Lighting for new sewing room
 

Hi all -new poster/member here. My oldest recently moved out, and I now have a small bedroom that I can have for my sewing room. :) I plan to paint it a light grey with white trim, because I don't want any color influences from the walls as I work. I'm also putting in track lighting. Does anyone here use halogen track lights? If so, what are the pros/cons? The ones I'm looking at have dimmer switches. I'm still undecided about the halogen, but if I go that route, I also plan to have an incandescent or florescent option on a gooseneck.

Any thoughts?

That's GOOD to know! The lights I'm looking at are a similar design. I don't want to be uncomfortable while I work. I just want good light.

Go for the LED lights they last a long time! Luann

We just installed tqo helogen lights under our kitchen cabinets, they get very hot. We made a mistake getting them. We are debating on replacing them. they are wired in.

They make the new curley Q light bulb in a daylight version. That is the only light I will buy. It gives off a bright (like outdoors) light & true colors. I used to use the old style & couldn't figure out why every paint color I tried looked orange. Well, we discovered it was the bulbs we were using. Now I don't have to worry when I am trying to audition my colors.
I buy my bulbs at Home Depot. You can get a box of 12 bulbs for a little less than $12.00.
Just something to think about.

My small 3 light halogen strip is hotter that Hell! I wish we hadn't put them up.

While halogen gets very hot, I do love the light from them. Find it very clean. I have halogen under cabinet lights in my kitchen and a halogen desk lamp that I use for hand sewing. I'd love to do halogen track lighting in my sewing room but not willing to deal with plaster/lathe ceiling at this point. Maybe one day. I'd sew naked to use halogen lights!

What are curley Q lights? Florescent?

Do LED lights give off enough light? The ones I've seen always seem a bit bluish and not very bright/

Lol! I really want the clean light, too. I'm wondering if good air circulation would help keep it cooler in the room.

I use 4' daylight florescent lights above my sewing table and above the cutting table. Thoughout the rest of the house I use the curley Q daylight bulbs. Neither of these get hot. DH has a problem with depression and this helps in the winter when there's so little sun plus it allows for everything to be the right color. I've been using them for about 5 years and so far have only had to change two bulbs. A 25 watt bulb gives off as much light as a regular 100 watt bulb so it's a lot less expensive on our electric bill.

I will be watching the answers here since I will be putting lighting in my new sewing room...

I changed out all my lights to these and I love love love them. Had halogens in a previous home and hated the heat they gave off, and I did not find the light nearly as clean and bright as the daylight fluorescents.

Those new lights that look like spirals. Suppose to be more efficient. I have a lot of natural light that comes into my sewing room. BUT I have sunny yellow walls. I really don't have trouble with the colors when I have the blinds open. We have binocular neighbors. LOL! I wave at them often and they get out of their window quickly then I put up my design panel wall and they give up! LOL!

I have a light box in the center of the room ceiling with florescent bulbs...2 about 4 ft long... They have lasted for years with changing only once and don't give off heat. I also have a large double window across the room and a table Ott light if I need concentrated light for a particular project. I believe good lighting is so essential. I have never regretted using florescent bulbs. My room is painted a creamy yellow so I'm sure that helps as well.

My husband just changed all the lights in my sewing room. You have to look for the right fixtures and bulbs. The are flourscent (sp) but they are the new T12. They are brighter and they give off no heat. I have had them for about 6 months and I just love them so much more light and no heat. We got them at Lowes.

When I Googled te T12, the article I found said that manufacturers will cease production of T12s at the end of this month in favor of more energy-efficient T8 and T5 lamps. I have no idea if there will be a compatible replacement for the T12. You might want to stock up! http://www.p-2.com/helpful-informati...-out-in-july-/

I asked about what would be the best lighting for sewing at the lighting store we did our house through - they said florescent is the best task lighting. Since we were building, I could accommodate anything.

I too installed halogen in my sewing room and took them out because of the heat. One way to use them and avoid the head issue is to use them in up-lights so the light bounces off the ceiling instead of shining directly on the workstation. It still gets warm in the area, but no direct heat on the body! Reflected light also helps eliminate shadows that can sometimes be a pain in the workspace.

I installed an inexpensive dining room light fixture in my sewing room - 6 bulbs providing down light = and as soon as I use up all my regular bulbs I'm going straight daylight bulbs.

What a great thread this has been. So much great information. Thanks so much for sharing all your thoughts.

I have halogen lights on tracks, fluorescents with full-spectrum bulbs, and incandescent lighting in my sewing room. If I had it to do again, I'd forget the halogen. It doesn't add that much. The fluorescent ceiling lights are the best, followed by OTT task lighting.

I also did not like the halogen lighting tooooooo hot.

I do not have a sewing room but I love the Ott light near my crafting area - no matter what I do. In other areas I like to have a mix of swirly bulbs, old fashioned bulbs and "real" lights. The Halogens are hot but I love the track light that has them and I put my ironing board under them so I can see better. I set up my cutting pad on my kitchen island that has spots, giving me great light to cut. So my best advice would be to go check them out in a showroom or friends home. If you buy lamps, you can move them easily.

I have a long florescent light directly above my cutting table. Regret it because my rulers have a glare from the light above the table and I have to move and adjust just to see the measurements on the rulers correctly. It is cheaper for me to change out the light, as every ruler has the glare. Drives me up the wall sometimes. Need to frost them up somehow or change out the light.

So glad this thread was started..as we just installed the Halogen, we just called the contractor and having them replaced. We were afriad that the house would burn down....we thought it was just our lights prior to reading this thread. Even though they will not start a fire we do not like how hot they are and in a very short period of time. I do learn a ton on this site!!!

Oh one other thing did just learn. All light bulbs have a daytime, night time and one other...can't remember..when we put the lights in our new light fixture one three looked brown and one white. We thought they sent us the wrong holder the light. it was the bulb instead and they explained the different lights (Day, evening etc.) we had no idea...we now will start ready the light package. ; )

My DH put in a 36" fixture up on the ceiling of my tiny 7x10 sewing/quilting room and we used kitchen/bath "flo" in it. Wonderful light, close to true light and really easy on these old eyes.

I have to agree with the above, we purchased new lighting for my sewing room which is 12 ' by 14 feet - 18 inch circular flourescent daylight and I am very pleased with the light, it is just like stepping outside into the daylight. If I am feeling tired - I can go into my sewing room and have no feelings of being tired after a couple of minutes - the lighting just seems to make me more energized. I would highly recommend these to anyone thinking of putting in new lighting. You can also get a variety of sizes to choose from. We took off the cover to show that it has two circular bulbs inside.[ATTACH=CONFIG]423880[/ATTACH]

My husband put up track lighting for me last fall. We used halogen. They were great during the late fall and winter, but this spring and summer they were so hot it was over 80 in my sewing room most day. Two weeks ago we replaced the halogen track with LED track lights. They put out much more light and are so much cooler. They cost more, but the lamps should still be burning long after I am no longer using the room!

I had halogen lights in my old sewing room (actually , they are still there, I just have a new sewing room!) and I didn't like them. The light was great, but they put out a lot of heat. It was OK in the winter, I just turned the thermostat down, but it was hot in the summer. It fought the airconditioner.

I'm also interested in the right lighting, we are building a new home and am looking at putting in several recessed lights or fluorescent lights, don't know which to do, but need to make up my mind very shortly, any help?

There are 2 types of LED lights. I always look for the daylight bulbs. They are nice and bright. The warm light bulbs are a mellow color and seem not as bright. Luann

Hi! I'm in the process of locating replacement for my halogen "sweat shop" track lighting!! It was fine all winter but I like the flex of the swirly track but not the heat.. i literally strip down to sew... I'll bite the bullet and get LED's to light up the room and not turn it into a sauna!

I just got replacement LED 's for my halogen. When I got them home I noticed that they said non-dimmable. The fixture in my sewing room has a dimmer. I'm going to put them in the one in my kitchen that has no dimmer and try them out for color and brightness. I will double check with Home Depot to see if it's ok to put them in a dimmable fixture, just not use the dimmer switch. I don't want to take the chance and blow them, they cost $12.00 a piece!!

Best light I ever had was a shop light with fluorescent lights. In new sewing room I have under cabinet throw away fluorescent lights. I have three of them under the upper cabinets. I cut and iron on the 90" countertop.

good grief! they think your Brooke Shields on that commercial! :D

Thank you, all, for your input. I decided to go with halogen track lights. They were installed in my new sewing room this morning. I've worked under them all day today, and so far they've not felt too hot. The light is terrific, and my quilts look very different. I've been quilting in the dining room, which is yellow with an orange accent wall. The walls in my sewing room are a light gray. Now I have to get the rest of the room set up, and my quilting frame comes in the middle of August. Can't wait!!

I am also redoing my sewing room and at the moment I have a ceiling fan with 4 bulbs, not good...i am considering putting in the new LED recessed lights, I dont want to go fluorescent and look like a shop, any suggestions?

The halogen floor lamp I have gets way too hot. I am about to replace it. Not only is it uncomfortable in the summer to work near it , I think it may be a fire hazard. I have multiple lamps around the room (a guest room/craft room) but would love to find something bright and out of the way that's close to my sewing machine .So I am reading others' suggestions here as well.