11 Ways To Improve Your Home’s Lighting

Whatever style of decor you choose to have for your home, it will be incomplete without the right lighting on the property. So, if you are looking to add life and vibrance to your home decor, we suggest investing in improving the lighting of your home.

Here are some ways you can improve home lighting:

1. Scale Is Key: It is important to choose a lighting fixture that is the right size for the space it will be placed in. If you choose too big a lighting fixture it can overpower the room and if you choose something too small it may fail to add any value to the decor and ambiance of the area.
2. Have 3 Layers Of Lighting In Rooms Of All Sizes: To achieve the best lighting results in your home, make sure each living space has 3 sources of lighting:
   

   1. general/overhead lighting, 2. specific to a task/location lighting, 3. and ambient/ decorative lighting.

   You might think this is not a good idea for a small space such as a powder room. However, it will work wonders for small rooms too if done right. Use smaller lights with lower wattage bulbs and you will find that layered lighting will only help enhance the decorative finishes of your smaller rooms while effectively fulfilling its functional role.

3. Let There Be One Lighting Center point: Any living space only benefits from having multiple sources of light. However, to make this arrangement most effective, try to choose lighting fixtures of varying sizes. If all the fixtures are the same size then the room will lack visual clarity. For example, in a large space choose a chandelier as your principal lighting fixture and let the rest have supporting roles.
4. Add Dimmers: Add dimmers where you can around the house. They offer great versatility to your lighting arrangement. They also help ensure that the best balance is between artificial light and natural light is achieved at all times, making sure you have properly lit rooms no matter what time of day it is. Additionally, dimmers help save on utility bills and help create different moods in the living space.
5. Illuminate The Darkened Corners: Often we ignore closets, cabinets, and shelves when it comes to lighting. However, lighting these spaces up can make them more functional and go a long way in adding a decorative touch to your decor.
6. Use Lighting To Create Visual Impact: Used in unusual ways, lighting can become a key contributor to your home’s decor. Mini spotlights can be used to highlight a work of art or display pieces in the room.
7. Try A Different Shade: If you are looking to brighten the room, you can choose to get light-colored shades, which let more light through and diffuse it in a bigger circle. However, if you are looking to create a warmer ambiance and are looking for a more focused lighting effect then darker shades are ideal for you. A patterned or designed shade can bring an added dimension of depth to your lighting.
8. Look To Add More Reflective Surfaces Around Your Home: Adding more mirrors and using glossy surfaces will help brighten up the room as the light will bounce off their reflective surfaces. This will be particularly valuable in lighting up the more cramped quarters in the house.
9. Light Up The Exterior: Exterior lights, such as the porch light, have functional value. However, layered exterior lighting can improve the overall lighting and look of your home. You can use focal lighting to light up a particularly picturesque component of your front yard. Low wattage decorative lights can be used to light up a particularly dark bend of your walkway. Wall-mount down-lights are a great way of illuminating without creating a glare. Their warm, gentle light can set just the tone for the rest of your house.
10. Switch To LED Lights: Most come with the dimming option and you can find many in multi-colored options. This means allows LED lights to add considerable aesthetic appeal to any given space. Additionally, LED lights also have the added benefit of reduced energy consumption and reduced utility bills.
11. Go Smart: A smart lightbulb is controlled by an app on your phone. This allows you to have more control over the lighting of your home at any given time of day.

If your house is looking a little off-color and needs an upgrade, try out these lighting ideas and give your home a bright, new look.