You put a lot of time and effort into creating a home environment you love. Great furnishings. Perfect colour scheme. Up-to-date window treatments. But what about your lighting? Left it to last? Ignored it all together? Here’s how to add more comfort and style to your home when you improve lighting.
Take a home tour and spot any weak areas of lighting
Start with the basics. Walk through your home at different times of day to see the way lighting affects your interior space. It can make a big difference to daily life, with impact on your mood as well as how effortlessly you do or enjoy activities. Learn how to use lighting to your best advantage and you’ll literally see your home in a whole new light.
See SIX COMMON MISTAKES in lighting and how to avoid them.
- Avoid solo ceiling light sources.
Use light levels at different heights and in spaces to add more dimension and interesting effect. It will also avoid shadows and ‘black holes’ in your room. Remember having three light sources are best for Tasks, Ambience, and Accent. See how it works with this example of Kitchen Lighting Inspiration.
- Avoid too much of the same thing.
- Stay away from lifeless lighting.
- Don’t neglect the small spaces.
- Careful not to overlook scale and proportion.
- Avoid too much of a good thing… restraint!
Recessed lighting or downlights are often over-used and still leave a room poorly lit. Careful not to over-do this style of lighting or you’ll end up with a ‘headlight effect’ pouring down from the ceiling and wasting a lot of electricity. Instead use downlights sparingly and accent the area with under-shelf strip lighting or nice feature lighting.
Use different styles of lighting to create the wonderful effect of Light Layering for different purposes. Remember not to overdo a specific style trend, either. While feature lighting like downlights or track lights are great, make more of your décor with a complimentary wall light or pendant light.
Create Home Harmony with the right light temperatures and know how and when to pick a ‘cool range’ or a ‘warm range’ of colour temperature. Consider the colour of your walls and the room itself. A high colour temperature –like bright white over 5000K –can make a room feel like an operating theatre whereas a lower colour temperature –like 2700 to 3000k—gives a warm, sunset-style light.
Location, location, location: position lighting throughout your home where it not only lights up the area (like closets or hallways) but where it also adds interest and creates visual variety. Used correctly, lighting can make small spaces feel bigger and more inviting.
Long spaces need more visual interest like benchtops or dining tables. For tasks like food preparation or ambience like an inviting dinner setting, look at styles of pendants to line up or suspend from different heights as effective feature lighting.
Recessed lighting or downlights are fine but need contrast with other styles and levels of light. Photo credit: Certified Lighting.
Need inspiration?
Trends & Styles: Popular design directions in lighting trends
Whatever you need: Living Room lighting starts here at Crompton.
