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Wednesday, April 7, 2021 - Pike County Journal Reporter - Page 3B
SPECIAL PHOTO
The right lighting can transform a room and the atmosphere it has. Different lighting is available for different rooms and areas
to create the perfect ambiance. See the tips below on the perfect lighting options for various rooms.
How to choose the right lighting
Lighting in a home
serves both practical and
aesthetic purposes. It’s
easy to maneuver around
a well-lit home, reducing
the risk of slips and falls,
and the right lighting can
help homeowners create
their desired ambiance,
which typically changes
depending on which
room you’re in.
When choosing light
ing for their homes,
homeowners must walk a
fine line between appear
ance and functionality. A
fixture in the foyer that
instantly impresses visi
tors likely won’t prove
as awe-inspiring if it’s in
stalled in the living room.
When choosing lighting
for a home, some general
rules about what works
in each room can help
homeowners make the
most informed decision.
KITCHEN
Kitchens are often the
busiest room in a home,
so lighting here can be
especially important. A
kitchen often benefits,
both practically and
aesthetically, from differ
ent types of lighting. For
example, pendant light
ing above kitchen islands
can make meal prepara
tion easier and safer, but
such lighting likely won’t
work in breakfast nooks
and informal dining areas
in the kitchen.
Recessed lighting
works best in such
areas. In kitchens with
no island, under-cabinet
lighting can be used to
illuminate countertops
and simplify meal prepa
ration.
FORMAL DINING ROOM
Many people enjoy
the look of chandeliers in
formal dining rooms, and
such fixtures can be in
stalled directly above the
dinner table. The interior
design experts at Better
Homes & Gardens advise
hanging chandeliers
roughly 33 inches above
the table in dining rooms
with eight-foot ceilings,
adding three inches for
each additional foot
above eight feet.
Darkened dining areas
may be ideal in restau
rants, but homeowners
may want to split the
difference at home and
choose dimmable chan
deliers for their dining
rooms. This allows home-
owners to dim the lights
for romantic dinners but
turn them up for family
gatherings with lots of
people around the table.
LIVING ROOM
Adaptability also is
important in the living
room, where homeown
ers may host anything
from movie nights to
book clubs to parties for
the big game. It can be a
tall order to accommo
date such a wide range
of activities, and many
homeowners come down
to deciding between
recessed lighting and
track lighting. If the liv
ing room currently has
neither style, homeown
ers should recognize
that it will cost consider
ably less to install track
lighting than recessed
lighting. Better Homes
& Gardens notes that
flexible track lighting
provides ambient, task
or accent lighting, and
track lights can even be
moved to change light
ing schemes at any time,
making them a budget-
friendly option for home-
owners whose living
rooms are multi-purpose
spaces. Recessed lighting
also works well in living
rooms, especially ones
with low ceilings. That’s
because recessed light
ing is installed into the
ceiling, meaning it does
not take up any visual
space in the room. That
can help living rooms feel
bigger.
BEDROOM
The home improve
ment experts at BobVila.
com note that bedroom
lighting should provide
enough light when get
ting dressed, but also be
able to be toned down
as residents prepare
for their bedtime rou
tines. Both portable and
installed lighting can
be used in bedrooms to
serve these various func
tions. Recessed fixtures
that dim can ensure
there’s ample light to get
dressed in the morn
ing, but they also can
be dimmed at night as
residents try to get ready
to sleep. Portable night-
stand lights can make it
easier for couples shar
ing a bedroom, allowing
one person to stay up
and read while the other
goes to sleep.
Homeowners have
many options and many
needs when choosing
lighting for their homes.
A professional consul
tation with a lighting
expert or interior decora
tor can help homeowners
find lights that provide
both practical and aes
thetic appeal.
Safety first with DIY electrical work
Home improvement
projects can help home-
owners transform their
homes. Such projects are
costly, but many home-
owners save money by
doing some, if not all, of
the work themselves.
The Electrical Safety
Foundation International,
a nonprofit organization
dedicated to promoting
electrical safety, recom
mends that homeowners
leave electrical work to
the professionals. Li
censed electricians are
well-trained, whereas
homeowners may not be
skilled enough to avoid
accidents or injuries,
which can prove fatal
when working with elec
tricity.
Homeowners who
take the do-it-yourself
route with electrical work
should consider these
safety tips, courtesy of
the ESF1, before beginning
a home electrical project.
• Learn your home
electrical system. Home
electrical systems may
include power lines,
electric meters, service
panels, subpanels, wiring,
and more. These systems
are complex, and home-
owners who intend to do
some DIY electrical work
should familiarize them
selves with their home
electrical systems prior to
beginning any work. The
ESF1 notes that knowledge
of their home electri
cal systems can help
homeowners more safely
navigate them and make
maintenance easier.
• Honestly assess your
skills. An honest assess
ment of skills is abso
lutely necessary prior to
working on an electrical
system. According to the
National Safety Council,
injuries relating to electri
cal incidents typically fall
into one of four catego
ries: electrical shock, elec
trocution, falls, and burns.
Each of these injuries is
significant. For example,
electric shock, which
occurs when electrical
current passes over or
through a person’s body,
involves burns, abnormal
heart rhythm and uncon
sciousness. Given the po
tential for serious injury,
the ESF1 urges homeown
ers to make an honest
assessment of their skills
before they begin working
on their home’s electri
cal systems. Little or
no experience working
with electrical systems
should be considered a
significant hurdle to any
DIY project.
• Turn the power off.
It’s essential that the
power to the circuit that
will be worked on be
turned off prior to start
ing any work. This can be
accomplished by switch
ing off the circuit breaker
in the main service panel.
Similarly, when working
on appliances or lamps,
make sure the products
are unplugged prior to
working on them.
• Do not touch plumb
ing or gas pipes when
doing electrical work. The
experts at the Indiana
Electric Cooperative note
that the risk for electrocu
tion is significant when
water comes in contact
with electricity. It’s im
perative that homeown
ers do not touch plumb
ing and gas pipes when
performing a DIY electri
cal project. Professionals
know how to work around
such pipes while minimiz
ing their risk for electric
shock or worse, and
homeowners must famil
iarize themselves with the
techniques profession
als rely on to stay safe if
they intend to begin DIY
electrical projects.
Homeowners are best
served by leaving electri
cal work to the profes
sionals. However, those
who insist on doing such
work themselves should
do their homework and
get to know their systems
and safety protocols prior
to beginning a project.
© O'DELL
ENTERPRISES
General Contractor
Zebulon, GA
For all your residential contracting needs.
•Remodeling ‘Home Improvements ‘Pressure Washing
•Painting ‘Kitchens ‘Bathrooms
State Licensed And Insured
Doing Great Since ‘88
770-412-3239
www.odellenterprises.net Michael O’Dell
PLANTS
POTS
SEEDS
TOOLS
659 VETERANS PKWY BARNESVILLE
(770) 358-1454
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