Turn down the lights
Turn up the music
Let's just be together tonight
-Neil Diamond
Turn your lights down low
And pull your window curtain
Oh let jah moon come shining in
-Bob Marley
Take it from Bob and Neil, lighting is essential when creating the right mood at your party.
In previous posts on Party Architecture, we covered Density, or having the right number of people in your space for the type of party; and Structure, or arranging your apartment so guests can mix and move.
A third tenet, lighting, complements density and structure and, over the course of an evening, subtly signals where the party is heading.
Following are the two basic ideas behind proper lighting. They may seem obvious to some of you, but we find that people often forget them when the party begins.
Light the Zones
There should be good light at the entrance, while in the rest of the apartment the levels should be brighter at first and then dim for intimacy, dark for dancing. In the structure post we suggested that those who have the space can spread out the bar, food, music, and entrance, and arrange spaces for intimate conversation and/or dancing. Lighting should complement and shift with these areas.
Vary the Lighting Over Time
Restaurants with bars often do this well. As the evening goes on, the lights should go down and the music go up. One way to do this is to have candles and lights going early then turn off some lights as the party progresses.
What are your lighting tips?
-Billy Mac
(not Maxwell)
• Party Architecture: #1 - Density
• Party Architecture: #2 - Structure
• Party Architecture: #3 - Lighting
• Party Architecture: #4 - Flow
(RePosted from 2005-12-15 - MGR)
(ReEdited from 2006-12-19 - MGR)
(ReEdited from 2007-12-14 - MGR)
DIMMERS!
The one problem spot I had at parties was my kitchen - I really needed light in there to make drinks and fix food, but it is open to the living area and made this nasty glare.
Had the kitchen light put on a dimmer and it solved that problem!
Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about the dimmer switch! Saves electricity and saves the party!
marie, absolutely! dimmers are essential for both parties and every day living. i love that when i get up in the wee early hours of morning i can dim the bathroom lights until my mole eyes open--and when i get out of the shower, up the lights.
i also recommend full spectrum bulbs. the virilux bulbs are great as are the reveal bubls, by GE i think.
oh, and lots of candles, especially for a party. i prefer to use white and unscented, mixed with tealights in inexpensive glass holders from ikea. sometimes a lightly scented candle in the bathroom at a party makes a really nice addition. i currently have a cranberry candle from the body shop that smells great and festive without being overpowering.
Chicago has an orange glow from the street lights, so I use blue lights to contrast and saint candles from the botanica here and there. Sets the mood for some serious dancing. My kitchen is lit by a red bulb. Just enough light to see what I'm doing.
If I could, I'd even put a dimmer on the light INSIDE the refrigerator! :)
p2 - I used to have a blue colored bulb in my fridge. Bright enough to find your food but dim enough to not disturb the party. Friends found it fabulously novel to get a beer out amid the weird blue light.
I don't have a dimmer for my kitchen tracklighting. And can't seem to find the right dimmer switch that can accomodate 5-6 halogen bulbs w/o getting a buzzing noise from the fixture. So for parties and dinners, kitchen overhead lights are switched off. And I cook using dim stovetop light and votives... It makes food prep seem more sexy. (But I have to do all the chopping in advance to avoid potential kitchen mishaps!) But the rest of the pad is equipped with dimmers and pimped out with candlelight.
Hey Enrique, I had the same problem with the buzzing halogens. Lutron to the rescue. They make dimmers for electronic low voltage and magnetic low voltage lights that don't buzz. T'ain't cheap, $50-60 per, but totally worth it. Trust me on this one, I know my lights.
Tsk! This is a picture of Bob Marley during his extramarital affair with former Miss Universe Cindy Breakspeare. I always find it so hard to reconcile all his philandering with the rest of his life. It's depressing, really.
Sorry about that Diane. A hazard of image searches. Not an endorsement.
No offense to Bob and Neil, but Donna is where it's at:
Dim all the lights sweet darlin'
'Cause tonight is on its way
Turn up the old
Vitrola
Gonna dance the night away
Kyra,
Really? A blue bulb? I've heard that dieters sometimes put blue bulbs in their refrigerator because it casts an unappatizing glow on food... you didn't find it to have the same effect?
Candle wall sconces are indispensible. They're sexy, and not as dangerous as having precarious tabletop candles. Also, the party will naturally get darker as the night goes on and a few candles extinguish, one by one. Of course, they also make nice wall decor when not in use.
Find a way to use primarily candlelight at a party, and your guests will thank you- everyone looks better!
Darker is better.
candela lights are perfect for parties-- gusts from the window won't blow them out, a tipsy guest won't cause a fire by knocking one over, and they look beautiful artfully arranged on a wall of bookshelves.
I also put dimmer switches on all my table lamps-- great glow.
Safe Candles:
Little battery-operated flickering tea lights are available in craft stores (Michaels, $3) and dollar stores (uh, $1). Inside of a frosted-glass votive or partially-burned pillar, they look perfect. The little coin battery is replaceable and lasts 60 - 75 hours.
Today I just gave away as Holiday Office Insignificant Gifts a bunch of the electric tea lights I fixed up in votives with a bit of botanical trim. I dimmed my office lights, "lit" all the candles and put them on my work table; everyone on my floor thought they were real and went bonkers when the found out they were safe and not hot. My workmates said they were the best gifts ever, and kept calling more people over. At one point my 2-person office had a dozen people in it!
If you have a bit of electronic experience you can take the tea lights apart and wire them all to the same 3 volt source...100 little candles...clap on, clap off!
Enrique - try putting some small lamps on your kitchen counters - pottery barn currently has some really modern small crystal cube or circles with white shades that would be perfect for a kitchen counter. If you can't have under cabinet lighting this is the next best thing ( and very cozy / homey )
my word! that bob marley song is my FAVORITE! (sorry, i digress- but an islander first, at all times)
Thanks, AlmostAD. I'm going to the dollar store!
view pisceanchick's profile
I love chandeliers and table lamps with an orange-ish glow. I have them in my foyer and livingroom as well as accents in other rooms. They are fantastic for both entertaining and intimate family evenings. Especially when they create indirect light (nothing more annoying during gatherings than being blinded by a light fixture behind your conversationalists head). Stuff like this is perfect and makes a hell of a convarsation piece - another plus for the party! :
http://www.withoutstyle.com/2007/11/27/lights-my-fire/
view VikulyaD's profile
I look at the photos, and think, "Man, I was born in the wrong decade." I woulda been one hell of a gay boy in the 60's - acid trips, marijuana, woodstock, janis joplin and grace slick, and casual sex.
Now, addressing the subject matter of the post, since all my lights are CFLs (non-dimmable) I do keep a handful of very low wattage regular bulbs and change them out for parties.
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lighting gel--thin sheets of heat-resistant colored plastic--can be purchased from any theatrical lighting supply shop (including online from barbizon.com) and easily wrapped around incandescent or compact florescent light bulbs using a little scotch tape. they come in literally hundreds of colors, and each sheet will cover between 6 and 8 bulbs for less than $10.
Gel is a great way to set the mood for your parties and have a different look for each party you throw. Not to mention the fact that you can "dim" CFLs by using a saturated color to decrease the amount of light.
For a less affected look, try using ambers or oranges, which is similar to the color incandescent lamps glow when they're dimmed.
view BlurryHill's profile