Lighting

Lights and lights!

Lighting a room is easy and can provide many levels of ambience. Dining lighting is probably the first type that comes to mind, followed by kitchen and bath, and bedroom. Let’s start with dining room/area lighting.

Dining: Most of us have some sort of variation of chandelier lighting in our dining areas. We may have candlestick lights on the sideboard and/or sconces on the wall. All are good choices whether one fixture or all. The one recommendation is to install a dimmer on the chandelier. And, of course there is nothing better than candlelight. Simple candles on the dining table and placed around the room adds elegance, ambience, and sophistication for pennies.

Kitchen and bath lighting is the most simple: bright, brighter, brightest. From task lighting beneath and above kitchen cabinets, pendant lights over kitchen islands to vanity and bath/shower lights, think in terms of tasks and how one can function best. For the kitchen, a combination of task lighting and overhead lighting does the best. Look for dark corners and make sure there is light. For bathroom lighting, wall lighting over the mirror and canned lighting in the ceiling throughout and in the shower and bath area should be considered.

Bedroom lighting: From a whimsical chandelier over the bed to wall sconces for reading and bedside table lamps, the main goal is to provide lighting for various tasks and relaxation. Three-way light bulbs go a long way in a bedroom, as well as, lampshades that are offwhite in color and fabric.

Lastly, let’s remember living area lighting. Lighting in our living areas should include overhead lighting to some degree (canned lights or chandeliers), table lamps on endtables and sofa tables for reading, etc., and the ability to turn on, turn off, or dim lighting for viewing video.

The good news is that lighting is easy. There are countless configurations and fixtures that can achieve the perfect lighting for a room.