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Chan–in my opinion you have the same problem that too many other rooms I see suffer from. All of the light shines down from the ceiling. I just re-did my entry hall and although I kept the ceiling cans I also added uplighting to the walls. These were simple plaster (?) fixtures that I picked up at Home Depot (!). $25 a piece, clean and simple lines. They brighten up the entire room without giving you another soource of point lighting. Start thinking of how to brighten the room as a whole rather than just shining more light where you want it.
Carlos (who thinks that too many people consider ceiling cans to be an art form)
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Chan--in my opinion you have the same problem that too many other rooms I see suffer from. All of the light shines down from the ceiling. I just re-did my entry hall and although I kept the ceiling cans I also added uplighting to the walls. These were simple plaster (?) fixtures that I picked up at Home Depot (!). $25 a piece, clean and simple lines. They brighten up the entire room without giving you another soource of point lighting. Start thinking of how to brighten the room as a whole rather than just shining more light where you want it.
Carlos (who thinks that too many people consider ceiling cans to be an art form)
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Chan,
How about a soffit along the up side side of the beam stained to match - looks like you've go power on the end which could be used with existing wiring. I'm not quite up on the different types of "long" lighting available (halogen? - I hate flouescent).
Some help from the lighting specialists??
Please . . .
*Or, if you want to keep track lighting, there are more innovative products that have "baffles" covering the bulbs. These provide a more diffused light. As far as the soffit lighting system, there are also many types of "bar shaped" lighting fixtures that could be used in this instance. I would suggest going to a lighting showroom just to look at some of the products and solutions. You could possibly find inspiration here and go elsewhere to get the product more inexpensively. I have even seen some nice lighting fixtures in a catalogue called Ikea. They are on the web, and very resonable. Good luck with your project.
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In defense of fluorescent (or, at Home Depot, flour-escent), it is energy-efficient and burns cool. I too hated the cool bluish light and flicker for years. But now the very warm tubes such as GE's Kitchen/Bath (more expensive and less efficient than regular fluorescent) and better, CFL bulbs, do much better and more appealing color rendition. The CFL's have flicker-free electronic ballasts. Philips "Earthlight" series is the best i have found so far. There are also CFL-ready sconces and cans that are less bulky and expensive than the screw-in type-A edison bulbs.
Track lights bite for most purposes, IMHO.
Because you have a magnificent space, consider one or several high-quality brass reproduction fixtures, such as period chandeliers, from http://www.rejuvenation.com. Great stuff, also available in CFL versions. As for wiring, just tuck in up in the crotch of the beam and ceiling and run wood molding over it.
Finally, if the lighting is indirect (an excellent idea -- if done right they won't even turn the track lights above dim), the color of the wall and ceiling will have the most significant effect on the light color. The ceiling, being dark, will not reflect too much light itself. Good lighting is critical. Hope this helps.
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The space is tall but not that tall, so i'm inclined to suggest doing away with the current track lighting that shines down and going w/ wall sconces for the accent lighting and drama.
You will need other lighting for certain tasks, like reading or what have you, so I would go with a more sizable middle of the ceiling fixture, like a pendant fixture on a good cable.
You can find many that have style and contemp. appearances in any true lighting store. One thing though is that all showrooms carry a very limited number of fixtures (nothing compared to what their catalogs have), so I'd ask for a place to sit down and look through these - bring coffee, this could take hours!
I'd look for one that spreads light up, like a four lamp pendant fixture with an opaque lens (cover) and put it on a dimmer switch. Andrew had the best retrofit way of getting out to the center of the ceiling w/out cutting up you great looking planks.
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A large living room with 15 foot ceiling needs better lighting. The installed cheap trak lights are always pointed in someone's eyes and don't provide good, even ilumination. The ceiling is exposed beam with wood paneling so access into the ceiling is limited. Can you think of diffused lights that could go on the wall or know of a clean way to run power out on the beams?
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A question for those knowledgeable of NEC - if one does as Andrew suggests and runs the wiring in the crotch of the beam and covers it with wood molding, would the NEC consider this enclosure as "conduit". If so, I would assume that one could not run Romex in such a fashion under the code.