The correct choice of lighting enhances the energy, alters the atmosphere and promotes the productivity in a home. Lighting can either make or break a room. There is warm lighting – which creates a cosy atmosphere and cooler lighting which increases focus and productivity. There is also quite a choice of bulb colours – warm white, soft white, bright white and daylight – starting from the warm shades moving towards the blue shades.

Lighting Colours

💡 Warmer shades are better for bedrooms, lounges and dining rooms – these create a calm, cosy and inviting atmosphere.

🟡 The soft whites, yellowish and white light colours create a warm and friendly atmosphere – which is ideal for bathrooms and kitchens. Bright white globes are suitable for a home-office or garage.

☀️ Daylight creates a sterile and cold atmosphere which works for commercial environments.

Lighting Levels

You do need to have a variety of lights at different heights in a room – so that you create a ‘layered’ look. Always take the size, shape and function of any room into consideration when choosing your light fittings, together with the ‘furniture’ that is in the room. The aim is to create proportion and balance. For example, a very heavy large lamp on a smallish delicate table will not give the correct look or feel to a room, and will look unbalanced.

Lighting Hardware

Remember to update light switch covers; ensure that they blend in with the hardware in that room, or are compatible with the colour of the wall.

Walls should be ‘washed’ with light and not have light puddling onto the floor. Try and look at the room from above – perhaps draw out a rough plan and see where you can place lighting so that it covers all the uses in a room – task lighting, ambient lighting, overhead and accent lighting.

Matching the Style of the Room

Make sure you also match the look and style of a room with the lighting so that there is continuity and cohesiveness with colour, texture, and materials.

Sitting Room / Living Room

In a sitting room lighting must light up objects and surfaces more, rather than the space. It is important to create a ‘wow’ factor offering interest and focus, perhaps in a corner or with a central light which creates visual interest.

Should you want to highlight certain paintings, or architectural features use downlighters that can be angled or specific picture lights – this is directional lighting. High floor lamps create the height often needed in functional corners, perhaps where a chair is placed for reading.

Kitchen

If there is a flow from the kitchen into the lounge, make sure you use lighting in both rooms that have the same feel and style – also use globes that are all the same colour temperatures. If preparation in a kitchen has been completed, and one can view the kitchen from the lounge area, it is best if one can adjust the lighting. One idea is to have switches that operate only selected lights, and/or install LED strips along the top of a cupboard or below a cupboard placed on the edges (so that no shadows are thrown onto the work areas, and the light in the kitchen is then not too bright attracting attention).

Worksurfaces should have good task lighting, either with angled spot lighting or overhead hanging lighting creating a design feature as well. Also, if the hardware in the kitchen is black, brass or stainless steel, use light fixtures that correspond with those colours. (This also applies to bathrooms and bedrooms – knobs on cupboard doors for instance)

Bedroom

Bedrooms generally have a centered light – which in a small room should be flat up against the ceiling – so that it doesn’t intrude into the space. If it’s a large bedroom this will accommodate a focal point light fitting and create a ‘wow’ factor. In order to find the correct centre of a room, take the measurements from corner to corner – all 4 corners – and obviously where they meet is the centre. An off–centre light will always feel out of kilter.

Lighting on each side of the bed is important – either with table lamps or wall lights which can be directional – for reading purposes.

A dressing table light should be above the mirror or on either side – and the colour of the globe should be whiter than the ones used on either side of the bed, so that shadows don’t fall across the face and visibility is good. These should be operated with their own switches to change their functionality.

Bathroom

For smaller spaces consider recessed, wall mounted or under cabinet lighting – use a combination of bright, space-saving lighting to maximise the perceived size and brightness – a bathroom should also have ambient lighting, so a dimmer switch on overhead lighting should offer choices.

TIP: Remember to choose lighting which is safe in a bathroom – from steam and moisture.

Outdoor

Light up your outdoor spaces – balconies and backyards – this creates the illusion of expanding your living area. For example, uplighters under trees or swathing a tree in white Christmas lights will make your outdoor areas more inviting.

Solar lights are a great option for adding light without electricity. These are simple to install and of course run completely free of charge. There are lots of DIY options at your local hardware store, or electrical lighting shop.

Staircases or steps also need good lighting – both indoors and outdoors – from a safety factor, they should be well illuminated.