You'll want ambient lighting for overall illumination, task lighting and accent lighting.

For the living room, you have to determine when the room will mostly be used and what activities it will host. If you'll mostly read, watch TV and entertain friends/family, task and ambient lighting should suffice. Maybe accent lighting (your barn lights) to highlight a feature in the room. For TV watching have the ambient light on a dimmer and be aware of possible glare from other lighting sources on the TV screen.

For the kitchen, you'll want overall illumination, as well as task lighting for food prep. Under cabinet lighting is great for this. The pendants over the island will also provide task lighting. Accent lighting would be optional if there's an element in your kitchen you want to highlight or draw attention to.

For the dining area, the chandelier on a dimmer should provide sufficient ambient lighting. You may want accent lighting in here as well, to highlight art or some other feature of the room.

That's about all I can think of. Maybe someone else will pop over with more feedback.

I understand that I might be able to take care of ambient and task lighting in the living room with sconces and floor lamps. Do I need overall light? Since we don't have a TV this area will be used for hanging out with the family. My concern is cluttering up the open sight lines with lights on chain/poles. I thought maybe the barn wall lights angled to provide ambient light would clear out the center of the room. We are going to put in floor outlets determined by our furniture placement. I included a picture from standing in the kitchen. There is a loft that overlooks the great room area on the right side of the picture. The left side opening will be standard after the rest of the framing is built. . I'll try to include a floor plan picture.

Virgil- We are moving from a small scale everything house built in the 1920's to a decidedly larger house. We are a casual family without fine art. . . we have artwork-just not fine artwork. Should I make a focal point on the long wall perpendicular to the view? The best artwork is the amazing view. At night obviously is the time I would need something to highlight, right? (Besides the curtains?)

Thanks again!

The only time I use overhead lighting in our living area is when I'm cleaning or working on a detailed project (rare in the living area). My ~23x16 room only has the light on the ceiling fan for overhead. I find it too harsh and prefer table lamps when we're in there. Are you placing ceiling fans in this room since it faces west, and will warm up in the evenings? If so, get ones with a light kit for when you need some additional light.

Are you asking do you need overhead lights? As in, attached to the ceiling in some manner? If so, yes.

I appreciate that some people never use these lights but it's easier to have them and not use them rather than not have them and wish you did!

Your peaked ceiling with be a dark cavern, in my opinion. Totally agree that you need a lighting plan first, ala Virgil Carter, above.

Alex9179- Thanks for the info. That is some of what I was curious about. Yes, we will have ceiling fans. Originally I wanted a very large windmill fan. But they don't come with light kits, and if they did then I think one light kit spread about an area that large would be almost pointless. Did I mention I don't really like lights on fans? So I think we'll do 2 larger fans higher up in the ceiling, splitting the area by thirds.

Then possibly a boxy chandelier over the dining room area, hung lower than the fans. So I'm trying to figure out how to get an overall light while I'm at it. I then thought I might be able to use cable lights across the expanse somehow. But I've have been reading about NOT putting cable lights above a fan so I won't have a strobe light effect (the kids would probably enjoy that though).

I know where my furniture is going but my dilemma is to know whether or not I should be trying to keep all my light sources from having to hang down- I feel like it might be a cloud of clutter up there.

Mimimomy- Do you think lights at the ceiling level 16-20 feet above the floor can shine bright enough to do some good? I agree about cavernous ceiling, should I uplight it somehow? Because even lights on fans shine down. A matching chandelier in the living room hanging below the fan height?

What do you think of using beam like this to bring the light and electricity to better heights:

Vineyard Farmhouse · More Info

Thanks again!

First question that came to mind was, "Why such a high ceiling?"

Second question that came to mind is, "With such an 'amazing view', why do you have such small windows toward the view, and why didn't you have the long wall towards the view with more window?"

Talk to your architect about lighting, they must have had something in mind.

Mark,

Why. .. our reasons may seem odd, but this was not a new build completely. Due to the uniqueness of the foundation shape and what we needed to get out of the house we settled on this being the best setup. Earthquake ties, title 24, Septic, remodel rules all played into our decisions. We were working within the foundation footprint of a full basement. It was an interesting shaped foundation to start with but it was a massive amount of savings to buy this property, this foundation and go from here. The architect did specify can lights everywhere in the ceiling, with fans below the lights. I was hoping for ideas for a different option. The little windows up top because there is a porch across the back west side of the house. Really, the view looked the most amazing when we had no walls at all, but my husband said that wasn't water tight in the winter and we'd bake in the summer. So we went ahead and put up the walls as planned.

Thanks!

Nice to hear good reasons (as odd as they may be) behind design decisions.

I would forgo the mid-height beams and go with pendants hanging down at the height of the second finished floor level for general lighting, and can lights for extra illumination of the space for cleaning. Hang the ceiling fans at the level of the bearing level of the roof trusses.

Thank you for the certainty. So should I also forgo the wall washing angled barn light sconces on the side walls as well?

Now that Mark has designated can lights for us, does anybody know what type of recessed lights? In light(pun intended) of CA Title 24 requirements we must choose carefully. Everything I read on Green Building Talk is that recessed lights are horrible air leakers and furious heat makers.

I would be trying to figure out subtle exterior or landscape lighting so that view windows aren't a black holes at night. A pity to cover up those views, though true, you may find the western exposure requires filter in afternoon....but living area gets major use evenings....or, here, just now, dusky at 4pm. (sigh)

The new led cans aren't heat makers.

There is a 7ft deep porch on the view side with a high girder to not impede the view, but obviously the low afternoon sun will shine through. It will bring heat and consternation to my dusting pride when we can see every dust molecule during the golden hour. We will have some lighting out there as well as ceiling fans. But none to illuminate the view, only the sun can do that :) For sure the Western exposure June through August will get to us in the late afternoon when it comes under the porch.

I prefer pot lights in the ceiling plus under cabinet lighting in a kitchen. In a DR, one can use a chandelier or more pot lights, but only directly over the table, throwing light where a chandelier would. In the LR, I DETEST pot lights in a ceiling - looks like a dept store. Lamps, picture lights (if there is art) and perhaps sconces, work best.

I have a client that commercially grows medical cannabis, so "pot lights" have a different meaning.

C Haynes- Thanks for that tip. Are they also very sealed?

Anglophilia- Say you have an island in the kitchen- would you put pot lights over that as well or go for a pendant?

@truesmama - We have a similar situation with cathedral ceilings that are 21-22' high. Our room is only about 20 x 20' and will have a fan with a light kit. 6 can lights are installed in the ceiling.

I am currently testing the following Hyperikon BR40 (https://www.amazon.com/Hyperikon-Dimmable-Equivalent-1320lm-Medium/dp/B0758XX6V3/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1544345368&sr=1-4&keywords=hyperikon+br40+led). They do come in many color temperatures and price points (lower price points have lower CRI).

I'm also testing this Cree 120W equiv BR40 (https://www.amazon.com/Equivalent-White-Dimmable-Exceptional-Quality/dp/B07FFB6DVM/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1544345405&sr=1-6&keywords=cree+120w+led).

Lastly, I have been testing these TANKS (https://www.amazon.com/SANSI-Non-dimmable-Basement-Warehouse-Security/dp/B075F39R39/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1544345454&sr=1-3-fkmr1&keywords=sansi+300w+led+br40).

On my list to purchase to try (https://www.amazon.com/Dimmable-120%C2%B0Degree-Certified-300watts-Replacement/dp/B076PLLRJR/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1544345498&sr=1-4&keywords=br40+300w+led).

Not to bore you. The Hyperikon BR40's would be ambient lighting. The ceiling just swallows them up. I will use them in 9 and 10' ceilings throughout the house for other purposes.

The Cree was a little brighter, but still did not have enough oomph for anything other than ambience. Expensive too.

The TANKS - omg, these things come in 250w and 300w (sucks 35-40w LED) and are BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT. Like basketball course bright if you choose the cool temp. Only drawback HOT and non dimmable.

The last one to order dims - yay, but it's really expensive and with not many reviews....

Hope this rambling helps some

Pendents look cool but are one more thing to clean in a kitchen. And will also be one of the first to date it. Stick with the pot lights.

I have read to be careful with can light placement and fans as it can produce a strobe effect.

In the kitchen, I like a combination of ceiling/cans, under cabinet and down light pendants. If you have an island that you work at or even a sink, I feel the pendants bring the light closer, especially if someone has higher ceilings. They provide good task focus which helps to prevent the loss of a finger!

kmg11-The cleaning bit of pendants I understand:/ That is why I've loved cans in my life. I've second guessed that with reading many Swiss cheese ceiling comments. Over the kitchen sink is a lowered ceiling area that ties into the front porch height at 9ft. We are going to put a light above the sink (which also has a window)

Angolphile- The kitchen island is the main area where I think it will be either bright overall, or shadowy at best- if I don't put a pendant over the island. Maybe I'll have a box with blocking put in the ceiling; so if my cans disappoint- I haven't forced my husband to climb through scissor trusses to put in a new box. I'll aim to look for a classic pendant so my kitchen won't show her age in about 5 years. I'm not looking to be the mode of 2018. Let alone in two years say "that was so 2 years ago. . ." So suggestions for classy I will take!

Here is what we are planning:

-Title 24 LED recessed lights in the great room area for overall lighting at 2700K, with CRI over 90.

Staggered location between the fans.

-2 Fans set at truss load height (Thanks Mark for that measurement guideline!)

-Chandelier set at 2nd level loft height over dining room table. (Mark again)

-Island lighting still undecided. . .

I included the most currents plan. Please act like a doctor setting a bone gently. .. . otherwise your advice will be like the Brett Favre commercial from 10 years ago. . "I wouldn't done that if I were you. . . that was a bad idea. . " There is not much changeable at this point. But go ahead and dream away how you could do this better :) I have too!

Mark-I didn't see your post until this morning. I laughed because I'm in Northern California where the state of Jefferson shares flag pole space with the state of cannabis. My kids have made a dozen songs do go along with neighbors, gardening centers, lighting design centers all catering to not-so-medical "growing" operations. The words pot, grow, growing, garden can't be said without snickering from the listeners. :) It's the new entertainment industry! When researching LED lights I kept coming up with indoor growing light companies. We have a large garden every year. But then saying that came to mean something else that caused the townspeople to raise their eyebrows.. Now, more people gardening means more people growing pot, not fruits and vegetables. We'll just stick to our peaches and watermelons, thank you.

SamGoh- That wasn't boring at all. I appreciate real world, real life experience. Save your pros and cons list. There are multitudes of people needing the same information.