I recently discovered that if you are renter, like me, one of the easiest ways to make a space feel more personal is to change the light fixture. It can change the overall mood of a room and it also gives you the opportunity to select the kind of light you want in your home. Of course, in my case, the change was extreme as we only had bare bulbs to begin with, but it's incredible how a relatively simple task can make such a difference!
When choosing a new fixture for your home you have to carefully consider, not only the style, but also the type of light you want to have. Different types lamps and different types of bulbs can produce light of different temperatures. Some are warm giving a red-yellow light like that of a fire, and some are cool giving a blue-green light like that of an overcast sky.
Here are some of the most common types of bulbs:
Incandescent bulbs are the most common but most inefficient. Although each bulb costs less, they don't last as long and consume more energy than other options. A pro they have is that they are dimmable.
Temperature: Warm
Halogen bulbs a more energy efficient version or regular incandescent bulbs, these also provide very good color rendition (the way colors look when illuminated by them). They are also dimmable.
Temperature: Warm to neutral
Flourescent lamps use about 25% less energy than incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light. The also last up to 10 times longer However, you need a special kind of ballast (that controls the amount of electricity flowing to the bulb) to be able to dim them.
Temperature: Warm to cold
LEDs, or Light-Emitting Diodes, are very energy efficient and offer very good light quality. They consume up to 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 25 times longer.
Temperature: Cold to neutral
Here is a quick video from the Dummies Channel on YouTube to show you how to change a ceiling fixture:
(Image: Natalie Espinosa)
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I am looking to change the lights in my rental thanks to West Elm.
Has anyone used the undercounter LED lights from IKEA? I'm talking about the ones that mount to the underside of the cabinet and can be joined with more lights to run the length of your cabinetry. I saw them and got really excited (light! finally!) but they're about $45 each strip so I wasn't sure whether it was worth it.
I have not used the IKEA under cabinet LED lights, but we installed a similar product from Home Depot to replace an old fluorescent fixture in our condo. We liked that they were cool to the touch and the bulbs would not need to be replaced. However, I find the light to be really harsh and blue - until the light quality of LEDs improves I would stick with a new fluorescent or maybe a halogen.
Pi, Yes I have used the Ikea under cabinet lights, I used the individual ones not the ones that come on a strip. I really liked the ones we got and I was totally thrilled to have 6 lights that I could control with one switch. We have been using them for almost a year with no problems. My advice,buy one strip, and try it out. You know there will be more where that came from.
Glad Pi asked the question as I'm moving to a new place and considering them too. Has anyone tried their lights for over paintings? Wondering about those too.
Not to be all safety monitor or anything, but DIYing a light fixture can be more of a challenge than you might realize. You must turn off the circuit before you start work, and you need to know what kind of mount there is inside the ceiling or wall. Make sure your new fixture has the same mount, or pick out a fixture that does. It's worth it to check before you buy your new item. And remember, it is possible to burn your building down by wiring incorrectly.
I changed the several of the lights in my new apartment when I moved in. I had been thinking of doing it, but my hand was forced when one of the old fixtures came crashing down from the ceiling in the middle of the night. After juggling around some of the less-ugly fixtures, I eventually was able to replace the fixture over my kitchen table (replaced an old ceiling dome with an inexpensive pendant lamp from Ikea). I did the same thing over the kitchen sink.
It was amazing how that instantly made the place look better. I even replaced the switch for the lamp over my table with a dimmer switch from Home Depot, and it has allowed me to really remake the feel of my kitchen/eating area, especially in the evenings.
I also found the led undershelf lights that I bought from Home Depo to be harsh (and they had sort of a sickly greenish tinge. Never used them, got rid of them.). Fortunately, the Ikea lights usually have displays where you can see what they look like turned on, so you can see for yourself whether you like the quality of the light. (If I buy that kind of light again, it's definitely going to be somewhere where I can see it on before I buy it!)
fluorescent, not "flour"escent
it comes from the name of the element fluorine
May I ask who makes the light fixture that you chose? I don't know that I've seen one like that before - I can't quite tell from the picture, does it have two shades or is the inside part we can see just a fancy (ie specialty) round light bulb or something and not a glass globe shade?
thanks!
surprised how easy this seems...maybe too easy?