Lighting is one of the fundamental elements in every home, which helps align the flow of space, atmosphere, and ambiance. Brighter lights and thoughtful lighting placement can make you feel alert and awake, whereas softer and dimmer lights can be relaxing and sleep-inducing. You can browse through websites to source interior architectural products to get more inspirations and ideas for functional, stylish, and sizable lighting choices. Below are a few tips that can be applied while planning lights for most rooms in your home. These tips will help you get a sense of what to look for when shopping for new lighting fixtures and installing them in your space.
1. Make a lighting plan: It is best to start by creating a little lighting plan when starting from scratch or considering redecorating. Take into account activities you do in each room like eating, working, relaxing, and sleeping while planning the kind of lights you wish to install. Do look out for scale, output, colors, and styles of light before making design decisions.
2. Layer your lighting: Layering your light is very important to showcase the house to its best look. Overhead lights work best to brighten the room; you may want to add some dimension to the room with some accent lighting. Scones, floor lamps, and table lamps help amplify the room’s design element and make the space feel inviting.
3. Bring in natural light: There is no replacement for natural light that fills up the home. Irrespective of the weather, the radiant and soft sunlight falling into the house has benefits like keeping away molds and odour. Using light fabrics for curtains or installing glass on windows and doors helps more light enter the house.
4. Consider ceiling height: Having the right knowledge about your ceiling height is important when choosing hanging light fixtures. There are many options available with adjustable cords and cables, which make it easier to adjust the lights. As a general guideline, the light’s bottom should hang about 12 to 20 inches below a standard 8-foot ceiling.
5. Ensure the lighting is helpful: Consider the activities you want to do in each room and the amount of light you need for the tasks. Activities like cooking require focused lighting, while reading requires more flexible and directional lighting. Dimmers are a great addition that provides energy-efficient lighting, changes the atmosphere, and adds warmth to the room.
6. Make a statement with a chandelier: A modern and statement chandelier can instantly add an instant appeal to a room. If you cannot bring balance to the room with ambient light, install a single statement chandelier to add instant drama to the room, along with ample lighting.
7. Choose the Right Size: Finding the right light for your space is often the most challenging part, but maintaining the right lighting scale can make or break your space’s balance. Whether it’s a chandelier over the dining table or a pendent over the countertop, getting the right pendants over your countertop or a chandelier over your dining table, it’s essential to get the spacing and sizing right so that the room feels balanced.
8. Use spotlights to highlight your favorites: Adding spotlights to highlight your favorite wall or art at home adds sophistication, warmth, and elegance to the room. Wall-mounted lights on either side of a statement mirror add an instant and subtle focus.
9. Contrast your lighting styles: It is essential to mix your lighting as you do not want light fixtures to compete. A simple way to complement contrast lighting at home is to use pendant lights over kitchen countertops and scones over cabinets. Mixing styles and shapes also does the trick of creating a cohesive look.
10. Light up those stairs: It is more functional than aesthetic to add lights to stairs. Embedded lights or lights on the side of the stairs add as a design element. A double-height stairway may require a modern chandelier with lighting controls at the top and both the bottom.
Lighting is an often underrated part of our homes. Using lights strategically has a significant impact on functionality and aesthetics. Proper placement of lighting also has a profound effect on your mood, emotions, and wellbeing.
Author Bio: Vivek is a global sourcing expert and has worked with and assisted clients with their sourcing requirements for 1000+ projects in his 15+ years in the industry. With the aim to fulfill the evolving needs and demands of architects, interior designers, project managers, and HNIs, he started Arcedior – the most loved, curated products platform with 50,000+ products from 500+ brands spanning 30 countries. Being a design enthusiast with an eye for details, he also started a group on LinkedIn called ‘Design Leaders Roundtable – A Collaborative Community for Architects & Interior Designers’ which now has over 4K members. In his free time, he loves to travel with his family.
