lighting

[billgates27]

The Day spa i work for burnt down on April 13th(Friday) so we are located at a temporary buiding, which is okay but not great. As we rebuild our building we are looking for different ideas.

Before we had a spot light which was okay but bad location(towards the head). Now we have to use candles for lighting and not really liking it because they leave black smoke on the container/walls and we have lamps but to bright even with 3 levels on brightness. Does anyone have any ideas?

thanks

 

[Kurtis B]

The lampshade you use can make a huge difference.

I have seen white Christmas lights used. That was pretty and unobtrusive.

 

[Ellen]

Scrip has some really nice flameless candles (about $34.00) that run on a battery.

I purchased one recently and am enjoying it very much. You'll need to get their catalog to order them though, as they don't show the product online. 1-800-747-3488

Lots of lighting ideas at Pier One

Cost Plus World Market usually has a few interesting ambient lighting lamps -

Here's a way to use fabric.

 

[realityshowjunkie]

The spa I worked at had normal lights with 2 different switches. You could do massage with just one light on plus it had a dimmer! Awesome in my opinion because when they come in, as you are talking and they get undressed, you can have it up a bit so they can see what they are doing. When i came back in to do the massage, I would dim the lights more.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Putting a dimmer switch in is very easy for overhead lights unless they are low-voleforum.xxxe. If you have a floor lamp, you can get plug-in dimmer switches that work really well. IKEA sells them for a few dollars, and you can usually find them at Home Depot or Lowe's too.

If you have overhead lighting, you can put fabric up to diffuse the light.

All the candles for lighting are probably not a great idea, especially if they are producing enough soot to mark the walls. Remember YOU are breathing it too. If they are going to insist that you continue to use candles for lighting, you should insist that they provide you with soy or beeswax candles for health and safety. There are lots of articles out there on air pollution from cheap paraffin candles, since they are a petroleum product, it's a little bit like breathing exhaust, and can quickly become a significant lung irritant if you are working in a closed room all day long with several candles burning.

 

[Proffesor Jelskraft]

Given the fact that your previous location burned down, I'm surprised they would want to have candles. Another vote for dimmer switches!

I have to say I once did a couples' massage at a spa. The other therapist was the lead therapist and dimmed the lights very low. While I worked on the male client's leg heading for the calf, he informed me that he had poison oak all over his calf, something I wouldn't have seen if he had not informed me. Yikes!

I know someone is going to ask about intake, so to head off that question, this is Mexico and that particular spa, along with most spas and individual therapists here, does not do an intake. I seem to be the exception.

Sorry to distract from the original post, my point is whatever lighting method you choose, please be sure it is adequate lighting. I can't imagine doing massage by candlelight.

 

[Rli R]

We use dimmer switches for overhead lights at work, and that's my top choice too.

At home, I have a neat little turtle accent lamp that provides sufficient ambient lighting to get by, and they're fairly cheap. Here's a vid clip showing similar lamps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmPHz_xKT4Q

I can burn candles at home but rarely do, and would NEVER burn them at work.

 

[xxSexPotxx]

Salt lamps are good. They can be a bit dim, but if I use two in a relatively small room, it provides enough light. It's very diffuse and ambient, very pretty.

Dimmer lights are good, but I find that some make a whining noise. Maybe these are just the cheap ones. I also have used some that are okay...but if they are overhead, even on the dimmest setting they can still be too bright, as far as I can perceive.

I like the salt lamps.

 

[lonely_soul]

Ditto the dimmer switches and twinkle lights, but another option would be a torchiere lamp with a dimmer or some other type of standing lamp.

 

[gemgem279]

I have a floor lamp that shine directly onto the cieling (like a halogen but safe!) and it has three light settings - not exactly a dimmer switch but it just plugs right in.

I am then able to turn the overhead light off once I enter the room (I leave it on while they are getting undressed, etc. just for their safety and convenience).

Angela

 

[Pompal 09.]

I have two small lamps placed at opposite corners of the room, with 25w bulbs, and then a string of soft white lights from Target that are supposed to be for "indoor/outdoor decorating" which are kind of lying along a dresser in and among the various things on the dresser -- I get tons of compliments on that! -- I also have an overhead ceiling fan/light on a dimmer, but I am not a fan of 'overhead' lighting, in general, so I only rarely use that, if a client needs more light during the intake process.

 

[barbamatt]

When I built my room (12x16) I had 2 sets of recessed eyeball lighting installed with 2 seperate dimmer switches. I purchased all the products from Home Depot. I like having the 2 sets because when I am cleaning or just using the room otherwise, it is bright enough, but when I am in session for massage I can dim the ones directly overhead, or even turn them off and still have enough light coming from the other 2.
The place I used to work at gave me this idea. They had 2 overhead recessed lights on a dimmer. What I like about the eyeball lighting is that you can position it so that it is not pointing directly in their eyes.
I also use candles for ambiance.
In my room at the chrio office we switched from regular bulbs to amber colored ones. They are 25 watts, and give just enough light. I also purchased a waterfountain that has LED lights in it for ambient lighting.

I like the idea of using rope lighting! I thought about doing that in a lil different way. I wanted to install it in the crown moulding. So you would see light shining on the cealing but not the bulbs.