Tricks of light

The Rocky

Published November 12, 2005 at 4:38 p.m.

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Flicking the switch at your own custom home? Here are tips from Cheryl Gaiser of Boulder's Inlighten Studios and Emily Koonce of Element Architectural Lighting Design. Both worked with Christopher Herr on lighting plans for the Box House.

* Keep light shined on the budget: "As a lighting store, we would like to see 10 percent of the home's budget go to lighting," Gaiser says. "Most (homeowners) give us 1 percent."

* Get it right the first time: "It's more expensive when you have to pull out wiring and fixtures and do them over," Koonce says.

* Get coordinated: "If you have a lot of people working on the project - interior designer, lighting designer - make sure they're coordinating," Koonce says.

* Think pendants: Decorative hanging lamps are a fashion-forward alternative to the light-strip vanity in the master bath and can be put to good use in dining areas, too, Gaiser says.

* Think sconces: "Elongated wall sconces are better than the typical vanity feature you find in the big-box stores," Gaiser says.

* Illuminate public areas first and best: Secondary areas - garage, storage rooms - don't need fancy solutions, Koonce says. "Put money into places where people see it, where they congregate, like the kitchen," Gaiser says. And never skimp on fixtures with moving parts.

* Get orders placed early: "Timing is important, because you don't want to hold up the construction process," Koonce says.

* Keep an eye on the future: "Energy efficiency is a huge issue right now," Koonce says. Homeowners increasingly look to fluorescents and other Energy Star-compliant lighting devices.

* Remodeling? "If I were redoing a home, I would put in pendants in the dining room and/or the kitchen nook and island. Then new lights in the guest bathroom," Gaiser says. "Because those are the first places people are going to look after they walk in the door."

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