Help! New Sewing room no WINDOWS
 

Adding on to the house, will be getting a new quilting room, but will have no windows. :rolleyes: Need help on lighting and what color to paint walls.

My studio is in the basement with no windows. I painted the room a nice yellow and have tube lighting in the drop ceiling. My room is nice and bright and cheery. Don't misss having windows at all - gives me more wall space!

I have just painted a basement room with no windows! I chose a very light gray. It is a blue gray and grays are very different, believe me. I always second guess myself, but I do like this a lot. I chose a creamy neutral for the trim, which gives it a warm feel. Now I want to add one or two colors in the furniture and decor. I am leaning toward a deeper warm blue and a soft limey green. I looked at the color charts and brought pamphlets of painted rooms home from the paint store and that really helped me see how colors look together. We are adding more florescent lighting with the cool white color of bulbs. good luck! Make it cheerful and use what you like, it's your room to go to every day!

Good for you, girl!!! My suggestion: just paint walls yellow & use lots of lighting.....

If you really miss windows add a large poster of an outdoor scene.

I know they aren't the prettiest but we put fluorescent lighting in our room and got the bulbs/tubes that reflect "natural/true" light and it is awesome. We have windows but it has made a huge difference. We also opted not to put the covers on them - the bulbs show but who really cares.

Forgot to mention but before we put in our lighting we asked around. We were really thinking of doing the canned lights but everyone told us that they put out a lot of heat. Additionally they are a lot more expensive to run.

You didn't mention what floor your sewing room is on, but if it is on the top floor of your house (even with an attic above,) here's an idea. We have a bathroom with no windows and had a tube skylight installed. It wasn't too expensive and it brings in an amazing amount of light. We chose a national brand and had a factory-authorized installer put it in. It has been years now with no problems, no leaks. I still am always trying to turn the light off :)

We have just painted my new sewing room in Benjamin Moore Standish White- it is a very pale yellow. The trim and furniture are white. The room is large but is in the basement (oh well) and has one small window. So far I like it and it seems light and sunny.

I agree pale yellow and lots of lighting.

Absolutely the bulbs that produce 'natural light' like the Reveal ones that give you acurate color when looking at fabrics! As far as paint, I would go with a 'whiteish' color that would reflect the light and not absorb it. I love a cottage white which has a tint of yellow sunshine [to me it does], however, my younger son works at a Sherwin Williams and he would probably choose something else, LOL, mom vs. the professional.

I also like the skylight/sunlight tubes, if that is a possibility I say get one! or would one use that if they were in a basement setting and it could run through the wall near the top??

Antique white has a yellow tone to it and bright white trim is what worked for me. I also have both recessed LED and fluorescent on different switches; I can use one or both for plenty of lighting.
Monica

I like white walls to keep better color of my fabrics true. Yellow seemed to change certain colors. That's just me. We have the solar tube thing and it is incredible the amount of light it brings in. It even brings in moon light.

I love my fluorescent lighting with the natural white bulbs; no yellowness in the room at all. I painted the walls in a pale yellow. One suggestion I have is that if you could try and place your cutting area in the room when you are deciding on where to put the lighting. Even a mocked up version so you can see where the shadows fall when looking at the markings on your rulers and templates. We have to move the lighting in my room because of the annoying shadows. It will be no small task to once again figure this all out but it will have to be soon as I can cut all day but with the frustration of the lighting I would rather be doing something else.

My sewing room is a medium yellow but I have a large double window. I get a lot of light. When the lights are off and the street light is on, I have to double check the lights when I'm not in there because it actually looks like the lights are on.

Thanks for all ideas. I will probably use fluorescent lighting, since that seems to be most answers. My house is one level, but the room is in the middle. Flooring will be hardwood. Now to decide the color, lots of ideas.

If you're adding on to the house, can you have the roofers install a solar tube light? We have three and couldn't believe what a difference they made. My interior bathroom is now full of natural light during the day, and moonlight at night... so much so that we have to close the bathroom door around the full moon or we can't sleep! They are very affordable.

Here's a link to give you an idea: http://www.marylandroofers.com/sun-tunnels-skylight.php

Those Solutubes really bring in the light if you want some sunshine. If it's sunny it can look like you have an actual sun on your ceiling. Some people like them, some don't. We had three in a house once quite some time ago. I think the newer models are better but I think I would go for a skylight given the same circumstances again ... and if I could afford it, of course. Although that makes a bigger hole in the roof, the lightening seems more natural and you get to see the sky. Just my opinion but if you ever decide on Solutubes, you should go see one where it is installed in a house.

We have a bathroom with no windows and had a tube skylight installed. It wasn't too expensive and it brings in an amazing amount of light. We chose a national brand and had a factory-authorized installer put it in. It has been years now with no problems, no leaks. I still am always trying to turn the light off :)
I agree with the solar tube idea if you have a roof over the room. I also try to turn out the light every time I walk through. It doesn't give off heat either.

I put 6 LED lights in my new room. They are 2200 lumans each. They wsere bright in the store but have no electric to test them in my room.

Mine is in the basement and I painted it a light yellow. With all the heating ducts, I could not put in a dropped ceiling so I just covered the ceiling area with white cotton fabric and worked it around all of the ducts - hides the insulation and adds light to the room. I also use 3 ott lites to light up my work areas depending on what I am doing. I keep thinking of adding an old window frame backed with a mirror to look like a window but that's just another project to consider.

I keep thinking of adding an old window frame backed with a mirror to look like a window but that's just another project to consider.[/QUOTE]


I think that is a terrific idea! :thumbup: I would also reflect the light and be more 'sunny' in there!

very lite like off white and add a lot of lights. Mine is in our large garage and it has no windows so I have track lites above my quilter and over my sewing tables and above the cutting table, embroidery table, and die cutter table. LOL I knowit is a lot of lites but I can use all or apart of them depending on what I am working on... have fun

Yes to mirrors! You'll really notice the difference.

Congratulations on getting a new workspace! As a former interior designer and an ardent fiber artist, I suggest picking a light but warm shade of your favorite color and pairing it with crisp white or linen and then picking one more color to use liberally for an accent. The idea is to create a space that makes you feel happy and comfortable. If possible choose lights that have "daylighting" bulbs. Avoid any light fixture with a colored or translucent shade as it will distort the light value and thus your impression of what you are seeing. A really cool trick if you have enough wall space is to build a fake window. This mounts a real window to the wall but it has a light behind it. You can mount a mural behind the window too, or apply a translucent film, and then dress the window as desired. Just the impression you have a window is psychologically positive. I like dark floors in my studio. Yes you see all the dust and lint, but you can also see the pins, bobbins and other things you drop. I made the mistake in my current studio of using a light floor and now miss my dark floor. I also like a hard surface rather than a carpet after having tried both over the years. My favorite floor was Pergo brand. Mid I could talk my husband into helping me move out my stuff, including my 12' long arm, I'd go back to the Pergo flooring. Have fun in your new space.

Paint it a light color, yellow would make it appear to be a sunny room :)
and put in lots of lights, fluorescent lights can provide natural bright lights.
You will still probably need a Ott light where you cut and piece as well.

Lowe's or any good hardware place offers a ""daylight bulb"" for tube, ceiling and lamp light,,,

If you have wall space, find some travel posters and place them on the walls. It will give you something to look at that you enjoy as you spend time in your sewing space. I had a room with no windows once and it worked great for me!

Use a light color (my sewing room is lavender, has one small window) and invest in Ott lights. Expensive but completely worth it. I have two - well technically only one is mine but I stole the second one from my DH. He doesn't mind too much. Love those Ott lights for bright clean lighting.

Pale yellow is cheerful. When you do the lights, check out what type of bulbs simulate sunlight, and put some in there, too. I assume you'll need to make sure your fabric is away from that type of light (I'd ask questions about that at the lighting store), but it would be worth it. Here in Oregon we get so much rain, and have so many days that are overcast that many suffer from the light deprivation (not me, though).

I like the Benjamin Moore paint that is a light yellow tint , with Benjamin Moore White chocolate for the trim. Several Large Mirrors , along with a couple of Ott lights.