How To Pick The Right Ceiling Light Fixture For Your Space

The very first time I decided to change the ceiling light fixtures in my home,  all I cared about was how they looked.  Fast forward several years, tack on a number of lifestyle changes and my criteria has lengthened considerably.  I have written before on my odyssey to change out the light fixtures in my home here,  and it was time to change out another.  The impetus came when a certain someone broke one of the glass shades on the ceiling light fixture in the kitchen.

You will see that the top right light is missing its shade.  This fixture has been a particular bugbear of mine for years.  It was chosen by a real estate agent, not me.  The glass shades have a tendency to pop off whenever the lightbulbs need to be replaced.  The lightbulbs themselves are not readily available and are expensive to replace.  Actually trying to insert the lightbulbs is a nightmare.  Add in the fact that now we have two disabled people and there are sad faces all around.  I drew up a list of criteria in my search for another ceiling light fixture that might be of help to you.

Consider What Room The Ceiling Light Fixture Is Going In

My new light fixture is going in to the kitchen.  It is a small kitchen with standard height ceilings.  I have decided that I prefer a light that gives off 360 degree lighting.  Spot lights create areas of darkness which we find annoying.  A kitchen needs to be well lit as it is a workspace.  There is no room for a breakfast nook so there is no requirement for ambient lighting.  The lights in the fumehood create a sufficient amount of task lighting.

Consider Ceiling Height

I am obsessed with Sputnik light fixtures and would put one in every single room if I could.  Those of you who are long time readers of mine know of my love for the Sputnik light fixture.  However, with standard height ceilings, this is impossible.

via Amazon.ca

Ask yourself if it is going over a dining table or a stairwell?  What is the maximum drop?  How tall are the people in your home?  Are you putting it in your foyer and will people be bumping their foreheads into it as soon as they walk through the front door?

Consider The Style And Decor Of The Room

My kitchen has a lot of matte stainless steel and the rest of the home has ceiling light fixtures in brushed nickel.  So even though my tastes have changed and I was leaning towards matte black and oil rubbed bronze,  I opted for something in brushed nickel.  In a small home, I think it is important that there be a sense of continuity and flow as one moves from space to space.  There is a round drum light in the foyer and I wanted an echo of that shape in the kitchen.  Also, I have a lot of vintage items on display but still wanted a modern feel.

via Amazon.ca

I love the edgy industrial feel of this light fixture.  I think it provides a nice fusion between a vintage vibe and a modern aesthetic.  

Consider Light Bulbs And Accessibility

I really wanted a light fixture that took Type A bulbs plus it would be easy to access whenever the bulbs needed to be changed.  I read the reviews on the one that I finally picked and one reviewer said he picked it for his mother who was elderly and had difficulty reaching up to change the bulbs.  Sold!  The fixture above is pictured with Edison light bulbs to enhance the industrial feel but it will take any Type A bulb. Compare the one above to the one below.

via Amazon.ca

I have a ceiling light fixture in the living room that is very similar to the one above.  I have to snake my arm up, over and down to change the light bulb, all the while teetering on a chair.  The bowl-like shade can't be removed so it has become a graveyard for dead insects.  Viewed from below, all I can see is a growing mound of ghostly little shadows.  Believe me when I say that the living room ceiling light is the next one to be replaced.

Consider Your Budget  

I had a couple of gift cards burning a hole in my pocket so I knew what my budget was.  It is very easy to get carried away and blow your renovation budget just on fancy lighting.  I took my time and bookmarked the one I wanted.  It was slightly over my budget but when it went on sale during an Amazon Prime Day, I whisked it into my cart and through checkout.

I hope this checklist was of some help to you.  Please add any useful tips you might have in the comments below.

This is not a sponsored post.

LBH Weekly Roundup: Roots Canada Crossbody Bag, Integrated LED Track Light

Time for another Weekly Roundup!  One of the few cons of a capsule wardrobe is that items tend to wear out with greater frequency simply because they are on constant rotation.  I love a crossbody bag because it leaves my arms free and distributes the weight across my body.  Sadly, I noticed the straps on my old bag were getting really worn and it was looking the worse for wear.  So it was a great thrill to pick up this Roots bag this week.

It has so many outer and inner pockets.  I don't know about you but I love pockets.  It is made of woven suede instead of smooth leather so I don't have to worry about scuffs and scratches.  The "Peace" symbol embroidered onto the toggle adds a fun 60's hippie touch.  Monsieur was quite surprised when I brought it home as I have never really channeled the hippie look before but I was really taken with the quality and construction of the bag and the many, many pockets.  With the sudden onset of Autumnal temps, I have been fleshing out my Autumn capsule wardrobe and this bag came at just the right time.  If you want me to write a post about my capsule wardrobe and how I put mine together, let me know!

This weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada.  Now, you know when you have hit a rut in your relationship when you spend a long weekend at Home Depot contemplating the omnipresent DIY list...alone.  Monsieur was nowhere to be found.  A ceiling light fixture had stopped working a long time ago and I was determined to tick off my list.  With both of us dealing with health issues and one of us disabled, trying to replace burnt out ceiling light bulbs is akin to asking us to climb Mt. Everest.  I picked out an integrated LED track light.  

The wonderful thing about an integrated LED light fixture is that it never needs its light bulbs replaced!  It is Energy Star certified and should last 50,000 hours. So over the course of its lifetime, there should be significant savings in electricity consumption, not to mention light bulbs being prevented from going into landfill.  Monsieur did lend a helping hand with installing it and, reno rookies that we are, we lived to tell the tale.  I am sure if you had seen us wobbling back and forth trying to attach the wires, you wouldn't have known whether to laugh, cry or run far away.  

And that's it for this week.  Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers!

This is not a sponsored post.  

LBH Eyes On Design: Modern Interpretation of the Sputnik Light Fixture

Monsieur recently broke one of the glass covers on the kitchen ceiling light fixture.  Rather than be upset over a light fixture that I had never really liked, I took it as a sign to look at the latest offerings in lighting.  I have always loved the Sputnik light fixture.  The very name evokes the midcentury fascination with technology and space exploration.  Decades later, its design is still relevant.   But finding a vintage one is difficult unless you have deep pockets.  A trend that I have noticed lately is the modern interpretation of the Sputnik showing up in design showrooms.  This reincarnation of the Sputnik is sleek, oh so modern and utterly contemporary.

via theblockshop.com.au

The reborn Sputnik can be seen in a variety of finishes such as oil rubbed bronze or golden brass, not just chrome.

via homedepot.com

Different types of bulbs such as an Edison bulb is another point of difference.

via homedepot.ca

Instead of the usual satellite shape, there is a play on shapes as well.  This one looks like a drawing of a molecule come to life.

via theblockshop.com.au

And this one definitely reminds me of chemistry class.

via theblockshop.com.au

Now I need to save up to get my mitts on one of these babies.