Lighting advice desperately sought; need to upgrade my cave (flooring, how much, windows)

[Jukesgrrl]

Input from someone with electrical experience would be greatly appreciated. I have a small 9-year-old house built in an Arizona subdivision by Pulte. The house has a galley kitchen that opens to a dining area on one end (front of the house) and a living room on the other end (back of the house), creating what a Realtor would no doubt call a "great room," but the whole thing is really only about 15 x 35. It's flooded with light during the day -- thanks to bay windows at one end, patio doors on the other end, and three windows on one side -- but at night it turns into a cave.

Here's the entire lighting scheme for this not-so-great room:
A chandelier over the dining table that is beautiful and adequate to light that area;
Three lights in the kitchen that were cheap double cans, but I changed them to triple-directional halogen fixtures when I also added under-cabinet lights;
A ceiling fan centered in the living area with a light fixture that holds (steady yourselves!) three 20-watt chandelier bulbs. It barely qualifies as a light source.

Of course I have lamps in the living area, but due to the room's small size, I only have space for two and even with three-way bulbs (50-100-150) they are not emitting enough light for the room. The only place one can possibly read at night is by pulling a chair right next to one of the lamps or at the bar in the kitchen.

The ceiling in this entire area is vaulted, with the low end on the northwest outer wall. Does anyone have any cost-effective suggestions on how to make this room brighter? I bought the house four years ago before the real estate situation devalued it tremendously. It's highly unlikely I will recoup the cost of ANY improvements I make to the house during the rest of the time I live here, so needless to say I want to sink as little money as possible into this project.

The dining area is fine as-is and I can live with the kitchen (although it could be improved and I'm open to suggestions). But the real problem is the living area. It's simply depressing to be in there, especially throughout the long winter nights. I don't want to replace the ceiling fan. It's a high-quality one put in by the original owners that suits the style of the house and matches the chandelier; the fan works great, it's needed for Arizona air-flow, and is totally silent, which isn't easy to get in a ceiling fan. I'd certainly prefer the look of recessed lights, but I have no idea how much they would cost to have installed (I'm not qualified for DIY electrical). Are they even are do-able for a vaulted ceiling without destroying the drywall? I can't imagine any track lights that would look good decor-wise.

Any advice -- and especially price estimates -- would be valued. Am I hoping for something that costs thousands?

Thank you all.

[chet everett]

If you start going to online lighting sales sites and maybe some physical showrooms / open houses you will see that between wall scones, uplights, surface mounts, chandeliers, recessed and portable / lamps there are thousands upon thousands of options.

For cheap upllights you can get a "spot in can" that you can plunk down close to a corner / wall. In the right room if really adds dimension and general illumination. When it comes to lamps I think most family / lving rooms need at least three, sometimes floor lamps sometimes table lamps. In each case you can get ones that support multiple bulbs -- for energy savings / flexibility you can put a n LED or CFL in one part and some 150w flame thrower in the other. When staging home for sale I encourage sellers to have lights inside / on top of curios / bookcases / entertainment centers. Inexpensive light for pianos or picture frames can be turned around / tucked in so that the fixture is hidden but the light brightens the whole room. Even garage sale finds are great for this!

Most electricians can put in recessed lights darned near anywhere. The hole for the can is often all they need. With good skills they can fish in the wires from across the house. Expect to pay between $45 and $100 per hour of labor and factor about four hours for up to six cans. If you only want one or two it is harder to find a reputable person to come out, so think of multiple rooms if need be...

For kitchens task lights are the way to go for the counter areas. If you are happy with what you retrofitted (I am unfamiliar with the terminology "triple directional"...) many you don't need anything else, but I have seen many kitchens that really look great with the lower voltage, higher lumen compact lighting. For general light some folks like pendants or chandeliers, as long as they stay clean I think those are good choices.

Some folks forget that at night WINDOWS that are exposed to the night become "black holes" and the way to address that is with appropriate WINDOW TREATMENTS. Even something that is a darker color will transform the black hole into something that is much warmer / inviting. If you get a light colored window treatment that can literally reflect light back into the room -- a huge improvement! Don't forget that the flooring and furniture also behave the same way. If you have black leather you need to get some pillows / throws to add color unless you like the dungeon feel.

[Squirl]

How about getting a new light kit for the existing ceiling fan that houses stronger wattage bulbs? And, for a really inexpensive solution, you can get a hanging light that hooks up to a regular outlet for your reading area or a floor lamp. I know IKEA sells these kinds of things.

[JR_C]

To expand on chet everett's post, it sounds like you need to wash your walls and vaulted ceiling with uplights/sconces. This is called indirect lighting, and is generally more pleasing to the eye.

[eggalegga]

Also consider the light bulbs you intend to use. With LED and compact fluorescent (CFL) becomming more popular with the green movement, make sure the fixtures you choose will work with these changing lighting sources.

I have canned lights with halogen bulbs that I love. But I also have dimmer switches all over my house.

[Jukesgrrl]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Most electricians can put in recessed lights darned near anywhere. The hole for the can is often all they need. With good skills they can fish in the wires from across the house. Expect to pay between $45 and $100 per hour of labor and factor about four hours for up to six cans. If you only want one or two it is harder to find a reputable person to come out, so think of multiple rooms if need be...

For kitchens task lights are the way to go for the counter areas. If you are happy with what you retrofitted (I am unfamiliar with the terminology "triple directional"...) many you don't need anything else, but I have seen many kitchens that really look great with the lower voltage, higher lumen compact lighting. For general light some folks like pendants or chandeliers, as long as they stay clean I think those are good choices.

Some folks forget that at night WINDOWS that are exposed to the night become "black holes" and the way to address that is with appropriate WINDOW TREATMENTS. Even something that is a darker color will transform the black hole into something that is much warmer / inviting. If you get a light colored window treatment that can literally reflect light back into the room -- a huge improvement! Don't forget that the flooring and furniture also behave the same way. If you have black leather you need to get some pillows / throws to add color unless you like the dungeon feel.

Thanks to you and the others. Some good suggestions; I've already addressed most. The cave currently has light-colored upholstered furniture, fawn carpeting, light walls, and ecru bottom-up pleated shades on all the windows. I've also tried every lightbulb type sold at the bigbox and have the highest recommended wattage for each fixture and dimmers. I've looked at different light kits for the fan but have yet to find one that fits. I've also visited open houses in my neighborhood to see if anyone else with a house similar to mine has addressed this problem and have yet to see any home that has retrofitted additional ceiling lights.

Your price estimate for the addition of recessed lighting is as low as I allowed myself to hope for, so I'll start asking around for an electrician recommendation. But before I do I may try washing the walls with light from floor fixtures if I can find some inexpensive ones (I'll try IKEA). That seems to be the only suggestion to date I haven't attempted which would be cheaper than permanent fixtures.

PS: This is similar to what I put in the kitchen:
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