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Lighting Lofts and Other Open Spaces (part 2)

Don’t waste that open space - The open feel of your loft or new home may be what drew you to the space in the first place. If you have few interior walls and/or high ceilings, don’t hesitate to suspend lights from the ceiling where necessary to bring light closer to the target surface. You may, however, want to avoid large fixtures that will hinder visibility across the space. Suspend smaller fixtures over kitchen peninsulas, bars and central dining areas so that the line of sight across the room isn't significantly obstructed.  Modern monorail lighting systems and cable lighting systems offer a wide variety of pendant fixtures suspended on thin, low voltage cables that are ideal in such circumstances.

Create your own breaks - Looking for a way to break up the open space of your loft? To create more intimacy in certain areas of a loft such as a sitting area or a dinner table, consider delineating these areas somewhat with light. Focused task and accent lighting surrounded by a relative absence of light will accentuate and isolate these areas. Darker areas between well lit focal points in the room will subtly break up the space and create a dramatic effect without obstructing views. Remember to thoroughly and warmly illuminate distinct functional areas using a combination of accent lighting and strategically placed ambient pendants to minimize shadows.

Practical Lighting Solutions for Common Large Space Problems:

Scarce Power Sources

Track lighting, cable lighting, monorail lighting and other linear lighting systems are popular in loft type environments due to their 'single point of power' capabilities. Typically, power may be fed to one point on these systems and many (sometimes 20 or more) fixtures may be powered anywhere along the rail. Consider using track lighting or monorail lighting systems when only one or two ceiling-based power sources are available.

No ceiling power at all? Monorail lighting systems installed near walls will typically accept power directly at the end of rail. In situations where overhead light is needed but no power is available from the ceiling cable lighting systems are often a good choice.