Lighting at home: 5 tips for getting it right.

Why is lighting at home so important?

Have you ever been light shopping, fallen head over heels with what you think is the perfect light for your room? Then when you get home, you discover that it’s totally wrong. Well, I admit it. This is exactly what happened to me. You can choose fashion over function when it comes to heels but not, as it turns out, when it comes to lighting at home.

Whilst the light I chose looked great during the daytime, when the evening rolled around and it was time to perform its main function, it was a huge fail. That’s when I realised exactly how important choosing the right light for your room is. You can take the most beautifully designed room and completely ruin it with a bad lighting choice.

So I dug out my design books, got my google on and peered at Pinterest to find out more about choosing the perfect lighting for your room. To save you the trouble of doing the same painstaking research, here are my main discoveries summed up in a neat little package AND a rather exciting reveal of my new light fitting which ticks all the boxes.

Here’s a quick sneak peak. Dreamy, huh?

1#  Layer your lighting

Let’s start with the basics, there are 3 different types of lighting to add to your room:

• Ambient: The overhead lighting in your room.
• Task: Lighting design for a specific function, eg reading light.
• Accent: Lighting more for aesthetic purposes, to show a feature of your room.  

By using a combination of lighting options, you can adapt the lighting to create the perfect atmosphere for your mood. The general rule of thumb for blending lights in your living room, is to light 3 of the four corners, in addition to your ambient light.

2# Create a focal point

Now obviously I’ve learnt the hard way not to choose a light based on just the fact that it looks great (except when it comes to accent lighting). But a gorgeous light fitting can create a wow-factor centrepiece and really bring the decor scheme of your room together.

You want to pick a light that looks fantastic whether it’s on or off and is compatible with the size of your room too.

If you love interiors, you’ll notice a huge trend right now for hanging lights. I love them, I think they’re perfect for adding drama and interest to your space. If you want to ogle some beautiful lighting, head over to my lighting pinterest board to see everything I’m loving right now, including my new living room light, which I’m champing at the bit to tell you about!

3# Buy the right bulb.

Lighting output is measured in lumens, the higher the lumens the brighter the light output. For a fairly large lounge you would probably need at least 1500 lumens from the combined output of all your bulbs.

There are three types of bulb: CFL, Halogen and LED. Although LED bulbs are more expensive to buy, they could save you money over time, as their annual running cost is much lower than Halogen bulbs and they can last up to 25 years.

When you’ve found the perfect light bulb it might be useful to keep the box and write on the corresponding light fitting, so that no guess-work is involved the next time you need one.

4# Size matters

A light fitting that is too large can dominate the room and detract from your decor scheme. One that’s too small will get lost. In a light showroom, light fittings are likely to appear smaller so it’s worth taking the measurements of your room with you, to keep things in perspective.

5# Use a dimmer switch

Dimmer switches are massively underrated. They are one of the best ways to precisely control the lighting in your room and not just ambient lighting. They can easily be added to lamps too. I have one in my bathroom and it’s amazing. Especially when you’ve just woken up and need to jump in the shower pronto. No glaring bathroom light for me!

My new living room light fitting

So here it is, my perfect choice! This stunning 3 light hall lantern from Litecraft* in antique brass. Not only is it a beautiful and stylish design, it works in perfect harmony with my floor lamp to provide more than ample lighting.

Currently on sale for £76, I think it’s great value for money without compromising the quality of the fitting. It’s also available in polished chrome, I adore both!

If you’ve ever seen my house tour, you’ll know that lanterns are my ‘thing’. So a lantern style light fitting was a natural choice for me. It’s give a cosy and sophisticated vibe and your eyes are instantly drawn to it when you enter the room.  

Let’s see it in action, shall we?

I’m seriously impressed by how well this lights the room. Our living room is fairly large and it actually lights the whole room very well, without being too bright.

There is a little assembly required, as the glass panels come separately wrapped. They are no problem at all to insert though. Plus, it makes the glass panels very easy to clean. 

If you have super high ceilings this light is ideal as the cable is very long, but it is also easy to adjust. Obviously I didn’t want it blocking the tv because, you know… Netflix! So we did shorten the cable and it was fairly easy to adapt to suit our box set needs. I do recommend getting an electrician to fit the light for you, if you’re unsure.

It looks great in the living room, but I think it would also look fantastic in a hallway or hovering over your dining room table.

So, what do you think about my new living room light? Let me know in the comments below.

 

*A big thank you to Litecraft for gifting me this lovely light. All opinions are my own and I will only ever show you things that I think are awesome.

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