The Electrician’s Opinion – How To Elevate The Lighting In Your Home – Part 2
In our previous blog, we discussed how electricity came to shape our homes and our history. In this article, we’ll continue that discussion and start to break down how you can use lighting in your interior decor to make the absolute most out of each room and the contents of that room.
Lighting can play such an important part in your home. It’s more than just a tool to see the fine print in the cookbook on your kitchen counter. Lighting can evoke feelings, make pieces in a room look more or less extraordinary and so much more. So how do you manipulate lighting like an interior design pro?
Avoid Glare
Most folk’s chief worry when looking for lighting is “will this fixture provide enough light?” and that’s not your chief pain point. Glare is actually a much bigger problem. Lighting, you should remember, can always be amplified with other light sources that are carefully placed throughout a room. This renders the strategy of just getting a huge, bright overhead light that makes the room so bright it could be on fire is not the way to inspire any sort of beauty from your interior design elements. In fact, most people just jump to the route of getting an overly bright overhead light and avoiding lamps and other light sources entirely. You can avoid this issue easily by adding a dimmer to the overhead light source you already have if you’re quite taken with it. Then, start adding other dim, refreshing lights around the room to complement it.
Try for warmth, warm lighting is inviting and cozy at night, which is when you’ll be utilizing it anyway. So don’t think of lighting for your room in the sense of “I have to be able to see.” Think of it in terms of compiling lots of warmer, glowing lights rather than a single shining one to bring your light level up to what you need it to be. Fixtures that have options for multiple bulbs are quite effective at creating this same feeling. You can add a selection of dimmer, warmer bulbs instead of one really bright one and achieve a gradually increasing light source. Remember to choose a moderate warmth instead of a fully yellow light as well, moderate warmth balances the colors of your room better without using cool lighting colors.
Emphasize The Important Pieces
Like a spotlight on a stage, lighting can emphasize the things that matter most in a room in a subtle and attractive way if you do it right. If you’re looking to highlight your favorite chair that looks more like an art piece than a piece of furniture, then you can easily manage that with an attractive floor lamp. You could use lighting to highlight a painting you’re particularly proud of or that you believe draws the room together and you can even use it to place an emphasis on the beautiful architecture in your home. This creates a centered, focused feeling in a room and helps draw attention to the pieces of the room that matter most to you.
Hang Your Lighting Properly
In general, lots of people try to hang their lights far too high up. Depending on the feeling you want the room to have, you can use your light fixture to carefully relay that mood. FOr example, bringing your light fixture a little lower, say in the dining rom, can make the room feel more intimate and friendly. This method is really versatile, especially if you’re framing your lighting around someplace where people will be sitting and conversing like a kitchen island, or a breakfast nook table. You’ll want people’s faces to be clearly visible, rather than having the light cast down on them, managing to make your guests’ features look sharper and potentially more menacing.
Mix Your Media
When you’re designing your room, be sure to not be too constricted by the time periods inspiring a piece. If you’re thinking of a mid-mod standing lamp and a Victorian style overhead light, don’t be afraid. You can mix those medias as long as you do it properly. If you place the m in the right areas of the room and allow them to play off of each other in an eclectic and characteristic way, you’ll be able to infuse yourself more into every room. Additionally, lots of homes in the Marin County area classify as historical, and you won’t want to sacrifice their historical relevance for style when you can have both.
Schedule With Divine Electric Nocal Today
Making the most of the lighting in every room in your home means you’ll need electricity to be able to get to your new fixtures, less they become merely wall sculptures than light sources. We’ve got you covered on all of your electrical wiring and repair needs. As the local electrician in Marin County, we’re familiar with the historical electrical systems most homes in the area use and we can easily help you navigate those issues. Reach out to us today to schedule your consultation for your next big house remodel project.
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