Up Where We Belong - Studio lighting and energy saving features

I offered to answer questions on my blog on subjects readers wanted more information about.
This post will discuss how I handled light and lighting in the studio.


I wanted a lot of natural light and a view of my tree top setting. This is the east wall and it has a lot of windows. The bank of windows to the left open and those on the right are stationery. I spaced them so that there was room to place this wonderful pharmacy cabinet between them. I had this before I built the studio. I knew it would not make the turn at the bottom of the stairs so when the builder was there I had him lift it up and through the opening for the right windows. Then he lifted the large window unit to install it.

All the windows have low E glass. It filters out the UV rays to prevent fabric fading and also provides insulation.



This is the north wall and you can see the blinds drawn on the windows. All the windows have honeycomb blinds which provide additional insulation when they are closed.
The two windows to the right are actually very tall and are two parts of a 3 window unit.

The wall on the west has no windows as it is all design wall and fabric storage. I like to think the fabric is another layer of insulation.


In this photo you see some of the fluorescent light fixtures I used. There are 8 four foot fixtures. Each has 4 bulbs. The fixtures use electronic ballasts which prevent a lot of the problems associated with other fluorescent fixtures.

Each bulb has a sleeve over it to screen out the UV rays. The bulbs are daylight bulbs.

If you look directly above the design wall you will see the track lighting I used to wash the design wall with light. These are halogen lights.

You also see the two skylights I used. I had never had skylights before and I was amazed by the amount of light they create.


I set these plants directly under a skylight and they thrive, even when I neglect them and forget to water them. I also feel the plants help purify the air in the studio.



I have another set of halogen lights over my sewing machines and ironing area to create task lighting. You only see two of the 6 lights in this photo.



This is my office area which is on the landing on one side of the stair well. I used two 4 foot fluorescent fixtures with two bulbs in each to light the area. What you can not see beyond the file cabinet on the far right is another bank of 4 windows.

I worked with a lighting consultant to select the proper lighting for my studio.

My office is your puzzle to solve.