[BIGmouthinDC]

Don't ask why my client wants back lit Honey Onyx wainscoting, wondering if I can do it with LED rope light, anyone have ideas?

 

[design1stcode2nd]

I haven't done it myself but rope lighting is how I've seen it done.

 

[Spaceman]

A brief discussion including a recommended light source. From what I read on other sites, the light source can be tricky as it needs to be held far enough off the Onyx to prevent hot spots (visual ones, not temperature). Not sure rope light would be bright enough. Found lots of info with a Google search of "backlighting stone".

 

[Spaceman]

 This one shows a few bad examples with rope light

More bad examples with rope light.


Seems like most of the good ones are using specialty fixtures/panels.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman  /t/1524428/any-experince-with-back-lighting-honey-onyx-panels/0_40#post_24533745

This

Seems like most of the good ones are using specialty fixtures/panels.

This was my first suspicion based on my early searches I was hoping for a cheaper alternatives and some better success stories using rope.

 

[Spaceman]

I'm not real familiar with LED strip lights, but if they make one that's easily cut to length where the lengths can be connected by jumpers, you might be able to set up a tightly spaced group of strip lights. The problem with the rope is I don't think you'll be able to get the bends tight enough to maintain a consistent glow across the surface. You might be able to get that with tightly spaced strips. I'm thinking maybe someone might have tried that in one of the more recent poster lightbox threads.


How much wainscoting are we talking about here? The entire room perimeter or just an accent wall?

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

entire perimeter, nothing is easy on this project,

 

[Spaceman]

Will the wainscoting be visually broken up by columns or other design elements or is it continuous around the entire perimeter? I'm trying to picture an entire room with no interruptions and it seems like it would lose some of it's visual punch. I'm sure it will look great though. Sounds like an interesting project.


Regardless of what you use, it's probably going to take a mock up to figure out the correct spacing of lights and the best method of assembly. Not sure if these would work or not. They may not be bright enough. Or they may be too bright and either require more distance between fixture and stone or perhaps some type of diffuser panel sandwiched between the lights and stone.


Thinking ahead to your installation-regardless of the type of light you use, you might want the lights mounted on some type of board that can be pulled out from behind the stone in case a section burns out or needs repair. A removable wainscot cap could provide access.

 

[BllDo]

Cool look for a bar, but I don't know about a theater


Contemporary Products by Anaheim Tile, Stone & Countertops Marmol Export, USA

 

[BllDo]

Found this too: Tri-Mod LED Backlighting Panels for Translucent Surfaces

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Spaceman: just between the columns


this was the inspiration photo that the client found

http://cantaradesign.com/case-studies/cinema/extreme-audio-home-theater/

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

BilDo those panels look great, they are actually more $ sq ft than the stone. Ouch

 

[mrevo2u]

SubScribed, planning this for my wine cellar.

 

[djmatl]

My theater has back lighted onyx. It was originally installed with incadescent rope light but that had 2 problems - after 5 years it was starting to burn out and when it was on it would get the onyx really hot. That didn't matter for the onyx wall panels but it was bad for the onyx bar. I recently replaced the rope light under the bar with LED. There is a lot of rope light stuffed in there. I learned a couple things about LED - first not all rope lights are dimmable, and second the ones that are dimmable are not necessarily evenly dimmable all the way from 0-100% like incadescent are. When I try to put it down to a lower level I can end up with some flickering in the lights. So my bar now stays very cool to touch, but I have lost even dimming through my Lutron system for the bar lights. Its a trade-off I can live with.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Djmatl, thank you for weighing in. are you happy with the evenness of the light and how far from the stone do your think your ropes are positioned?

 

[Spaceman]

Can't say I'm a big fan of the client's inspiration pic. I think there's too much of a good thing going on. I would have eliminated the stone from the side walls (it looks a little forced to me) and perhaps made a nice statement with the Onyx on the back wall, something to compliment the bar. I can't imagine you would keep those on during a movie, even dimmed. That's quite an expense for something that might only be on during coming attractions.


Just my two cents. I know it doesn't help solve the problem of how best to light the stone.

 

[djmatl]

The rope lighting on the onyx is not perfectly even. If you knew there were rope lights under it and looked right at the onyx you could see the areas right under the rope lit up more. But basically the rope light is a mess of tangled rope behind the onyx so you get a randomish lighting pattern that looks perfectly good. There is a shelf under the onyx holding the rope light which is somewhere between 0"-2" behind the onyx. I think one of those full LED panel lighting setups someone linked above would be the more perfect solution, but I'm happy with the rope lights.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Spaceman, you and I are on the same page, but the checkbook rules.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]



Quote:
Originally Posted by djmatl  /t/1524428/any-experince-with-back-lighting-honey-onyx-panels/0_40#post_24534981


The rope lighting on the onyx is not perfectly even. If you knew there were rope lights under it and looked right at the onyx you could see the areas right under the rope lit up more. But basically the rope light is a mess of tangled rope behind the onyx so you get a randomish lighting pattern that looks perfectly good. There is a shelf under the onyx holding the rope light which is somewhere between 0"-2" behind the onyx. I think one of those full LED panel lighting setups someone linked above would be the more perfect solution, but I'm happy with the rope lights.

Thanks, hadn't thought about the randomness in placing the light.

 

[design1stcode2nd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BIGmouthinDC  /t/1524428/any-experince-with-back-lighting-honey-onyx-panels#post_24535531


Spaceman, you and I are on the same page, but the checkbook rules.

Being a designer I know how that is and I didn't want to be the first one to say it...