Good to Know: Lighting Your Home
Image by Costa Christ.
The lighting that you choose for your home is absolutely essential, but it is often overlooked or treated as an afterthought. In fact, we’ve never actually talked about lighting before on our blog, so we want to remedy that today. Lighting is so much more than picking a pretty fixture. The amount and type of light in our homes can affect our mood, creativity, health, safety, and productivity. It can energize a space, help us sleep better, and can change the way we function in our homes. This is by no means a comprehensive guide to lighting, rather a look at lighting for specific aspects of your home.
General Lighting Tips:
Layer the light in your space. Include several different types of lights, including ambient/overhead, task-specific, and accent lighting.
You need to have an interplay between light and dark. For obvious reasons, you don’t want everything in the room to be bright or everything to be dark. The balance of light and dark help to create warmth and visual interest.
Consider the space you’re working with. How high are your ceilings? What surfaces and colors are used in your space? These questions will impact the type of lighting that you ultimately choose, based on what is best for your space.
Don’t be afraid of statement lighting pieces! Above the dining table or over a bathtub are great places to display beautiful light fixtures.
Make the most of your natural light. Natural light is beautiful and it helps regulate our hormones and circadian rhythm. If you’re building a home, talk with your architect about orienting the home so that the common spaces have the best natural light. If natural light is in short supply, consider putting in a skylight.
Image by M Draper.
Lighting for Kitchen Tasks
As with any room in your home, you’ll want to have a variety of lighting types at play in your kitchen. However, it’s important to remember that your kitchen is ultimately a workspace, and it needs to be lit accordingly. Bright, neutral light works best for kitchens, as it helps you focus, while also providing enough light to work.
For your kitchen, make sure to have plenty of task lighting. This could be in the form of pendant lights over an island or via under-counter lights. Either way, task lights will help you accomplish cooking tasks and knife work safely.
Lighting for Productivity
Now more than ever, it’s important to have space in your home where you can be productive. Whether this is a home office, a reading nook, or a desk space, plan on using bright, cooler light. While warmer light tones help us relax, cooler tones help us work and concentrate.
Although natural light is best, it can cause glares on your computer screen, which hinders productivity. Make sure to diffuse natural light where needed to prevent glare.
Image by Costa Christ.
Lighting for makeup
The bathroom is another room in your home where you need lighting for different purposes. Bathroom lights help with safety, but they are also important for applying makeup. Instead of traditional bathroom lights above a mirror, put sconces on either side of your mirror. This allows the light to diffuse across your face evenly and produces minimal shadows. As far as light color goes, use bright warm white lightbulbs.