How to Choose the Best Lighting for Your Home

Good lighting is a very crucial part of every space. Be it a home, office, or any other building- bad lighting can have a severe influence on the inhabitants of the space. Bad lighting can cause mental stress, and deterioration in vision and make the whole environment less appealing and largely unproductive.

Before we get into how to light your home, one must understand that there are basic three types of lighting – accent, ambient and task lighting.

Accent lighting is used to light up an entire space. Tube lights, large CFLs etc serve this purpose. They provide uniform and pleasant lighting throughout. Every room should have at least one source of accent light.

Ambient lighting is used to focus on a certain space. It is used to create a more dramatic effect and to highlight a certain point in the decor. You could use a focus light to focus on a painting or a sculpture, and this can be achieved by using wall-mounted lights, track lights, etc.

Task lighting is used to enhance spaces that are devoted to certain activities. Spaces like study areas, kitchens, dressing areas, etc must have lights dedicated to the task at hand. The light should neither be too strong nor too dull. It should be pleasant and must encourage productivity. Task lights are ideally white lights as yellow lights create a more relaxing environment.

Keeping these three types in mind, each space in a home needs different types of lighting. A combination of the different types of lights can be used to achieve a harmonious and well-lit space. Different lighting fixtures like chandeliers, wall-mounted lights, pendant or drop lights, and floor or ceiling mounted lights are different types of fixtures that one can use to light up a space.

Different parts of the home need different lighting types and fixtures; some of them are listed below:

Living Room
The living room and foyer are the gateways to your lifestyle. Pick a chandelier that is proportionate to the size of the room and compliments your home’s decor. How to choose lighting for living room largely depends on the size and the decor of the space. Use a combination of accent and ambient lighting to create a pleasant ambiance. If you are hanging artwork, or have items that you wish to showcase, use sober focus lights to highlight the same. However, keep it in mind to not use too many lighting fixtures as they can make the space look gaudy and unpleasant.

Dining Room
The dining table is the focus in this room, you can use different types of accent lights to light up this space. It could be a simple chandelier or a set of drop lights to make the space appealing. If you have artwork or crockery that you wish to display, use subtle wall-mounted focus lights to highlight the same.

Bedrooms
Bedrooms need a combination of accent and task lighting. The dressing area requires task lighting, hence it is very important to have lights focusing on this area. Apart from this adjustable accent lighting is also essential to uniformly light up the space. If you have a study area in the room, task lighting is mandatory for the same too. Floor mounted lights and bedside lamps have been an essential part of every bedroom. They help create a warm and romantic ambiance and provide enough light without creating a harsh impact.

Bathrooms
Use simple light fixtures to completely illuminate this space. Apart from this, wall-mounted focus lights can be used above mirrors to make the day-to-day tasks like shaving simpler. Make sure to position the lights in such a way that they do not cause harsh reflections and shadows in the room.

Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most important parts of the home. Choosing the right lighting is very important for this space. Use one source of accent lighting to completely light up the central space. Apart from this, install small focus lights like LEDs at various points as task lights. Chores like cutting, cooking, washing, etc need extra lighting for efficiency. Have multiple control points so that you can only switch on those that are needed at any given point.