Lights can really make or break your dream home so take note to avoid these oversights.
Lighting can make or break a living space. Having gorgeous, expensive furniture doesn’t mean much if your home has poor lighting. If you wish to plan your home’s lighting and construct a warm, cosy and inviting space for you and your family to live in, lighting is something you should be giving quite a bit of thought on.
But where do you start? How can you know what is the best way to approach lighting design your home suitably? For starters, you can avoid mistakes that people often make when selecting lights for their home. Below are some common lighting mistakes you should do well to avoid.
Mistake 1: Going for form over function
A very common mistake that people often make is focusing too much on the design of a light piece, as opposed to how functional it would be in lighting your space in mind. While you may have found a gorgeous standing lamp, it may be more practical to install a hanging light, vanity light or even down lights to properly light up that space in your home. The function must prevail over aesthetics. If you are absolutely hankering to have that standing lamp anyway, use it as a feature light and retain the necessary practical lighting options.
Mistake 2: Not considering the need for space
A grand chandelier sounds like the perfect centrepiece for your home, but any interior designer would tell you that cramping a large chandelier into a far-too-small ceiling space will make your space feel messy and claustrophobic. Always consider the size of your living space when selecting the appropriate type of lighting. There is also the need to consider ceiling height when selecting your hanging lights. If your ceiling is a little too low, going with hanging or recessed lighting may leave you in a comical situation of tall guests having to avoid light fixtures when they visit.
Mistake 3: Forgetting that a space has more than one function
We sometimes forget that a living space can fulfil multiple functions for us. For example, your living room may be a chilled quiet space for you to read or maybe watch some TV on most days. But if your lighting is purely orientated for this purpose, then you are going to have a lighting problem when you have some guests over because you won’t have sufficient light to brighten up a house party. A dimmed-out house party is definitely a bummer. Contemplate a living space’s various uses and prepare to add a different layer of light like ambient lighting, so you won’t be caught with insufficient light when you need it.
Mistake 4: Not having the ‘brightest’ option
You may hate overt brightness or stark white fluorescent lights, but it would be a mistake if you don’t install a bright ceiling light option for most of your spaces. You should have the option, even if they aren’t lights you will switch on often. Whether it’s because you can’t find a dropped earring or you need to do some night cleaning, having a ‘brightest’ option ensures a functional task light that you can use to light up a space properly. These days, the brightest option doesn’t have to be white fluorescent lights. Warm white lights can do the trick as well without making your home feel like a hospital.
Mistake 5: Not considering the placement of furniture
Think about the desired orientation of your furniture before you start planning your lighting. This may seem obvious, but people do make this error. For example, think about where you are placing your dining table before installing a hanging or overhead light above it. Or maybe you want a nice reading corner in your bedroom with a standing light, but you don’t have power sockets installed near that area.
Mistake 6: Not considering energy consumption
LED lights are really the way to go these days. They are more expensive as an initial investment but assuming if you’re the type that loves to light up a home brightly, you save more on your electricity bill in the long run. Plus, they help with energy consumption and you don’t have to constantly replace light bulbs that have burnt out.
Different living spaces in your home require different lights; there is no iron-clad rule for everything. You need to consider things like the size of the space, the amount of natural light it receives and the orientation of your furniture when selecting the best light. For something so important, it’s not something a lot of people pay much attention to in deciding what is best. If you are in the process of selecting lights for your home, assess the points above and happy hunting for the best lights for your space. Check out this article for some amazing ideas that might inspire you!