Lighting my sewing room

I'm converting a bedroom in my new house into a sewing/quilting room. Of course, the only light in the room is a not very bright light in the center of the ceiling. I'm standing in my own light at the cutting table. The windows are behind me when I'm sitting at my sewing machine, so need more light there, too, day or night.

What have all of you done for additional lighting in your sewing rooms without going broke? I've already spent so much money on this house and am now in the process of buying hearing aids, so I need some solutions that aren't terribly expensive.

Have thought about track lights that could be connected to the existing ceiling light. However, I want to put a ceiling fan there, so don't know whether I can do both.

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Donna in Idaho

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Reply to
Donna in Idaho
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I have a 4' shop Florescent light over my main machine. It coves the whole 48" sewing table area, and a folding natural light florescent and it makes for a nice well lit area to sew. I use dedicated folding florescent area lights on each of the other 2 machines, but they don't get used as much as the main machine. I replaced the standard room fixture with a 4 light flood/ceiling fan which is right over the cutting table in the center of the room. The flood lights can be positioned so as to eliminate any shadows that might be present. I have another separate flood light that takes care of the Ironing area, and that about does it for me. No shadows or black out areas. I think it is very important to have good lighting, as it makes the use experience much more enjoyable, and less tiring. Try and look for the natural light spectrum of lights that you choose, as the colors of the fabric you are working with will appear natural and not off color due to the florescent light that is used in a lot of fixtures. John

Reply to
John

Thanks, John, for the info. In my old sewing room, I had 4 4-ft fluorescent lights plus track lighting. My husband thought I was nuts wanting that much light. The biggest problem I had with that was that the fluorescent light over the cutting table reflected off of plastic rulers really bad. My ironing table backs up to the sewing machine so good lighting there will work for both.

Tell me about the folding fluorescent lights for your other 2 sewing machines. What kind? Are they like folding Ott lights?

Your ceiling fan/flood light combination sounds great. I didn't know that the lights with ceiling fans could be positioned.

I agree, good lighting is essential. I like to be able to sew day or night.

Donna in Idaho

I have a 4' shop Florescent light over my main machine. It coves the whole 48" sewing table area, and a folding natural light florescent and it makes for a nice well lit area to sew. I use dedicated folding florescent area lights on each of the other 2 machines, but they don't get used as much as the main machine. I replaced the standard room fixture with a 4 light flood/ceiling fan which is right over the cutting table in the center of the room. The flood lights can be positioned so as to eliminate any shadows that might be present. I have another separate flood light that takes care of the Ironing area, and that about does it for me. No shadows or black out areas. I think it is very important to have good lighting, as it makes the use experience much more enjoyable, and less tiring. Try and look for the natural light spectrum of lights that you choose, as the colors of the fabric you are working with will appear natural and not off color due to the florescent light that is used in a lot of fixtures. John

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Reply to
Donna in Idaho

On Nov 8, 4:33=A0pm, "Donna in Idaho" wrote:

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I'm in a similar boat - bedroom that is now my sewing room. I have NO ceiling fixture and thus have to rely on lamps for all my my ligting. Fortunately I'm able to position my sewing machine in front of one of the windows so that helps considerably. Plus I generally don't do that much evening/night sewing. BUT when I do need concentrated lighting (hand sewing and some other applications) I have found that I really prefer halogen lights. I have 2 halogen lamps - one by my chair in the living room for my hand quilting/sewing and another that I just set on my cutting table when I need some extra light either for the specific project or if I happen to be working at night. I find that the halogen lights do not distort the colors and is a very 'clean' light. Both lamps have infinite adjustments and I can concentrate the light on top of the project. Both have relatively small heads so that I can actually look over the lamp head and get all of the light on my work while still easing any eye strain. And my 50+ eyes need all the help they can get! Both lamps also have either a high/low switch setting (and I usually only use low) or a gradual adjustment for the light intensity. The one lamp's switch gets a little funky every once in a while and I dread having to find a replacement. I've had it for decades. It's a nice decorator item as well as being highly functional. I paid roughly $20 for each of these lamps BTW.

Good luck.

Kim in NJ

Reply to
AuntK

My sewing machine is located under a large window, so that helps during the day. I also have a lamp like

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|B0038Z9V8Q&CPNG=home%20decor&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=B0038Z9V8Q&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001between my sewing table and my cutting table. I can turn the lower lamp in whichever direction I need. I think I got it at Walmart or Target, and it was less expensive than the one shown. When I handsew on the couch, I have one of these
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|B0038Z9V8Q&CPNG=home%20decor&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=B0038Z9V8Q&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001 next to me. There's also an end table there with a regular lamp, but you hardly notice the floor lamp behind it.

Reply to
Alice in PA

Here's the exact lamp I have.....it's all adjustable and provides great light.

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|B0038Z9V8Q&CPNG=home%20decor&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=B0038Z9V8Q&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

Reply to
Alice in PA

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Yes the folding lights are Ott except one of them is a Chinese knockoff. I honestly can not tell the difference in the output between the two, except for the price. Th ceiling fan fixtures can come with various types of lighting. And if you find a fan you like there are lighting conversions you can do to the bottom of the fan where you would replace the light that comes with the fan. That should not be necessary though, as the options on the fan/lighting are considerable. Head over to your Lowes or Home Depot, and there will be a whole bunch of them hanging from the ceiling of the lighting department, and you can see what is available. The ones I got were "Harbor Breeze" brand. They were cheap and seemed to work well enough for the price. They have 4 spot/flood lights that can be positioned within an arc to cover any reasonable choice of areas in need of light. That is my 2 Cts. worth. Good luck. John

Reply to
John

I just installed a light fixture in my converted bedroom. Got it at Home Depot --- a pretty gray metal ceiling lite suspended about 18 inches from the ceiling from poles and it has halogen lites spread a few inches apart on separate poles which can be aimed in the direction I want. I have my sewing/work table situated so the side of it is on one wall and the table extends out to the middle of the room so I can walk around 3 sides of it. The ceiling fixture comes down right at the outside edge of the table so it aims directly into the sewing machine and work area and is still not in the way at all. I had thought about a ceiling fan but decided against it, concerned about small fabric pieces blowing away. I still use a small full spectrum desk lamp to the left of the machine for reading, ironing, etc.

Works for me! KT. in MI

Reply to
KT in Mich

I have: expensive, cheap and effective. How's that? This room had a light/fan thing in the center of the ceiling. I don't like ceiling fans. Mr. Esther removed the blades. He changed to bulbs to those corkscrew looking things - 5 of them. There's also an Ott floor lamp, an old pole lamp and a circle/magnifying floor lamp. Finally, finally there's light here anywhere we need it and plenty of it. Back when we were mighty poor I had a ... heck, don't know its name . . . a portable clamp-on light from the hardware store. It is hardly more than a light bulb with what sort of looks like a shiny metal pie pan behind it. I think its general purpose is for painters and mechanics. We would clamp it on a door or shelf. For about $7 we solved the problem of low light in a sewing room that needed a boost. Polly

"AuntK" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@l32g2000yqc.googlegroups.com... On Nov 8, 4:33 pm, "Donna in Idaho" wrote:

I'm in a similar boat - bedroom that is now my sewing room. I have NO ceiling fixture and thus have to rely on lamps for all my my ligting. Fortunately I'm able to position my sewing machine in front of one of the windows so that helps considerably. Plus I generally don't do that much evening/night sewing. BUT when I do need concentrated lighting (hand sewing and some other applications) I have found that I really prefer halogen lights. I have 2 halogen lamps - one by my chair in the living room for my hand quilting/sewing and another that I just set on my cutting table when I need some extra light either for the specific project or if I happen to be working at night. I find that the halogen lights do not distort the colors and is a very 'clean' light. Both lamps have infinite adjustments and I can concentrate the light on top of the project. Both have relatively small heads so that I can actually look over the lamp head and get all of the light on my work while still easing any eye strain. And my 50+ eyes need all the help they can get! Both lamps also have either a high/low switch setting (and I usually only use low) or a gradual adjustment for the light intensity. The one lamp's switch gets a little funky every once in a while and I dread having to find a replacement. I've had it for decades. It's a nice decorator item as well as being highly functional. I paid roughly $20 for each of these lamps BTW.

Good luck.

Kim in NJ

Reply to
Polly Esther

Reply to
Taria

The lamp I use most in my sewing room is something like this:

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it's also toppedwith a torchiere fixture. One bulb is a color-corrected incandescent that Ican use for matching threads, and the others are good quality compact fluorescents. The side lamps can be repositioned as I want/need them for various tasks, or I can just pick up the whole floor lamp and move it. In addition, my sewing room has two large windows, and a wide doorway into the next room, which has a skylight. Standard useless bedroom light fixture in the middle of the ceiling.

Remember that incandescent bulbs will be gone by 2014 in the US, so plan for fluorescent lighting now.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Like Taria I do most of my sewing in the daylight. On the kitchenette table, which is between a window on the east side of my palce, and one on the west side. Towards dusk and the project keeps calling, I get out my halogen light, and the one thing I really like to use is my camping headlight. Okay, it makes me look like cyclops, but it is directed at my work ;)

G> I'm converting a bedroom in my new house into a sewing/quilting room. =A0= Of

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Reply to
Ginger in CA

Over here in Europe we are also on that road, but there will still be alternatives to fluorescent. We can have halogen bulbs (capsule type and reflectors/spots) and LED bulbs as well the compact fluorescent corkscrews. LED technology in particular is a very active area of development, prices are falling and variety and lux are increasing all the time. I find a mixture of lighting types gives a better light spectrum in the room too.

Lizzy

PS It has been a pleasure to see fluorescent spelled correctly through most of this thread - it was one of my dad's bugbears when he was teaching and hes passed it on to me.

Reply to
Lizzy Taylor

On Mon, 8 Nov 2010 15:33:41 -0600, Donna in Idaho wrote (in article ):

I have track lights in my room which can be adjusted to shine where I need them too. You could also look into something like a couple of well placed Ott lights.

Maureen

Reply to
Maureen Wozniak

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Like Kim, I don't have a ceiling light at all in my sewing room. I use a torchiere-style floor lamp for general lighting. The light from the lamp reflects from the ceiling for some rather nice light. I do have a patio door with south exposure, so I have plenty of natural light during the day. My sewing machine is on a small built-in desk with shelves above it. There is a small fluorescent bulb under the bottom shelf. I also have a "clip-on" lamp clamped to a shelf for extra light. I do very little sewing on the machine in the evening, and I do my hand sewing in the living room where I have an Ott look-alike folding lamp for extra light.

Julia in MN

Reply to
Julia in MN

This is the floor lamp I have: or

Julia in MN

Reply to
Julia in MN

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Reply to
Roberta

Ginger,

Never thought of using a headlight. I would definitely have the light where I needed it!

Donna in Idaho

G> I'm converting a bedroom in my new house into a sewing/quilting room. Of

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Reply to
Donna in Idaho

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Thanks for starting this thread!! I'm in the process of doing a bedroom conversion, too and have noticed that I'm going to need more than just the single light from the ceiling. Allison

Reply to
Allison

While we're lighting, don't we need some thoughts on 'winter' light. Isn't there some sort of bulb that supposed to keep you from having severe 'locked inside during cold weather' humdrums? Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

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