Choosing Ceiling Fixtures

Believe it or not, a ceiling fixture can have a huge impact on the general feel and look of a room. This effect makes the ceiling fixture almost as important of a choice as choosing the paint, furniture, or general decorations that you may plan to have in that room. Typically when choosing ceiling fixtures, you want to make sure that you choose one that you don't notice. This may sound kind of contrary to what was just said, but it is true. Think of any movie that you may have seen. In the good movies, you don't really notice the score or soundtrack since its purpose is to enhance the movie itself. Likewise, a ceiling fixture's job is to enhance the surrounding area, without drawing undo attention to itself.

In order to begin choosing ceiling fixtures that will work for your particular room, you need to know the different options that you have. Listed below are is a little bit of information about the general categories of ceiling fixtures, some examples for them, and what they do. The next time that you are choosing ceiling fixtures, keep this information in mind to ensure that you choose the best possible one for your room.

• Pendant lights. Pendant light ceiling fixtures are those types of fixtures that hang down, and provide a little more decoration to a room. For example, chandeliers are a type of pendant light fixture. These light fixtures are typically designed to have a minimum of five or more light bulbs, and to help draw the eyes upwards from a tabletop. When choosing these kinds of lights, size is always important, so keep in mind this simple ratio: 2 inches of width for every foot of room width. Some other examples of pendant lights are shades and lanterns, which are both used to help add a little extra light to narrower spaces, or work spaces. Typically these light fixtures should be spaced about 6 1/2 feet above the floor so that people can walk under them. Also, make sure that they appear to be centered in the available space.
• Track lights. Track lights are ceiling fixtures that can be used to provide both general lighting, as well as accent lighting. There are four general types of track lighting that you can choose from. The first is low-voltage gimbal ring lighting that is a type of halogen lighting that can provide an intense, narrow beam of light. Similar to this is the low-voltage bell lighting system. Both of these are more appropriate for accent lighting, particularly since these light fixtures generally require a special dimmer switch to operate. For more general lighting, you should use a round-back cylinder or gimbal ring system. These are both incandescent lamps, which will provide a broad intense beam of light.
• Flush fixtures. Perhaps the single most traditional form of ceiling fixture, flush fixtures are found in just about every home in the United States. The reason for this is that a single flush fixture can, when placed in the center of a ceiling, easily produce enough light to illuminate a fairly large room. A standard flush ceiling fixture can light a room that is 12 feet by 12 feet, with an 8 foot ceiling. There are a few flush fixtures that can be used to emulate the accent light effects of track lighting, though they are still limited in their mobility.