We-Design-Day: Lights... Action!

This past week, I've done more research into lighting and have likely over thought the whole process but I'm more confident that I've figured out a solution that will fulfill my lighting needs.

Although there are many tools available on the Internet to help you calculate how much lighting one will require for any space, if the understanding isn't present, they likely won't help. This is what I found out this week. Although I understand the concept and even know the recommended schematic used when lighting certain spaces, ensuring that an adequate level of light is obtained isn't as easy as typing a few key words into a search engine.

After probing a coworker (who is an electrical engineer) he further explained that sometimes the information that is posted on an information sheet can be misleading if you don't have the formulas to calculate the answers.

Trust me, that last sentence had me staring blankly into space too. ;)

What I did learn is that more is usually better - as we age, our eyesight deteriorates. All of us require more light to see appropriately. Reread that last sentence and memorize it. I think it's so important, I'll type it again.

All of us require more light to see appropriately.

What that means is that even though we all think we see just fine with our current lighting levels, more lighting would make it easier to see. Furthermore, with the increasing popularity of compact fluorescent (and the phasing out of conventional light bulbs) more of them are usually required to recreate the same light levels that conventional bulbs create.

I finally decided on two, two lamp fluorescent fixtures spaced over the two main work spaces in the studio space. Additionally, I'm going to install a under counter light strip under the Expedit unit I'm going to hang on the wall. I also want to add spot lights on the bookshelves and possibly some art-type lighting on different series of artwork I want to hang. I also have task lighting on my sewing cabinet and I have task lights for the computer desks as well.

Reflected Ceiling Plan

In the family area, I had thought about adding more lighting, but we've got two floor lamps we'll be moving downstairs. I did want to add a new fixture in the games area, but naturally, there are too many things in the ceiling (pipes, ducts and such)! we'll be changing out the existing halogen fixtures for new pendants - bulb type to be determined.

Lights, we all need them - planning for them can be tricky but if you figure out what you're doing in the space and how much light the fixture you want puts out and marry it to the figures I provided last week, you could be well on your way to illuminating your life!

Thanks for stopping in and I look forward to seeing you again next week!

Write like you've got something to say...

It's been a dry spell here at Barefoot Deliberations... I've been swallowed by my basement renovation, enjoying the few fleeting days of summer, transitioning into a new position at work, preparing myself for TroubleMaker's first day of playschool and just trying to keep up with life.

And the one thing that has fallen by the wayside is my writing.

I know, personally, I love logging into Blogger and seeing all the awesome updates the blogs I follow have done... And I know the feeling of disappointment when my favourite bloggers haven't done anything new!

I've read consistently, since starting to seriously blog, is that one should write everyday, even if they've nothing to say. I've never subscribed to this theory, mostly because even though I always have something to say, it isn't always worth saying... ;) But I've really gone a long time without blogging and it makes me sad!

I guess it's about priority and only trying to put 'quality' material out in the ether. Please don't take that to mean that I don't admire and envy bloggers who write and post everyday - we are all 100% different and I love and embrace those differences, I guess I mean that within my life, I have to try and balance my priorities according what I think, feel and believe.

But tomorrow is Wednesday and I've made it my priority to write my We-Design-Day article so I best get to that! I appreciate everyone who pops in and gives me a read now and again, thanks for standing by while I work through all the fun things in life!

We-Design-Day: How do you solve a problem like...

How much light do I need in my work space?

Today, I'm going to explore more about lighting design. If you remember this post, we discussed the types of lighting - today, I want to get a little more in depth about how we can use those lighting ideas and how you can employ them to creatively, aesthetically and functionally design the lighting in your home or office.

As always, first we must cover a bit of terminology (put your learning hats on)...

Lumens the unit of measure of light output - traditionally defined as one lumen equals the same amount of light put out by one candle
Wattage determines the energy used by the light*
Light output how much light a light source will generate
Colour Rendering Index a measure of how precisely an artificial light source displays colours
Colour Temperature colour temperature of a light source indicates the colour of the light put out by the source and is measured in degrees Kelvin (the lower the value, the warmer the light put out. Higher values are cooler. Incandescent bulbs are lower (more yellow) as where fluorescent bulbs (especially traditional ones) are more blue
Efficacy is the ratio of the lumens produce to wattage consumed (or used)

*We all know bulbs are sold by watt - 40, 60 or 100 watt (incandescent) and now we've got 15, 22, 32 (and many more) in fluorescent bulbs. This number does not equal light output by the bulb (or brightness of the bulb). This number - the wattage of the bulb - only specifies the amount of energy used by the bulb each and every time the light is turned on. To measure the brightness, we have to use Lumens. Additionally, looking at other factors, like temperature or colour rendering index of the brightness quality will also aid us in selecting the correct lighting for our homes.

The next step is to examine the space we are designing the lighting for and the activities that will be going on in the room. All rooms in our homes have different requirements and needs based on the function of the space. There are variables we can try to accommodate when developing our plan.

Who is using the space and how is their eyesight? As we age, our eyes require more time to see things and we require much more light to see. The type of tasks being done are also a key factor as to "how much" light will be needed.

Professionally, I have used a set standard when doing lighting designs and similar principles and guidelines should be employed. When we look at lighting as a whole, standardized light levels can be (and have been) employed. Naturally because every situation is different, the levels can be adjusted to meet the needs of the space, client and design.

Here are some averages to give you an idea:
Space Recommended Light Output (lumens/square meter)
Kitchen 300 - 550
Living room 300 - 500
Home office/workshop 500 - 1200
Dining Room 200 - 350

During my research, I happened upon a gem of a resource. It is a simple and effective planning guide for lighting! Provided for free download from our friends at the Office for Energy Efficiency with in the Department of Natural Resources Canada, is the Home Lighting Design Guide Pocketbook

I'm going to wrap it up here for this week - there is a lot of information to digest and because its a big subject, it is important to take the time to sit back and think through the space you are going to be illuminating.

References:
Natural Resources Canada
Home Depot Canada
TCP
BC Building Info
MegaVolt
Image courtesy of Outdoor Wedding Lighting

Menu Plan Monday - Barbecue Week!

It's hot - finally - and for more than one day in a row. We actually hit 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday - the first time all year...

So cooking when it hot sucks... Grilling when it's hot makes it seem like summer... Granted, many Canadians grill all year round - we don't. We reserve the yumminess that is grilled anything for the short, short summer months.

Our menu may be adapted as the store where we purchase all of our meat has recently had an advisory issued for Listerosis! So I'm a little bit (ok, one hell of a lot) hesitant to eat any of their products... I'd trusted them whole heartedly and to see it on the news - especially when my husband just picked up our order on Thursday (the day of the SECOND recall - with not even a word to him about the advisory - as the were still handing out free garlic or ham sausage with every order over $50)! We ate some of their sausage Thursday night. It likely was the contaminated product - so now (after some additional reading while writing this post) I'll have to watch the family - me because my RA leaves me a "weakened immune system"... Yikes!

August 22 to 28

Monday Grilled Chicken with Caesar Salad

Tuesday Grilled Hotdogs

Wednesday Sandwiches and vegetables with dip

Thursday Grilled Veggies & Pasta Kebabs

Friday Grilled Beef Burgers

Saturday Dinner at my Dad & Step Mom's new house

Sunday Grilled Sirloin Steak with Grilled peppers, mushrooms & onions and ???

As I was reworking our menu tonight, our Thursday dinner, which was to be recycled from last week (as I didn't make it), I thought it would be interesting to do something other than "salad" with the Ravioli... Being I have a fridge full of peppers and other vegetables, I thought it might be neat to create a marinade and make kebabs!

Recipe wise, the Easy Refried Bean Burritos were a HUGE hit and will be added to regular rotation... The Grilled Roast Beef - I decided to not to that recipe but still used indirect heat on our grill and created a "rub" of olive oil and seasonings and served it thinly sliced on fresh crusty buns! Definitely a YUM!

For more great menu ideas and helpful resources, check out the Menu Plan Monday hosted by the Organizing Junkie! Thanks for popping in and happy planning!

We-Design-Day: Wallpaper - the real deal

Have you every wall papered? Anyone? Anyone?

Would you do it again?

Have you ever removed someone else's wall papering job?

Did you swear you'd never, ever wall paper any surface afterwards?

I did. In our old condo - the home of "hey, screws evade us, let's glue the mirror to the wall" and "oops. ran out of wall paper paste, let's use leftover glue from the mirror project instead".

Yet even knowing all of this, i was lured in by the appeal of textured, paintable wall paper during my recent trip to the paint store.

You see, I went in for paint... Just paint - Benjamin Moore's Natura NO VOC paint in Sherwood Green (HC118) and Hawthorne Yellow (HC4) colours.

While I waited for the paint to be mixed, I happened upon a very large and shiny bin of textured wallpaper... Properly, embossed wallpaper.


Photo courtesy of Modenus

Generally, I've seen this applied to ceilings and it makes me crazy with envy... So the idea of having it on a feature wall in my studio... Well, I fell madly and deeply in love! It was on sale so it could fit the budget, it was random match so that meant no finicky pattern matching - it was perfect! Yay!

Then I went to hang it. And I remembered very quickly why no one really likes wallpaper. Oh sure, it always seems like a good idea in the safety of the store. How hard could it be? Imagine how fantastic it would look! Yes, it says "easy to install" so I'm sure I will be successful!

Thankfully, it was prepasted. Unfortunately, it was prepasted.

It was so goopy and sticky and sloppy that my three year old ran away yelling "EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and refused to help. My husband just shook his head and said to call if I needed help but quickly retreated to his office.

As a designer, I love the look of materials with texture and depth and love working with space in new and creative ways - using geometry to push design in a new direction.

As the installer of my own designs, I think I'm nuts.

In all seriousness, I learned a few things about installing wallpaper and to save you the trouble of experimenting on your own, please learn from my mistakes...

1. Wallpapering is a two person job
2. Have more drop cloths than you need and cover every imaginable surface.
3. Carry a rag around with you to wipe the goop from your hands.
4. Wear something to cover you hair.
5. No wall is square.
6. Contrary to the instructions, one cannot successfully trim the excess wallpaper while it is wet.
7. The only thing you'll ever see after you finish is the seam that didn't quite line up because of the problem outlined in number 5.
8. Drinking beer will not help the walls become more square.
9. Crown moulding was invented to hide the messy trims made while trying to cut wallpaper while wet. Too bad crown mouldings don't work with T-Bar ceilings.
10. Unless you are experienced, don't try to do anything but random match your first time wallpapering. If you do not heed my advice, buy two extra rolls of wallpaper.

Even with my silliness and self criticism aside, I am really quite pleased with the outcome of the wall. Granted, from a distance, it just looks like a plain wall (I'm hoping the paint will add some depth to it). It was a tough job but one I think was worth taking!

I'll post pictures in the coming weeks when I'm ready to fully reveal the space! Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you again soon!

Menu Plan Monday - What's your Favourite Easy Dish?

Menu Planning is becoming more and more difficult for me... I realize it isn't easy doing it - it is, after all, work. I'm tired of cooking up new menu plans, new meal ideas and looking for inspiration.

My time to cook is limited - I like to have dinner on the table by 5:30 or 6pm - that means I need something quick and simple. I hate to say our tastes are bland - they aren't per se - but we have a typical repertoire of meats that we cook with. Chicken, beef, pork and vegetarian. Fish isn't high on our lists of "likes" (even if TroubleMaker asks me weekly for a "real fish dinner") and other sea foods aren't enjoyed either.

I've been combing blogs and recipe sites and I've found a few things, but nothing that has really made me go "wow"! My husband didn't quite understand my issues tonight as he did a huge grocery shop for us on Thursday (based off a list I'd made) and said "there is lots of food in the house!" There is, that is true... It's just what to make with it is the problem!

So what are some of your weeknight favourites? Please share with me in the comments with links to your blog or recipe!

August 14 to 21
Monday Grilled Chicken with grilled potatoes & mushrooms

Tuesday Ravioli and Greens Salad

Wednesday Easy Refried Bean Burritos and Nachos

Thursday Perogies & Sausage

Friday Hamburger Casserole

Saturday Potluck @ my Brother's House Warming Party

Sunday Grilled Roast Beef

If you need inspiration, check out all the people linked up at the Organizing Junkie! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you feel inspired!

52 Week Challenge: Purging "stuff"

What do you do with two full boxes of stuff you don't want and/or need any more?

Naturally, if you're married to a photographer, you have it all professionally photographed, edited and touched up and made purty!



Then, once all that is done, you commence the big PURGE.


Any guesses on what this is?

I asked Laura a question a while back about a couple of appliances I had that I never used but didn't want to part with because I might need them one day... Her advice was something along the lines of if I hadn't used them (at that point, it was 10 years) would I ever and what could be in that space that I really do use.

I didn't have the courage to ask her what to do with things I've purchased that I don't remember buying...


I'm sure I thought this was really cool when I bought it...


This little treasure involved a box of wine... Need I say more?


I know - harmless little picture frames... Except for the fact that I made these up more than 10 years ago for our old kitchen. My husband thought they looked stupid (I'd framed pictures of various spices I'd cut out from the side of a gift bag - he had no vision) so I never hung them up. Ever. I tossed them in a box... And they stayed there for eleven years...

Eleven years... Who hangs on to stuff they aren't using for eleven years?


I don't know how to do counted cross stitch.


This is a piece of very stiff, hand woven 'cloth' from the Philippines. In my defense, I bought it as part of a fundraiser the women in the cafeteria where I used to work were doing. In 2005.


Spring tension rod: 1999 New, in package...

See, if there really ever was someone who needed the 52 Week Challenge, it most certainly is me! All of this stuff (along with items like unopened Christmas ornaments from Ikea, four partially painted birdhouses, a ream of 11x17 vellum, a magic eight ball, and 17 plastic embroidery framing hoops) is diligently being posted on our local Earthcycle and Freecycle groups. because one person's junk is always another's treasure!

Thanks for stopping by!