Good lighting adds warmth, colour and personality to any room. Whether you spend a lot or a little, knowing how to light your home is just as important as what you buy. Provide your rooms with mixes and a variety of levels instead of having one large glaring light in the middle of the ceiling. Take a look at these room-by-room tips on lighting.

Living Rooms/Family room

This is probably where the family spends the largest part of their day watching T.V, playing board games and just socializing. This is also where guests are entertained. Here is where you want to layer up your lighting to give the room a bit of warmth and personality. Employ the use of lamp shades for ‘task lighting’ and use different shades to achieve the desired effect. Keep in mind that the colour of your walls goes a long way into playing up the lighting in a room.

The Kitchen

The main focus of the kitchen is food preparation. The areas of the room that need to be especially well lit are the counters and over the sink. The main reason why sinks are located near a window is to take advantage of the natural light.

Bathrooms

With emphasis on personal grooming that requires one to look themselves in the mirror, it is very important to ensure that a shadow is not cast over the mirror by the person standing in front of it. The best improvement you could make to a bathroom is to light at both sides of the mirror.

Bedrooms

Closet lighting and bedside reading are important when lighting a bedroom. You want to see what is in your closet as well as what you have as a bedtime read.

Outdoors

Outdoor lighting is mainly for purposes of safety and security as well as aesthetic value. Experts suggest lighting outdoors to be focused on three things: Light something close to the house, in the middle of the yard and in a far corner. This is to ensure that all your bases are covered.

Without good lighting, the impact of all the other well-thought out details – sumptuous furnishings, opulent flooring, and luxurious wall coverings – will be lost. So getting the lighting right is essential if we are to make the most of our homes.

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