Selecting the Best Lighting for Each Room

The lighting of each room in the house sets the mood of those who inhabit it. Most homeowners are aware that softer lights will inspire relaxed moods while brighter lights will energize and illuminate. However, when each room has its own designated activities, there's more to consider than just the ambiance. Keep the following tips in mind to help you decide where and how to design the lighting scheme in a Kenai home.

General Home Lighting Tips

Before choosing the fixtures and bulbs for each room, complete the following checklist before heading to a local hardware store.

• Identify the shadows: Every corner, window, and crevice creates another chance for shadow-play. Whether it's natural or artificial light, knowing where the shadows are will make it easier to find brighter lighting solutions.
• Determine safety hazards: If residents don't have enough light when they're shaving, chopping vegetables, or getting dressed, the chances of injury will only increase. Also known as task lighting, these lights are specifically installed to decrease risks.
• Know the bulbs: LED bulbs are a fantastic addition to any room, but they may create odd shadows that can interfere with daily activities. Using linear fluorescent bulbs (especially in the kitchen), are more likely to cast an even amount of light.

Types of Interior Lighting You Can Use in Your Home

Great interior lighting can help improve your living space by making it feel more spacious and open. To find the best lighting for your home, you must consider all of the options available on the market today. Pendant lights, for example, are found in the hallways, bedrooms and other areas of most homes. These lights have a decorative glass cover that protects the bulb and boosts the aesthetic value of your home. The pendant lights can hang down low or sit flush with the ceiling, depending on your preferences.

Track lighting is another popular light design for homes of all kinds. With their small spotlights on metal tracks, these lights can help accent decorative elements throughout your home, including your prized artwork and collectibles. Track lights tend to have a modern look that sets them apart from other types of interior lighting you can use in your home. If you prefer a classic look instead, you can put chandeliers in as focal points in your entryway, dining room and even the bathroom. You can find chandeliers in ornate and minimalist designs to suit your preference and existing interior décor.

Within each light fixture category, you will find a wide range of amazing designs to consider for your home. Take the time to browse through your options to find your favorite ones. Your efforts will pay off as you boost the appearance and comfort of your home with well-designed light fixtures.

Lighting Dens & Living Rooms

Experts say to use layered light in a living room so that people watching movies feel just as comfortable as those reading a book. Dimmer switches can make it easier to give everyone just the light they need, regardless of what they're doing. Concealed cove lighting can be an aesthetic feature of the home, creating a dramatic vertical effect, or homeowners could use accent lighting to highlight a fireplace, electric fireplace or a treasured painting,

Lighting Bathrooms & Kitchens

Both of these rooms contain some fairly hazardous areas, so brighter lights are called for. Consider putting lights on the sides of the bathroom mirror to make makeup application or shaving easier. Or add a wall sconce on the wall directly opposite of the mirror to create even more light. In the kitchen, homeowners can install under-cabinet lighting so everyone can see what they're doing and where they're going. Whether locating the right setting on the electric mixer or getting in and out of the tub, good lighting can be the difference between a routine chore and a catastrophe.

Lighting Bedrooms

From rummaging through drawers to buttoning up a shirt, people in a bedroom need light to successfully complete through their morning routine. Experts suggest focusing on enough light near the closets, dressers, and nightstands. For those who enjoy reading in bed, place reading lights directed slightly away from the bed to minimize eye strain and to create an interesting aesthetic feature in the room.

Additional Lighting Considerations

Everyone has their own quiet activities in a room that may require a dimmer switch. For example, those who enjoy a nightly mug of hot cocoa before bed may want to consider adding a dimmer switch in the kitchen to set the mood. Even people who turn their home office into a reading room may appreciate the ability to make the room's lighting a little less intense at the end of the day. Choose the same color bulbs for the home to create a uniform look.

Lighting a home is an exercise in planning but can benefit homeowners whether they're staying put or staging to sell. Homeowners need to keep in mind how they want to feel when they enter a room, how they can make their guests feel welcome, and most importantly of all, how to keep everyone safe.