lighting on principle, (everyone has their own particular taste and style,) the kitchen could be lit with stand-alone fixtures, either the surface mounted or pendent type. But that would be a highly individualized configuration, and would require some good long study and inquiry into fixture preference and light/brightness options. Everything is possible. Some is more costly and also more intrusive than others, some is less flexible.

So your New Year is off to a good start. I encourage you to start looking intently in the outside world at the kitchen lighting you encounter. I would say both look at and ask your friends and relatives.  Often we don't look hard at these things until we have a reason to. I would say ask your colleagues and peers what they like or hate about the lights in their kitchen. It is valuable input. Nobody can think of everything on their own. I am a big believer in this. Also, I think seeing it in context in real life is more helpful than in a home depot or lighting store to start. That is just me. You can certainly look at specific types of fixtures, ect on websites, at lighting stores, ect. But I think that is more phase 2. First is thinking about in general, what do you like, hate, need, and want as far as broad strokes. Other issues of dimmers, low voltage vs. line voltage, "green" options, are all legitimate things to consider, especially where you feel strongly for or against. But for now, we are brainstorming the bigger picture.

Thank you much for your time. I look forward to working with you!

Peter