Lighting plays a massive part in interior design. It can make or break the ambiance of your home. Different types of lighting are suited to different areas. With today’s open plan living a prevalent style, lighting manufacturers are having to work harder than ever. They need to provide lighting that works for everyone in the home at all times of the day and night.
From creating the ambiance for a romantic meal to adding accent lighting to highlight artwork to installing task lighting in a home office or over a kitchen countertop, there are many factors to consider.
Below are seven factors you should consider when choosing lighting for your home.
1. Your Room’s Purpose
Before choosing lighting for your home, consider the room you intend to install it in and its purpose. What the room is used for plays a massive role in the lighting it requires, and each room can have different lighting requirements. A study will require brighter, focused light to read documents, complete homework, or view plans.
A living room necessitates a different style of lighting. This is a space to relax after a long office day. It’s where dimmable lighting, table lamps, and floor lamps in warmer hues come in. If you reside in an open-plan space, you’ll need to consider lighting that works for everyone at all times of the day. Dimmable switches and a scattering of lamps are ideal for this space, as you can alternate between bright light, focused lighting, and soft, warm ambient lighting.
This is called light layering and allows you to feature task, accent, and ambient lighting in the same space, which amplifies your home’s functionality and elegance, allowing you to adjust your lighting in response to your mood and needs.
2. Your Budget
This is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing lighting. Lighting designs and styles vary dramatically. There are various cost-effective options available, as well as many high-end options. Before falling in love with something that isn’t in your budget, decide on the maximum figure you’d like to spend. If you have no budget, consider customized options.
3. Color Temperature
Not all bulbs are created equal. A bright white bulb creates a different ambiance with a warm orange hue. When considering bulbs for your lighting fixtures and fittings. Consider the hue. There are a variety of temperatures to choose from. If you’re lighting a bedroom, dining room, or living room, choose a soft, warm tone to promote a relaxing, welcoming glow. Choose brighter, whiter light if lighting workspaces in a kitchen or study.
Lighting technology has come on leaps and bounds. If you have an open-plan home or a room used for several purposes, choose a bulb that can be alternated between hues. This smart technology can be controlled via your smartphone and ensures versatility. The smart lighting market was valued at US$ 6.0 Billion in 2023 and is only set to get bigger.
4. Consider the Size of Your Room and the Ceiling Height
There are various lighting designs on the market; some are overly avant-garde and create a stunning statement, while others are more low-key, such as flush mount lights, and are better suited to a minimalistic apartment or home. Before purchasing an insane hanging pendant, think about the size of the room you will be placing it in and the ceiling height.
Anything too over the top and oversized will make a small room look even smaller. Yet, if you have a large room with high ceilings to play with, an extravagant chandelier or pendant light will add interest to your room, making it less sparse and more homely.
5. Consider Natural Light
If you’re lucky enough to benefit from natural lighting throughout the day due to ample windows and the position of your home, avoid investing in too much artificial lighting and make the most of what nature gives you. If you require privacy, you can always invest in window treatments that allow you to see out your windows but not passersby to view them. In addition, consider adding a handful of lights that can be used on hazy or darker days.
6. Energy-Saving Lighting
Whether you’re keen to do your part for the environment or wish to save money on energy bills, investing in LED bulbs over incandescent lights is a great solution. Not only do they stand the test of time, which means fewer last-minute trips to the store when they run out, they produce less heat. Since electricity consumption for lighting accounts for about 6% (81 billion kilowatt hours [kWh]) of electricity consumption in residential homes, we must do our bit for the environment.
In addition, you can opt for lighting with motion sensors and timers or options that can be controlled from your phone even when you’re not there. This serves two purposes: one is security, and the other is forgetfulness. If you’re en route to the airport and you’ve just remembered you’ve left the lights on, instead of risking missing your flight, you can turn them off from your smartphone.
7. Before Purchasing Lights, Consider Your Home’s Aesthetic
It’s easy to get excited when shopping for lighting. Yet, instead of picking a design just because it looks pretty in the shop window or photograph, choose a style that will complement your existing decor. If your home is traditional, an overly contemporary light will look out of place and vice versa. To ensure you pick the perfect pairing, create a mood board before you begin your search.
In addition, establish how many lights you need and whether they are compatible with existing fixtures. If not, you’ll likely have too few or too many. Worse still, lights that can’t be configured in your home. For example, those that require dimmer switches.
The Bottom Line
Choosing lighting for your home should be viewed as an exciting task. With so many options available, some can find it daunting. Following the tips above, you can have lots of fun with your lighting!
Points to remember include considering the purpose of your room, who will be using it, what effect you want to achieve, and your budget. Following these tips will help you create an ambient yet functional space that can be used for various purposes, from entertaining to study. The right lighting will let you create a variety of atmospheres and emotions.