There comes a point every fall in Southwest Montana when you notice it.
You’re making dinner and it’s already dark outside.
You pull into the driveway after work and realize there isn’t as much light between your vehicle and the front door as you thought. The living room that seemed perfectly comfortable all summer suddenly has dark corners. Your kitchen has plenty of ceiling lights, but you’re noticing shadows across the countertop. And with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, you’re beginning to look at the dining room, entry and living spaces through the eyes of the family and friends who will soon be walking through the door.
Your house didn’t suddenly develop a lighting problem.
What changed is how much of the work the sun was doing for you.
As fall progresses in Butte and throughout Southwest Montana, our homes and businesses depend more heavily on artificial lighting during the hours we’re actually using them. That’s when burned-out bulbs, poor fixture placement, dark work surfaces, inadequate exterior lighting and missing layers of light become much harder to ignore.
But that’s also what makes fall such a useful time to evaluate your lighting.
Before winter settles in, walk through your property after dark and ask a deceptively simple question:
Is my lighting actually doing what I need it to do?
Here’s what we recommend looking for.
Why Does My House Feel So Dark in the Fall?
This is one of the first things to understand:
More light isn’t always the answer. Better-placed light may be.
A room can have considerable light output and still feel poorly illuminated.
Look around your living room.
Where does the light come from?
If your answer is essentially “the ceiling,” you’ve already identified something worth examining.
A thoughtfully illuminated room may use several layers:
A decorative chandelier or ceiling fixture provides general illumination and visual character.
Recessed lighting supplements it.
Wall sconces illuminate vertical surfaces.
Table and floor lamps put useful light closer to where people sit.
Accent lighting calls attention to artwork, stone, cabinetry or architectural details.
And dimming allows those layers to change depending on what you’re doing.
That’s especially noticeable in fall because we’re experiencing these rooms after sunset much more frequently.
Summer daylight can disguise a mediocre lighting plan. Fall exposes it.
How Do I Make My Home Feel Cozy Without Making It Dark?
Every fall, we start hearing the word cozy again.
Warm blankets.
Fireplaces.
Richer textures.
Long evenings inside.
But there’s a mistake people can make when trying to create that atmosphere with lighting:
Cozy does not have to mean dark.
The secret is often having enough lighting layers that you don’t need every fixture operating at full brightness.
Imagine your living room on a fall evening.
Instead of one bright ceiling fixture trying to illuminate everything, the room might have a decorative fixture overhead, a lamp beside the sofa, sconces creating light along the walls and perhaps accent lighting highlighting the fireplace.
Now you can control the relationship between those sources.
That’s very different from simply installing lower-output bulbs and hoping the room feels warmer.
What Color Temperature Should I Use?
This is also when homeowners start noticing color temperature.
Color temperature is measured in Kelvin and describes the appearance of white light.
Lower Kelvin values generally appear warmer; higher values appear cooler.
For many residential living spaces, homeowners prefer warmer white light because of the atmosphere it creates. But that doesn’t mean every fixture in every room should automatically use the same color temperature.
A kitchen work surface and a living-room reading lamp aren’t necessarily doing the same job.
And mismatched bulbs can create their own problem.
If one fixture looks warm and another nearby looks dramatically cooler, you may notice the difference much more once natural daylight disappears.
If you’re unsure, bring us your bulb.
Or take a picture of the room.
Tell us what you’re experiencing.
Sometimes the problem really is the bulb.
Sometimes it’s the fixture.
Sometimes it’s placement.
And sometimes the entire room needs another lighting layer.
Why Does My Kitchen Feel Dark Even With Recessed Lights?
Fall means we’re preparing dinner under artificial light again.
Then come Thanksgiving, holiday baking, entertaining and family gathered around the kitchen island.
Suddenly, kitchen lighting gets tested pretty hard.
And here’s something homeowners sometimes discover:
“I have plenty of recessed lights. Why is my countertop still dark?”
Look at where the light is coming from.
If all of it originates several feet above you, you may actually stand between the light source and your work surface.
That’s one reason under-cabinet lighting can be so useful.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s residential lighting guidance specifically notes that under-cabinet lighting can help prevent shadows created by a person working at a countertop, while recessed fixtures can provide general illumination.
In other words, these two kinds of lighting aren’t necessarily competitors.
They have different jobs.
Are Under-Cabinet Lights Worth It?
For many kitchens, we think this is one of the most useful lighting layers to consider.
Imagine Thanksgiving morning.
You’re chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients and preparing food.
Under-cabinet lighting puts light directly on the work surface.
Now imagine the same kitchen at 9:30 that night.
Dinner is over.
The dishes are finished.
You turn down or turn off the brighter overhead lighting and leave a softer layer of illumination across the countertops and backsplash.
The lighting that was task lighting during dinner preparation has become part of the ambient lighting afterward.
That’s why we talk so much about layers.
A well-designed lighting source can help the same room function differently throughout the day.
Look at Your Dining Room Before Thanksgiving
Here’s another fall exercise.
Stand in your dining room and look up.
Do you actually like your chandelier?
Not:
“Does it still work?”
Do you like it?
Is it appropriately scaled to your table?
Is it hanging at an appropriate height?
Is it actually centered over the table?
Can you dim it?
Does it provide the type of light you want while you’re eating?
Does the fixture complement what you’ve done with the rest of the room?
And here’s an interesting question:
If you were buying that fixture today, would you choose it again?
Fall entertaining has a way of making us notice fixtures we’ve ignored for years.
The dining-room chandelier isn’t seasonal décor. A well-selected fixture should serve your home long after Thanksgiving and Christmas are over.
But the holidays can provide the motivation to finally change something you’ve disliked every time you looked at it.
Don’t Forget Your Entry
Now walk outside and come through your own front door as though you were a guest.
What do you see?
The entry establishes the first impression of the interior.
This is a place where a decorative fixture can have enormous visual impact without requiring you to redesign an entire room.
Look at the scale.
Look at the amount of light.
Look at the finish.
Look at how it relates to the adjoining rooms.
In an open floor plan, you may be able to see the entry fixture, dining chandelier and kitchen pendants simultaneously.
They don’t necessarily need to match.
But they should feel like they belong in the same house.
What Outdoor Lighting Should I Check Before Winter?
Now do the same exercise outside.
But don’t evaluate your exterior lighting during the afternoon.
Wait until dark.
Park where you normally park.
Then walk toward the house.
Can you comfortably see the route?
What about:
- The driveway?
- Walkways?
- Steps?
- Front entry?
- Garage?
- Side doors?
- House numbers?
- Deck?
- Patio?
- Detached garage or shop?
- Landscape?
Exterior lighting isn’t simply about making a house look attractive.
It’s also about putting appropriate illumination where people actually move.
Outdoor lighting controls can also incorporate technologies such as photosensors and time-based controls so lighting doesn’t need to operate unnecessarily during daylight hours. Current ENERGY STAR requirements for qualifying outdoor fixtures include daylight-control provisions in applicable products.
Fall is a good time to notice those needs because you’re finally experiencing the exterior of your home in darkness during normal waking hours.
Can My Lights Turn On Automatically as It Gets Dark Earlier?
Yes, and this is where smart lighting becomes particularly useful in fall.
Smart lighting isn’t valuable simply because you can pull out your phone and turn on a bulb.
A conventional wall switch is usually faster than that.
The interesting part is automation.
ENERGY STAR notes that smart lighting can incorporate schedules, scenes, remote control, sensors, geofencing, dimming and adjustable white or colored light depending on the particular product.
Imagine exterior lighting coming on according to a schedule.
Or arriving home to appropriate lighting without walking into a dark house.
Or creating an Evening scene that changes several lights at once.
Or a Good Night routine that shuts down the lighting you no longer need.
At Unique Lighting & Home Decor, we carry STARFISH by SATCO smart-home products, including bulbs, fixtures, control panels, under-cabinet and tape lighting, outdoor and landscape lighting, switches, plugs, cameras, string lighting and permanent eave lighting.
If you’re interested in going further, our Smart Home Lighting Guide explains what these systems can do and how to decide whether smart lighting makes sense for your home.
What About Holiday Lighting?
This is where we’re going to suggest something different from another box of temporary Christmas lights.
Permanent Eave Lighting Can Be Holiday Lighting and Much More
If you’ve spent enough Montana Novembers on a ladder hanging lights from the roofline, or worse, Januarys taking them down, permanent eave lighting may deserve a look.
We carry STARFISH by SATCO smart eave lighting, which gives homeowners controllable exterior lighting that can remain installed rather than being put up and taken down every holiday season.
That means the same lighting can change with the occasion.
- Christmas.
- Halloween.
- Game day.
- A birthday.
- A party.
Or simply an exterior white-light appearance when you aren’t celebrating anything.
The important distinction is:
You’re not installing Christmas lights.
You’re installing a permanent smart-lighting system that can become holiday lighting when you want it to.
What Lighting Is Easy to Forget Until the Days Get Shorter?
Some lighting rarely gets attention until you need it.
Stair and Low-Level Lighting
Think about walking through your home at night.
You don’t necessarily want to turn on every overhead fixture simply to walk downstairs.
Step lighting, low-level wall lighting and strategically positioned sconces can provide another layer.
If you’re building or undertaking a significant remodel, these are exactly the kinds of lighting decisions worth discussing before walls are finished.
Wall Sconces
Sconces can bring illumination down from the ceiling and put light on vertical surfaces.
Think about:
- Bathroom mirrors.
- Hallways.
- Fireplaces.
- Bedrooms.
- Stairwells.
- Built-in cabinetry.
- Entries.
- Exterior walls.
If virtually every permanent light in your house is located in the ceiling, wall lighting may be one of the missing layers.
Lamps
Don’t underestimate them.
A beautiful table or floor lamp can solve a very specific lighting problem without requiring electrical work.
A reading chair doesn’t necessarily need the entire living room brighter.
It may simply need a lamp.
What Lighting Have You Been Meaning to Replace?
Fall is also a useful time to make a different kind of list.
Walk through your house and identify the fixtures you’ve been tolerating.
The bathroom vanity light you’ve disliked since you moved in.
The dining chandelier that’s too small.
The bedroom fan that no longer fits your style.
The kitchen pendants you chose quickly while building because someone needed an answer.
The exterior fixtures whose finish has deteriorated.
The lamp that doesn’t provide enough light.
The fixture that’s technically fine but has absolutely nothing to do with the home you’ve created around it.
You don’t necessarily need to remodel the room.
Lighting can be one of the most visually significant changes you make without changing the room itself.
And unlike a fall pillow or seasonal decoration, a fixture you genuinely love can remain part of your home for years.
Before the Holidays, Look at the Rooms Your Guests Will Actually Use
You don’t have to replace every fixture before Thanksgiving.
Prioritize.
Start with the places people actually experience:
- The exterior approach.
- Entry.
- Kitchen.
- Dining room.
- Living room.
- Powder room or guest bathroom.
- Guest bedroom.
Ask yourself:
- Does this room have enough light?
- Is the light where it’s useful?
- Does the fixture fit the room?
- Can the lighting change between functional and entertaining modes?
- Is there anything we’ve simply learned to ignore because we see it every day?
Sometimes looking at your home through the eyes of a guest makes those answers surprisingly obvious.
Fall Lighting Isn’t Just a Residential Conversation
The days get shorter for Southwest Montana businesses, too.
If you own or manage a business in Butte or the surrounding area, we’d encourage you to do exactly the same exercise we’re recommending to homeowners.
Visit Your Own Business After Dark
Approach the property the way a customer does.
Drive into the parking area.
Walk toward the entrance.
Look at the signage.
Look at the building.
Walk through the front door.
Then walk through the spaces where customers and employees spend their time.
Ask:
- Can customers easily identify the entrance?
- Are walkways and changes in elevation appropriately illuminated?
- Are exterior fixtures functioning?
- Are there dark areas that need professional evaluation?
- Does the entrance look open and inviting after dark?
- Does the lighting present your merchandise, food, services or interior the way you want customers to experience them?
- Are employees working under lighting that’s appropriate for their tasks?
- Do you have old fluorescent or HID systems creating maintenance or performance problems?
The lighting requirements of a retail store aren’t the same as those of an office.
An office isn’t a warehouse.
A restaurant isn’t a medical office.
A historic commercial property in Uptown Butte isn’t necessarily going to have the same needs as a newer commercial building.
Commercial lighting should be designed around what actually happens inside, and outside, the building.
Could Your Business Benefit From an LED Lighting Upgrade?
For businesses still operating older lighting systems, fall is a logical time to evaluate what you’re using because artificial lighting becomes more noticeable as daylight hours decrease.
DOE guidance on commercial fluorescent troffer retrofits reports project-level energy savings of roughly 20% to 60% from LED retrofits in the applications it studied, although actual savings depend on the existing equipment, replacement system, operating hours and project design.
But efficiency shouldn’t be the only question.
We also want to look at:
- Light quality.
- Light levels.
- Glare.
- Color.
- Fixture condition.
- Maintenance.
- Controls.
- How the space is actually being used.
A lower-wattage fixture that provides poor lighting isn’t a successful lighting plan simply because it uses less electricity.
Efficiency and good illumination need to work together.
Commercial Lighting Controls Can Matter, Too
Here’s another area worth evaluating.
- Does every light need to be on whenever the building is occupied?
- Does a storage area need full illumination when nobody is in it?
- Does exterior lighting need to operate at the same level all night?
- Could daylight reduce the amount of artificial light needed in some areas?
DOE research has found substantial potential savings from lighting controls and notes that many commercial buildings still rely on little more than conventional switches.
Depending on the application, controls can include:
- Occupancy sensing.
- Scheduling.
- Dimming.
- Daylight response.
- Exterior lighting controls.
- Networked systems.
DOE also specifically recommends considering occupancy sensors and integrated dimming/daylight controls in appropriate commercial applications.
The right solution depends on the building.
And that’s why an evaluation should come before the product.
Don’t Wait Until November to Think About Fall Lighting
Some lighting changes are simple.
- A bulb.
- A lamp.
- A fixture that’s in stock.
Others aren’t.
- You may need a particular finish.
- A specific fixture size.
- Multiple coordinated fixtures.
- Electrical changes.
- An electrician.
- A special-order product.
- A larger commercial quantity.
If your goal is:
“I want this finished before Thanksgiving.”
So, don’t start thinking about it the week before Thanksgiving.
Fall gives you a window to identify what isn’t working before holiday entertaining and the darkest months of the year are fully underway.
Your Fall Lighting Assignment
Here’s what we want you to do.
Tonight, after the sun goes down, walk through your property.
Not tomorrow afternoon.
Tonight.
If you’re at home, start where you park.
- Walk to the front door.
- Go through the entry.
- Kitchen.
- Living room.
- Dining room.
- Bathrooms.
- Hallways.
- Stairs.
- Bedrooms.
- Then look outside again.
If you own a business, do the same thing from your customer’s point of view—and then from your employees’ point of view.
Every time you think:
- “It’s dark here.”
- “That’s way too bright.”
- “I can’t see what I’m doing.”
- “Why is there no light here?”
- “I hate that fixture.”
- “That light is always on.”
- “I wish this came on automatically.”
- “I’ve been meaning to replace that.”
Take a picture.
You don’t need to know whether the solution is a different bulb, another fixture, a chandelier, a lamp, a wall sconce, under-cabinet lighting, landscape lighting, smart controls, permanent eave lighting, or a change that requires an electrician.
That’s where we come in.
- Bring us the picture.
- Bring us the old bulb.
- Bring us your measurements.
- Bring us your plans.
Or simply come in and tell us:
“This is what isn’t working.”
We’ll start there.
Unique Lighting & Home Decor
926 S. Arizona St.
Butte, Montana 59701
406.565.4037
No appointment is necessary. Come into the showroom, wander, look at fixtures, compare finishes, see the actual scale of the products and ask questions.
Because fall doesn’t create every lighting problem.
Sometimes it just gets dark early enough for you to finally see it.
References
U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d.). Strategy guideline: High performance residential lighting. Building America Program.
U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d.). Purchasing energy-efficient light fixtures (luminaires). Federal Energy Management Program.
U.S. Department of Energy. (2022). Optimization of lighting systems. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
U.S. Department of Energy. (2017). LED retrofit kits, TLEDs, and lighting controls: An application guide. Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative.
ENERGY STAR. (n.d.). Smart lighting. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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