Lighting Your Home - An Overlooked Vital Design Detail + My Lighting Picks
Whether you rent or own a home, lighting should be at the top of your priority list when thinking about design. It is one of the most, if not the most, important elements in a design. You can have stylish furniture, impressive decor accessories, ideal wall paint, etc., but if you're ignoring that overhead nipple light (what’s that? click here) or outdated ceiling fan in the center of the room, you are ruining your home! Okay, I’m being slightly dramatic, but seriously you are not doing yourself any favors. There are endless creative ways to add lighting to your home, so in this blog, I am just going to focus on the basics.
Lighting has the ability to fully transform a room. The right lighting can enhance paint colors, architectural details, make a room feel larger or smaller, and quite literally impact your overall mood. Perhaps you are blessed with huge windows that pour in natural light throughout the day (go you), but what happens in the evening or early morning when sun rays are not working their magic? Have you incorporated enough of the “right kind of light” into your home to adequately function and thrive? What even is the right kind of light? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not the nipple light.
Like everything in design, finding the “right kind of light” is really just a balancing act. Lighting is informative and your eye will automatically detect and look toward the lit area. So when you’re creating light in a room, it’s important not to drown out the room with abrasive overhead light, but rather to provide pleasant lighting options that help guide one’s gaze around the room. Doing so will create visual interest and gives you the ability to highlight your design choices, create a pleasant ambiance, and establish zones in the room. A quick tip: make sure you have light sources on 3 planes - low, middle, and high. To accomplish this, you should focus on 3 categories of light:
Primary Lighting - primary lighting is exactly what it sounds like, the primary source of light. This will vary on your room size, but generally includes canned lighting, flush ceiling mounts, semi-flush ceiling mounts, pendant lighting, floor lamps, chandeliers, etc.
Accent Lighting - Accent lighting is decorative lighting and meant to highlight architectural detail, zones in a room, artwork, etc. Again, there are no strict rules, but this generally includes table lamps, sconces, pendant lighting, floor lamps, art lamps, etc.
Task Lighting - Task lighting is specially placed to help you better accomplish tasks (go figure!). It’s essential in design as it’s there to quite literally improve your life! Task lighting can be the lighting under your cabinets in the kitchen, vanity lighting in the bathroom, a desk lamp in the office, a reading light over a chair, stair lighting, etc.
When selecting a light fixture, it’s equally important to pay attention to the type of bulb. If you select a white fluorescent light bulb (I really don’t know why anyone would ever do that), think about how that harsh light will reflect off your walls and decor, it won’t be pleasant. Instead, you will want to find a balance of warm and cool lighting, which will really depend on the space you are lighting (kitchen, office, living room, bedroom, home theatre, etc.), your furnishings, decor, and wall color. Luckily, we live in a futuristic world where light scientists have come up with a solution to this horrid pain point: Wifi Bulbs. It is a little pricey to upgrade all of your lights, but I couldn’t recommend making the switch more.
We recently swapped out our regular bulbs with Phillips Hue Bulbs and I really can’t put into words how wonderful it is to be able to control the brightness AND warmth our lighting fixtures. It’s a game-changer and a worthwhile investment, the bulbs pretty much last a lifetime. The best part: you control everything from your phone, so there is no need to hardwire a dimmer switch in! If the combination of your lighting selections creates visual moments of interest and layers the space with light, as opposed to drowning it out, then you have successfully mastered finding “the right kind of light”.
The last thing I want to talk about is the lighting fixture itself. Maybe your overhead bedroom light gives off a perfect ambient glow, but is it the dreaded nipple light (once you see it, you can’t unsee it)? If so, then you will surely want to think about swapping that out with something that actually has a sense of style. Nowadays, there are millions of affordable lighting options that will improve your interior style and I will go as far as to say, your life (I’m serious!!!). If you are struggling to create the right kind of lighting in your home, go get some lighting inspiration from a stylish restaurant. Take, for example, Leo’s Oyster Bar in San Francisco, designed by Ken Fulk (pictured). The lighting is layered throughout the room, so you are able to see everything clearly, but there are points of interest all around. Restaurants that have elevated their interiors will also have put a lot of thought into their lighting plot. They want to create the perfect ambiance and it’s a great way to see layered light done successfully. Alternatively, hire an interior designer! They will know how to create the right kind of light for your home. If want to work with me, head over to my Interior Design Services page, or feel free to contact me.
My Lighting Picks For American Shoppers
Lulu & Georgia is really my go-to for all things drool-worthy. They have an AMAZING selection of lighting and I am sharing some of my favorites here. They also offer 10% off your first order!
My Lighting Picks For Swiss Shoppers
To shop a large selection of lights in Switzerland, I found Lampenwelt.ch really convenient. They offer free shipping on orders over CHF 200 and most items ship within a week. These are my top picks from their 750k+ catalog of lights.
