Planning and designing is a tedious job. Today’s bathroom wears
a well dressed look , its design recognizing people’s needs to begin
and end their day in pleasant surroundings. It is after all an intimate
personal place- perhaps the only room in the house where one can be totally
private and get much needed peace.
- For a relatively small room , the bath area can use a no. of different
types of lighting.
- General lighting is essential in a compact bath , a central ceiling may
suffice.
- Medium size and large size baths and especially those with sectioned
areas for tub , shower and toilet will require several overhead fixtures.
- The lights are general , recessed into the ceilings or those over a tub
or a shower must be watertight and vapour proof . A minimum of 100W
incandescent or 60W fluorescent lamp is sufficient.
- The most critical lighting in a bath centers around the mirror area ,
this is the basic for good grooming. For shaving , make up applications hair
care , light should be soft and diffused without glare or shadow.
- Avoid lighting the mirror itself rather light of the person looking into
the mirror . The most efficient to light up a person’s face is to use
three fixtures , one on either side of the mirror and one overhead. Side
fixtures should be mounted 30" – 36" apart on the wall and
install about 60" above the floor.
- Incandescent fixtures should have a minimum of 75W bulb and fluorescent
tubes on either side of 20W and one tube of 30W or two tubes of 15W
overhead. Additional bath lighting for specific purposes may include plant
lights to take the advantage of bath humidity for growing the flowers and
ferns.
READING ROOM lighting : The study is the most important room for the
intellectuals , for students as this is the room where one builds his
carrer. In the reading room , one should plan the lights very carefully as
the intensity affects a lot on the eyes thus on the health.
- In a study , the priority is to provide adequate illumination for reading
and writing. For maximum pleasure of reading and for easier concentration ,
reading lamps must have a proper quality and quantity of illumination and be
placed so that the light falls comfortably on the open page.
- The complete room may be lit with powerful uplighters , downlighters , or
the general lighting may be reduced to be supplemented with task lights as
required . For the study it is necessary that task lights be supported with
general illumination even if it is of low intensity to avoid eye strain.
- Care should be taken where computers are placed , the task light should
not produce glare or reflections on the screen. Task lights for writing
should be positioned so as to avoid both glare and shadow.
- If floor lamps are used as reading lights , then it should be 40"-49"
from the floor to the bottom edge of the shade. The shade should be
moderately illuminous to softly diffuse the light and eliminate glare , thus
open top shades are preferred.
BEDROOM lighting : The bedroom is a place where one can be totally oneself.
It is the room where we spend the maximum amount of time – to sleep ,
relax and unwind , after a long tiring day and rejuvenate oneself for the
tomorrow.
- the lighting should be a soothing general illumination . If want to
highlight some paintings or photographs , one can go for a task lighting in
this area.
- Uplighters look very beautiful , dimmers can be very useful to play with
the intensity of the light as per mood.
- Lights should be planned in such a way that it must create a light ,
romantic , relaxing environment. Table lamps or hanging lamp shades provides
the room a very aesthetic look.
SWIMMING POOL / FOUNTAINS lighting : Water presents a challenging and
rewarding medium for lighting . Swimming pools , fountains , waterfalls
magically come to life with lighting effects at night.
- For effective swimming pool lighting , the lights are generally set below
the water level , into the sides of the pool.
- This should be done while the construction of the pool so as to keep the
wiring away from water.
- The lights should be placed to shimmer down the deep end of the pool.
- Fountains are effectively lit by submerged narrow beam sources set near
the base of each jet or falling on the flowing water casting a color and
sparkle on it. Waterfall comes to life when lit from behind.
GARDEN lighting : Garden is a place where man interacts and is near to the
mother nature even at the time when we are on the verge of destroying it.
- Lighting should be planned according to desired landscape lighting
effects as well as providing adequate light for walking , security etc.
- All lights , wiring and metal work should be able to resist weather
conditions for a prolonged period of time like dust , moisture and
corrosion.
- The lighting should illuminate select areas , should create striking
effects and keeps what is to be concealed in shadows.
Thus , the way of lighting drastically changes the way of living and mood
of the environment. So one must be very careful while planning the lights
and choosing the fixtures as in the end , if worked carelessly , it can
result into mis match of everything.
