Hi all. I am almost done designing new oak bookshelves to replace my $20
Wal-Mart particle board shelves which look ready to collapse. The last
detail I'm trying to decide on is whether or not to set up some sort of
lights on top. I really like the bright white light provided by my old,
burn your house down, halogen floor lamp and since these shelves will be
taking up all my floor space, I thought I'd try putting something on top
of the bookshelves that would provide something similar.
My best idea so far is getting some 12v Xenon or Halogen lights intended
for under-cabinet use and putting 6 or so on top pointing at different
parts of the ceiling for a nice diffuse effect. Unfortunately, it looks
like that would cost about $100, or $200 if I put it on both sets of
shelves. Halogen that runs at 110v looks like it would be a little
cheaper, but I'm a bit concerned about having that much heat produced so
close to the ceiling/books. I could put one or two 12v fans in there to
cool things down I suppose, but I'm wondering if anyone has any other
good ideas/experiences in this area, especially if someone knows a way
to do this whole thing cheaper. Also, I haven't used these types of
lights before, so I'd appreciate input on how many fixtures it might
take, or if it's even reasonable to use these to light a regular
apartment-sized bedroom (used as an office/computer room, not for sleeping).
Depending on what I end up doing with lighting, the shelves will be 6-7
feet tall. I will probably make the lighting fixture separate from the
rest of the shelves using cheap wood so I can change it out or get rid
of it later on.
In article <[email protected]>,
Jeremy Brown <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi all. I am almost done designing new oak bookshelves to replace my $20
>Wal-Mart particle board shelves which look ready to collapse. The last
>detail I'm trying to decide on is whether or not to set up some sort of
>lights on top. I really like the bright white light provided by my old,
>burn your house down, halogen floor lamp and since these shelves will be
>taking up all my floor space, I thought I'd try putting something on top
>of the bookshelves that would provide something similar.
>
>My best idea so far is getting some 12v Xenon or Halogen lights intended
>for under-cabinet use and putting 6 or so on top pointing at different
>parts of the ceiling for a nice diffuse effect. Unfortunately, it looks
>like that would cost about $100, or $200 if I put it on both sets of
>shelves.
Menards has a set of 3 20watt 12V halogens for about $15. $24 with a
three-level 'touch sensitive' dimmer set-up.
> Halogen that runs at 110v looks like it would be a little
>cheaper, but I'm a bit concerned about having that much heat produced so
>close to the ceiling/books. I could put one or two 12v fans in there to
>cool things down I suppose, but I'm wondering if anyone has any other
>good ideas/experiences in this area, especially if someone knows a way
>to do this whole thing cheaper. Also, I haven't used these types of
>lights before, so I'd appreciate input on how many fixtures it might
>take, or if it's even reasonable to use these to light a regular
>apartment-sized bedroom (used as an office/computer room, not for sleeping).
>
>Depending on what I end up doing with lighting, the shelves will be 6-7
>feet tall. I will probably make the lighting fixture separate from the
>rest of the shelves using cheap wood so I can change it out or get rid
>of it later on.
>
As far as 'viability' of such an approach, a *lot* depends on how high
the ceiling is. I've got wall-mounted 120V (twin 35 W bulbs) Halogens,
about 15" below the ceiling. It's "adequate" for hallway (6' long, 3' wide)
lighting, but I wouldn't want to try reading for extended periods there.
"Indirect" room-lighting works best where you can do sources down -most- (if
not *all*) of the length of the walls.
Regardless, perimeter "indirect" lighting is almost -never- adequate as the
primary lighting for a room. At a minimum, you'll have to have 'task' lighting
_everywhere_.