#for context by intense I mean it’s either floods or fires

[faithfromanewperspective]

if the El Niño southern oscillation was a blorbo I think they’d represent bipolar or something

[remsmoonlight]

— title : help me

— word count : 2.1 k words

— pairing : daryl dixon x reader

— summary : you’re not the only one who can feel yourself falling apart, but other things come to light in the mean time

— warnings : brief mentions of death, minor swearing, lack of self care

Had it not been for the fact that you know the world has ended, you could almost find yourself beginning to allow for a sense of tranquility to alleviate the constant threat of anxiety that creeps up on you almost daily. Normality was not a guarantee anymore, it was a rare prize that the group finds itself sometimes able to create even a jagged fragment of.. something you find yourself gripping onto with an unyielding strength, as if you could force it into reality.

The appealing picture is punctured as you spot some movement out of your peripheral vision, your gun is raised in the direction, an inaudible laugh is released as you try to find humour in your paranoia. Even protected by steel fences and concrete walls, you can’t find yourself believing that this prison is now your home, your sanctuary that protects you from the horrors from the outside that constantly threaten to overwhelm the grimy paradise your family had built.

Nothing out of the ordinary has occurred the entire time since you had been awoken to take watch, just a few stray walkers and animals, nothing that would warrant a bullet in them to draw every other living thing for miles to the prison. You find the cool mist that blankets the green fields welcome, something to keep you grounded before your mind wanders off to all that has been brutally torn from your soul, piece by agonising piece. The fog acts as miniscule needles, poking and prodding against your reddened cheeks.

A rustle pulls your attention to the small room of the tower, Daryl had been one to volunteer to take watch with you that night. Something about him conjured the most perplexing yet fond feelings of affection rooted within the centre of you, sometimes you think that there may be something yet sometimes you are sure he was sending signals that there is nothing. Ghost of minor grazes against your skin that had been seared into place, yet were so easily covered as if they had never existed.

Daryl Dixon is one confusing man.

“ no one taking over yet? “

You shake your head at Daryl, a few strands of hair are horridly disloyal to their place and tumble in front of your vision, that is hurriedly rectified as it throws you off balance. Sometimes you had no idea how to behave in front of him, it’s something you wish to confront as you know you cannot continue this way.. especially as tomorrow is never and has never been a guarantee, clearing the air is the only answer.

“ um, not yet. it’s still early though. “ you reply, a latent tremblant that almost completely breaks into your tone, the anxiety you had when you dedicate thoughts to your family going out tries to haunt you like a spirit would. You have already lost so much from the simple things.

“ they better move their asses soon. “

Of course, you have been relieved from watch duty and before you have even thought about breakfast you’re already hauling your heavy limbs to your cell.

Your eyes scan the room to find what you need, a backpack that is shrouded by the intense gloom and darkness that dominates the cramped room filled to the brim with an infinite amount of blemishes from top to bottom. You know that many happy memories do not occupy the room, let alone the building.. but it’s something you intend on changing. You move swiftly to pack it with all the supplies, your mind conjuring scenarios from nothing and every single one more horrifying than the other.. the drive to protect your heart from any more loss is the central force moving you to fill its empty space.

“ the hell you doin’ there? “

The abruptness of the voice sends your pulse skipping, not expecting anyone to bother you so soon.

“ I can’t sit here while they go out there. “ you don’t turn to look at Daryl, you already know the expression that is dyed so densely as he watches your crouched form. “ i tried, but i have to go.. i have to make sure they’re okay. “

“ you don’t trust ‘em? “ asks Daryl, he’d noticed your strange behaviour, he’d not said anything to anyone but the concern he feels is beginning to take on a life of its own. Knowing he would have to share with Rick if you become worse, it’s not something that he wants to do but if it brings some peace to your troubled mind he would.

“ no -- it’s not that! I just.. “

Daryl emits a scoff, he doesn’t mean to be so cold with his demeanour, but divulging anger and rage when he cares is all he knows. His upbringing created a perfect fusion of uncertainty, fear and suffering. One that blends into such a perfect mixture that any time he has to confront an intense situation, all that is expressed is a fire that burns anyone in its path. It’s taken time to be able express himself in healthier ways, but sometimes he finds himself fleeing to the same old habits.

“ what? ‘cause you’re gonna keep on going out there and it’s gonna get ‘ya killed! “

“ you don’t get it. “

Daryl barges his way through the empty doorway, before you even realise it the backpack that had been held firmly in your hand now lingers at your side, an emptiness that your grasp finds itself itching to rip back to its former place. You have your mind set in stone that you need to protect them, you can’t lose another person, the last time you had missed one.. it didn’t turn out so well, and you lost a friend. It was a pain that had your heart feeling as if it was being compressed under an unbearable weight, it’s a childish whim that refuses to back down. The urge to protect clouds everything you see, knowing that if you are there, then you have done everything in your power to ensure that life keeps on going, even if it limps pathetically along.

“ y’think I’m some sorta dumbass? that it? “

“ no! I just -- “ you can feel your entire being beginning to heat up from the pent up fear and frustration that have been building block upon block that is so close to tumbling down in a chaotic fashion. Your fingers move up to clench strands of your hair in exasperation, the phantom pain from your grip enough to prevent yourself from spilling over.

“ y’just what? huh? “ Daryl moves closer towards you, you can see that he wants to say more, to do more.. his eyes speak volumes, they say much more than his mouth does.

The aches that Daryl can feel within him never fade, they never dull, not when he can see what has been occupying your mind is causing a dramatic shift in you. He doesn’t know how to approach the subject, tender conversations have never been his forte.. and the fact that it’s.. well, you. He can’t pinpoint when he began to notice you more and more, but the thought of harm befalling you is something that sends ice through his veins. He doesn’t want to be in a world where he would never see you every day.

“ if I was there.. then maybe, I don’t know. I could have done something. “

Silence is thick, as thick as the dust that still continues to haunt the floors of the cells, no matter how much they are cleaned and wiped away. You can’t wipe away the horrors as easily as dirt.

You turn to face him, you slowly lift yourself as an unwavering tenseness lines every inch of your limbs. It sounded silly now that you have admitted it to another human being, but it is still real and it’s still how you feel.

“ what? y’think you can take on a horde of walkers? it was a suicide mission and they knew it. “

“ how can you be so careless? “ you ask him, a horrified expression staining your expression.

“ I’m seein’ you go down the same road, I ain’t gonna be part of that. you keep goin’ like this, it’s gonna kill ‘ya. “

The words run circles in your mind, a marathon that feels as if it will have no end. It explains his behaviour towards you, the warmth you receive one moment and the sudden shift to a numbing chill that felt as if you were no more than strangers. You hate that to be able to get information from him, you have to be arguing, it’s not something that can be allowed to continue.

“ tell me why. “ a demand comes from you, your voice sounding the most steady and enduring since the argument began. You sigh, feeling defeated. You hate the bubbling concoction of negative emotions that are brewing more and more from the exchange.

“ ain’t hard to figure out. “ Daryl has directed his attention to the floor, unable to meet your sight. He doesn’t want to see what is written on your face, his mind bolting to the worst possible explanation as it always does.

Moving towards what could only be described as a pitiful form of a bed, you drop yourself roughly onto the raggedy mattress and pat the space next to you. Your eyes follow him as he contemplates his next movement, if he decides to move toward you to forgo it all and pretend as if what you had just spoken about had not existed.

Luckily for you, he situates himself on the far side, his hands only slightly fidgeting as he waits for you to speak. It has to be you.

“ Daryl, why don’t you want me to go? “

“ I can’t see ‘ya get killed, just can’t. “

Before you even can truly comprehend what it is you’re doing, you inch a pinky finger towards the hand that lays resting dormantly at his side and allow it to curl into one of his own. The tenderness of the moment is not missed by either of you, both of you not knowing how to proceed. Daryl wasn’t used to being shown such softness in this context, he wants to hate it.. To squeeze the life from the feelings that it evokes, but he can’t. He doesn’t want to.

“ Daryl.. is there something there, or am I imagining it? “

“ y’aint goin’ crazy. “ he acknowledges, providing the spark that alights a bright burning hope within you.

“ is this why you don’t want me on the run? “ you inquire as a grimace comes flooding onto your face, your knees jumping as you struggle to contain your energy.

“ shit -- you look like you’re about to drop everytime I see ‘ya. “

As you battle yourself to contain the upturning of your lips, you shuffle closer to him. You felt the exhaustion every day threatening your entire being, you truly had no idea how you have not yet succumbed to it. Days at the prison are never easy, there’s always something to do and that work is nothing less than formidable and punishing on the human body.

He cares about me, you think to yourself timidly.

You take care in slowly leaning your chin on his shoulder and bringing a hand to rest on his back. Waiting for a signal to do otherwise, a rejection.. but it doesn’t come. It’s allowed, something you joyfully see as progress. You allow yourself to take in the comfort from the simple gesture, sorely missing having even the simple solaces that bring a much needed warming glow in the pit of your stomach. It hurts that he doesn’t even know how important he is to everyone, but more so to you.

“ Daryl, this isn’t something I can just kick. It’s not that easy. “

“ not somethin’ I’m asking. you need t’take care of y’self. “

Before your mind even registers it, you can feel a small weight on your free hand that lays dormantly on your hand. His thumb is drawn back and forth on yours, the patterns bringing a sense of soothing to you that had not blessed you in what felt like an eternity.

“ well.. maybe you can help me? “

There’s a hesitancy that the two of you can recognise, you wish with your whole soul that you could be stronger in asking. You’ve tried and tried to rid the negativity from within you, but every time you think you have, it comes back stronger than ever. More and more resistant than it was previously, its claws drawing more blood from you as it secures its hold in a much more impressive manner.

“ ain’t even gotta ask. “

[aroarolibrary]

Oh man so, first off: congrats to angel/dean shippers on getting your canon thing in spanish but secondly:

Man this whole thing that’s been happening with this show over the last few weeks has 100% reminded me that this show and Sherlock were the two fandoms that made be super romance repulsed because of all the internalized self-hate and trauma they caused me. Like. I was romance repulsed before but those fandoms?? Jacked it up to 100% for years in which I couldn’t interact with any romantic stories or fandoms at all.

Story time!!!

Tw for: self harm, self hatred, hypersexuality, mental health issues, child neglect.

So imagine you are me: a young person who has just graduated high school and, very suddently, went from being “single mother of your little sister” who you had essentially raised on your own for the last four years when she was 5 to 9 yo to “every day college kid that sees their sibling that they raised for the last four years maybe once a month.

Also imagine that, out of all of your high school friends, none of them are attending the same university as you and so. Well.

You’re feeling pretty lonely and depressed.

Now also imagine: you didn’t really have a chance to consume media I HS because: parent. In fact 90% of what you watched was kids cartoons for your sibling +bonus Inuyasha at 3am as a...Uh....treat.....(that’s the kind way of saying ‘setting an alarm at 3am to check to make sure the parents actually got home from wherever TF they vanished to nearly every night).

But hey! You are free now and can watch/read what you want between classes! Only, well, where to start? You go to a book store and find a Sherlock Holmes book and think “okay ya I’ve always wanted to read these!” And proceed to consume them in one week flat.

They are amazing. The relationship between Sherlock and John reminds you of your and one of your best friends/honorary cousins that you haven’t seen in a while and it brings you comfort to read, but now you are out of stories so, you do what any person this day in ages does: you find fanfiction. Now, Sherlock wasn’t a thing at this point and so nearly all the fanfics were based on the books and, of those, 80-85% you gen. No romance at all. Just relaxing stories about friends and solving mysteries.

Then Sherlock happens and, don’t get me wrong, I was definitely a fan when the show started, but suddenly fanfiction was no longer mostly gen, it was shifting, becoming more and more shipping and romance related and it became harder and harder to find non-romantic stories.

Then a person I was living with suggested supernatural. “It’s a story about brothers and it focuses on them.” They said “very little romance. You would probably like it.”

And so I watched it and, they were right, I did. And ya, that one wasn’t exactly like the early Sherlock Holmes fandom, it had a lot of shipping from the get go, but I could also really easily find gen fics that focused on siblings and familial relationships and ignore the rest since there was a pretty even 50/50 split with a slight favor on the gen side.

(Keep in mind there is a LOT of other irl trauma going on in the BG of this story which I know I’ve talked about before. A lot of which is also feeding into the romance repulsion and my avoidance of romance in fandom spaces along with my “blossoming” hypersexuality)

Anyway, the familial relationship in spn was a comfort. At the point I moved from Sherlock to SPN I was in my second year on university and was doing a bit better mentally (in the “sadness” front at least) but I was still missing seeing my sister a lot and so SPN was a comfort in that sense. It was something to relax with that didn’t have romance or anything of the sort that, at that point, was only driving me further and further into hypersexuality (I was dating my first ‘official’ partner at that point and, while I can recognize it now looking back, romance in shows and movies made me feel inadequate as a partner. Like I was failing and not doing enough. Was not romantic enough. Was not showing affection enough. But physically I also couldn’t bring myself to do those things either. What I could do was sex. And, well, when that’s all you have to offer...)

ANYWAY: spn was the one show I knew of on TV that was low to no romance and that the fandom was also decently low on romance, instead focusing mostly on family and the brothers.

Cut forward a few years, I’m back into a depression, I’ve failed at a relationship again because all I can offer is sex and that’s really not enough for people that are looking for actual romance and:

And supernatural introduces an angel character to the show. It’s interesting but I’m pretty depressed and not really all that interested in the show anyway at this point-

But then the fandom happens and it’s like a flood. The romance pours in from all corners along with the absolute hate for anyone that doesn’t see anything romantic happening. It’s like watching a wild fire go through a fandom, what was once a fandom that mostly was just about siblings all of a sudden became all about this angel character and Dean. So much so that it over shadowed everything and any attempt to just enjoy the show as a gen thing or as a family-centric show became impossible.

It was also around this point that a lot of...idk what to call it really because it wasn’t exactly hate, it was like a “this is the only way to read/be in this fandom and if you aren’t we are going to harass you non-stop until you see things our way”. If you couldn’t see the romance between these two characters it was because you were homophobic. If you preferred gen it was because you were homophobic. If you focused on just the brothers and their relationship it was because you were homophobic. If you couldn’t see that Dean was better off in a romantic relationship then with his brother who he had an ‘unhealthy’ relationship with then you were homophobic.

(Keep in mind at this point I was out as bisexual and had attempted to date a woman at this point. I say attempted because, well, again: aromantic even if I didn’t know it then)

It was intense and, from the POV of an aromantic person struggling with being unable to understand even basic romance: it was traumatizing.

I tried to see it, to understand what these shippers were seeing that I couldn’t. Yes, I could see how Sam and Dean’s relationship could be viewed as unhealthy, but as someone who had lived a similar life to theirs as a kid, and to suddenly be bombarded with this idea that the “healthy” way to cope with that is a “romantic relationship” it was a lot. And by a lot I mean a death spiral.

There was...a lot of one night stands and sex and half-attempted relationships after that, in that desperate attempt to understand. There was also panic, nausea, fear that my own relationship with my sister was unhealthy. Was causing both of us harm. That the only way I could keep from hurting her further was to find a “healthy” romantic relationship instead because siblings aren’t meant to be close, not even those where one raised the other alone for years on end.

I had no context outside of fandom about what a healthy sibling relationship looked like and, hell, most TV shows at the time painted sibling relationships as antagonist 90% of the time and with them only interacting when necessary. My parents both had siblings but my dad talked to his maybe once a month and my mom faught with Hers a lot. I had never faught with my sister. We got along perfectly, mostly because from the ages on 13 - 18 I lived for her alone and so I was used to putting her first no matter what.

But this fandom, that had been a comfort for me for a while, suddenly said that was wrong. That instead romance was the way to go and I...

Well. I am conscious of myself enough now to know that I was purposely hurting myself. A lot. Punishing myself over and over and over again, not just because I couldn’t figure out how to “feel” romance like I was supposed to do but also because I was a terrible sibling. Because I had failed my sister some how and had ended up in an “unhealthy codependent” relationship with her since, if Sam and Dean’s relationship was like that according to fans, then obviously so was ours.

(God and don’t get me started on the spiral that the new Inuyasha Sequel put me into a few months ago. I’m STILL not out of that spiral yet. These last few months have not been good for the “romance isn’t important/is unnecessary” front)

I would like to say that I soon realized how terrible the fandom was for my mental health and that it was causing me to harm myself but that isn’t how this story ends. How it ends is that I Eventually I ended up not being able to watch SPN any more. Every episode was just another dagger in my side. Another failure to press my face into. Another series of interactions where I couldn’t see. Couldn’t understand. Another episode that would let to another desperate one night stand/attempt at understanding how this was better. Healthier. How this was how things were supposed to be. Another night of not talking to my family or friend and another few days of not talking to my sister because talking to her too much was wrong.

So ya. This story doesn’t end nicely. It just slowly fades to black. To a point where I hate myself so much that I can’t bring myself to interact with the fandom or internet at all. Where everything just kind of...goes away and vanished but where the trauma still exists. Where stories that start out about family and, suddenly, introduce love interests leave me nauseous and choked. Where my romance repulsion gets so strong that I can’t sleep because I just keep remembering my failures. The fact that it’s not healthy to focus or care about your family. That there must be romance. There must There must there must. Because with out it all other relationships are bad/wrong/unhealthy and you are bad/wrong/unhealthy for only having those.

Just the endless mantra. All night long.

Bad.

Wrong.

Unhealthy.

Bad.

Wrong.

Unhealthy.

Bad

Wrong.

Unhealthy.

Over and over and over again.

[theliterateape]

The Inevitability of the House Winning (If the House is the Earth and We're Just Playing Penny Slots)

By Don Hall

A casino is a place where people buy slices of hope.

They put their ten dollars in the Game King and for that split second before they hit the button, there is this momentary flash of hope that this time the slots will line up and they’ll get a payout. It doesn’t much matter that they’ve pushed that spin button a thousand times and only been rewarded a handful and that the house has absorbed far more money than any jackpot could achieve. It is this sense of hope that fuels the entire industry.

The smart players know that when it comes to slots, they only get two choices that have anything to do with the outcome: how much they bet and how fast they play. The smart ones still feel that bit of hope but understand that the numbers are generated randomly and that they ultimately have no control whatsoever on the results. But they still hope. Each time. Despite that knowledge.

Climate activist Naomi Klein argued recently during an interview with The Intercept, “So many environmental responses have just been minor tweaks to an economy based on endless consumption — take your electric car to the drive-through for an Impossible Burger and a Coke with a paper straw. Of course it’s better than the alternative. But it’s nowhere close to the depth of change required if we hope to actually pull our planet back from the brink.”

On the flip side, in The New Yorker, Jonathan Franzen posits a different approach. “If you care about the planet, and about the people and animals who live on it, there are two ways to think about this. You can keep on hoping that catastrophe is preventable, and feel ever more frustrated or enraged by the world’s inaction. Or you can accept that disaster is coming, and begin to rethink what it means to have hope.”

I’m a true blue optimist but I’m not blind or stupid, and am inclined to see the latter of his choices as a bit more realistic. Betting on oligarchs and activists to battle it out leaves us with only two choices: who we vote for and how much time we can spend on promoting our candidates while still holding jobs, paying bills, and getting a meal every now and then. Yet we still have that flash of hope every time we vote.

Let’s face facts. This has been an alarm bell crisis since Jimmy Carter was president. We royally fucked it up and there’s simply no realistic way to even slow it down. We want desperately to believe we can move the needle back, that we can save the environment, we want to hope.

The U.N.'s latest report put together by over ninety authors and editors from over forty countries is probably the most dire warning yet about the inevitability of climate change.

The report says that, unless the world immediately begins reducing the burning of coal and oil and gas that drive up global temperatures, the world will suffer tremendous consequences. In a mere twenty-two years from now, global food supplies will be threatened by increasing droughts and heat waves.

Below sea-level nations could be flooded by a rising sea, triggering huge caravans of refugees. Storms and wildfires will grow in intensity, costing billions in damages and lives lost.

It’s in the reality of the necessary immediate change that dooms us. As Klein points out, thus far our attempts to curb the deleterious effect eight billion humans are having on the planet have been largely cosmetic rather than substantive. This isn’t the fault of our politicians and leaders (or Baby Boomers or Generation Z or White People or Men) as much as it is in our inability to radically change our day-to-day plugging ten dollars into the machine and hitting spin.

Tell an ordinary person that investing into clean energy will cost this much or that much and he’ll be able to see it in the abstract and either agree or disagree but it has no personal stake in it. That abstract perspective is easy. Tell the same guy he has to get rid of his automobile and walk to work or no longer eat in a fast food joint and he’s gonna push back pretty hard and the abstract becomes concrete.

The True Believers proselytize that unless we all pitch in and change our entire structure of being and consuming, the planet will become a living hell but they’re preaching some sort of eternal life for the planet that it’s too late to hope for.

I have respect for the eco-warriors and four million activists who marched last week. They see a problem that is catastrophic and are doing something to change that. Politics is about power and the fight for that power is participatory rather than spectator-driven. It is, however, theater. So is religion. Unfortunately, all the theater in the world isn’t going to change certain indelible and undeniable facts.

The science says that we would need curb carbon emissions by 70 percent to keep the carbon dioxide level stable right now. Seventy percent just to keep the water level where it’s at, to stem the tide just a bit. Seventy percent immediately.

The odds of the entire planet of eight billion people and the industries built up around consumption ceasing the use of carbon emission producing technology by 70 percent in the next year are astronomical. Impossible odds. Only under global marshal law is this going to happen in a world where discomfort and inconvenience is considered the ultimate evil.

There’s an older guy in the casino about four times a week. He comes in and does the same thing every time: he plops down in front of the same two identical machines, plugs $100 into each and plays. When he runs out, he puts another couple hundred in and continues. He then proceeds to complain that the games are stealing his money and gets free packs of cigarettes. Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. By that definition, this guy is batshit.

By that definition, so are we all.

We know we aren’t going to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent. Ever. The magnitude of that ever coming to pass is like getting the entire globe to simply cease using the internet ever again. Christ, it’s taken decades to get enough of us to agree that gay marriage is no threat to straights and that marijuana should be legal. Reducing carbon emissions by 70 percent immediately is as fictional as the idea of original sin and heaven in the clouds.

We know it and yet we keep barking and marching and lobbying for substantive change while driving to the marches, using paper to print the pamphlets while drinking out of plastic bottles filled with water stolen by Nestlé and grabbing a Hot Pocket or packaged bowl of yogurt. We keep having babies to add to that eight billion mark thinking that more people isn’t the actual cause of the global decay.

The casino game that pays out the best is the one that provides the player the maximum amount of choices on how to play: blackjack. The player controls the bet, the choice to Hit or Stand, the observation of the cards on the dealer’s side, side bets, surrenders, insurance. It’s a slower game than a slot machine and gives some control over the outcome to the player. Blackjack is the Plan B for the degenerate gambler.

Blackjack players look down at slot players because they know that playing slots is basically just giving your money away for a slice of that hope with the inevitable end of going broke anyway. The house still wins over time but Blackjack still gets a higher payout than even poker.

When it comes to the impending disaster of climate, it might be prudent for us to acknowledge that we’ve screwed the pooch on this and go to a Plan B. Prepare for the coming deluge and drought. Expand our choices and gain just a smidge of control over the outcome. Focus the theater of activism on increased birth control and stem the tide of constant expansion of the global tribe. Preach the mantra of expanding FEMA to Homeland Security funding. Train the military in disaster relief measures. We aren’t going to roll this thing back but we can prepare for massive starvation, horrifying earthquakes, floods and fires, and maybe invest a whole in industrial sunscreen.

Trust me, no one is going to give two shits if we roll back carbon emissions by 20 percent or 40 percent when their kids are starving to death in 135˚ heat and the only fresh water is the slowly evaporating Great Lakes region.

And for a bit of context…

[mrstevenbushus]

Lighting Cost Guide

Most of us struggle to get the quality, frequency and variety of artificial lighting ideally balanced in our homes, especially if these decisions are being made late in the chaos of a building site.

It’s quite an art to get your lighting right – an ill-thought through design reliant on the common recessed spotlight and dimmer switch combination is unlikely to produce an aesthetically pleasing result.

So it’s much better to have help early on, carefully considering how each room in the house will be used at different times throughout the day. Perhaps, working up mood boards during this stage could help  you figure out what you’ll need.

Measuring light intensity: how many Lumens do you need?

Manufacturers will label bulbs (known as lamps by the trade) in terms of the products’ Lumen output, Lux intensity and their Kelvin shade/warmth. These are how different elements of the light is measured: brightness in Lumens; and intensity (or spread per m2) in Lux.

To put this into context, 800 Lumens generally does well to replicate normal daylight inside the home. The Kelvin (K) scale works to identify the tone of the light, with the warmer yellow/orange tints set at around 2,000K-3,000K and colder white/blue hues at 4,000K-8,000K.

Many self build homes include an open-plan kitchen, dining and family zone as the central hub, where different lighting demands are required as the daily routine evolves – task lamps in the kitchen, relaxed/warm illumination at the dining table and a cosy, fireside ambience for watching movies on the sofa.

Experienced interior designers taking a holistic approach to the artificial illumination will include a mixture of different fittings.

An interior designer will look at the room objectively and make sure the proposed scheme delivers to the functionality the owners want. What’s more, a professional can help you save money.

People sometimes feel an interior designer will be expensive and not fit with their budget. The reality is that hiring someone who really comprehends the subject will eliminate a lot of error, and therefore expense. They fully recognise how to cost items and are very savvy at balancing out where you need to put your money.

Learn more: Hiring an Interior Designer for your Project

Think overhead lighting to provide directional wash over wall and floor surfaces, uplighters to do the same with walls and ceilings, pendants to highlight features and table lamps to soften the mood.

Directional lamps can help to reduce glare, while dimmers are useful for softening intensity and the general layering of light will create striking architectural shadows thanks to strategically placed features, blinds and curtains.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the colour of your walls and ceilings will contribute to the amount of reflection – for instance, darker hues tend to absorb rather than transfer.

Low voltage vs low energy

Many homeowners struggle with the difference between low voltage and low energy.

Low energy means the lamp will produce the required levels with a reduced amount of consumption, which is measured in watts (w).

Low voltage is a safety option; normal supplies run at 230V (volts), which is the current pressure being driven through the cables.

This pressure starts life at a power station at around 400kV (kilo-volts), stepping down at other transformer stations as it gets closer to houses until it ultimately reaches 230V as it enters our buildings.

Layered illumination will add impact, but requires careful consideration. Shown here are John Cullen Lighting’s handmade Grissini Pendants, Lucca uplights and Oslo floorwashers

Internally, we may choose to reduce this pressure further where it enters a wet zone in the house (ie bathrooms and kitchens), say from 230V to 12V for recessed lighting.

To achieve this you’ll need local transformers positioned just before the fitting connection. However, the lamps in our bathrooms still require the same number of watts to produce the light, so it’s the flow of electricity (measured in amps) that will need to increase to compensate for our drop in voltage (amps x volts = watts).

How many light fittings do you need?

Conventional lights are connected to a circuit (either a ring/loop or a radial, which travels in one direction) that feeds to the consumer unit (the fuse board). There are usually separate circuits for ground and first floors – there are likely to be several in each storey in larger properties.

Each circuit is protected by a 6-amp miniature breaker (MCB) that works to keep it safe from overload. The whole system is protected by a minimum of two residual circuit devices (RCDs) that are there to guard against any earth leakage (and human shocks).

The below table is a rough template for how many fittings are needed in different rooms – it’s easy to see how numbers can escalate. Adding a porch light and then four external flood lights would tip the total over 100 with around 25-30 light switches.

Type of light fitting/roomBED 1BED 2BED 3BED 4BATH 1BATH 2WCHALL & LIVINGKITCHENUTILITYDININGSITTINGSTUDYSpotlight662101066Wall & table lights22222212442Pendant lights222212Strip lights222241Total Lights666688312146578Total switches3322111322221

Lighting costs

As with all building products, prices vary enormously; the cost of different light fittings presented below are purely a guide.

Although many folks leave it to the electrician to supply these, if lighting is important to you then it’s better to visit suppliers and look into the options – much like you would with other elements, such as bathroom fittings.

It’s difficult to isolate the overall labour costs of having your artificial illumination installed as this will be carried out as part of the overall electrical installation at both the first and second fix stages.

However, lighting will represent about half of the electrician’s work in the house and it usually takes two weeks for first fix and another two for second and final commissioning.

Type of light fittingTotal in homeNotesAverage rateTotal CostSpotlights46Recessed spotlight can start at £1.60 with directional at £4.95 & fire rated at £5.95£5£230Wall & table lights25Plug sockets for table lights would be £2.50; some two-way uplights at £35£17£425Pendant lights11A pendant with flec could cost £1.50 and some feature pendant fittings £100£50£550Strip lights13From a small 250mm light at £4 up to a task strip light at £12£8£104Switches25Backing boxes at £1 and switches from £5.30 for 3-gang£4£100External lights5A robust LED spotlight with PIR£35£175LED Lamps95For the internal light fittings; 5w spot at £6.50 and a 1m strip at £10£7£665Ancillaries1Cables, flex, low voltage transformers, clips, etc£400£400

LED lamps today

Light emitting diode (LED for short) lamps have been around for decades, but have only dominated the market in the past five to 10 years.

LEDs are more efficient in generating light from energy and do so without creating much heat – as a direct comparison.

You will only need a 5w (watt) LED to generate the same light as a 50w tungsten spot lamp or a 60-100w incandescent unit (which the government aimed to phase out by 2011 because of carbon reduction targets).

This is great news for homeowners as the overall electrical load will be lower, meaning bills are cheaper, too. The success of LEDs means manufacturers have found a way to produce them across most of the Kelvin scale; we can now enjoy warm lighting, as opposed to the crisp, cool, bluer shades that had previously characterised these units.

Smart lighting & upgrade options

Smart technology is fast becoming a more affordable choice, with lighting controls at the heart of the automated home. Common options include multiple push button switches where three, four or five pre-set mood levels can be selected, each then graded with a dimmer.

These require independent cabling and a central controller/relay for each zone (usually one room); however, one criticism of these systems is that a slight delayed response can cause the user to keep pressing buttons. Control via mobile phones and tablets is also an option, with some systems allowing you to change things even when you’re not home. For more on smart lighting see page 87.

The homeowners of this stunning new build benefit from Control4’s Mockupancy. The smart technology learns their daily routine and replays lighting scenes, entertainment scenes and even closes the blinds, all whilst the homeowner is away.

Read this case study: Smart Home Technology & Audio Visual System

In addition to purely technological upgrades, you may want to incorporate some more theatrical lighting, such as illuminated wall recesses or a perimeter channel around a dropped suspended ceiling.

In combination with a central chandelier, these features can help to create a bit of drama and atmosphere. Stair lighting is increasingly common and subtle directional illumination can also help to separate zones within an otherwise open plan layout.

Outdoor lighting

Not simply a way to guide you to the front door when you get home in the dark, external lighting can be used to enhance garden features.

Rather than closing the blinds or curtains, an internal space can be enhanced by switching on outdoor lighting so that you can see a dramatically staged set – especially where there might be a pond, pergola, pool or illuminated specimen trees.

How can I get my outdoor lighting scheme right?

First you’ll have to plan in advance and in detail. This means understanding the elements you want to illuminate and making provisions early enough in the build process to achieve it. It’s not enough to say that you want a light in a particular location; you need to know what fitting, too, so you can run the right cable, create the right installation points and fit the appropriate drivers.

More from Brilliant Lighting designer Melanie Shaw: Outdoor Lighting Design Ideas

Obviously there is some expense incurred with external lighting but its installation is becoming increasingly easy thanks to robust external sockets and switches, flexible armoured cables (which can travel through planters) and uplighters mounted on spikes.

A useful recent innovation is the ability to set the sensitivity and time delay for some external security lights remotely by a device operated at ground level rather than having to do this from a ladder.

Top Image: Using a variety of fittings, such as pendant lights and recessed downlights, will help you zone areas in open-plan spaces. This kitchen-dining room lighting design is by Brilliant Lighting.

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