Sometimes its not your furniture that needs replacing - it may be your home lighting fixtures

Simple changes in a home lighting fixture really makes a huge difference in the way a room looks. Buying a floor lamp or table lamp is a good beginning to re-decorating and a relatively inexpensive way to enhance the look of your home.

The three most important rooms in your home that need decorative lighting are the kitchen, bathroom and living room. These rooms are also the most important to renovate, when adding value to your home.

Bring new light to your kitchen

In order for your kitchen table area to look good the light above the table must be centered and bright enough. Normally with one pendant light hanging down this is almost impossible.

The trend for modern kitchens today is to hang a 2 or 3 light mini pendant light  here so that centering is not an issue.

• More about hanging pendant lights here.

Bathroom lighting - it's all about putting on makeup

The bathroom is the trickiest room to find a light fixture for. Normally you you will have a 4 or 5 bar light above the vanity. This in itself does not offer you a very flattering light source to show your skin tone.

The reason is it casts a shadow downwards so that underneath your chin looks heavier than it really is. This is the number one complaint from women putting on makeup.

If you want to stop the turkey neck look when looking in the mirror buy these decorative lights for your bathroom.

Living room lighting (Table and floor lamps)

Click here to select a style at the lampboutique

Floor lamps and table lamps are the main accessories for this room. They will add a certain amount of charm to the room.

The important feature is the color of the lamp shade and bulb because they can change the color of your furnishings. The base of the lamp should compliment your furniture in color and the material they are made of.

Outdoor lighting as a decorative feature and security

Select outdoor lighting in a size and color that complements your house while providing enough light for safety. For lighting by the front door match the size of the fixture to the door and surrounding space.

Wall lanterns should be mounted slightly above eye level at about 60" to 66" from the center of the fixture to the floor. Post lanterns are an excellent way to light a walkway along a driveway. More details on outdoor lighting here.

Turn a bland room into an exciting space with the right lighting scheme

Home lighting fixtures have a huge affect on our mood and everyday tasks and is a very important feature of our homes. Good Interior lighting can make a home feel spacious, clean and welcoming.  A good way to get this effect is with dimmer control switches and by using the proper light bulb for that application. Read information  on this page about choosing a halogen and incandescent light bulb. For a family room or living room, floor lamps make the difference.

Wall mounted lighting requires more work to install but is certainly an excellent way to add lighting to an area such as a hallway.

You could use spot lights and track lighting to accentuate certain features of a room such as a fireplace, wall art or even tall plants.

Accent lighting in the living room can enhance and brighten the look of a special picture or plant. Ambient lighting gives a dark room it's overall brightness.

The colors of a fixture can determine the mood of a room also. For instance, red gives a feeling of warmth whereas blue or green gives off a feeling of coolness. The level of brightness also is important so that there is no eye- strain or glare when doing tasks. In many cases you can control this by your choice of lamp shade.

Specialty lighting needs (Task - Recessed and Track)

There are many options available in the design and functionality of recessed lighting. You will be able to brighten rooms and direct task lighting to areas such as a countertop or cooking area.

Many people are discovering that track lighting is an incredibly versatile and fashionable style of lighting that can be used for illuminating areas in your home or office. These lighting systems differ from traditional fixtures or overhead lights in that a series of lamps, or fixtures, are attached to a track.

Task lighting problems

These types of lights are usually table lamps or pharmacy lamps that you need to light up a certain area on a desk or table. Normally used for work stations and office desks and in bedrooms.

Best styles to use here are directional lights that you can move to concentrate more on what you are doing. More about task lighting here.

Ceiling Fixtures - This type of home lighting can be installed on either walls or ceilings. Ceiling fixtures are integral to most lighting designs. They're especially good at providing diffused ambient light.

Site map