10 Ways To Get The Right Lighting For Your Home
After furniture, accessories, and additional elements, the next important thing when decorating your home is the lighting setup. I recently changed the lighting in my bathroom and hallway, and the difference was so huge I barely recognised my own bathroom! And it was hideous. From a nice, bright room it turned into an old, yellow space, resembling much of a very old movie picture. This got me thinking; are all my rooms looking like this? I decided I was going to do some alterations in the lighting setup of my entire house. I mean, lamps are important, and lamp style too, but lamp quantity is what matters the most. So, I did a small research and some reading, and I figured the 10 ways to make choosing the right lighting an easy task:
- 1. Mixing Floor and Table Lighting
If your room is large enough, you can afford to mix floor and table lighting. According to your indoor design, each element will add something of its own to the entire picture. Just make sure the bulbs in both lamps are the same, so you don’t create a lighting mess.
- 2. Overhead Lighting
Overhead lighting has been seen as outdated for some time until it made the big comeback in modern houses. Overhead lamps look amazing if they’re combined the right way. For instance, they would go perfectly well in a room with high ceiling; the opposite case is not so appealing. And, if your overhead lamp is, for instance, black against paper white walls and a shade of white furniture, than it will create a focal point in the room; giving it perfect shape and meaning.
- 3. Canned Lighting
Canned lighting is overhead lamps’ alternative. If your ceiling isn’t that high to accommodate a nice overhead lamp, then canned lights are the perfect option. But, don’t go crazy over canned lights; you don’t like to make your room look like a gaming arcade or a landing runway.
- 4. Mix and Match Colors!
Why not? Although designer rules may suggest to be careful with colours as not to create a boom of colours in your room, a little playing with colours won’t hurt you. Get two equal bedside lamps, for example, and pick them in a very bold colour, matching them with your pillows. The bold colour will give the room its own stylish mark.
- 5. The Protocol for Choosing a Table lamp
If you thought that choosing a table lamp is very easy and simple, think again; there are rules. For instance, if you’re seeing the neck of the light bulb or its socket, then this is not the right table lamp. It’s too tall. You shouldn’t be seeing these elements of the lamp when you’re sitting or standing. A good table lamp, though, gives the room a dose of elegance and sophistication. Just pick it in the colour you love the most and go for it!
- 6. A Lamp That Makes a Statement
You can always choose something small and cute just because you like how it looks, even though the lighting may not be perfect. If you do go for a lamp of that style, make sure it’s quite opposite and distinctive from the rest of your room; it should make a statement! Choose something in very bold colour, like black for example. It immediately steals the focal point of the room and catches the attention.
- 7. Mix Bases, Match Shades
You can easily get two different floor lamps and place them on both sides of a sofa. They may have different bases (the polls) and similar drum shades. Just make sure they are in the same colour. That way, although very similar, the lamps are actually very different. Plus, they’ll provide excellent lighting to your room.
- 8. Mixing Lighting Styles
It actually may come out as a very good thing for your room design to mix lighting styles. For instance, you can choose something vintage as an overhead lamp ( like a Spanish castle style lamp), and a traditional floor lamp to place by the sofa or the fireplace. In theory nothing matches, but in practice, when you look at the final result, you’ll see that everything works seamlessly.
- 9. The Kind of Light you Want!
Remember my story about the bathroom? Well, that yellow light that comes from ordinary light bulbs is just sore to my eyes. Nothing looks good under such light. Instead, try to get lamps that work with the type of bulbs that deliver bright light. In most cases, these are eco bulbs and give a much stronger light than ordinary bulbs.
- 10. Shade Style Matters. A lot.
Like it or not, when buying a floor lamp you combine its colour and style with your overall room design. And you do that by measuring the shade. A good shade will fit in your room style perfectly, and won’t be just standing awkwardly in the room. So, if you have a transitional home, you can get drum shades, and for an eclectic home, a variety of styles is available, which means you can follow your preferences.
