I am getting ready to design a sewing room in the basement of a new house. What is the best kind of lighting to install?
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I am getting ready to design a sewing room in the basement of a new house. What is the best kind of lighting to install?
Around the Perimeter I would love indirect, and for the sewing area, a nice lamp that does not get hot.
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DH put track lights around the perimeter with lamps shining from it to where I work. I still cast a shadow on my cutting table. I have task lamps by my main sewing machine that I can move from machine to machine. There is never enough light.
Donna in Bellevue
I personally like halogen's for the bright, true light the give off but they are VERY hot to work under. Since all incandescent bulbs will be going the way of the dodo, you might want to look into LED lights. An expensive initial investment to be sure but reputed to be what we are going to have to live with for a very long time to come. And they do last for a very long time.
I have found I need light coming from all angles in my sewing room. If I was designing my own I would have my ceiling covered in lights. I think very sewing room needs floor lamps to focus on where you are cutting, sewing, and ironing. I love the Task Floor Lamp with metal shade at Lowes. It's inexpensive and doesn't take up much space at all. I use a 100 wt equivalent LED bulb and have all the focus light I need. I like it better then my OTT floor lamp. I have one over my cutting table, over my ironing board, and over each sewing machine.
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I like my sewing room really bright. I describe it as "noon at the equator". LED bulbs are wonderful because you can buy a lightbulb that is 19 watts so it will fit in a 60wt fixture, but it actually gives off the equivalent brightness of a 120wt incandescent bulb.
I have a lamp with 3 bulbs in it that are all 19wt LED's. It's fantastically bright. I can see the colors of my fabric clearly & can see well enough to sew tiny needle turn stitches no problem. I have 2 other lamps in the room because there are no lights in the ceiling.
I had 4"florescent tube hanging in my old sewing studio. There are specialty tubes made by GE sold at Home Depot that give very excellent light. Even Ott lamps make the tubes but they were quite expensive.
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We have recently converted our whole house to LED lights which was an investment for sure but so worth it. Not only do LED's provide more light but they are considerably cheaper to run, last for years, and do not add heat to the room. Personally I would recommend using the "daylight" bulbs as they provide the brightest light and closest to actual sunlight so you see the true colors. If you notice in photographs, fluorescent cast a green shade and incandescents cast a yellow light which throws me off when matching fabrics. Also be sure to go for the "instant on" bulbs as some take awhile to warm up.
Oh, also wanted to add that LED's are the only type of bulb that do not emit UV light & therefore will not cause fabrics to fade. If you hunt around you can often find them on sale at Home Depot or Lowe's, and some power companies sell them for cheap or offer rebates to customers who purchase LED bulbs.
If you do go with CFB's or incandescents, you might consider purchasing UV filters for your lights to protect your fabric.
I used track lighting with led lights. No heat and so bright. Make sure you get white light led bulbs. Thes were purchased at home depot. made for led fixtures. I added 2 pendant lights. I also have ott lights and a small light from ikea at the sewing areas. Luann
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