SHEDDING LIGHT ON HOME DESIGN

Illuminate your home's design by getting the light right. Rooms that are lit properly inside a home feel comfortable and unstrained, but designing them isn't always as easy as flipping a switch, says Patricia Davis Brown, an interior designer and lighting specialist based in Vero Beach, Fla.

"Lighting is one of the most important -- yet can be one of the most undervalued -- components when designing or renovating a home," she says. "A proper lighting plan is very right brain, left brain -- blending intuition with geometrical and mathematical concepts."

When working with clients, Brown tries to shed real light on a design concept by creating a layered lighting plan that blends different types of illumination:

-- General -- This type of lighting provides a room with overall illumination. The goal is to create ambient light so people feel comfortable and look good in the space, which includes ceiling fixtures and recessed lights.

-- Task -- Optimal task lighting is achieved by hanging pendants, track lighting and table lamps, which illuminate the specific spaces in which people work and read.

-- Accent -- Indirect lighting can be achieved by using wall sconces and torchieres that throw diffused light upward, which doesn't cause glare or shadows.

Brown says most homeowners give little additional thought to the lighting inside a house -- that is, until they notice it doesn't feel welcoming or is too dark.

"With all the choices of light fixtures and types of bulbs that are on the market right now, choosing what's needed for a space can seem daunting," Brown says. "A bulb's wattage says nothing about what kind of light it gives off."

When creating a lighting plan, a good place to start is by thinking about how much sunlight streams through a room at different times of day, during different seasons. To map out a lighting plan, a person must also mathematically make accommodations for the spread of light from a fixture, so it's important to consider the type of bulb and the fixture in use, before they're installed.

Based on a color-rendering index (or CRI), look for bulbs that have CRI ratings of 75, or better. With daylight rated at 100 CRI, some fluorescent lights might only score a 50 CRI. However, compact fluorescents, color corrected fluorescent tubes, incandescent and halogen bulbs can all have CRI ratings that are 75 and greater.

"We want to have a lighting plan that has many levels to it, because when you show the fixtures' arrays on architectural renderings, you can see how they intersect, and objectively see where there will be more need for light," Brown says. "Two of the most important places in a home to consider the lighting are in the kitchen and bathrooms."

The kitchen has always been the center of the home, but now it's also used for much more than food preparation. Lighting in the form of hanging pendants above the kitchen island illuminate the task at hand, whether it's doing homework or chopping vegetables. Brown says other task lighting can be set above the sink and beneath upper cabinets, so countertops are illuminated without shadows.

Kitchen cabinetry with glass fronts can be a perfect place for accent lighting. "LEDs (light-emitting diodes) can come in any number of colors and can make a design statement when placed vertically inside cabinets, which illuminate glassware placed on shelves," she says.

Brown designs bathrooms that are light and bright without being sterile by using cross lighting in the space. "What you don't want in a bathroom is one fixture that illuminates from the top with the beam spread moving downward. That top-down approach just creates harsh shadows on the face," she says. "Instead, you want wall mounts on either side of the mirror, which help light the face from each side and eliminate shadows. This makes tasks like shaving and putting on makeup easier."

Having the ability to control the amount of light in a space is also important. "You want to be able to control the general light in a room through the use of dimmer switches," Brown says. "That way, you can set a mood by dialing up more or less light from overhead fixtures."

The placement of lights isn't the only important factor in a well-lit room. Since the surfaces in a room reflect light, the colors and textures on walls and floors make a big difference in how light travels. Painting white walls to dark red will affect the way light is also perceived by the eye and may also cast a rosy hue.

When remodeling or constructing a new space, Brown says it's important to pay attention to the lighting details. "Know your overall design aesthetic and purchase fixtures that fit," she says. "You don't want an opulent, traditional chandelier in a very minimalistic space."

Making a multilayered lighting plan is something best done before construction begins, because after walls and ceilings are drywalled, it becomes more difficult and costly to fix shadowy problems.

"Overall, light affects our mood, and if a room is dark and dank, it can have a powerful affect on us," Brown says. "Conversely, if a room is lit properly, it can elevate and inspire us, without us consciously knowing that the light is right."

Additional Information

For more information on illuminating ideas, go to DigThisDesign.net, and click "How to Survive a Kitchen and Bath Remodel" to view an in-depth lighting plan under "Light Your Space."

AGE-IN-PLACE SPACE

Active baby boomers -- sometimes called "zoomers" -- are having new homes constructed with a universal design concept that allows aging in place. Despite the economic downturn that began in 2008, many of these retirees continue to gravitate to new homes built in active-adult communities in warmer climates located throughout North America.

With housing developments that may also have a central clubhouse, community swimming pool, golf course and social calendar programmed with activities and events, these newly built homes come with a ready-made community of like-minded active adults, says Lyndsay Higgins, director of marketing for Robson Resort Communities with eight retirement developments featuring more than 20,000 homes located in Arizona and Texas.

"The 60-something-year-old demographic is acting younger than ever, and their homes reflect that," Higgins says. "The homes we build aren't what another generation might remember as their grandparents' house."

Whether active adults are purchasing a second home in a warmer climate, or downsizing after retirement, Higgins says these folks are attracted to ranch-style homes that have no steps to climb up and down.

Wally Campbell is a Robson Resort Communities resident with a home in the Temple Creek subdivision, located in Goodyear, Ariz. She and her husband, John, moved into their 2,200-square-foot home in June 2000, and enjoy the perks of one-level living. "One of the things I love the most about our home is that from the moment you open the front door, you're able to see the entire living area, all on one level, with an open floor plan," she says.

Creating an environment that encourages outdoor living, while also bringing the outside to the inside of a home is what many of these newly constructed homes strive to achieve, Higgins says. "Outdoor living spaces can include an outdoor kitchen, water features and an outdoor fireplace," she says. "These amenities increase a home's square footage outside and let residents soak up the sun, which is an escape from the winter weather in other parts of the country."

Campbell says their three-bedroom, two-bath home has a kitchen that flows into a family or great room. "The way we entertain with our friends and neighbors here doesn't require a formal dining and living room," Wally says. "Gatherings can just spill over from the kitchen/great room area right outside into the courtyard area."

Higgins says seniors may be moving into smaller homes, but they want to use of every single square foot of space in it. Robson and many other "smart-sized" homes have designs in which none of their floor plans have hallways to the bedrooms, which many consider a waste of space. "Some people also opt to build a Casita off the courtyard, which is a separate guest house that includes a bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette," Higgins says. "Our floor plans have flexibility built into them, which allows for the opportunity to expand."

Home offices or dens are popular additions to floor plans for active aging adults. Many continue to work and are involved in their community, including Campbell, who was elected to her city council. "No matter what you do, it seems like we all need access to a computer," she says. "Which is why we set up an office in our home."

Sometimes it's the unseen aspects that make a home more comfortable than ever. "We are building homes that are energy efficient," Higgins says. "Our homes can have added insulation, and energy star-rated appliances and windows." Campbell says her home was built to a standard called the "energy star series," which also includes a lifetime tile roof that won't need replacing. Some communities even offer home packages that have a solar-powered panel system and solar-powered attic fan.

Higgins says in addition to selling homes, Robson Resort Communities is also selling a lifestyle. "More builders are offering universal design as a concept so retirees can age in place," she says. "The key is to make accessibility accommodations in a home, without making it look too institutional."

Universal design can mean one-story living with wider doors, an entrance with no stairs, nonslip flooring, grab bars with step-free showers in bathrooms, lower kitchen cabinets and readily accessible light switches.

Today's one-level living for active adults has smarter bedroom placement, laundry facilities, storage opportunities, home offices, energy-efficient packages and open floor plans with a kitchen/great room that has easy access to outdoor living.

Higgins says a nearly 1,500-square-foot newly built Robson home can start around $160,000. Campbell says she can't put a price tag on the community of neighbors that surrounds her and her husband. "We bought this home, knowing that it would age well with us," Wally says. "What we didn't expect is how we've found a home for life."

NO-WHINE WINE STORAGE

More homeowners are raising a glass to toast their personal wine cellars. Like a fine wine, a home's spirits' storage can be rich with personality, and constructed to reflect a homeowner's design aesthetic -- be it modern or rustic.

"Interest in wine and entertaining with it at home is very popular, so the concept of a wine cellar continues to grow," says Robert Bass, co-owner of Kessick Wine Cellars in Greenville, S.C., a wholesale designer and manufacturer of wine rack systems for nearly 10 years. "There is an allure to wine and the limited availability of certain varieties of wine in a good year. That means if you buy a case of wine, you must store it properly, so that it matures, and doesn't turn to vinegar."

A space dedicated to wine storage in the home used to be considered a status symbol for the few. But today, with better climate-control technology, Bass discards stereotypical notions of an underground rock cave when it comes to constructing rooms for today's wine storage. In fact, wine doesn't even have to be housed in a basement to be stored properly, and even though many of these constructs are not subterranean, they are still referred to as wine "cellars."

"You need a room that is cool, dark and relatively humid to effectively store your wine," he says. "Wine storage can range from a temperature-controlled closet fitted with a 50-bottle rack, located off the kitchen pantry, to a special glassed-in room that holds hundreds of bottles of wine, adjacent to a tasting room for parties."

Ensuring non-fluctuating temperature control is one of the most important guidelines when storing wine. "Fifty-five-degrees is the magic number for optimal wine storage," Bass says. "This is the temperature of a natural cave, any colder -- like in a refrigerator -- can cause a wine to go into a state of dormancy. A temperature above 75 degrees accelerates the wine's aging process."

More important than achieving the perfect temperature in a wine "cellar," is to keep those fluctuations to a minimum, says Bass. Swings between warm and cold can cause wine to expand and contract, which then draws in air through the cork. This process, over time, causes the wine to oxidize and become undrinkable.

For optimal wine storage, an insulated room (or closet) should be constructed with a built-in air conditioner that will ensure a consistent temperature at 55 degrees. Self-standing, temperature-controlled cabinets or credenzas made especially to store wine can start at $1,000, based on the design and the number of bottles it will hold.

Keeping the humidity level between 60 and 70 percent in your wine storage room or unit is also important, says Bass. Damp air keeps the wine corks from drying out, which ensures a tight seal in the bottle. Storing a wine bottle on its side will also ensure the cork remains moist inside the bottle. A hygrometer is an instrument that measures a wine storage room's humidity level. A humidifier can add more moisture into the room, but Bass says avoid an environment with 90 percent humidity for your wine storage, as this will cause mold to grown on the corks.

Bass says wine is also light sensitive, so hot, glaring lights focusing on bottles in storage will actually age it faster. Instead, Bass has devised a wine storage system that most typically uses Sapele mahogany wood racks -- because of the wood's durability and tendency to not mold in the humid conditions -- outfitted with low-heat LEDs (light-emitting diodes).

"I have also designed a strong, angular stainless steel rod wine rack system -- which has a more modern aesthetic -- because fewer people want the old-world radius arches in their wine cellars," he says. "People want to entertain with wine, so it only makes sense to have a place for people to congregate in a tasting room near where the wine is stored."

Both red and white wines are stored at the same temperature, but are served differently. Whites are removed from storage, chilled to 45 degrees and served. Reds are removed from storage, uncorked, and allowed to breathe, warming up to 65 degrees before being served. Some cellars are equipped with a small wine cooler set at 45 degrees for ready-to-drink champagnes and white wines.

Bass says the wine bottles should be showcased in a cellar, because each individual label adds artistic interest. "A wine refrigerator is just an appliance, but selecting bottles from a wine cellar is meant to be an experience that's shared with others," he says. "It's very social to open up a bottle of wine and enjoy it with friends and family."