Remodel Your Recessed Fixtures

FIX FOR LARGE OUTDATED RECESSED FIXTURES

My kitchen has plenty of lighting. Unfortunately the ceiling is loaded with very outdated 6" diameter recessed incandescent fixtures. I have avoided changing them to a more contemporary sized 4" diameter because of the drywall repair that would need to be done to patch the ceiling at each fixture. But today I found a Juno remodel product for exactly this purpose and it is a very energy efficient LED fixture. Read more about the product below...

For kitchens with existing 5” or 6” recessed cans, Juno Lighting offers the ultimate in LED Solid State lighting which is fully dimming LED remodel can that has 20 different trim options. This fixture comes with a built in LED light engine that lasts for 60,000 hours of use. For most kitchens, this means 30 years of never changing a light bulb. At only 14 total watts, these LED fixtures provide crisp, brilliant illumination which is excellent for enhancing granite and simulated stone counter tops, wood finishes and tile.

AGING ISSUES

TOPIC OF AGING AND ARCHITECTURE HITS ITS STRIDE

"Architecture has failed to find a mechanism for dealing with the body's transformation as it ages. Modernism’s obsession with youth culture and its reinvention of traditional family structures rendered its designs powerless in this realm. Contemporary design yields more from regulations than a concern for ergonomics and the efficacy of good architecture."

The issue of building design and regulations not meeting the needs of our aging population will be a consuming topic in our homes and communities very shortly. The existing housing inventory will only maintain an acceptable value if it can be reworked to serve the human life cycle and the limitations that come with aging. These buildings also need to serve extended families. Currently building codes are written to deny in-law apartments and the logical use of existing out-buildings for additional dwelling space. Code officials will soon have to become part of the solutions sought by homeowners to maximize their space due to family and economic circumstances.

BOMB SHELTERS

I have been watching an House Hunters International episode that follows a 25 year old woman looking for an apartment in Tel Aviv. Her short list of requirements is that the apartment needs to be near her mom and it must have a bomb shelter. Bomb shelter? I suppose the technical design is similar to a hurricane shelter. Both are a necessity in reference to your geographic area but only the bomb shelter is a result of political instability. The process of design involves gathering program information uniquely for each client, location, and budget. But politics and goverment regulations can dictate details of a project. Bombs, hurricanes, earthquakes, ocean tides, wetlands, endangered species, community association rules, building codes, and many other forces must be integrated in to the design solutions. Oh, yes, it needs to look good and function flawlessly.