Choosing the Best Lighting for your Home

Let’s face it, lighting is everything when it comes to interior design. Placement, intensity, and color play a huge role in making sure your home has a balanced design. For many of us, lighting is the last thing we consider when we are decorating our homes. Whether you want to improve the lighting in a specific room or have a lighting makeover, here are our top tips and considerations for making a well-lighted home.

Types of Lighting Options
Ultimately, lighting is best used in layers. Layering light is essential in areas of the home where people gather for a longer period. There are three types of indoor lighting to consider while planning the lighting in a room.

• Ambient- To accomplish ambient lighting we suggest integrating cover lighting, wall-mounted lighting, or valance lighting. Fluorescent lights are dimmable and often render and warm the ambiance. These lights fill the majority of the room allowing you to navigate safely.
• Accent- Want to showcase a special element in your home? Accent lighting is used to highlight focal points such as a painting, fireplace, bookcase, plant, or sculpture.
• Task- Task lighting is considered lighting that is used to assist you in completing a task. These lights are incorporated by using a table lamp or pharmacy style adjustable lamp. Task lighting can be placed in a desk area, reading area, or near a gaming table.

The Layout
Now that we’ve mastered the types of lighting, let’s talk about where to place them. We have some standard layouts that work well together, but ultimately it’s about your personal preference.

Kitchen Lighting- Kitchens have a heavy focus on food preparation, gathering, and clean up. Because of its unique function, you need to make sure that your kitchen has adequate lighting. We suggest a combination of task lighting and ambient lighting. For example, incorporating task lighting in your kitchen will help you prepare food easier. Incorporating recessed lighting helps frame the room and gives the area a focal point.

Dining Room Lighting- The focus of any dining room is the table. Therefore, we suggest placing a light fixture directly above the table utilizing both ambient and task lighting. Dimmers are also handy because they help change the mood by establishing a relaxing atmosphere while entertaining guests. Traditional lighting for the dining room area consists of a chandelier or pendant light in the center- but don’t forget to layer! Consider using wall sconces to provide extra lighting.

Bathroom Lighting- The bathroom has an emphasis on grooming which requires careful consideration of lighting placement. Lights that are installed right above the vanity mirror causes unwanted shadows and glares. Instead, we suggest placing sconces at eye level on either side of the mirror. Our final bathroom tip is to add accent lights above the tub. These lights will emit a soft glow while you are relaxing in the bathroom.

Living Room Lighting- Your living room area is a great place to incorporate recessed lighting. If your room has a large seating area, use an overhead lighting fixture above it. Place floor lamps in dark corners, and even consider adding a table lamp. If you have a plant or decorative piece that you would like to display try incorporating an accent light.

Bedroom Lighting- One of the main focuses of bedroom lighting is bedside reading. We suggest using wall-mounted lights with adjustable arms symmetrical on both sides. You could also opt for a low-hanging pendant or sconces.

The right lighting can make or break the design of your home. When done correctly the atmosphere of your home will shine bright! If you are ready to take your lighting to the next level,  explore our lighting options to see what lights will work in your home!