Hi ZM—sorry! I’m definitely no artist, haha. The black sketches are just to represent where I could put the shelves. I don’t have them up yet and they’re fairly small so I could arrange in them in a number of different ways. I really should have only added the second hanging light to my 2nd pic, while keeping the original shelf sketches, to be less confusing. Both original pictures with black sketches just represented the 3 shelves. I will have one of the lights hanging from the ceiling for sure, but I’m curious whether I should have my 2nd light in my floor lamp pointed towards the wall/shelves or whether I should also hang the 2nd light from the ceiling - just a bit higher so it hits the top of the plants which will be on the shelves. I really wouldn’t mind if I had to rotate the plants to get even light though.

I’ve attached a pic of what the shelves look like. 3 different lengths - 17”, 13”, and 9”. Only 5” tall.

Hi Kara,

Nice looking shelves. Just out curiosity, what are the details and limitations on what you can hang from the ceiling in that area? Generally you can't just screw something into the ceiling and hang any significant weight from it, because ceilings are usually structurally just wallboard between studs, somewhat like the walls themselves. Your floor lamp has the advantage that you can move it around without worrying about structural limitations, because the floor supports it. If the floor lamp were tall enough that you could have it pointing downward on a plant or plants from above, that would be structurally sound and easily adjusted. Maybe you need a second floor lamp. I have a weird octopus-like floor lamp that has five bendable arms with shrouded dimmable lamps. It came before LED technology, but an LED equivalent would look something like this

5 arm floor lamp (that is a clickable link)

Plants generally "like" to have illumination from above, and from an area rather than a point, but if the top side of their leaves are illuminated rather than the bottom sides, they can "make do".

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

When I originally was thinking of different ways to have the lights I thought about a multi-arm floor lamp! That’s a good idea.. I did hang the first (and maybe only) light from the ceiling since I posted this and ended up using an anchor to secure the hook in the ceiling. The bulb itself, and cord, aren’t very heavy thankfully. A hanging basket with a plant would actually be heavier.

It makes sense about plants liking the bottoms of their leaves/the entirety having light as well.. the bulb that’s hanging over the plant table currently is pretty strong in terms of even coverage and mimicking true sunlight, while still being low wattage and cool so they shouldn’t burn.

Since I don’t get any decent natural light in my place, I wanted to find a way to give them artificial light that fits in with normal “decor” (not red/blue light pretty much); something aesthetically pleasing. So i am thankful I found these bulbs & the plants seem to love them so far!

I could also put the 3 shelves close together, stacked on top of each other almost, as to not be high up on the wall and see if I can point the light down a bit from the floor lamp. Another great idea. I wouldn’t want to put all of those additional holes in the wall if it isn’t something I’ll love though—I have some thinking to do :)

Hi Kara,

Well, that circular table arrangement looks good, and hopefully that ceiling hook won't pull out. I would have used a stud finder to find whether I could screw a hook directly into a two-by-four. The ceiling material is usually just strong enough to hold itself up, and little more. But that light fixture doesn't look too heavy. Just don't be too surprised if you hear a crash from that area during the night.

The shelves and that big reflector lamp invite rearrangement. Do you plan to add some more plants to your collection? You do have some more room on the table, and that big reflector lamp could illuminate several pots.

You might be able to get some ideas from the book, Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers, by Leslie F. Halleck

(that is a clickable link to the Amazon site) You could use the Amazon "Look Inside" feature to explore some parts of the book to get some ideas that you could use in your situation.

I grow plants indoors in our basement utility room on chrome plated steel wire shelves, which are utilitarian but make no attempt at being an attractive indoor feature.

I have a hobby of growing zinnias and breeding them, and our basement utility room has been helpful to that hobby.

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

You don’t need to screw into the floor joist for that small light as long as you use a hook with a toggle bolt.

I don’t believe that single light is anywhere near enough for all of those plants.

Actually just mount 24 inch LED under two shelves. Third shelf below would be without a light under the top shelf serves simply to mount the LED but you can put low light plants on top or photos or whatever you like. Go one step further and plug one into the other and then set them up on a timer. You can use Velcro ties to suspend extra cord behind the lights since grow lights should be centered. Plants want a centered light source or they will grow weird. Turning or not they will stretch due to distance not just direction. Use an app to measure light intensity coming off grow most succulents need a grow light less than 8 inches away from the light... Measuring from the dirt/Rock level for example. This is why plants with about the same height and needs to on the same shelf. Change shelf height/light distance based on what you're growing. For example, orchids may want a light three feet away but my succulents want it 6. Orchids wants 6 hours light, succulents 10. You can direct mount almost any grow light by GE and not use a chain. Just remove the outter cover, direct screw it in and then put light apparatus back on. Whole process is relatively simple and cheap. Good