apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We have the ikea fixture above out sofa highlighting a beatuful print. We receive so many comments everytime people come over. BTW, we made a small whole in the wall and fished the wire between the 2x4's so it would be exposed.

I'm looking for a similar type of light, but to serve a different purpose.

I don't have the room for a floor lamp in my bedroom and am looking for a wall-mounted light that I can hang above a full-length mirror, but to provide a more general light than a picture light would.

Any suggestions?

I also rent, so I can't hard-wire anything into the wall. It has to be on a cord.

I wouldn't be too quick to use these on artwork. Light is very damaging to pigments and materials and these will eventually burn the work they are spotlighting.

If you really want the look, make sure you don't leave it on for prolonged periods and never, ever use it over works on paper. Prints are very susceptible to light damage and will fade and diminish the pigment. Light is the leading concern for works on paper. Because of this museums only allow a print or drawing to be displayed for 3 months at a time and only under low light levels.

All light is not created equally.

As long as your bulbs are not giving off UV rays our artwork will be fine.

For this reason it is best to use low voltage halogen bulbs.

So-called MR-16 bulbs are UV free and give of a properly color balanced spectrum which is why they have long been a favorite of lighting designers.

There are all kinds of places to buy picture lamps but I've bought almost all my lamps and ceiling fans and ceiling fixtures and wall sconces etc from Lamps Plus. The reason I keep going back is their return policy.

Here's an example of a modern/minimal picture light that I use to illuminate a huge embroidered panel from Uzbekistan. I wanted the minimal look for this light so it wouldn't detract from what I think is an awesome timeless design on the piece being illuminated - and the bulb is a low voltage MR-16, and works great with the Lutron dimmer I have in the room.

http://picasaweb.google.com/xfgjsfy/UntitledAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCOvJ9Ma629ru4QE#

Oh yeah - it's also corded. Plugs right into the wall socket.

Most of the picture lamps I've seen are corded rather than hard wired.

Check Lamps Plus' website.

Also check with the Lighting Universe website. If they don't carry it, you don't need it - they have almost everything you can imagine.

If you're a power-miser, there are LED bulbs that fit right in to an MR-16 socket. Check the color balance first though if you go LED - make sure there's no UV. I know very little about LEDs so that may be moot but I don't know at this point.

Doug - the king of lamp you want is called a "wall lamp". There are literally hundreds of styles out there to choose from that are corded. You only make two holes in the wall to acho0r it, and the plug right into the wall.

I use two corded wall-lamps in my bedroom. Because I don't want yet another $300 electrician bill (seems every time I hire an electrician for anything it comes out to $300, go figure).

There are two aspects of why picture lamps cause irreversible damage to artworks: heat and ultraviolet light. Be aware than many halogen bulbs can get very hot, just like any traditional lightbulb. Framing artwork behind ultraviolet-protective glass or installing UV filters on the art lamps is important to protect against fading of pigments. Placing lights far enough away from your artwork to reduce the heat is important to protecting oil paintings from damage.