lighting for new sewing room
 

I am getting a new sewing room and am trying to decide what to put in for a light fixture. all suggestions welcome!!

All I know is that my sewing room is my spare bedroom and my overhead lighting was not enough. I have so many standing lamps and table lamps about the room to help me see. I would see about recessed lighting, if I were you. Try not to get anything that gets too hot. Try to get lights over your sewing machine and cutting area!

My sewing room is also a spare bedroom and so I have the overhead light which is a ceiling fan and there are 3 light bulbs and a huge 8 foot long window (in San Diego we have sun most of the time). So my extra lighting is a floor lamp that I put next to the machine I am working on at the time. Actually I have 2 Ott lamps in the room. One is a table lamp and the other is a floor lamp. My sister gave me one of those small lamps that attach to the machine, which I used on one of my machines I gave away and haven't decided which machine to put it on yet - I may put it in my traveling case and use it when I am not home. It was so handy when I was threading that machine.

I have three sets of plug in shop lights in mine, but still use a light on my sewing table. We hooked a 6-plug surge control cord to the wall with screw in cup hooks. This seems to be doing the job. We bought the 36" ones and I think they were only somethinng like, $9.88

I have large flouresant fixtures. Love them it lights up the area brighter than daylight when they are all on. One thing to make note of in your planning... Often we think placing the lights in the center is the best location on the ceiling... that center location will still create some shaddow, as the light will not pass through where ever you are standing. So if its the cutting table placed against a wall and you light is from the center of the ceiling ... a shaddow is created. If your work areas are going to be placed against walls the lighting should come from the upper ceiling towards the wall .
Plan where your work areas are first then plan the lighting so the light does not come from over your back at any of your work areas.
Do make note .. the more light ( wether from natural or man made) will cause fabrics to fade .. so take this into account when planning your space and how you will store you fabric stash.

I use task lighting and turn the lights off when not in use. Some of my bulbs get hot and make the sewing room too warm if they are left on. The iron is on constantly and that is enough extra heat for me!

If you use the long shop lights, put in daylight flourescent bulbs. They'll give you much truer colors in your fabrics.

Get as much light as you can. Ott-like floor lamps are also great for focused work.

Whatever you do, if you want a ceiling fan the get the lights to go with it. If your lighting is above the fan then you will have a strobe effect and won't like the fan on when you are working.

Other than the above, could you install some solar tubes for more daytime light? I love mine as it doesn't let in heat or cold and really brightens the area up.

ali

I replaced the ceiling light fixture with track lights - way too hot, burned out quickly (even though they were supposed to be long-lasting), and didn't produce good even light. Then I replaced it with fluorescents, the ones that are closest to natural light, and I love it. I still have an extra light by the sewing machine that I sometimes need, but the rest of the room is full of light.

This is exactly what I did cheap and effective :)