The Importance of Good Lighting In Your Home

Lighting is such an important aspect of creating a cosy and comfortable room, but it's something that's so easy to overlook. Even the most beautifully decorated rooms can look a bit dull and drab when they're not properly lit, so it's worth taking the time to work out what fixtures will look best within your space (and the best places to put them). Even incorporating something as simple as LED lighting with the assistance of an electrician Carnegie, or one closer to where you live is a big step towards enhancing the ambiance of your living space. It's important to get the right balance between aesthetics and functionality, so when choosing the lighting in your home here are a few things you should take into consideration:

Position Your Furniture To Maximise Daylight

When you think of lighting your home, the first thing that probably springs to mind is placing more lamps. But for the majority of the day it's natural daylight that we depend on, and so it's important to make the most of it. South- facing properties and those with bigger windows get the best deal when it comes to natural daylight, but even if your house has neither of these traits there's still things you can do to make the most of the daylight you get. Position furniture so that tall pieces (like bookcases or wardrobes) aren't blocking any of the window, and avoid placing any large items such as tvs on top of cabinets that are directly under the window. Cleverly placed mirrors and mirrored furniture will also help to to make the room appear brighter too by reflecting the light around. This article explains the best places to position mirrors to make the most of the light.

Choose Adequate Light Fittings For Your Space

Your fittings should be proportionate to your room to give the right amount of light. Placing a huge chandelier in a tiny room for example is probably going to blind anyone who dares to switch it on, but a small fitting in a large room can look a bit 'lost' and might not give off enough light to adequately brighten the space. You should always aim to have mixture of light sources at different levels, things like floor lamps, table lamps and wall mounted sconces- as well as the main overhead light, and you could always think about any daylight that comes from a window too. While these things can mean extra wiring and professional installation, any electrician will be able to do this for you. If it's a slightly darker room, think about adding a large, main light into the room and perhaps something like a neon light too from a place similar to https://neonfilter.com/, as a light like this is sure to set the mood/theme of the room. Adding different lights gives the best effect as you're able to decide which ones to have turned on depending on what you're doing. I really like the Artemide range as they have a great selection of different fixtures, all in a gorgeous modern style. 

Set the Mood/ Ambience For Different Functions

The rooms in our homes tend to serve different purposes throughout the day, choosing the right lighting can help to set the tone for each of these purposes. For example, you'll want different lighting while you're watching tv than you would if you were getting dressed. Having adequate 'task lighting' is important, for things like reading, crafting or even eating. Having a range of lighting options means you're able to change and control the lighting to suit the mood, but you can take it even further than that. Dimmer switches, different wattage bulbs and lamps with adjustable brightness settings can give you even more flexibility. You could even make the lighting a feature within itself, so not only is it setting the tone but also the style of the room. You could take a look at steampunk style lamps, industrial light fittings or unusual sconces depending on the vibe you're hoping to create. 

Use Lighting Pick Out Decorative Objects

Shining light onto an interesting object in your room helps to put a focus on that object. It's a great way to highlight different areas of your room and put attention on some of your favourite pieces. It could be a floor lamp positioned over an end table, a wall sconce positioned over a shelf or a spotlight turned to face a plant or piece of art. If you have an area in your room that you'd like to draw the eye to, this is the perfect way to go about it.

Have you put much thought into the lighting in your home?