Tips for Choosing the Best Lights Room-by-Room

Giving family members the ability to move throughout the home safely and enjoy every space to its fullest is important, and lighting is a key aspect of achieving these goals. Choosing the best lights and the strategic placement of each element helps set the comfort level and ambiance of your abode. Furthermore, energy-efficient lighting can dramatically reduce associated costs, especially when savvy owners follow this room-by-room lighting guide.

Illuminating Foyers and Hallways

You can often get by with minimal lighting in these areas when they aren't in use. Experts recommend recessed lighting or drop lamps with dimming features in high-ceiling foyers. Multi-option side lanterns with compact fluorescence lights amid dark hallways and stairwells can be useful, especially in the evenings for quick trips to the kitchen or bath. Owners with treasured photos, artwork, or sculptures they want to highlight will benefit from carefully placed reflective or recessed lighting that establishes them as focal points.

Lighting the Dining Room

In the dining room, a little decorative lighting goes a long way. Shop around for an elaborate chandelier or pendant light to add focus and charm to a dining room. If the room is dark, a chandelier with multiple bulbs is best for adding warm, complex lighting to an East Calgary dining space. If a homeowner is in need of a more romantic light for ambiance, artificial candle lanterns can add a special touch during fancy events. To add light during less formal meals, mini table lamps at opposite ends of the room can help.

Living Room Lighting Essentials

As a room where families often gather for watching television, playing games and socializing with friends, lighting in the primary sitting room should be highly versatile. Evaluate how much natural lighting enters the space through windows or skylights, and then calculate your need for artificial lumens recommended according to room size. Experts recommend at least one strong overhead lighting option, ideally with a dimmer switch option. Of course, floor or table lamps emit ample lighting for reading or lounging, while track lighting and directional wall lights can be utilized to show off artwork and other treasures on display.

Living rooms need a lot of light, especially big living rooms. While lamps can help create warm, intimate spaces where it's nice to spend time lounging, it's important to have a range of options. Recessed lighting, for example, creates a bright, directional light that makes the room a more cheerful place to spend time.

Radiant Kitchens

The glory days of traditional tube lights in home kitchens is long gone, with independently controlled recessed lighting and/or drop lamp installations that highlight island kitchens and prep spaces dominating design circles. One of the current trendiest ideas in task lighting is installing energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) beneath cabinets that activate with a touch for late-night kitchen trips.

Poor lighting conditions in the kitchen can lead to cuts, slips and other accidents. Pendant lighting adds a sense of style and charm to the areas over bar stools and counters. To maximize the amount of natural light that makes it into the kitchen during the day time, try removing old, heavy curtains and blinds.

Task lighting is also important in the kitchen, because it makes food preparation activities safer. Install task lighting underneath cabinets to brighten counters where people frequently spend time cutting, mixing and engaging in other food preparation activities.

Bedroom Lighting

A common error of many homeowners is over-lighting the bedroom. While one bright overhead lighting option is recommended, such as a fan and light combo, other illumination, such as table lamps and flexible wall-mounted fixtures should be more muted for evening use. Lighting impacts mood and affects sleep patterns, so avoid brightness near bedtime and make use of low-lighting for reading in bed. Because this room is typically off limits to guests, there's room to include some fun options such as rope string LED lights and even colorful options that can spruce up your private respite.

Lamps are the number one lighting source of choice in bedrooms. The right lamps provide little pockets of light that make the room seem comfortable and cozy. To make lamp lighting as convenient as possible, hook up at least one lamp to an electrical outlet that is operated by a light switch. To make the bedroom space seem a little more creative and unique, install a funky chandelier over the bed or in a corner over a chair.

Fixtures for Functional Bathrooms

Choose bathroom lighting that most suits the functions it serves. Those who use the bathroom as a vanity for grooming and makeup applications should look for strong LED lights that will brighten facial features while eliminating shadowing and lowlights. These brighter lights also come in handy for deep cleaning sessions. Recessed lighting is recommended for traditional uses of the room, and adding a dimming feature can help establish a calm and soothing environment for a spa-like experience in a North Calgary home.

Bathrooms need a lot of light to prevent accidents like slips and falls. Recessed lights are helpful for lighting wet spaces like the area over the shower or bathtub, while pendant lights are best found around the mirror. Natural light is also important in the bathroom, but don't forget to use frosted glass to ensure privacy.

Work With A Licensed Contractor

It's important to work with a licensed contractor when installing new lighting in a home. A licensed contractor can install recessed, track or pendant lighting safely, to ensure that the light fixtures meet the proper building codes. To find out more about how to have new lighting installed in a home, make an appointment with a contractor today.

Homeowners looking to make home improvements by updating the lighting fixtures within their abode should consider contacting an experienced contractor or remodeling expert near you to learn more.