Track lighting fixtures are an easy and inexpensive way to design a lighting landscape specific to your household needs. You can spotlight a desk or easel where good light is necessary for complicated detail work, highlight a sculpture, painting, or flower arrangement, or even aim lights so that they don’t create glare on your TV screen in the evening when you’re watching your favorite TV show or movie. Even better, the ability to move the lights on the track and adjust their directionality means that you can easily rearrange your lighting scheme if you redecorate or your needs change. Their clean simple lines also create an effortless elegance that will compliment any home.
How much you’ll end up paying for your track lighting can vary greatly, depending on what you’re looking for. It can go from $20 for a single inexpensive fixture on a short track to hundreds or thousands of dollars for more elegant fixtures on more complicated tracks. That doesn’t even include any installation costs. Before you begin shopping, you need to ask yourself three important questions.
How much light does the room need?
A child’s playroom that is used primarily in the daytime and which has large windows that get a lot of natural light probably doesn’t need more than a couple of lights, but a den that functions as an adult evening hideaway for work or reading might need a more complicated setup, as would a formal dining room for dinner parties with fine art on the walls or elegant floral arrangements on the credenzas.
How much do I want to spend?
Whether the space is large or small, and how much light you want to provide will partially dictate the expense, but even after those decisions are made, there is a huge range in prices. If you go to discount retailers, you could provide ample adjustable light for a large space for around $100 as long as you stick with the simplest and cheapest fixtures on a single track. The more tracks you add, the more expensive it will become, and high quality materials or more elegant fixtures will quickly add up. One thing to remember, especially if you have high ceilings, is that people tend not to examine ceiling fixtures up close and in detail, so inexpensive fixtures, as long as they have simple clean lines, can look quite elegant in the right setting. You never have to admit how much, or how little, you spent.
But if your tastes run toward the luxurious, you can spend almost literally as much as you want. Elegant designer fixtures can cost hundreds of dollars each. They also tend to weigh more, which necessitates sturdier tracks and possibly expert installation.
If you are really looking to spend some money, you can even hire a lighting expert to come to your home, evaluate your lighting needs, and design a unique track lighting system for you. After installation, they will even aim your lights so that they maximize your work space, art displays, or other needs. Depending on where you live though, and how many rooms you are lighting, this kind of consultation could cost hundred to thousands of dollars, and doesn’t usually include the actual expense of installation.
Can I do it Myself?
Most people find that they can design their lighting landscapes themselves. After all, nobody knows exactly what you’re looking for better than you do. What an expert may think is the most elegant arrangement of lights might not be exactly what you had in mind.
But, the idea of installing lights and dealing with electricity scares many people. You always have the option of hiring a handyman or electrician to install the lights for you, and if you buy through one of the high end retailers, installation may even be included in the purchase price.
But, if you buy through a discount retailer and don’t want to pay for an electrician, you still have options. Retailers like Lowes, Home Depot, and Orchard Supply do offer instructions, and there’s always the internet to fall back on. If worst come to worst, you can always pay to consult an electrician, but then do the actual work of the installation yourself.
Once you determine what your lighting needs are, I have no doubt that you’ll be able to meet them perfectly, elegantly, and efficiently with the flexible track lighting fixtures that are right for you. You might also be interested in outdoor landscape lighting and landscape lighting, which can add a lot to the outside of your home.
