Of all the accessories which can make or break the overall look and ambiance of your home, it is lighting. With the range and styles of lighting available for every room, careful consideration is required, to achieve the desired look you seek.
Kitchen lighting:
First and foremost the kitchen requires functional lighting. Many fitted kitchens these days come with built in lighting included. However, good general overhead lighting by way of pendant lighting; can greatly enhance the overall look of the kitchen area. Specific lighting, such as over cooking, or worktop areas, can be achieved using wall or spot-lighting.
Living and Dining Rooms:
If your dining room is primarily a practical, let’s-sit-down-and-eat room, then pendant lighting over the dining table is the most obvious form of illumination to consider. Warm, not to bright lighting, is ideal. Fitting a dimmer switch is great for reducing lighting strength, providing a greater ambiance for dinner parties. Or used to create a more romantic atmosphere; when you and your partner are having a meal, and enjoying some quality time together.
The lounge is another ideal candidate for dimmer switches operating the main overhead lighting. Wall and recessed lighting have become increasingly popular over the years, but using them can bring their own problems a year or two down the line when you decide to move the furniture around. Your wall and recessed lights are suddenly illuminating…nothing. Strategically placed table lamps are a much better alternative. Depending on whether you have decided on traditional or modern furniture, lamp shading can be chosen accordingly.
Bathrooms:
Functional lighting is the way to go. Unless you have a large bathroom then a centrally fitted fluorescent tube, or bright, ceiling fitted lamp, with a bowl shade, would be preferable. Buying a bathroom vanity case, with in-built lighting over the mirror will provide the extra lighting for shaving, or checking out those wrinkles.
Bedrooms:
In the average sized main bedroom, pendant lighting, with uplighter, fitted in the middle of the room, or centrally above the bed should provide adequate illumination. With the range of shades available, something with red in it, adds that extra warmth most seek from bedroom lighting. Bedside lamps each side of the double-bed provide secondary lighting for that hour’s reading, before lights out.
Fitting dimmer switches, are a convenient and simple way to change the whole mood of a room. In the bedroom fit dual switches, the standard light switch by the door, with another fitted by the bed. From bright light, to dim, to out. Without having to leave the warmth of your duvet.