Restaurants do it. So do nightclubs and some spas. At home you probably do it too. When you want to relax—really relax—the lights go down. Soft lights have a way of easing even the tightly wound out of the breakneck speed of everyday life, putting us in the right state of mind to enjoy a quiet dinner conversation or an occasional back massage. As the lights fade out, our minds and bodies take note that it’s time to slow down.
Achieving this state of tranquility isn’t difficult. If your home’s light fixtures have dimmer switches, you can manually dim the lights to your liking any time at all. It’s a simple, affordable way to inspire relaxation in your home. This doesn’t mean, however, that installing rows upon rows of dimmer switches is the most efficient or convenient way to put your house into slow-mo. It takes time and energy to slide and twist each dimmer switch to the ideal setting. You can get to cloud nine much faster by putting a control system in charge of the lights.
Lighting control systems basically rid a home of conventional light switches. Instead, buttons on a small keypad, which takes up no more room than a single wall switch, can control an entire group of lights. These lights may be located in the same room or scattered throughout the entire house. Through the use of a keypad, the same soft lighting effect that once required the adjustment of a half-dozen dimmer switches to create now takes the press of a single button. This single-button action is the basic premise of a lighting control system—one that affords many advantages for every major room of the house.
Those advantages can be realized in a media room, where a control system fades out the lights in preparation for a movie. In a foyer, a control system might command lights throughout the house and backyard to illuminate a pathway from the front door to the bedroom upstairs. Some lighting control systems work really well in home theaters, while others make a bigger impact in great rooms and master suites. Bottom line: There’s a lighting control system for every space in your home. Here are a few of our suggestions, based on the systems we commonly see used in particular rooms. Of course, with the proper programming and installation from a professional home systems installer, any type or brand of lighting control system can add visual interest to any room.
Multipurpose Family Room
A multipurpose family room is probably the best candidate for a lighting control system. You may want the lights dimmed while watching a movie but a bit brighter for weekend football games and Saturday morning cartoons. A table lamp at its brightest is a necessity for reading the titles on DVD cases and for fiddling around with audio/video components. You might also entertain friends, read books and host après-work happy hours in this room. One of the most popular systems for a media room is the Grafik Eye from Lutron Ele...
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