Lighting can make or break a room, but many people don't give it a second thought. That paint color you labored over choosing can wind up looking like the worst choice you've ever made based on the lighting you use in that room. Let's take a look at the three basic types of lighting.
Task lighting is lighting that performs a function for a task. Task lighting should be in every room in your house. From desk lamps to table lamps, before purchasing a lamp, keep in mind what tasks you will be using it for. Reading lamps should be above eye level so that the light hits the page you are reading. Pendants over a work surface in the kitchen can help you see what you are chopping.
Photo courtesy Lowes
Ambient lighting (also known as overall lighting), lights up the whole room, and can be in the form of a chandelier or recessed lighting, to name two. They are usually on or near the ceiling. Putting ambient lighting on dimmer switches can help change the mood in the room.
Icicle Leaf Chandelier courtesy of Lamps Plus
Photo courtesy of Lamps Plus
Accent lighting is lighting that can help create drama or interest in your rooms. Spotlights, in-cabinet, bookshelf, sconces and even candles are considered accent lighting. While lighting can be used to highlight artwork, some lamps become art in their own right. Accent lighting is an opportunity to have some fun with your lighting choice. Used along with task lighting, accent lighting can give your rooms that warm and welcoming glow that invites you into the room.
It is said that the best designed rooms incorporate all three types of lighting.
Getting back to lamps for a moment; a quick and inexpensive way to change the look of a room is to switch out your lampshades and/or finials. You can change the whole look of a lamp just by changing the lampshade. However, please remove the plastic from the shade before putting it on your lamp. Many people think that if they leave the plastic on it keeps the dust from settling on the shade, but instead it settles on the plastic, making it eventually turn yellow. Take the plastic off and, while vacuuming, just use the upholstery attachment to vacuum the shades.
Photo courtesy of New Brunswick Lamp Shade Co.
Take a look around at the lighting in your home and see where you can shed a little more light in your life.
Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.
You are right, lighting can make or break the room. You have inspired me to take another look around.
Mel ~ Thank you, and good for you!
Excellent post Kathy. I'm really big on lighting. I think it's one of the most important things for bringing a room to life. Great photos too - I really like the icicle leaf chandelier. In the right room, that would look amazing!
I just helped a client set up a bed that has armoires on both sides and a bridge above the headboard with lights facing down. When putting it in, I suggested that we also put small lights on top to face upward. The client's home is a loft and it has a very interesting concrete ceiling, eleven feet tall. The lights cannot be seen sitting up on the bridge or the armoires because of their height, but the light thrown upward turned the ceiling into a very dramatic element. She was stunned at the difference. Light is one of my favorite tools for adding drama to a room. Great post, Kathy!
What? The plastic wrapping on the lampshade matches the plastic sofa cover in the living room! This stuff's not s'posed to match?! :)
Mike in Tucson
I am sooo gonna have to buy lamps. I don't have any. Not one...
Charlene ~ Thank you! I like the cozy, warm look that lamps give off. I also like to be able to see what I'm doing, especially in the kitchen.
Pangaea ~ Absolutely, I'm sure it looked much different without the lights you added. That must look great!
Mike ~ No, it's not a decorative feature of the shade! Although, I suppose if someone has plastic on their furniture, then it's a moot point!
Carolyn ~ Good grief, we really do need to go shopping! : ) What kind of lighting are you using when you are on your computer?
Kathy, I loved these ideas. I bought a few new pieces of lighting when I moved back home and love them all! And two lamps with red shades that look gorgeous at night (and yes, the plastic is removed :)
Carole ~ I would expect red shades on your lamps! What a warm glow that must give the room they are in. Thank you for removing the plastic! : )
Kathy, excellent blog which I hope gets out there on the internet and gets lots of attention and everyone goes out and buys lamps!!! One of my pet peeves is the itty-bitty, miniature lamps that people put on the table next to their bed. I always imagine them leaning over the side of the bed in order to be able to read!?! What is that about? Can anyone tell me??? Of course it does go with all the miniature artwork they have sprinkled around the room randomly... don't get me started!
Oooh, I missed this one Kathy. I was just explaining the importance of proper lighting to my last clients. They didn't have one table tamp, anywhere!
Bookmarked again!
Joanne ~ That and then squinting to read! If nowhere else, I agree that bedside lighting should be adequate for reading.
Cynthia ~ Thank you! It does seem that lamps are the "forgotten" lighting!
I need more lights in my own livingroom - back to the attic to make more holes.
Kathleen ~ LOL! I'd go with lamps then!
Kathy, great information again! I'm always surprised at how little clients know about lighting and how simple it is to make some significant changes. I LOVE colored lampshades! It's time for me to buy new table lamps for my home and I'm struggling with the decision because I'm drawn to SO-O many of them and I know what an impact they can have.
Ginger ~ Thank you! I'm looking to get some new lamps too (living room). I know what you mean, I like so many of them,that I'm having a hard time narrowing down the selection!
Great post. I see living rooms with no lamps, dining rooms with no chandeliers and bedrooms with either teensy lamps or non at all. How do they think the buyer will see their home when they view it at night? How do they read? How do they get to bed once they turn off the ceiling light? The proper lighting can show off the home's features.
Janice ~ I agree. I even keep nightlights in the bathrooms. I'm so used to lamps in my house that when I'm in a house with no lamps, it's the first thing I notice.