How to Choose the Right Lighting for Your Home
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By PAGE Editor
Lighting is the most important choice you can make in interior design for your home.
Lighting sets the tone and mood for your entire interior. In functional areas such as the kitchen, the lighting determines whether you can actually use the room as intended or not. Lighting can either enhance your other design choices or smother them.
With so much riding on your lighting choice, looking at different fixtures suddenly becomes a very high-stakes decision. It doesn’t have to be.
With the right guidance, you can easily choose the right lighting for your home that will be functional and tasteful.
Think About Functionality First
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when choosing lighting for their home is that they think about style first. They find a nice ceiling light they like, or decide they want to create a cozy atmosphere with no big lights. Then, they realize only after installing the lights that they can’t actually see.
Identify areas of your home that need to be well-lit. The kitchen needs to have bright light, and preferably a lot of natural light, so you can see what you’re doing. Good lighting is also important in the bathroom so you can see during grooming tasks such as applying makeup. Other areas that need stronger lighting include your entryway and any areas where you work, including desks where the kids do homework.
Besides looking at the brightness of different light fixtures, you want to find fixtures that will withstand wear and tear in a certain room. For bathrooms, the experts at zestlighting.com.au recommend lights with anti-humidity protection. The damp climate inside the bathroom can damage light fixtures over time if you don’t get the right protection.
Once you find lights that match the functionality of a given room, you can focus on style.
Decide on the Focus of Each Room
Once you have the functional stuff sorted out, it’s time for the fun stuff. Choosing the lighting is an opportunity for you to show off your design skills.
Before you pick out the lighting for each room, decide on what you want to be the focus of your room. When people enter your home for the first time, what do you want them to see first?
Once you decide what the focus of each room is, design your lighting to highlight that part of the room. If you want to show off a piece of artwork on the wall or your bookshelf, choose wall sconce lights that draw attention to that part of your house. If you want people entering your living room to make a beeline for your entertaining area, surround it with floor lamps and a ceiling light to make that the brightest area of the room.
Just be careful not to overwhelm the eye with too many conflicting lights in one room, although bigger rooms can have two or more focus areas.
Work With Natural Light
The greatest source of light in any home is the sun. Natural light is the brightest source of light and is crucial for creating a welcoming atmosphere in your home.
When picking out your lighting fixtures, you want to work with the natural light that you already get. Note which areas of your home get a lot of light and which ones are dimmer. Areas that are bright during the day won’t need a lot of artificial light, while you can brighten up shadowy areas with lamps and sconces.
Designing the lighting for your home isn’t just about picking out the right light fixtures. Organize the rest of your interior design with lighting in mind, especially maximizing natural light. Choose window treatments that give you control over the amount of light you let in. Avoid blocking the windows and other sources of natural light with heavy furniture. You want light to freely circulate.
Deciding on the Right Lighting for Your Home
To make the right lighting choices for your home, you need to understand the layout and purpose of the different rooms you are equipping. Make a note of the sources of natural light, focus points, and areas where you need lots of bright light for practical reasons.
Once you have this layout, you can plan locations where you will put your lighting fixtures. Mark out ceiling fixtures, wall accent fixtures, and floor lamps that can move around.
After you sort out all of these practical concerns, finding the right lighting is much easier. Let your imagination run wild as you choose fixtures that match your style and fit on your lighting map.
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