Choosing The Right Lighting For a Room

In order to stylishly, affordably, and safely light your new home, it helps to classify each area. The way you might light a driveway is certainly different than the way you would light a foyer. There are two main divisions of home lighting – exterior and interior – with interior lighting falling into several different subcategories.

Exterior lighting serves two purposes: to make the outside of your home attractive, and to make the outside of your home both safe and secure. To enhance your home’s appearance the lighting must match both style and scale. For example, a Southwestern style home would need different exterior light fixtures than a log cabin. It all boils down to a matter of personal preferences. Also, you’ll want to make sure that the lighting is appropriate in scale – both in the actual size of the fixture and the area it illuminates. Small lights on a large home look disproportionate and are ineffective in lighting an appropriate exterior area.

Interior lights can be divided into the different types of rooms of the home. Each type of room requires a different style of lighting as it is used for different things.

Bathroom lighting should be centrally located in the areas that require the most light – in front of the mirror and over the sink. This will provide adequate lighting for grooming. More than one light fixture is needed in these areas also, as a single light will cause shadowing on one’s face. Additionally, as bathrooms become more complex with luxurious showers and whirlpool tubs, more and complex lighting is required in the bathroom. To this end, you might consider adding heat lamps or dimmers.
Kitchens require a unique brand of lighting; it must be functional, providing more than adequate light in order to facilitate your culinary needs. However, it must also be decorative as kitchens are often attached to the dining area or encompass a dining area themselves. You might both work and entertain there, so a kitchen requires suitably diverse lighting. Use ceiling mounted fixtures in order to keep work areas well-lit. You might also consider small chandeliers for decorative purposes – this is especially important in a dining area in which such a piece acts as a permanent centerpiece.
Living areas or entertainment rooms require a different brand of lighting. It’s not as important to have a high degree of illumination in these places as a pleasant, ambient light. These are places where you and your guests will come to relax and should be lit accordingly. Also, note any dramatic architecture or artwork in these spaces. These facets of your home are opportunities for spot or track lighting designed to accent them.